Bad News! You Have A Great Reputation!

We want to look at the Word of God this morning, so take your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 3. Look at the first six verses of Revelation chapter 3 this morning. In our flock the other night, someone asked me this question. Which of these churches do you think comes closest to us? my response to that is that we could be all of them that when we look at every one of these it says he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches that is to say we could have characteristics of all of these churches we could fall into or aspire to these churches but all of these are addressed to us this congregation here at LaRue and so don't try to figure out which one is us.

Just listen to what Jesus has to say and say to yourself, that could be us. And we need to hear what he has to say. Let's pray before we look into the word of God this morning. Lord God, thank you again for this day. We thank you for the fact that you have sent a Redeemer who is powerful. A Redeemer whose death has purchased us from sin that we might live lives that are devoted to the one and the true and the living God. now Lord we pray that you would help us to listen to your word as it addresses us as a congregation and we pray father that we would have ears to hear what the spirit says to the churches give us those ears today we need them father we don't ever want to become complacent and so father I just pray now that you would bring the word of God to bear on our hearts Lord this isn't addressed to us as individuals this is addressed to us as a congregation help us to think that way help us to think that way Father and change as a body where we need to change thank you for the Lord Jesus we thank you that he is the one who loves this church he is the Lord of this congregation so we pray that we would hear him today in Jesus name, Amen my dad taught my brother and me that a good name was worth more than money and that we should always strive for a good reputation And so he taught us that we would always tell the truth never lie We to be faithful to our work and true to our employer And that we to be honest in all our dealings Because with a good reputation comes great opportunity.

But when you read the message to Sardis, you hear Jesus say, Sardis, I have some bad news for you. You have a great reputation. Let's take a look at it, shall we? Let's read it again. In Revelation 3, verses 1 through 6. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments and they will walk with me in white for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Here's what Jesus says. Sardis, you have a problem. Everyone thinks so highly of you. Everyone, that is, except God. You have a reputation that you do not deserve. Everyone, including yourselves, believes that you have a living, vibrant ministry, when in fact, you are really dead.

Now, Jesus addresses this message to every church, because any congregation can become another Sardis, and that includes us. Jesus speaks to any church that has plenty of activity but has no life. A busy church without a living ministry growing out of the gospel. A busy church without a vibrant ministry growing out of the gospel. In this message Jesus intends to motivate this congregation to a vibrant living gospel ministry Well then how can you tell whether you have vibrant ministry or whether you're just busy but dead?

How can you tell? That's a good question, isn't it? Where there's activity, there's life, right? Not necessarily. There can be lots of activity and no life. How in the world can you tell the difference?

I think here's what Jesus says first of all. Watch out for that comfortable feeling. Watch out for that comfortable feeling. Notice what Jesus says to this congregation. Twice he talks about them waking up. Notice in verse 2.

Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die. Verse 3, if you will not wake up. The problem is they're not awake. A congregation can be busy with all kinds of activity, but in reality be lazy, satisfied, and comfortable. We can become comfortable doing all the religious stuff. We can get satisfied with Bible studies, services, and fellowship.

It's a good life. Man, isn't it a good life going to flock on Wednesday and then going to church on Sunday and spending our afternoons together, eating together? It's a good life, isn't it? It's great. Sundays are nice and encouraging and it fits nicely in our week. It's just nice.

It's a good life, isn't it? Now, it's interesting that this message to this church says nothing about outside persecution, does it? What's interesting, though, is that Sardis had a strong Jewish community. But there's no mention of the synagogue of Satan that's persecuting them, like with Smyrna. Sardis was also known for its vibrant paganism. It was not a dead pagan city.

The paganism was alive and well in that city, and yet there's no mention of Satan's throne and people dying for the faith, as we saw in Pergamum. and you know what else you find? There's not a mention of heretical teaching infiltrating the church. Not even a mention of that The danger that every congregation faces is this comatose comfort Busy yet comfortable Satisfied, but useless.

