James Barnett

What matters most in life is what other people think of me.

What do you think of this statement?

What matters most in life is what other people think of me.

Do you think this way?

Maybe unintentionally sometimes?

I want to have a really good reputation.

I want other people to think of me highly.

That's how I'll get a pay increase.

That's how I'll get that promotion.

That's how I'll get that girl to notice me.

I'll have a great reputation.

I'll make myself look better to the boss.

I'll get to work really early.

I'll leave late.

I might try and dress up for the girl and for the boss maybe.

Do you ever think this way?

How about this statement?

What matters most in life is what God thinks of me.

This one is a bit scarier.

What matters most in life is what God thinks of me.

Who here could say that they are concerned about what God thinks about them all the time?

Not me.

I want to be able to say this.

I wish this was true.

But it's not.

And it's scary because God sees everything.

It's not like I can just do a couple of nice things.

Look pretty good on the outside.

Wear some fashionable clothes.

And God's going to think all of a sudden that I'm a good guy.

What is your reputation before God?

Today we're continuing in our series in the book of Revelation.

And we're looking at Jesus' letter to the city and to the church of Sardis.

And Jesus knows all about this city's reputation.

And he has some hard words for them.

So we're going to see what Jesus says to Sardis

before we see what Jesus has to say to us.

So please have your Bibles open at Revelation chapter 3 verse 1.

Revelation 3:1

To the angel of the church in Sardis write,

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

I know your deeds.

You have a reputation of being alive.

But you are dead.

The church in Sardis had a reputation.

They looked alive.

There were outward signs of vigor and spirituality.

People would have exclaimed,

Oh, this church, they're so healthy.

They're so vibrant.

They're so alive.

There's so much happening.

They would have looked like paradise to some of the other churches.

To the other churches in the area who were facing persecution,

Sardis would have been like a holiday destination of a church.

They're so vibrant.

They're growing.

Their preaching is so entertaining and short.

Their whole church service doesn't even go for an hour.

Praise Jesus.

The other churches we've heard about in Revelation,

Well, they're doing it tough.

You can imagine them saying,

I wish I was at that church in Sardis.

I wish I lived in that city so I wasn't faced with the persecution,

with the poverty, with the starvation and fear of death that I'm facing.

Because there's something unique about this city.

This church in Sardis.

There is no persecution mentioned.

In all of these letters to the different cities,

there's persecution mentioned in all of them except here in Sardis.

The church at Ephesus was struggling with evil people.

In Smyrna, there was tribulation and poverty.

In Pergamum, Jesus says that Satan has power over this place.

And in Thyatira, we saw last week,

they're faced with the sexual immorality of Jezebel.

And to each of these cities, even though there's persecution,

Jesus has something positive to say.

But when we get to Sardis, it's a different story.

Jesus has nothing positive to say about this city.

Instead, Jesus says,

I know your works.

You have the reputation of being alive.

But you are dead.

You are a dead church.

You have it easy.

There's no persecution from outside.

To all the world, you look like a healthy, vibrant church.

But really, you are a husk of a church.

Once alive, but now dead.

This reputation that this church has,

it's just all fake.

It's just all lies.

Because the problem is,

there's a gap between their reputation and reality.

Sardis has a very different reputation with God.

Have a look at the second part of verse 2 with me.

For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

The church is obviously busy,

doing all kinds of works,

probably very good works,

feeding the poor,

going to church every day,

reading the Bible.

But before God,

their works were not complete.

They were just going through the motions.

Their works are not the result of obedience and repentance.

From the outside,

they looked like they were doing what churches do,

following God.

But to God,

they were fake.

Just going through the motions.

Jesus says in verse 4,

that there are still a few

who hadn't let death overtake them.

There are still a few who were following Jesus.

And they're described as not having soiled their clothes.

It's a really graphic image.

You know,

I've got two little children.

I can tell you what soiled clothes look like.

It's very graphic.

These people have not let defilement come in.

