Today we continue our teaching series called “The Seven Churches of Revelation”

Over the next several weeks we will seek to understand the importance and relevance of this text in our lives today. Just like the rest of our Bible, we believe that Revelation is valuable and integral to our faith- It’s there for a reason.

Through this study we want to hear and understand the warnings and instructions to these churches. As we do that, we also want to discern how we can learn from these warnings in our lives and through our local church.

Our desire is to renew and refine our vision of life and what the church should be. Our series is specifically focused on Jesus' words to the 7 Churches in Asia minor

Today we continue with the Church in Sardis, found in Revelation 3:1-6.

-Imagine hearing this from Jesus: “You have a reputation of being alive but you are dead.”
-Jesus is saying there is a huge and terrible distance between what is on the outside – what people see – and what is on the inside – what God sees.
-It's worth considering that at one point, this church was alive. That's the implication of the work that is 'unfinished'. At one point, it was alive! But not anymore.

-Two verbs are central to the message to Sardis. And really, this is what Jesus means when he says, 'wake up': “Remember” and “Repent” (verse 3).
-Remember what you once did, more than what you did, who you were. Remember who God is. Remember what's at stake. Remember the call.
-Repent of any standard than is less than His standard. Repent of any form of religion that looks alive and is really dead.

Some of the hardest words Jesus ever speaks are also filled with hope.
"I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! "

The letter to Sardis doesn’t say, “You’re dead. (Period)”
It says, “You’re dead, wake up!”

The resurrected Jesus is saying, "You are dead. Now come on, let's get up! I am the resurrection and the life. I am your resurrection and your life."

SCRIPTURE FOR FURTHER STUDY/REFLECTION:
Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 23:27-28
1 Samuel 16:7

Revelation 3:1-6 (The Message)
3 Write this to Sardis, to the Angel of the church. The One holding the Seven Spirits of God in one hand, a firm grip on the Seven Stars with the other, speaks:
“I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone-dead.
2-3 “Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there’s life in you yet. But I wouldn’t know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears—grasp it again and turn back to God.
“If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I’ll return when you least expect it, break into your life like a thief in the night.
4 “You still have a few followers of Jesus in Sardis who haven’t ruined themselves wallowing in the muck of the world’s ways. They’ll walk with me on parade! They’ve proved their worth!