Seduced by a comfortable religiosity, we can forget that we are engaged in a spiritual holy war. What happens when you become comfortable? What happens when a congregation gets comfortable? Well, the major thing he says here is simply this. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Verse 1, all kinds of activity, but no spiritual vitality.

Isn't that interesting? A congregation can have an impressive array of activities and still lack spiritual vitality. It can have its Sunday school picnics, its flock groups, its worship services, its Bible studies, leadership training, counseling ministries, and still be dead. that is frightening to me. That is frightening to me. It can have all this good stuff and still be dead.

It can have people who are devoted to the church and all of its activities, and it can still, in God's eyes, be a dead congregation. It looks good to everyone else, and it has and gains a reputation, but the congregation is dead. It's all image and no substance. Comfortable just doing the religious stuff. So, busy but dead. That's what happens when you get comfortable.

Here's another one. Our works can be incomplete in the sight of God. Verse 2. Works that are incomplete in the sight of God. Jesus says to strengthen what remains because what you're doing is incomplete. You've not quite finished what you started.

Something still remains to be done. What is that? What is that? He says you've got your flock groups, your leadership training, your counseling ministries, but you've become comfortable and satisfied with just doing that. that stuff. Here's the question. Why do that stuff?

Why involve yourself in that? That's the issue right there. What is the goal of all that activity? What do you want to accomplish with it? It's simply this. People that are converted and become vibrant, worshiping, fruitful servants of God.

That's what you're after. Not a busy church, but people who have been converted from the darkness and who now walk in righteousness and love it. That's what it's about. People who were walking one way and now are changing and growing and seeking to become like Jesus and loving every step of the path. That's what it's about. It's not about, are you devoted to the ministry of the church?

Why be devoted to the ministry of the church? So that people are converted and growing. That's why. That's what it's about. We need to think about that, don't we? Because without that in mind, without that goal in mind, our ceremonies, our services are empty and incomplete.

They may gain human approval, but they don't gain God's approval. God's on a mission. God's mission in this world is to save worshipers for Him. Okay? Those who are servants of Him. That's what it's about.

So our works are incomplete in the sight of God when we're not aiming for anything. And we're not aiming for what God is after. Here's what else happens when we get comfortable. but we forget about ministering the gospel. Remember then, and here's a key, I think, in this whole passage. Remember then what you received and heard. Keep it and repent.

Now, what could he be talking about here? He's talking about the gospel. The gospel of Jesus. That's what you received. That's what you heard. That's what you must keep.

And that's what must drive you to repentance when that's not happening. It's the Gospel. You see they had forgotten the life power of the Gospel They had forgotten how it the Gospel that transforms people Alright They were not proclaiming it as they should nor were they obeying its commands. Alright? The Gospel is not just something to be proclaimed, it's something to be obeyed.

They were not proclaiming it as they should, nor were they obeying its commands. Remember the words of Jesus in John chapter 14. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. So when we get comfortable, we forget about ministering the thing that's the most important. We get so busy with our activities, we forget what they're aimed at, and we forget that we're to minister the gospel in proclaiming it and in obeying it.

And then lastly, verse 4. Here's what happens when you get comfortable. You end up with soiled garments. You end up with soiled garments. A congregation gets comfortable, it gets lazy, it no longer proclaims the gospel, and life gets easier. There's no persecution.

It gets easier. It becomes a congregation that does not expect people to obey the commands of the gospel. we have grown up now for a generation of go out there and get people saved. Well, that's right. That's not the whole gospel, though. What did Jesus say? Go out and make disciples of men, teaching them to obey all that I've commanded.

Do we expect people to change? Do we expect people to change? If you're a member here, we expect you to be changing. because if you have life, you'll be changing. If you have spiritual life and a new heart, you will want the things of God. This reminds me of a conversation we had in an elders meeting two months ago. We were talking about the fact and about God's people coming to worship.