The implication for the rest of the church is,

defilement sin has crept in.

They have soiled their clothes with it.

And it's made a mess of their lives.

The sin of the other cities was obvious.

They were worshipping other gods.

They were sexually immoral.

But here,

the sin of Sardis was more subtle.

It was hidden.

And the problem is that the church had gotten lazy.

They'd been convinced that their busyness

was a sign that they were healthy.

They had a reputation that they were alive.

And they were convinced by their own reputation.

It seems that they hadn't checked their heart before God.

They hadn't asked the question,

are we just turning up to church on Sunday?

Or are we being passionate about Jesus,

wanting to do His will,

and to love and serve Him?

Or are we just going through the motions?

We would probably call these people nominal Christians.

People who just turn up on Sunday.

Maybe they give money.

Maybe they go along to Bible study.

Maybe they even get involved in things like

supper and going out afterwards.

Maybe they read the Bible.

Maybe they help out when they need it.

They know the right words to say.

They know what it looks like to be a Christian.

They look right.

They sound right.

They smell right.

But they don't live out that obedience to Jesus.

There's a gap between the head and the heart.

It's a thing that happens on Sundays

and they don't love Jesus.

There is no heart connection.

This behavior,

it's really hypocrisy.

Saying one thing and doing another.

The church in Sardis,

they thought,

look, I'm going through the motions.

I'm doing these things

and therefore God must live.

If I tick these boxes,

I'm all right with God.

This church had forgotten what they had heard.

They had turned away and forgotten about Jesus.

These are hard words to hear.

Everything you've been doing as a church has been a waste.

You think you've been loving God,

but you as a church are dead.

This is damning.

And it's probably the hardest words

that Jesus has to say to any of these cities.

But Jesus doesn't leave them there in this position.

He gives them some words.

He gives them some things to wake up.

And the first of them,

have a look in verse 2 again.

He says,

wake up.

Or more literally,

it's watch out.

Watch out.

Now, if you came from Sardis,

these words,

watch out,

would have a very special meaning for you.

Let me just give you a brief picture

of Sardis' history.

The city of Sardis

actually had a wonderful reputation.

At one point,

they were one of the most powerful cities.

The city,

the majority of the city,

was located on top of a mountain,

Mount Tmolus.

And it had these massive walls.

Walls that were over 1,500 feet high.

If you don't know the measurement feet,

that means it's really big walls.

And this city,

they just had the reputation

that you don't mess with Sardis.

You can't get through these walls.

So armies didn't come against them

because they had this reputation

of being totally impenetrable.

But twice in its history,

first by Cyrus in the 6th century

and then by Antiochus the Great

in the 3rd century,

they overtook this city.

Not by sending a massive army

against these walls,

but by sending a few men

to climb up over the wall

when no one was looking

to open the gates

to let the army in.

The failure of the city of Sardis

was that they didn't watch out.

They didn't have people watching the walls

for that subtle hidden attack

from their enemy.

They thought they were invincible.

They believed their own reputation.

So when Jesus says to the church in Sardis,

watch out,

it's a reminder

of what had happened to this city.

Watch out for sin

that has crept into your lives,

which has climbed over the walls

of your defences

when you weren't looking

and has rotted you out

like a worm

in a piece of fruit.

Don't be lazy.

Watch out.

Don't think all is well.

Don't think your Christian faith

won't be tested.

So Sardis needs to watch out

because they've become complacent.

The second thing that Jesus says

is to strengthen what remains,

again in verse 2.

Strengthen what remains.

There are still some

in the city

and in the church of Sardis

who are following Jesus.

And the command is that

they are to strengthen

what remains.

Exhort the others in the church

to watchfulness.

A strong church

will care for each brother and sister.

If you're a committed Christian,

you can't just worry about yourself.

That's the Western individualistic lie

that we live in.

But you're to encourage,

to rebuke,

to love your brothers and sisters.

When you see your brother or sister sinning,

tell them to stop.

