As Christmas approaches, we are reminded that Jesus is no longer a baby in a manger, but He is the risen and reigning King and Lord. As the Apostle John received this revelation from Jesus, messages were to be sent from Jesus to seven key churches. We are learning from each letter what Jesus desires to see in His church.

Who Jesus Is

“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” (v. 1a ESV).

This letter to Sardis, like the other letters, begins with a description of Jesus. The “seven spirits” refers to the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 14 that He would send the Holy Spirit after He was resurrected. Seven is known as the number of perfection. The “seven stars” most likely refers to either angels or messengers, as in Revelation 1:20. Underlying these symbols is the truth that Jesus is sovereign and has authority over the church.

Jesus Wants Life from His Churches

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (v. 1b).

The church in Sardis apparently had a good reputation, but it was an illusion. Jesus knows His churches, and He knew that this church was not what it seemed. Appearances can be deceiving. Churches can have vibrant looking programs with large numbers attending, but may actually be places of spiritual death rather than spiritual life. How many megachurches have collapsed when the leader departs or is caught in sin? How many small community churches have disappeared because the next generation has no connection with the faith of their parents? Churches, like people, can’t survive with just the illusion or imitation of life. Real life comes only through Jesus Christ.

Pursue Life that Honors Christ

“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” (vv. 2-3a).

Five commands are giving in these two verses:

1) Wake up.

Be vigilant, watchful, and responsive. Sin can sneak up on us. Are you paying attention to how you’re doing as a Christian? Are you paying attention to how we’re doing as a church? Are we as a church and individuals genuinely trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior, following Him as Lord, and increasing in freedom from sin? Are we depending on the Holy Spirit and obeying the Word?

Jesus addresses His people as churches. That’s how He views us and has organized us. Is that how we view ourselves, as members of a church that requires us to be awake and vigilant?

2) Strengthen what remains and is about to die.

Don’t lose heart over the negative trends. In John 15 Jesus said that dead branches were to be pruned away so that the living branches can grow. The focus is on the living. Building up the body doesn’t necessarily mean adding numbers, but strengthening and growing those who are alive in Christ. Jesus will not quench a smoldering wick (Matt. 12:20), but will nurture it to full flame.

The recent months of the pandemic appear to have pruned many churches across our country and around the world. Many people who were not really committed to Christ have dropped away, but those who were committed before the pandemic have generally remained committed. We hate to lose anyone to apathy, but only God can bring true spiritual life to hard hearts.

3) Remember what you received and heard.

Churches that are struggling to survive often think that new programs and new building projects will unite the members and bring in new people. That may work for a while, but programs and projects are not always evidence of life. Jesus says we need to remember—remember the truth, promises, and commands of the Word, remember who God is, and remember who we are because of Christ. It is God who brought us from death to life, and He will sustain His people.

4) Keep it.

It is not enough just to remember what we’ve learned. We need to live by it and obey it in our everyday life. As James wrote,

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:23-25).

5) Repent.

This is a repeated command in these letters, because the Christian life is to be one of repentance. We are continually in need of repentance, because sin is constantly crouching at the door to ensnare us and draw us away from obeying God (Gen. 4:7).

Consequences and Rewards

“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 (vv. 3b-5).

For those who do not wake up, Jesus’s return is unexpected. While this language often refers to the Second Coming of Christ, it could also refer to judgment coming to that particular church. (Spoiler alert—the remains of the Sardis church are pictured below.)

Those who are awake and following Christ will be clothed in white. They will be conquerors over the forces of evil that continually threaten to pull us away from Christ.

Listen and Obey

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (v. 6).

How would you evaluate yourself and our church? Alive or dead? Growing in obedience or slipping away? Strengthening the weak or dying out?

There are two possible futures:

Dulin’s Grove could die. It has happened to many churches over the years, including hundreds within our own denomination. Many churches decline to a handful of retired folks with no one to pass the message to. Many of our young people are frequently missing from the fellowship. Are we alert and responsive to the trends and praying for God’s direction?

Dulin’s Grove could live and thrive. We could become increasingly vibrant and fruitful. In Christ we have, even now, all that we need to live and grow. Peter wrote:

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Will we wake up, strengthen what remains, remember what we have received and heard, keep it, and repent of any wrongdoing and wrong thinking? We have a choice set before us. One day that choice may be gone if we do not obey Jesus Christ as Lord today.