Now, I'm talking to people who've come to worship. Preaching to the choir right now. And we were wrestling with this. How do you say you need to be here without becoming legalistic I think it was Greg I think it was Greg who said you know what, that's like when you're going to feed the sheep. You ever notice? When you're going to feed the sheep and you open the barn doors and they know there's food in there, they will knock you down to get in there to be fed.

Right? Isn't that what it's about? You want to be here. It's not like the elders have to come knocking on your door saying, where were you? Be in church. It should be, what's happening to you?

What's going on in your life? You don't want to be here? You're not hungry? You don't want to be fed? Right? See, that's the whole issue.

All right? We ought to expect people to change because of the gospel, because their lives have been transformed. They have new hearts and they want to be there. They want to be involved in that and so forth. And what happens is when you get comfortable and you're not proclaiming the gospel as we should as a congregation and we're not expecting change, you end up tainted by the corruption of sin.

A congregation that's comfortable with religious activity but a congregation compromising with its culture and soiling its garments. we get comfortable in our culture we're not made to feel like we're not part of this culture and we like it we like having church and being comfortable and not have anybody give us hassle right and so we end up with soiled garments you know when I was a kid after church on Sunday we would always go out and play Right? Now the problem with going out and playing on Sunday when church was let out was we had our Sunday clothes on. Now this was back in the day when there was such a thing as Sunday clothes.

Okay, that's not a big deal anymore. But it was back then. There was a certain pair of pants and a certain shirt I only wore on Sunday. And you know what would bring down the wrath of my mother? You know what it was? grass stains on my Sunday pants. And she would say no you be careful You be careful I do not want to see any grass stains on the knees of your pants Now, if I was vigilant, and I was careful, right, it didn't happen.

But more often than not, I wasn't careful, and I wasn't vigilant, and I did the easy thing. I went out and played and ran around like a banshee and knocked other kids down, and they knocked me down. Which was fun. And we got grass stains on our pants. And we got in trouble. Lots of activity because we were lazy.

Right? We weren't paying attention to what we were doing. That's what he says here. When you're not doing what God has called you to do as a congregation, you end up with soiled garments. It doesn't take effort to get corrupted. It takes no effort to be corrupted.

You see the point? We get comfortable. We fit in. And we get soiled. So when we get comfortable and lazy, we forget the life-giving, life-changing power of the gospel, and we become satisfied with religious activity. Remember this.

Religious activity never changed one heart. Religious activity never changed one heart. Instead of a vibrant gospel ministry, you end up dead. So the first thing we have to do is watch out for that comfortable feeling. That's the first thing we need to be doing. Now, how does a congregation then get out of its comfort zone and into a vibrant living ministry that pleases God?

Well, I think here's the first thing. See the Lord of the congregation. Isn't this the answer to every one of these congregations? Have you not seen that this is the answer? This is the first answer to every congregation. Because Jesus reveals himself in a particular way to each congregation.

So what we need to do is see the Lord of the congregation. Jesus, the Lord of the congregation, notice, verse 1, has seven spirits. Oh boy, what's that about? Do you remember that from chapter 1, verse 4? Turn over to chapter 1, verse 4. at the introduction to the book. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come. and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

What? There's the seven spirits. What is that? You remember from last time we noticed that this is the Holy Spirit. The term for spirit, pneuma, pneuma, that's where we get pneumatics, pneumonia, things like that. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma.

When used with God in Christ in the New Testament, always refers to the Holy Spirit. Well, then why is he called seven spirits? Keep in mind the use of seven in this book. It signifies effectiveness, thoroughness, fullness, completeness. Remember? And so this is the limitless, all-knowing spirit.

This is the complete, effective, all-knowing spirit of God. And Jesus, through the spirit, knows everything. do not underrate Jesus' knowledge of this congregation. This book is going to help us to see that Jesus is not the Lord of the church, meaning the universal church, but that Jesus is the Lord of every single congregation. Who is the head of this congregation?