Make sure that the church

doesn't get infested

with hollowed out Christians.

People who come along to church

and confess his name

with their mouths,

but throughout the week

they just worship themselves.

Worshiping other gods

or worshiping themselves

with their time and money.

The Christians

in the city of Sardis

should have been

watching out for themselves

and for their brothers and sisters

to encourage

what remained.

And the third imperative

that Jesus gives

to fix this church,

he says it in verse 3,

Remember.

Remember what you have received

and heard.

Remember the gospel.

That's what they had heard.

The good news

that Jesus died and rose.

And what did they receive?

Well, they'd receive forgiveness,

new life,

the promise of resurrection

with Jesus

and the presence

of the Holy Spirit

dwelling within.

Don't forget this.

Coe, where are you?

Brother, for you today,

don't forget today.

Don't forget today's date.

It's the 31st of August, 2014.

Have that tattooed

on the back of your hand,

maybe the back of your eyelid.

So when you close your eyes,

you're reminded of today.

Because today is the day

you have heard the gospel.

Today is the day

where you stood right here

and were baptized

and you said,

I'm going to follow Jesus.

Today is the day

that I am going to turn away

from my sin

and I'm going to turn to Jesus

and follow Him.

In years to come,

when it gets difficult,

following Jesus is hard.

Remember the gospel

you have heard today.

For those of us

who have been Christians

for a while,

remember that time

when you first

took ownership of God.

Whether it was

five years ago,

10, 20, 50,

I don't care what it is.

Remember when you first

heard the gospel.

This shouldn't make us

feel guilty,

but it's a reminder

of what God

has been doing

in us,

for us.

And could it be

that for this church

and for us

that they should remember

the passion

and faithfulness

which they had

initially accepted

the gospel?

When they were first

on fire for Jesus,

when they gave away

their possessions

when it hurt,

when they loved Jesus

even in the face

of opposition,

the way that they lived

until sin

crept over their walls

and hollowed them out

from the inside.

Instead,

turn away from the world,

live a life transformed

by Jesus,

not one

worshipping idols.

Instead,

again,

the next thing Jesus says

is to obey the gospel,

obey it

and repent.

Jesus calls on

this dead church

to turn away

from their life of sin,

their false worship,

their routine of church

which is not really church.

Renew their worship

of Jesus.

I think this is

one of the hardest parts

of being a Christian,

consistently considering

your heart

and your actions

before God

through His Spirit.

our desires

quickly and easily

get defiled

by sin

which creeps

into our lives

like an attack

over the wall

of Sardis.

We're bombarded

by sexualized images

in media,

on billboards

and so that step

to looking at pornography

is so much smaller

and easier.

we get into

dangerous patterns

where sin

creeps in

and we don't

consider God.

Our heart

and our desires

get perverted

and it happens

subtly.

Let me share

something that

happened to me

earlier in the year.

I don't mind

a drink of alcohol

occasionally

as long as you're

over 18.

You know,

a glass of wine

or a beer

on occasions.

I don't think

there's necessarily

anything wrong

with these things

but I suppose

it depends

on the person.

But what happened

for me

was a difficult

thing.

I'm sure

many of you,

well not many of you,

I'm sure some of you

have had real struggles

in the big scheme

of things.

Mine is quite small

but what happened

for me is that

Alyssa has been

studying the diploma

in Bible and ministry

through,

well college,

on a Wednesday night

and so Alyssa

would go out

on a Wednesday night,

I would put Isaac

to bed and I would

have these glorious

two hours where I

could watch whatever

I want on TV.

I could relax,

I didn't have to

watch MasterChef or

whatever Alyssa

usually watches.

And so I would

relax and I'd have

a drink.

It could be a glass

of wine,

a beer and

you know,

maybe just one

or two.

It wasn't that

many a week.

You know,

I might have one

on a night.

I wasn't getting

drunk.

I didn't become

an alcoholic.

