"IN HIS CARE FOR HIS CHURCH IN SARDIS, CHRIST TELLS THIS CHURCH THAT IT IS DEAD."

Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 101:2,3
Psalm 130:2,3
Psalm 119:16,17
Hymn 36:1,2,5
Hymn 50:1,6,7

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

[It’s about half a year ago since we last listened to one of the letters of Jesus Christ to the churches of Asia Minor. Today we come to the fifth of these letters, the one to Sardis.]

Of all the letters Christ sent to the seven churches of Asia Minor, His letter to Sardis is surely the most severe. The punch of this letter is found in the last words of vs 1: "you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." "You are dead." Fancy being told that you are a spiritual corpse! Yet that, beloved, is what the Lord in His sovereign wisdom determined that His church at Sardis needed to hear.

Of course, the Lord could well have caused this letter to be excluded from the Bible He prepared for His New Testament church. Yet He did not do so. Rather, in His sovereign wisdom the Lord has placed this letter to Sardis in the Bible –why?- because, says Jesus Christ, His churches through out the world needs this letter. Yes, His church in Kelmscott needs this most severe letter too…. And let it be clear in our minds: whatever message God gives to His church is evidence of His care for His church; each message is given with a view "to us and our salvation" (Art 3, Belgic Confession).

So I summarise the sermon with this theme:

1. who tells this church that it is dead
2. why this church is told that it is dead
3. how this church can overcome being dead

1. Who tells this church that it’s dead

As with every letter Christ sent to His seven churches, this one also begins with a description of the Author. In fact, as you may recall from previous sermons on these letters, the description Jesus Christ gives of Himself in the opening line of a given letter gives a critical message to the particular church addressed in that letter. So there is need to understand Jesus’ description of Himself in our text.

In His letter to Sardis, Jesus Christ describes Himself as "...He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars." Please note: with these words, Christ presents Himself as possessing something, having something. So says the text: He has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. Since Christ has received from God a throne of power from which He rules all things in heaven and on earth (cf Phil 2; Rev 4), it follows that Christ has control over the seven Spirits of God and over the seven stars. In fact, that’s precisely what Rev 1 had said already; in vs 16 as well as in vs 20, the seven stars are presented as being in Christ’s "right hand".

What, now, are these "seven Spirits" and these "seven stars" that Jesus has in His control?

The phrase "the seven Spirits" appears only in the book of Revelation, and then for four times only (1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). We are familiar with the first instance, for from time to time you are greeted at the beginning of the church service with these words: "Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits..." (Rev 1:4). As to the meaning of the phrase: if we put together all the evidence from the various times the phrase is used, we need to conclude that the term is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Without going into detail, I mention only that the phrase has some roots in the Old Testament and these Old Testament passages point to the Holy Spirit.

Why, now, is the Holy Spirit circumscribed as the ‘seven Spirits’? We need to recall, brothers and sisters, that the one Holy Spirit worked with great effect in the one city of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. With such power did He work on the day of His outpouring that hundreds of people who previously had rejected Christ as the Son of God now came to faith. So says Acts 2 concerning those who had crucified the Lord: about 3000 souls were added to the number of the disciples (vs 41). In the months and years that followed His outpouring, the Holy Spirit continued to work with great power and effect in the hearts of thousands; we read that "the Word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem" (Acts 6:7).

Now one could say: the Spirit was able to work with such effect because He could concentrate all His attention and energy to that one church of Jerusalem. And then one could conclude: once the disciples spread out from Jerusalem and proclaimed the Word of God in other cities and countries of the world, the Holy Spirit would also be "thinned out" (so to speak), would have to labour in too many places at once to be effective. And will that not mean that living faith will no longer be worked in the hearts of all those chosen to life? Will it not mean that the various churches will not have the support of the Spirit they need in the battle against the devil? Will the fact that the Holy Spirit is spread out over many towns and churches not mean that somehow His power is thinned out, and so His effectiveness hindered?