Jesus. Not just of the entire church. He is the head of this congregation. Don't underrate Jesus' knowledge of this congregation. Okay? He knows this congregation inside and out.

The elders, with the help of the deacons, are attempting to know you and to know this congregation and the dynamics of it and what's happening here and what's going on there and what we need to do about this. But we will never come close to what Jesus knows about this congregation. Don't underrate his knowledge. He knows everything about us. And He has the seven stars.

Again, a reference back to the revelation of the Son of Man that we find in chapter 1 beginning in verse 12. And it says in verse 16, you remember that He is the one who holds the seven stars. Speaking again here, a reminder of Jesus' sovereignty. We need to get a view of Jesus as the all-knowing King, the all-knowing Lord, the all-knowing Master of this congregation.

He demands obedience allegiance and submission So if you want to get out of your comfort zone and into a vibrant gospel ministry then know Jesus That's always the first thing. Know Jesus. It's not knowing principles. It's not knowing biblical principles. It's knowing Jesus. It's knowing Him, loving Him, proclaiming Him.

Jesus has to be central. and we have to understand, what do we know about Jesus? He knows us. He knows our works. He knows us. There is nothing that's hidden from His view. That's the first thing we need to do.

What do we have to do to get out of our comfort zone? We need to repent of our laziness and comfort. Repent of our laziness and comfort. Notice what he says. Verse 3, Remember then what you received and heard. Wake up and recall the past. first of all, wake up and recall the past.

Recall how the gospel. He says to these people at Sardis, do you remember how the gospel invaded your town? Do you remember how it gave you life? Do you remember how it saved you from your sins? Do you remember how the gospel purified you? Do you remember that?

Well, you substituted religious activity for the gospel as if that activity could transform people and give life and purity. Now, it isn't to say that we quit doing those things, but it is to say don't devote yourself to those things as if they are going to transform people. It's the gospel that will give them new life. It's the gospel that will give them new life.

It's the gospel that's going to transform people. I can say this because Phil wrote and said it publicly a couple of weeks ago when we celebrated his retirement And Phil was telling us his story. And he told how back in his BC days, before conversion days, how he and Connie were struggling. And they said, we need, something's got to change in our marriage.

So let's start looking for a church. No, that's not such a bad thing. I hope the church has the gospel. But they were operating under the assumption that if you go to church, that'll change things. You know what? Going to church doesn't change a thing. unless the gospel is there and the gospel is preached and the gospel transforms You remember Phil story Connie was converted first and he kind of got mad because he doing all the hard work of looking for a church And she got converted with the gospel From a neighbor.

And she started changing. What is that all about? We haven't even found a church yet. You get the point? It's not religious activity that changes you. Alright?

So wake up and recall the gospel. Recall the past. Recall what happened to you when you heard the gospel, not when you started just going to church. Now again, if you go to church and you hear the gospel, it's the gospel that has transformed you, right? Not the fact that you can read the prayer of confession, not the fact that you can read a song and sing and do the words and the notes at the same time.

That doesn't do a thing to you unless it ministers the gospel. He says, wake up and commit yourself to gospel obedience. verse 2 strengthen what remains verse 3 keep it he says you as a congregation need to get serious about proclaiming the gospel no matter what persecution comes or what happens to you don't misunderstand here he's not talking about personal witnessing here ok he's not talking about the fact now you go out and you witness to everybody that's not what he's talking about he's talking about the congregation as a body. Remember we talked about this several weeks ago?

This body can proclaim the gospel, even if there's only a few spokesmen, as we all are joined together and our giftedness is used to get people, proclaim the gospel to them, show the warmth of the gospel. All of the congregation's life is oriented towards what? Seeing people come to Christ. God's got a mission. It's to save people. And not just individuals now.