But what happened

was I began to

tie relaxing

with having a

drink.

And so when I

wanted to relax

on the weekend,

well I'd have a

drink.

And I noticed

all of a sudden

that I was heading

down a dangerous

path.

I noticed

that if I

continued in

the pattern

I was setting,

it would get

dangerous for me.

So I took

a month off

alcohol.

I just wanted

to kill

this relationship

I had with

relaxation.

I didn't

become an

alcoholic and

I'm not

necessarily saying

there's anything

wrong with it.

But for me,

at this point,

I noticed it

was becoming

a dangerous

habit.

Because our

desires quickly

and easily get

defiled by sin.

It creeps into

our lives like

an attack over

the wall when

we're not

watching.

We need to

continually obey

God, to

repent, to

turn away from

our sin.

For those who

do repent,

Jesus calls them

conquerors.

Have a look at

verse 5 with

me.

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.

Clothed in

white,

purified,

there is no

more sin

attached to

them.

Written in

the book of

life.

I'm not sure

if there is a

literal book

that God

writes in.

I don't think

it really

matters.

but what is

important here

is the

assurance that

Jesus gives.

It is

worthwhile

turning aside

from the

world and

following Jesus

because we

can have

assurance that

we will have

new life with

him.

Jesus will

tell his

father about

us.

We will have

the absolute

best reputation.

We will be

given white

garments we

don't deserve,

a reputation

we don't

deserve,

because it

will be

Christ's

reputation.

And that

is the

one which

God will

see.

So there

is some

hope for

this church

of Sardis.

While they

are dead,

if they

repent and

turn back

to Jesus,

there is

hope.

But if

they don't,

there is

judgment

coming for

them.

Have a look

again at

verse 3

with me.

Jesus

says he

will come

to

Sardis

in

judgment,

just like

the

judgment

and the

attacks that

came against

the city

of Sardis.

They came

unexpectedly,

secretly in

the night,

scaling over

the wall,

and Jesus

says he

will come

unexpectedly.

If they

don't repent

and turn

back to

him,

he will

come in

judgment.

So the

question I

asked at

the start,

let me ask

that question

again,

what is

your reputation

before God?

If Jesus

was writing

a letter to

this city

and to

this church

and to

you

specifically,

what would

he say?

would he

say,

I know

your deeds.

You look

alive,

but you

are dead.

I have

found you

wanting in

the sight

of God.

You are

just going

through the

motions.

You are

going to

church when

you feel

like it.

You

consider

once a

month

regular.

How can

you hear

my words

and follow

me if

you're not

being encouraged

with your

brothers and

sisters to

do that?

How can

you help

love and

build others

up in the

church if

you're not

even there?

Would

Jesus say,

I love

you and

I want

you to

know what

I do

for you and

what I

will do

for you.

I want

you to

know how

much pain

I went

through on

the cross.

But you

do not

remember what

you have

heard.

You have

blocked the

gospel from

going to

your ears

because you

have heard

it all

before and

you think

you know

it.

Would

Jesus say

you have

become a

hollowed out

husk of

a Christian?

See the

problem is

we're prideful.

We sin and

say that

everything is

okay.

Have you

heard of the

miracle of

the car park,

the church

car park?

This is the

miracle where

as a family

you're in the

car on the

way to church

and you're

having a

massive argument.

It could be

about anything.

The colour

of the

sheets,

whatever it

is.

You're

having this

massive

argument.

As soon as

you get to

church,

you're putting

your happy

faces.

Everything's

fine.

We're

Christians.

We're

wonderful

people.

We're

always fine.

You go

to church,

you pretend

everything is

fine and

normal in

your house,

you get

back in

the car and

as soon as

you're out on

the street,

that argument

starts again.

It's just

pride.

It's the

sin of

Sardis.

We think

we've got

everything

together.

We think

that

everything's

fine.

We don't

want to be

honest and

reveal our

sin to

other people.

That would

just be too

humiliating.

