The Dead Church, Pt. 3

Sardis: Passionately reach others for Jesus

This week in Bro. David's Tour of the Churches of Revelation we finish up with Sardis, the dead church, from Revelation 3:1-6. We have seen in Sardis a fellowship killed through incomplete work. They were no longer winning the lost or teaching others. But we learned last week that Jesus had a solution to infuse life back into the church, and it was to wake up! There is hope even for a dead church if they take stock of their shortcomings before it is too late and there is nothing left.

There was one last thing Jesus said to the people at Sardis. When Jesus looked at this church He found that not all members had let their faith wither and die. There were those who remembered Him and His commandments, even as their church forgot the task given to them by God. So Jesus directed his final comments to the few faithful left remaining.

These members had not compromised His will, His Word, or His ways, so Jesus offered them a special promise; a promise for salvation. Jesus's threefold promise tells those loyal to Him what they can expect in return. It guarantees a righteousness before God, designed to encourage the faithful. It also reassures the saved that their names will not be blotted out of the book of life, speaking to their security in their place with God. And, finally, this promise provides certainty that Jesus will present the faithful to God and profess them to Him. When you confess Jesus toward men, He will confess to to His Father in return.

So keep His Word and repent so that you may benefit from the great blessings Jesus offers you.