He's not talking to us as individuals. He's talking to us as a congregation. You see, this congregation is all about the gospel. Not just about religious stuff. Alright? So, he says, the congregation needs to be involved in proclaiming the gospel.

And you as a congregation need to obey the commands of the gospel. Grace doesn't just mean reconciliation with God. Grace also means living for the glory of God in obedience to Jesus Never forget that Grace is not just about bringing you and reconciling you to God but grace then goes beyond that to motivate you to live for the glory of God by obeying Jesus and his commands.

That's what grace is about. And you as a congregation, he says, need to obey the commands of the gospel. It's not about a comfortable religious life, it's about obedience to the gospel. so he says wake up and commit yourself to gospel obedience listen I'm telling you folks when we read the gospel it is so radical it's breathtaking what? love your enemies? are you joking? do you know what that guy has done to me? don't take revenge love your enemies let him take your tunic well that can't and what we want to do is to box in the commands of the gospel so they become comfortable and we can do it on our terms what jesus are you crazy if he wants to take your cloak give him your tunic also yeah yeah well you want me to be a peacemaker yeah You want me to do things for people who just don't care whether I do things for them?

Yeah. Gospel obedience. Radical obedience. All right? It's not about a comfortable religious life. It's about obedience to the gospel.

He says, wake up and consider the judgment of Christ. In verse 3. Last part of verse 3. Keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Now, he is not speaking here.

I don't believe, okay, Jesus is not speaking here about a second coming. That's not what he's talking about here. Here's why I don't believe it's that. It's a conditional statement. If you will not wake up, I will come. So what's the reverse of that? if you do wake up, what?

Then I won't come. Alright? So he can't be talking here about his second coming. Because he's coming. Right? And here's another reason.

Because Jesus indicates he's going to come in judgment. He says, I will come against you. Well... When Jesus returns for the final time, he comes to save his people and to bring judgment on unbelievers, right? But here he says, I'm going to come against you. So he's not talking about Jesus' second coming.

He's talking about Jesus coming providentially and judging the congregation. What do you mean providentially? That is, it's not going to be Jesus coming directly and judging. He's going to judge through means. He's going to make things happen that will judge you. Okay?

Turn over to 1 Peter 3. Here's one of the reasons why I say this. In 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3, verse 17. For it is better to suffer for... No, that's not right.

Oh, hang on. Yeah, 417. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Jesus is in the business of judging us during this time, purifying us by that judgment, not damning us, but purifying us, and then there's going to come a time at the end of the age when it will be done with us.

And he's going to turn his attention to those who have not obeyed the gospel. So here he's talking about present age judgment. Jesus will providentially, he's going to use means to judge a dead congregation. What does that look like? I believe it looks like this. A sudden, unexpected removal of your lampstand.

We're supposed to be light bearers. And if we're a congregation that isn't about the gospel and is about a comfortable religious life, we don't have a light-bearing function in this culture then, do we? And so Jesus is just going to say, fine. It's the end. I'm going to take it away then. If you're not going to bear light in this culture, then I'm just going to take your light stand away.

It's useless. I can think, you know what? When you travel and you go through towns and you see boarded up churches, do you ever ask, how did that ever happen? Because the church not the building but the congregation is supposed to be the living expression of God in the world How can that happen I tell you how it can happen You get comfortable with just doing the religious stuff, you forget about the gospel, and God says, and Jesus says, fine, if you're not going to bear light, then I'm just going to take your lampstand away.

So wake up and repent of your comfortable religious life. That's what he tells us to do. Wake up and repent of your comfortable religious life. Finally, he says this, act on the promises of Christ. Act on the promises of Christ. He gives us a promise here, or three to be exact.

There's the promise of walking with Jesus in purity in verses 4 and 5. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. There's the promise of walking with Jesus in purity.

Who are those who will be granted these white garments? Well, they are those who do not soil their garments now. That is those who keep the gospel, who obey its commands and who proclaim it. Alright? Those are the ones who will end up with white garments. Those who are worthy.

