The Lord led me to this passage of scripture this morning and I’d like to share with you the riches found in His Word. As I study, I love to read commentary, and search out the Greek/Hebrew; thus, you will find many excerpts from different portions of commentaries, etc…I enjoy David Guzik, who can be found on BlueLetterBible. This app/website is phenomenal and I highly recommend it when studying.

I have always been studious and aware when the Lord directs me to Revelation 3. It’s in this chapter, the Lord examines the seven churches, which represents the spirits in which move throughout the true Church. I believe theses represent attitudes/spiritual conditions in which we can allow to examine our own life. Anytime the Lord directs me here, I do some hard soul searching, and ask Him to examine my life…we should all do this…

Pray this blesses someone today…

Revelation 3:1-6 (KJV) 1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

a.The church in Sardis: At the time Jesus spoke these words to John, the ancient city of Sardis had seen its best days and had started to decline. Yet it was a wealthy city, situated at the junction of several important roads and trade routes. The connection between Sardis and money – easy money – was well known in the ancient world.

i. “It is of interest to note that the first coinage ever to be minted in Asia Minor was minted in Sardis in the days of Croesus. Sardis was the place where modern money was born.” (Barclay)

b. Sardis: This city was also a city well known for its softness and luxury. It had a well-deserved reputation for apathy and immorality. In Sardis there was a large, stately temple to the mother goddess, Cybele. From the ruins of that temple we can see that its main columns were 60 feet (20 meters) high and more than 6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. This mother goddess was honored and worshipped with all kinds of sexual immorality and impurity.

c. Sardis: The combination of easy money and a loose moral environment made the people of Sardis notoriously soft and pleasure loving. “The great characteristic of Sardis was that, even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Its people were notoriously loose-living, notoriously pleasure-and luxury loving. Sardis was a city of the decadence.” (Barclay)

This softness, this lack of discipline and dedication, was the doom of Sardis on a few different occasions. The Greek historian Herodotus tells the story of the fall of Sardis in days of Cyrus. King Cyrus came to Sardis, and found the position of the city ideally suited for defense. There seemed to be no way to scale the steep cliff walls surrounding the city. He offered a rich reward to any soldier in his army who could figure out a way to get up to the city. One solider studied the problem carefully, and as he looked he saw a soldier defending Sardis drop his helmet down the cliff walls. He watched as the soldier climbed down a hidden trail to recover his helmet. He marked the location of the trail and led a detachment of troops up it that night. They easily climbed the cliffs, came to the actual city walls and found them unguarded. The soldiers of Sardis were so confident in the natural defenses of their city they felt no need to keep a diligent watch, so the city was easily conquered. Curiously, the same thing happened almost 200 years later when Antiochus attacked and conquered the overconfident city that didn’t set a watch.

ii. “Although the situation of the city was ideal for defense, as it stood high above the valley of Hermus and was surrounded by deep cliffs almost impossible to scale, Sardis had twice before fallen because of overconfidence and failure to watch. In 549 b.c. the Persian King Cyrus had ended the rule of Croesus by scaling the cliffs under the cover of darkness. In 214 b.c. the armies of Antiochus the Great (III) captured the city by the same method.” (Walvoord)

c. And the seven stars: Jesus also has the fullness of the church in His hand. We know the seven stars represent the churches because of what Jesus said in Revelation 1:20: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and through these letters, when Jesus speaks to the angels of the seven churches, He speaks not to one individual, but to the entire church through that individual.

b. That you have a name that you are alive: Jesus knew the church at Sardis had a name – that is, a reputation – of life and vitality. If you looked at the church of Sardis, you would see signs of life and vitality. In the church of Sardis, like the city of Sardis, everything seemed alive and good.

i. “We are not to get the impression that Sardis was a defunct affair with the building a wreck, the members scattered, the pastor ready to resign. It was a busy church with meetings every night, committees galore, wheels within wheels, promotion and publicity, something going on all the time. It had a reputation of being a live, wide-awake, going concern.” (Havner)

But you are dead.

ii.Dead: Despite their reputation of life, Jesus saw them for what they really were. But you are dead shows that a good reputation is no guarantee of true spiritual character. Despite their good appearance, Jesus saw them as dead.

b. Dead: This indicates no struggle, no fight, no persecution. It wasn’t that the church at Sardis was losing the battle. A dead body has lost the battle, and the fight seems over. In this letter Jesus didn’t encourage the Christians in Sardis to stand strong against persecution or false doctrine, probably because there simply wasn’t a significant danger of these things in Sardis. Being dead, the church in Sardis presented no significant threat to Satan’s domain, so it wasn’t worth attacking.

i. Sardis was “A perfect model of inoffensive Christianity.” (Caird) Their problem was not scandalous wickedness, but a decent death. Their image said “alive,” but in substance they were dead.

ii. “The church of Sardis was at peace – but it was the peace of the dead.” (Barclay)

BE WATCHFUL

a.Be watchful: This first instruction from Jesus told them they need to examine and protect, strengthening what they have. The things which remain tells us that though the spiritual condition of the church of Sardis was bad, it wasn’t hopeless. Spiritually, there were things which remain that could be strengthened. Jesus had not given up on them, and though it was late (that are ready to die) it was not too late.

i. In its history, the city of Sardis was easily conquered twice before. It wasn’t that the attacking armies overwhelmed Sardis, but because overconfidence made them stop being watchful. The spiritual state of the church in Sardis was a reflection of the city’s historical character.

b. I have not found your works perfect before God: This shows that their works, though present, had not measured up to God’s standard. The presence of works isn’t enough because God requires a particular intent and purpose in all of our works. They should be done with a heart and in a manner that show them to be perfect before God.

i. Clarke on I have not found your works perfect: “They performed duties of all kinds, but not duty completely. They were constantly beginning, but never brought anything to a proper end.”