Here now is the point of the reference to "seven Spirits" as a name for the Holy Spirit in our text. The Lord would tell the believers of the congregation of Sardis that they are not to think that the Holy Spirit is weakened in the effectiveness of His work since He is labouring in the seven churches of Asia Minor instead of in the one church of Jerusalem. Rather, the one Holy Spirit who worked so mightily on the day of Pentecost in the one church of Jerusalem is mighty to work with equal results in the seven churches of Asia. Seven Spirits, seven churches: the point is that the Holy Spirit is present in full in each of the churches, and so works effectively in every city in which He labours – despite the attacks of hell. Here, of course, is a word of much comfort for those in Sardis thinking that the one Spirit of Jesus Christ is spread to thin to be effective in their town.

Jesus Christ possesses more than "the seven Spirits"; our text tells us that He also "has...the seven stars". The Scriptures present stars as having a particular task, namely, to declare the glory of God Most High. So we read in Ps 148, for example, the instruction to "the stars of light" to "praise Him" (vs 3; cf Ps 19:1,5f; Job 38:7). Yet our text does not refer to actual stars in heaven. Already in Rev 1 the Lord had explained that the phrase "the seven stars" referred to "the angels of the seven churches" (vs 20). These angels of the seven churches are then to be understood as praising God’s glory.

And who might these stars, these "angels of the seven churches" be? The word ‘angel’ means literally "messenger". And that’s the point: each church had a messenger. We’re to recall that John was imprisoned on the island of Patmos somewhere off the coast of Asia Minor. On that island he received the vision from Jesus Christ recorded in the book of Revelation, including the seven letters to the seven churches in chaps 2 & 3. But somehow the revelation John received was to be delivered to the churches for whom the revelation was intended. We are to understand that God saw to it that there was a messenger present on Patmos from each of the seven congregations, and these messengers were to bring Christ’s word back from John to their particular congregation. Now Christ says to the church at Sardis: I have in my hand, I possess and control, these seven messengers. Their task is to carry My Word from Patmos to the churches, and in so doing they will bring glory to My holy Name – meanwhile, I have them in My control.

That brings us, congregation, to our second point: why might it be that Jesus Christ tells His church in Sardis that He controls the Holy Spirit and that He controls also the messengers who bring His Revelation to the churches?? Why must Sardis know this? To understand it, we need to know what was going on in Sardis.

The actual situation of the church of Jesus Christ in Sardis is described for us in the second part of vs 1, in those words I mentioned before:

Dead. Before the fall into sin, God had warned Adam and Eve –and in them the whole human race- that if they were to eat fruit from that one tree in the middle of the garden, they would die on that very day. Adam and Eve ate, and died spiritually on that very day. That is: Adam and Eve became dead as far as their relation with the Lord God was concerned. Though they had been created to live for God and His glory, their fall into sin meant that they could not live up to the purpose of their existence; their bond with God was broken, they were dead, spiritually dead. So Adam and Eve –and in them we all- deserved nothing else than eternal damnation, hell.

Jesus’ messenger brings from Patmos to the church in Sardis a letter from Christ Himself. The messenger calls the congregation together, then reads Christ’s words to the congregation: "you are dead". What must the congregation understand by Jesus’ word to them? No, not that the church in Sardis was a physical corpse; the members of that congregation were breathing, were alive. Rather, Jesus’ congregation was to understand that they were in the same position as Adam and Eve were in straight after the fall into sin. "You are dead, your bond with God is non-existent, you belong in hell."

Yes, brothers and sisters, this was a shocking word of the Saviour for this church. Christ had caused His gospel to be proclaimed in Sardis with as result that many came to faith, and in obedience to Christ’s wish they had formed a church in that place. Over the years the congregation of Sardis accumulated for itself the reputation of being a solid, Scriptural church, alive in the Lord. So says vs 1: "you have a name that you are alive." How that congregation developed that reputation? The letter does not answer that question. Possibly the reputation was developed by the faithful homevists made by the elders to all the members of the flock. Maybe the reputation was developed by the faithful attendance of the membership at Men’s and Women’s Club, or by the willing contributions to mission work, or by the spontaneous help given to each other in the congregation. We don’t know how the church got this reputation; we know only the fact that the church of Jesus Christ in Sardis had a glowing reputation for itself among the sister churches. It was known all over the country that the church of Sardis was "alive". And we understand that when one has that kind of a reputation, people in other congregations look up to you, even become envious.