Those who are worthy. Now what does that mean? Let's look at that word worthy as it's used in this book. Turn over to chapter 5. Chapter 5, look at verse 2. And I saw a strong angel proclaim with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? and no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it.

And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, Weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Drop down to verse 9. Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Verse 12, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing Worthy has to do with what Suffering Suffering Jesus is counted worthy because he suffered He suffered. Turn over to chapter 6. Look at verses 9 through 11. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

They cried out with a loud voice, So sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? then they were each given what? A white robe and told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete who were to be killed as they themselves had been. White robes here are associated with what?

Suffering and sometimes even death. Well here, most definitely death. Chapter 7, verse 9. After this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. Drop down to verse 13. Then one of the elders addressed me saying, Who are these clothed in white robes and from where have they come?

I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. So it seems that those who are worthy, those who are clothed in white are those who suffer for the sake of the gospel. Who follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Who suffer.

Alright? These are those, who's going to be robed with white? Those who love the Lord Jesus more than comfort and endure persecution for His sake. They love Him more than comfort. and they're willing to give up that comfort for the sake of His name. They will walk in white with Him. Notice as well, in chapter 5, verse 5 again, if you just want to go back there again, Weep no more.

Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered that He can open the scroll and its seven seals. And notice in verse 5 of chapter 3, Those who conquer will wear the white robes. How do they conquer? This is so important for us to see. How do they conquer? How did Jesus conquer?

Well He appeared suddenly and destroyed all His enemies right He was a victim it appeared To the world he was a victim To most people today Jesus appears to be a victim What is he? He conquered by this death that looked like a victim. Who are those who conquer? Those who patiently endure and suffer. They are the ones who are the conquerors. You see, once more, once more be reminded, Revelation gives us reality.

What is the reality? Those who look like losers are the conquerors. Those who look like the winners are what? The losers. Those who wear white robes who conquer by suffering and enduring and not fighting back and not going after people and not winning the political race and not winning this social issue and not winning here, but who go out and are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because victors hope for white wedding garments, they strive for purity now. Right? They strive for purity now. Don't ever think that because of what happens in the future has nothing to do with now. I want white garments then, so what am I going to do now? I'm going to keep my garments from being soiled now.

Now look, this is not the striving of a person who fears to face the judge. This is not someone who's saying, oh, I've got to keep my garments from being soiled or I'm going to be in big trouble. No, no. This is not the striving of a person fearing to face the judge, but the striving of a bride who wants to please her husband. Do you see the difference?

I want to keep my garments pure and unspotted because I love Jesus and I want to walk in white with him if we want a vibrant gospel ministry we have to act on the promise of walking with Jesus in purity there's the promise of a guaranteed inheritance verse 5 again I will never blot his name out of the book of life. Now, Jesus here guarantees the inheritance. It is not a veiled threat to erase someone's name out of the book of life.

It's a figure of speech that is not saying, if you don't, I'm going to erase your name. idea that you'll never be blotted out. Why do I say that? Two references. There are five references to the book of life in this book, in the book of Revelation. There are five of them. Okay?

Let's look at a couple more. Here's the first. Chapter 13. Chapter 13, verses 6 through 8. It opened its mouth, that is the beast. The beast opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people, language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb who was slain. Who are those who will not worship the beast?

Those who are already written in the book of life. And those are the ones for whom Jesus died. Jesus didn't die for people and then they get their name erased. It's not possible. All right, look over at chapter 17, verse 8. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been, notice past tense, have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come.

Those who are not recorded already will bow before the beast. Keep in mind as well that from the first century on in the synagogues of the Jews there were 18 benedictions that 18 benedictions they would use. The 12th benediction says this For the renegades let there be no hope and may the arrogant kingdom soon be rooted out in our days and may the Nazarenes, who are the Nazarenes?