PLAN OF ACTION/INSTRUCTION

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent: What they must do was to remember how they first received and heard the Word of God. Then they must hold fast to those things, and repent by turning and restoring the gospel and apostolic doctrine to authority over their lives.

I.REMEMBER — Tragedy to Christian walk is spiritual amnesia. (PSALM 78) They forgot what the Lord has done in their life.

II.HOLD FAST —tēreō — teros (a watch; perhaps akin to G2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from G5442, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from G2892, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), that is, to note (a prophecy; figuratively to fulfil a command); by implication to detain (in custody; figuratively to maintain); by extension to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively to keep unmarried): – hold fast, keep (-er), (ob-, pre-, re) serve, watch.

Matthew 26:41 (KJV)

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.

– PETER COULD FISH ALL NIGHT — COULDNT PRAY ONE HOUR…

– PETER IS PERFECT EXAMPLE — OVERCONFIDENCE IN OURSELF

– LEARNED TRUE HUMILITY — THROUGH FAILURE…LEARNED TO LEAN UPON THE LORD

Isaiah 62:6,7 (KJV) I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, 7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Matthew 24:42-51 (KJV) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed [is] that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (KJV) I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

1 Peter 4:7 (KJV). But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV). Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

III. REPENT — Soul searching…One of the greatest revelations we can ever receive is the true spiritual condition of our heart. When we allow the Lord to bring His candlestick into the deep chambers of our heart and begin to search it out…

ALLOW THE LORD TO SEARCH US

Difference between a heart like King Saul and a heart like King David…more than slaying giants — David was brave enough to allow the Lord to come in and search the deepest corridors of the heart…Saul shut the door to the warning from the Lord…

— That will be the difference in many Christians; closed the door to true soul searching…

Psalms 139:23 (KJV) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

Psalm 139:1 (KJV). 1 [[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.]] O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known [me].

Psalm 26:2 (KJV). Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Deuteronomy 8:2,16 (KJV). And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, [and] to prove thee, to know what [was] in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

Job 31:6 (KJV). Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.

Proverbs 17:3 (KJV). The fining pot [is] for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.

Zechariah 13:9 (KJV). And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The LORD [is] my God.

Malachi 3:2,3 (KJV). But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3 And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

1 Peter 1:7 (KJV). That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

TRIALS MAY BE THE LAST RESULT TO GET OUR ATTENTION…

– IF WE FAIL TO HEED…JUDGEMENT COMES….

– PERHAPS DELUSION WILL COME IF WE FAIL TO HEED…

WARNING

d. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief: Jesus warned them of the great danger in failing to watch. If they ignored His command to be watchful, then Jesus would come upon them as a thief, at a time completely unexpected.

i.I will come upon you: How would Jesus come upon them? He could come in the sense bringing immediate judgment. Or, He could come in the sense of His coming at the rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Used in either sense, it showed He might come suddenly and unannounced, so they must be watchful.

ii. Winston Churchill said to Britain in the early days of World War II: “I must drop one word of caution, for next to cowardice and treachery, overconfidence leading to neglect and slothfulness, is the worst of wartime crimes.” (cited in Bunch)

WALK WITH ME

Walk with Me: This is the greatest reward Jesus can give His followers. The Christians in Sardis who forsook the sinful compromise of their city would be rewarded with a closer, more intimate walk with Jesus. This reward is ultimately a better motivator than the fear of punishment or ruin from our sin.

iii. The pure can have greater intimacy with God not because they have earned it, but because they are simply more interested in the things of God. God promises to reward that interest: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

“But what shall be done with such persons as live in the church, but are not of it, having a name to live, but are dead? What shall be done with mere professors who are not possessors? What shall become of those who are only outwardly religious but inwardly are in the gall of bitterness? We answer, as good Calvin did once: ‘They shall walk in black, for they are unworthy.’ They shall walk in black – the blackness of God’s destruction. They shall walk in black – the blackness of hopeless despair. They shall walk in black – the blackness of incomparable anguish. They shall walk in black – the blackness of damnation. They shall walk in black for ever, because they were found unworthy.” (Spurgeon)

This is the end goal of the Lord coming down to search us out, and set us straight if needed. Again, one of the greatest revelations we can ever receive, is the true condition of the inner man. What greater joy we can ever achieve in this life, than to say, we’ve walked with the Lord. That’s the mark I desire. That I may know Him…May the Lord help us to continue on this journey called life, living and loving Him with all our heart. I hope this study blessed you like it did me…

Blessings, 🙏🏻

JDS