Revelation 3:2 “Now Wake Up! Strengthen What Little Remains—For Even What Is Left Is at The Point of Death. Your Deeds Are Far from Right in The Sight of God.”[1]
F. The Message to Sardis: |
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Chapter 3 |
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1. The
recipients a. The messenger of
the church b. The Sardis
churchDS1 2. The
speaker: Jesus 3. The
complaint: You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead |
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. |
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4. The Counsel:
Wake up! Strengthen What Remains & Is About to Die |
2 Be watchful
and
strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
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5. The
warning a. Remember &
obey what you have received & heard b. Repent c. Know that
judgment will come suddenly, unexpectedly |
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. |
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6. The
promise a. To the people
not soiled: They will walk with the Lord dressed in white b. To the
overcomers 1) Will be clothed
in white 2) Will never be
blotted from God’s Book 3) Will be
acknowledged before God |
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.[3]
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4. The Command (Revelation 3:2)
“Be watchful, and strengthen
the things which remain, that are ready to
die” (Revelation 3:2).
A twofold command from the Lord is given here in view of the church’s
condition. The command is to help the church survive and not die.
• Be sentineling. “Be watchful.”
The saints are to be watchful that the things which cause death not be allowed
in the church. “A continuous state of watchfulness was enjoined in order to
arrest further paralysis for death, not life, was fast becoming master of the
situation” (Scott).
• Be strengthening. “Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.” Support the good programs of the church, be present, and participate in the good part of the church so that it will gain strength. As an example, if the midweek prayer meeting is struggling, make sure you are there to encourage its continuance and vigor.
5. The Censure (Revelation 3:2)
“I have not found thy works perfect before God” (Revelation 3:2). This is God’s assessment of
the church—it is not as good as its reputation. Two parts of this censure are
noteworthy.
• The lack. “Not found thy
works perfect.” The word translated as “perfect” means to make full or
complete. The application here exposes the lack of dedication in the people.
They lacked devotion to the Lord to do a complete job. They were only partially
involved spiritually. Their carnal interests kept them from being full-time in
the matter of their faith.
• The Lord. “Before God.” That is the key to the negative assessment of the church in Sardis. Before man, the church was doing great. But before God, it was not doing well at all. We need to evaluate our so-called success in view of God’s standards. Doing so may make our personal and church so-called success not look like success at all.[4]
4 (Revelation 3:2) Watch: There
is the Counsel. It is strong: watch and strengthen the works that
still have some life in them. Remember: the church had the services,
meetings, and ministries that were needed. The church was doing the very things
that it was supposed to be doing. What was wrong was the Spirit of the people. Their spirits were not focusing on Jesus
Christ and His cause. They were …
Ø sitting
in the services half asleep and allowing their thoughts to wander about instead
of hungering for the Word of God
Ø holding
and attending the activities for the sake of fellowship and because it was the
thing to do
On and on the list could go. The
point to see is that the people were not alive, not spiritually, not to the
Lord Jesus Christ. They were attending and participating because it was the
thing to do and because it gave them a sense of religious security. Note the twofold Counsel.
1. Watch: “Rouse Yourself
and Keep Awake” (The Amplified
New Testament). They need to awaken, to arouse themselves, to stir their
minds and thoughts, to become alert and alive to the Lord Jesus Christ and to
the Word of God. They needed to rethink why they and the church were on earth,
what their calling was, why they were meeting together as a church, and why
they were claiming the name of Christ and doing works and carrying on
ministries in the name of Christ. Note: the word watch
is imperative. It is a command of Christ to the dying
church. Note that the word watch is
also in the present tense. The believer is to become a watcher, to become a follower
of Jesus Christ. The believer is to always watch and make sure he is
alive spiritually.
“Watch, therefore: for ye know not what
hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man 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” (Mt.
24:42–43).
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into
temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26:41).
“And what I say unto you I say unto
all, Watch” (Mk. 13:37).
“Therefore watch, and remember, that by
the space of three years, I ceased not to warn every one night and day with
tears” (Ac. 20:31).
“And that, knowing the time, that now
it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed” (Ro. 13:11).
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith,
quit you like men, be strong” (1 Co. 16:13).
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the
same with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).
“Therefore let us not sleep, as do
others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Th. 5:6).
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour” (1 Pe. 5:8).
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is
he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walks naked, and they see
his shame” (Re. 16:15).
2. Strengthen the Things That Remain. As stated,
not all the services and activities were wrong and unneeded in the church. The
church had been led by Christ to start the ministries in earlier days when the
church was alive. Note: even these ministries were now dying. The
believers desperately needed to arouse themselves and take hold of these
ministries and put new life into them. Jesus Christ counsels: “Give immediate attention to these things. Watch, arouse
yourselves. Strengthen these
ministries now.”
Shockingly, Christ says that He has not found any
of their works perfect, that is, complete, fulfilled, or finished. Not a single
ministry had been completed or carried out like it should be—not in the eyes of
Christ.
“And everyone that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall
of it” (Mt. 7:26–27).
“And because iniquity shall abound, the
love of many shall wax cold” (Mt. 24:12).
“And that servant, which knew his
lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall
be beaten with many stripes” (Lu. 12:47).
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so
great salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him” (He. 2:3).
“What doth it profit, my brethren,
though a man says he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” (Js. 2:14).
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
minded” (Js. 4:8).
“Therefore, to him, that knoweth to do
good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Js. 4:17).
“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully” (Je. 48:10).[5]
“Wake up!
Strengthen what remains and is about to die,
for I have not found your deeds complete in the
sight of my God.” Revelation
3:2 NIV
The following verses record five commands focusing on watchfulness. The city had been sacked twice because the watchmen on the walls had not seen the enemies scaling the cliffs. Thinking that they were impregnable on the mountaintop led to deadly complacency. What had happened to the city was happening to the church, and it needed to wake up. The situation was not completely hopeless—if they caught themselves in time, they could strengthen what remained even though it, too, was about to die. Christ knew all their deeds and condemned them as not complete in the sight of my God. The church may have looked impressive from the outside, but like the unfinished temple to Artemis, the church’s deeds were incomplete; there was no spiritual motivation or power behind them. In letters to the other churches, Christ commended deeds of love, faithfulness, obedience, and perseverance. Sardis, however, had none of these qualities.
RESTING ON THEIR
LAURELS
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When
Christ gave the message to the believers in Sardis, he rebuked them because
they were not living up to their reputation (Re.
3:1). Sardis was a wealthy and secure city, but the believers were
lethargic—unwilling to fulfill their Christian responsibilities. Today
many church members are known as Christians. They want to be known as caring
for the poor or supporting evangelism and missions but are nowhere to be
found when the work must be done. They vote for all the proper initiatives
but disappear when service or money is required. To merely keep up the
appearance of Christian dedication without any intent to serve or support amounts
to hypocrisy. Make sure your own deeds back up your words.[6]
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Revelation 3:2 “Now Wake Up! Strengthen What Little Remains—For Even What Is Left Is at The Point of Death.
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
DS
Deeper Study
[3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[4] Butler, John G. 2010. Analytical Bible
Expositor: Revelation. Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.
[5] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
NIV
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
[6] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation. Edited by Grant R.
Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House
Publishers.
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