Those are followers of Jesus. That's what they were known of in the early years, Nazarenes. And may the Nazarenes perish and be blotted out from the book of life and with the righteous may not be inscribed What Jesus saying here Others may say that your name will be blotted out I won't do it. There's a guaranteed inheritance. Jesus is saying here nothing will ever prevent overcomers from inheriting eternal life.

If we want a vibrant ministry, we must believe that Jesus has an inheritance that far outweighs our comfort. Oh, listen to me. We as a congregation need to look to the future. As the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, for we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is transient, but what is unseen is eternal.

And he's talking about the future. Remember, he says, therefore we do not lose heart. because outwardly we're wasting away, inwardly we're being renewed day by day. Why? Because our focus is not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. If we want a vibrant ministry, we must believe that Jesus has an inheritance which we cannot see, that far outweighs any kind of comfort we have here.

The last thing he promises is public recognition. Public recognition. Jesus promises to recognize us before the Father and his angels. It's not as if the Father is sitting there and Jesus says, here is, okay, here's Tim Pasma, right? Angels, this is a guy named Tim Pasma. He did, you know, he believed.

No, it's not like the Father doesn't know you. It's like this. they've been to the awards ceremony where you got your letter for athletic achievement or you got some kind of an award for something you've achieved who did you want to be at that awards ceremony your dad you know my dad couldn't tell a goal post from a football okay he couldn't he didn't have a clue what was going on in the field but I wanted him to be there when I got my letter and you want your dad to be there when you get something He saying I going to make a big deal out of this in front of our father And you want your buddies to be there too right Isn't it great when your friends are at the award ceremony too? Well, so he says, I'm going to make a big deal out of this in front of our father and in front of the angels.

I'm going to make a big deal out of this. This is going to be one award ceremony that you won't want to miss. That's what he's saying here. there's going to be a big deal out of this. And we've got to believe that. We have to believe that. If we want a vibrant ministry, we need to believe that Jesus will recognize us.

That the future awards ceremony is worth losing our comfort over. You see? So if we want this vibrant ministry, we have to act on the promises of Christ. We have to believe that what we cannot see yet is sure. And it far outweighs any kind of comfort that we have here now with all the religious stuff that we can be doing. So, bottom line.

What's going to keep LaRue Baptist Church from becoming another Sardis? Comfortable, but useless. Active, but dead. verse 6 wake up and listen he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the church listen wake up and listen to what he's saying we need to wake up and we need to hear heaven's perspective we are not on vacation with all its comforts that's not heaven's perspective that may be our perspective but it's not heaven's we are not on vacation with all its comforts we are in a spiritual battle that wars against comfort.

We need to listen carefully to the rest of this book, which gives us a picture of the true reality. We are in a battle. We are in a war. We need to see that instead of comfort. We need to see that there is danger. We need to understand that conquering does not result in present comfort but conquering is going to result in suffering If we going to conquer we conquer through suffering We need to wake up and see Jesus.

We need to see Him. We need to wake up and repent of our laziness. We need to wake up and believe the promises of Jesus. may God keep us from an undeserved reputation for being alive when we're really dead. May God keep us from that. Lord God, we've heard your word today. It is not one that makes us easy.

It's not one that sets us at ease. It's one that kind of shakes us up. Father, you know this congregation better than we do. Father, we may not be a Sardis. We may be a... You know that.

But Father, our prayer is that we would have ears to hear what the Spirit says to this church. And we would. We would be those who are gospel-driven. help us to be that we pray don't let us lose sight of the gospel help us to minister that gospel help us to demand gospel obedience help us to be a congregation where the gospel which proclaims Jesus as Lord is central to all that we do don't let us lose sight of that don't let the gospel slip away keep it before us we pray that we might have a vibrant ministry that pleases you.

We thank you, Father, for the work that you have done here. Continue your work by your Spirit, we pray. Continue that, that we will be alive and vibrant for the glory of Jesus. We pray this in His name. Amen.