Sermon Cloud

The Seven Churches of Revelation
Pt. 5, The Dead Church (Sardis)

In Revelation 2-3, the resurrected and glorious Jesus is patrolling and supervising his churches on earth.  He tells John to write a letter to each of seven churches in the Roman province of Asia.  The seven letters all have a very similar outline, beginning with Christ's claim that he knows their circumstances and concluding with a message of praise or blame appropriate to each church and a promise for those who overcome. 

In application, these several individual churches represent the universal church.  Together they tell us the marks of an ideal church.

• The Letter to Ephesus-Love
• The Letter to Smyrna- Suffering
• The Letter to Pergamum- Truth
• The Letter to Thyatira- Holiness
• The Letter to Sardis- Sincerity

Jesus simply speaks to our fifth church, Sardis, with a description of who He is, skips any kind of commendation, then goes straight for the jugular with a forceful condemnation before encouraging the overcomers in the church with a promise.

Read Revelation 3:1-6.

I have nicknamed this church at Smyrna, The Dead Church.  I was drawn to the fact that Jesus claims that this church is DEAD.  I don’t know about you, but I want to have no association with a church that is described by Jesus as dead.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I will admit that when I was a teenager, I loved to watch cheesy horror movies.  One that came to my mind when thinking of death is, Return of the Living Dead (1985), the film story of how a group of teenagers accidently release a horde of blood thirsty zombies on an unsuspecting town.

Although, I am most certainly sure that Jesus had never sat down and watched Return of the Living Dead, I bring up the references to zombie, because it seems as if the church at Sardis was a walking zombie, “you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

What I want us to think about this morning is, what kills a church?  (**Maybe some data on churches that die**) From our text this morning, I feel that our answer to this question is actually found in Jesus’ instructions to the church.  I have pulled out six DEMISES of a church that will ultimately lead to its death.

1)      A church will die if it relies on its reputation. (v.1)

“I know your works, that you have a name that you are a live, but you are dead.”

·         They have allowed their reputation to deceive them.

·         They have allowed what others say about them to drive them.

·         They are more concerned about what people think of them, rather than what God thinks

·         They are more concerned about the exterior of their live versus the interior of their hearts

·         There was a greater concern with cosmetics than with character –No sincerity here

2)      A church will die if it fails to keep guard. (v.2)

“Be watchful”

·         They have become comfortable.  The feel invulnerable by trusting their safety. 

·         Sardis was known as a city who had fallen to their enemies twice in their history.

·         They have become cocky and confident.

·         Illustration: Much like me stepping into a Cycle Mania class at the YMCA last week.

3)      A church will die if it neglects spiritual exercise. (v.2)

“and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die”

·         They had failed to exercise their spiritual muscles and they are fat and flabby.

·         These are the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, giving, serving, etc.

·         God wants them to get fired up and get moving.

4)      A church will die if it becomes inwardly-focused. (v.3)

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard”

·         Someone shared with you because they decided to look not at themselves.

·         I believe strongly that God’s church is never to be inwardly-focused

·         Every church will struggle with turning inward.

·         I remember a family leaving our church and writing as one of their reasons they were leaving, is that we were too community focused!  I thought, What a Compliment!!

·         I found a list of some symptoms of an inwardly focused church:

o   No evangelistic or missions events scheduled over the course of a year

o   Few guests attending or returning to the church

o   Worship of the past.

o   Internal struggles that dominate the church

o   Inflexibility and resistance to change

o   Few members praying intentionally for non-believers

o   Few small groups grown by reaching non-believers

·         Maybe we can view these as a few warning signs and you need to eliminate any temptations in your life that that will compete against our church being out-ward focused.

5)      A church will die if it compromises and gives up. (v.3)

“hold fast”

·         After 8 years as your pastor, you know I have finally realized how you can best pray for me and your pastors and your leadership.  You need to be praying that we will won’t give up.  Actually, I am coming to the realization that as simple as this verse says it, it might be the most heart piercing for me…DON’T GIVE UP.

·         There is a costs to be a part of Christ’s church…and sometimes you will be tempted as to whether or not the cost is worth it.

6)      A church will die if it disregards sin. (v.3)

“and repent”

·         Repentance is taking sin serious.

·         Repentance is changing your mind and changing your direction concerning sin.

·         Repentance is not just being sorry you got caught, but being sorry for the grief brought on God and others.

What is the encouragement or Jesus’ promise for those who overcome this deadness?

7)      We are promised His presence (3:4)

8)      We are promised His purity (3:4-5)

9)      We are promised His protection (3:5)

10)  We are promised His praise (3:5-6)

Matthew 10:32, “Therefore, whoever confesses Me before Men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”