Imagine, then, beloved, how this word from the Head of the Church will have hit the congregation of Sardis hard! ‘Dead?! Christ says we’re dead?! Where does He get that from?! Look at what others say of us, the reputation we have, look at the way our elders faithfully visit in the congregation, look at the attendance at church Sunday by Sunday, look at the attendance at club, look at the willing contributions collected for mission work, look at the spontaneous exercise of the communion of saints as we all help each other. Dead?? How dare Christ call us dead!’

But Christ does it, brothers and sisters. He does not determine His judgment of His church in Sardis by what the other congregations thought of this church. For He does not see as a man sees. The eyes of the Head of the Church pierce further than skin deep, and what He saw amongst the membership of His church in Sardis was not good; they, said Jesus, despite all their appearances of being alive, were in fact dead, spiritually dead. Though the indications meeting the human eye were that here was a congregation living in close communion with the Maker of heaven and earth, in actual fact here was a congregation divorced from the Maker of heaven and earth, here was a congregation as dead as Adam and Eve were after the fall, was a congregation headed for hell. "You are dead."

What, then, was this church of Christ in Sardis up to that she should receive this condemning characterisation from this divine Church Visitor? The evidence of the rest of the letter suggests, beloved, that the problem was this: this church was comfortable in this godless world. Consider the evidence.

• Jesus tells this congregation in vs 2 to "be watchful", says also in vs 3 that

• That the congregation in Sardis was at home in this world is pointed up further by the second part of vs 5. There we read Jesus’ promise to the few faithful saints of Sardis, the promise that Christ would "confess" the name of these faithful ones "before [the] Father and before His angels." These, too, are words we recognise from Jesus’ ministry on earth. When Jesus sent out His twelve disciples to preach, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, etc, He said also this:

Behold there also, brothers and sisters, the reason why this letter –unlike some other letters- makes no mention of persecution. This church in Sardis was "a perfect model of inoffensive Christianity." No one in town was bothered by these decent church goers, and because the unbelievers of town were not offended by these Christians was there no hatred of these Christians either; this town with its many gods and many religions could quite well tolerate these laid-back Christians too.

And see there also the reason why this letter –again, unlike some other letters- makes no mention of heresies in the congregation either. Such an inoffensive approach tolerates also doctrinal deviation, tolerates the error of minimising the antithesis between the world and the church. So all looks fine, peaceful, acceptable, all in the congregation do the right things, go through the right motions. They’re in church every Sunday, they’re faithfully at club, they give for mission work, they look after each other; they have the name of being alive. But Jesus lays bare the sin rampant in Sardis: this church of Christ was too comfortable in the world, and therefore wished to offend no one. In truth: "a perfect model of inoffensive Christianity". See there the problem Christ saw in His church in Sardis.

What, now, of ourselves, brothers and sisters? Jesus Christ has included this letter to Sardis in the Bible He gave to His church in Kelmscott. O true, the fact that this letter to Sardis is in the Bible Christ gave to us does not mean that we must consider ourselves to be in a similar position as was the church in Sardis; our circumstances today are different than were their circumstances of long ago. Yet we understand too that with this letter the Lord our Saviour prompts us to self-examination, lest we too develop a good name for ourselves in the bond of churches –or even in the community, for that matter- while in fact we are dead.

Let us think about it a minute then. What is our reputation in the bond of churches? The church visitors last visited us last October. After their last visitation, the church visitors wrote a report for the coming Synod concerning our congregation. The closing sentence of the report reads like this:

Truly, it’s very positive. The churches are told: that congregation in Kelmscott is alive.

But what, congregation, would Christ say of us? Would He call us alive or dead? Consider only this question: how do we measure up to the sin of which Christ accused Sardis? Are we comfortable in this world or uncomfortable? In truth, some of us are quite comfortable; witness the way some of us dress ourselves in the fashions of the world, witness the way some of us enjoy the movies put out by Hollywood, appreciate the music of our decade. At the same time, how many of us are filled with an eager waiting for the Saviour’s return? How many of us spend as much energy per day on preparing our children for the return of Christ as we do for the preparing them for this life? How many of us are willing to give up a comfort in order that to support a mission project – that others be prepared for the return of the Judge of heaven and earth? Why must the bulletin complain that a large majority of members show no support for the building project required by the Theological College? Is the proclamation of the gospel –that’s how faith is worked and so people prepared for the coming of the Lord- not that important to us?? Are we willing to confess before men in word and deeds that we expect Christ to come again at any moment - even if we be ridiculed by the people as a result??