We think

we're alive,

but really

we're in

trouble of

being dead

because we

won't confront

our own

sin.

Repent

of your

sin.

You don't

have to

pretend

everything is

alright,

especially when

you come to

church.

If you can't

be honest

with the

people at

church who

go through

the same

thing and

love you,

how are

you going

to do

it in

the rest

of the

world?

If you

want to

confess,

you can

come up

the front

after church

and pray

with us.

Because

Jesus doesn't

want a

church who

appears healthy

on the

outside,

but he

wants honest

people who

through his

love and

grace consider

their actions,

consider their

hearts and

repent.

sin.

They turn

away from

their sin.

They don't

just look

healthy on

the outside

but are

fakes,

but are

honest before

God.

Let me be

completely honest

with you.

Removing

sin and

turning to

God, it's

hard.

It hurts.

It hurts to

cut sin out

of our lives.

Let me tell

you another

story from my

life a little

bit more

recently.

I'm sorry if

this feels like

I'm confessing

all my sin to

you and I

just have

this urge

to tell you.

I hope you

can take

something from

the pain I've

gone through

and not go

through that

same pain

yourself.

Our household

is a smacking

household.

That's for

Isaac, our

two and a

half year old,

not for

Tamara, the

four week

old.

She's perfect,

she can't do

anything wrong,

so I'm sure

that will

change.

I'm not sure

what you think

of this.

If it's really

an issue for

you, we can

talk about it

later.

But we

think with

Isaac that

it helps

him to

understand the

seriousness of

some of the

things he does.

So if he's

trying to put

his fingers

into a fan,

we say,

Isaac, don't

do that.

If he tries

it again, we

say, Isaac,

don't do that.

That will hurt

you.

You'll lose a

finger.

There'll be blood

everywhere.

If you do it

again, we're

going to smack

you.

If he does it

again, we smack

him.

It had been

working well,

but until

recently, when

parenting Isaac,

I had let

sin creep in.

Sin had

climbed in

over the

walls and

attacked the

way I

disciplined him.

Instead of

smacking Isaac

out of love,

I began to

do it out of

frustration and

anger.

Things had

gotten more

difficult just

before we had

Tamara.

That's not an

excuse.

It's just

things had

tried my

patience

continually and

I was not

up to it.

Isaac was

still often

warned and

he still often

needed to be

smacked, but

I began to

let my

frustration and

anger show

when I

disciplined

him.

I was

confronted with

my sin before

God and I

thought, how

can I deal

with my

little son?

How can I

deal with him

in anger when

my God, my

father in

heaven who

loves me, sent

his son to

die for me?

How can I do

that to this

little boy?

So I decided I

couldn't do it

anymore.

I'm taking a

time off

smacking.

It's much

more labor

intensive.

I told

Alyssa this.

She had no

idea what had

been going on

inside me.

My sin was

hidden even

from my wife,

but not from

my God.

let's not

be a church

who pretends

everything is

fine, resting

on our

reputation that

we have.

Yeah, we're a

church that's

alive.

Let's not

rest on that.

Let's consider

our hearts and

do the painful

work through

God's grace and

through his

spirit of

cutting sin

out.

Watch out

for sin

creeping into

your life.

watch out

for your

brother and

sister.

If you

can't see

any sin in

your brother

or sister's

life, ask

them what

they're struggling

with.

What kind

of reputation

will you have

before God?

Will Jesus

say, you have

just gone

through the

motions, you

have not

loved me?

Will he say

that we are a

dead church?

Or will he say,

well done,

good and

faithful servants?

God's grace.

Let's pray that

we would allow

God's grace to

continue to work

in us so that

we can be more

like him each

day.

Let's pray.

Heavenly

Father, we

thank you for

your word.

We thank you

for the

warning to

Sardis and

the warning

to us.

Help us not

be complacent in

our sin.

Help us

consider our

hearts.

love you

and turn

aside from

everything that

gets in the

way.

Through your

son's name we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.