We have been studying the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 & 3. This morning we will look at the fifth church, the church in Sardis (3:1). There is something different about this church. For the first time, we see no word of commendation (cf. 2:2, 9, 13, 19). Right from the start there is only a word of rebuke –“I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (3:1). RECOGNIZE THEIR SPIRITUAL CONDITION - Sardis had a big name, so they thought everything was OK (3:1). REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR THEM - The believers in Sardis were told to remember therefore how they had received and heard (3:3). REPENT AND GET THINGS RIGHT WITH GOD - Revelation 3:3b is a warning to dead, unregenerate church members (cf. I Thess. 5:1-9). Those who refuse to repent will have their names blotted out of the book of life (3:5). Those that are truly saved will overcome (3:5) the world, the flesh, and the devil. So there was still hope, but they had to recognize their spiritual deadness. Our Lord says in Rev. 3:2, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain…”
SERMON ACTIVITY
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James J. Barker is a graduate of Tabernacle Baptist Bible College, Virginia Beach, Virginia. He started Bible Baptist Church, May 1990, in Queens, NY. The LORD commissioned him to minister in the new location of Elmont, NY in 1998. The church has moved from storefront to tent...