Then yes, brothers and sisters, we may thank the Lord that we are not being persecuted, are not openly hated in our communities. But we shall do well to look critically at ourselves to see whether we have perchance made our Christianity inoffensive to our countrymen, inoffensive because we are too much like the world. Here the matter of our expectation of Christ –are we eagerly waiting for Him?- gives something of an indication of whether our hearts are at home in this life or whether the evils of this life prompt us to long to be in heaven where Christ is. After all, where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

Are we alive, or are we dead? How would the Lord Jesus Christ have us answer that question? Let each of us be convinced: our church attendance, our going to club, our voluntary contributions, and so on, does not mean that we are alive. In fact, let each of us consider how comfortable we are in this society, consider how much we’re actually longing for Christ’s return….

We come now to our last point: how could this deadness in Sardis be overcome? The question is of course important for us: How can we overcome the deadness in our midst? The Lord had introduced Himself in this letter as the One who "has the seven Spirits and the seven stars." We’ve learned that what Jesus Christ had was the Holy Spirit, had also the messenger of each church. But what was the significance of those facts?

This: Christ does not simply hold on to the Holy Spirit and the messengers. The messenger to Sardis had a task to do. What that task was? He had to bring from Patmos to Sardis this letter of Christ addressed to this congregation. That letter tells the church of Sardis where things are at in that congregation, tells that church also to repent. It is Christ who "has" the messenger, the bearer of this letter. The point is that it is Christ who sovereignly sends that messenger to Sardis, sends the messenger with this message. Here, brothers and sisters, is displayed Christ’s care for His erring church; in the midst of her faithlessness, Christ sends this analysis of how things are together with this instruction to repent. Now the duty of the congregation is to listen to the preaching of Jesus Christ in this letter, take it to heart, and so become a living congregation, one that dots its `i’s and crosses its `t’s in its interaction with the other people of town. The congregation is responsible, responsible to make a point of working with the preaching.

But Christ does not only control the messenger, does not only send His word of admonition to Sardis. Christ "has" also the seven Spirits. The reference in this letter to the Holy Spirit is not meant to inform the readers that Christ will always hold on to the Holy Spirit, will keep the Spirit to Himself and never give the Spirit to His readers. No, the reference to the Holy Spirit recalls too what the Lord did with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; He poured the Spirit out in fullness. Yes, so fully was the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ poured out on the day of Pentecost that this one Holy Spirit is able to work in a fullness of power in every church of Jesus Christ. Here is the promise, then, that Christ has given the Holy Spirit –in full- also to His church in Sardis. Then the brothers and sisters of the congregation may need so desperately much to repent of their sin of being content in this world, their sin of being dead. But despite the weaknesses existing in the congregation, the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is present in their midst, and therefore is repentance possible. The one Holy Spirit of Christ is not limited in His ability to work in Sardis; such is the power of the Holy Spirit that He, though labouring in countless churches at the same time, is able to work repentance and a living faith in every church Christ is pleased to gather - in Sardis too.

Here, then, beloved, is great encouragement for Christ’s erring flock in Sardis. Christ Jesus speaks strong words of admonition, it’s true; it’s no small thing to be told that you’re a spiritual carcass. But with the strong words of admonition comes also the promise of the full presence of the Spirit who makes the dead alive. And let it be known too, congregation, that this strong letter of Jesus Christ bore fruit in Sardis; from church history we know that in later years there was a living and faithful church in this town who held firmly onto Christ’s word of life in the face of dangerous persecution.

How encouraging for us today. Christ has come to us with His Word today, a word that demands repentance of us too. But with the demand for self-examination and repentance comes the promise: the Holy Spirit has been poured out in His fullness so that He works powerfully and effectively in each church Christ gathers. In Kelmscott too.

Let no one, then, leave church today depressed at our imperfections; let each instead marvel at the care the Lord displays in holding a mirror before us, and at the same time be encouraged that the Lord’s who gives the message also gives His Holy Spirit in abundance. By His strength, we can bear fruit befitting His mercy to us. So: let’s do it! Amen.