They spoke lifeless prayers. They sang lifeless songs without the Holy Spirit's inspiration.
So maybe you come to a point where you're just not feeling the songs like you once did.
So Do you believe? Do you love the Lord? What are you going to do? Going through the motions is vital. Keep going through the motions.
Fight it.
So don't give in to it. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
And now here's Pastor Rick in Revelation chapter 3 as he continues his message: Sardis, love impersonated. Just imagine if you were in attendance to a New York City church. And New York City has as its motto, one of them, The big apple. And Christ said to that church, You're a rotten apple. You see, it would resonate a little bit more.
We're not waiting. This is contrary to who. We're supposed to be. We get it. We understand what he's saying.
But still remaining watchful by itself is not enough. You have to act on what you identify when you see it. Mark thirteen verse thirty seven And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch. Pay attention.
Get your head in the game and keep it there. And when you feel yourself drifting, Do something about the drift. Force yourself. Press into it. You don't float into matured Christianity.
You get beaten into matured Christianity. But it's worth it. And hopefully, the following generations will pick up on that and benefit from it and not dismiss it.
Well, their kind of negligence indicated that they were not interested. and taking orders from Jesus. And that kills the church. Any church will die that way. We need each other to warn against lovelessness.
dead orthodoxies. The ballums. The Nicolaitans, the Jezebels, and death, we need each other for that. And Protestantism, and now I'm not a Protestant. I did not come out of Roman Catholicism.
I did not protest against it. I am a Christian, and that's sufficient for me. But there are those that did come out of that. And That's a good thing. The Protestantism, however, that is still with us today has built up systems of religion.
Without the Holy Spirit. Didn't start that way, but there it is: the Anglican Church, the Episcopal Church, many Presbyterian churches. They live without Christ. Originally What brought about these churches from people risking their lives to protest the popes. But their descendants lost that life.
And you don't associate The Episcopal Church, for example, with evangelism. with a fire in their belly to reach lost souls. Maybe there are some in there that do have that, but overall. I say no. And they're not the only ones, those are some of the more popular ones.
I mentioned a church not far from here that flies the Flag of perversion, and I don't say that viciously, it's just a fact. That church called itself a Presbyterian church, you see? You have a name that they're alive. But they're dead. Strengthen the things which remain.
that are ready to die.
Well, you're sick You're about to drop dead, is he saying to them. Failing to be what God wanted them to be without admitting it. The first step would be: yes, Lord, I confess, we are guilty, I am the man. It became a religious club, a social club. But not Church of God.
For I have not found your works perfect before God.
Now, the word perfect here, you can perhaps better translate it complete. I mentioned that the reformers did not go far enough. Their Reformation was incomplete. Many of them, all of them, had come out of Roman Catholicism, and they brought a lot of that. false teachings with them.
they fell short of the potential. They had truth. But eventually they locked it away. Imagine that. They had works, active programs.
He said he knows their works. They had youth camps not far from here. There's a camp, and they too fly that flag. In the name of being a church. As Christians, The devil appears as an angel of light.
He'll hijack whatever he's allowed to hijack. But He has to do it by permission. of the people. When the people post guards to stand watch, when they're praying for their church. Then it makes it really difficult.
for the devil to gain ground. They spoke lifeless prayers. They sang lifeless songs without the Holy Spirit's inspiration.
So maybe you come to a point. where you're just not feeling the songs like you once did.
So Do you believe? Do you love the Lord? What are you going to do? Going to the motions is vital. Keep going through the motions.
Fight it.
Don't give in to it. We should know better because we have a whole Bible, we have a whole New Testament addressing these things. He says, remember, therefore, verse 3. How you have received and heard, hold fast, repent. Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I come upon you.
Now, this is getting interesting to me because he's talking origins here. Remember where you came from. My mom used to make sure I understood. that when I picked up things out in the street, That I didn't get them from her. Where did you get that from?
You didn't get that from here. and it saved us from identifying more with the world. I'm retaining a fear. of love for our parents. Let's not downplay the power Of righteous memorials.
I had a friend. who was a friend to me. When it counted. I don't know if you've ever had a friend like that. And a day came when things ended tragically for him.
He hurt a lot of people. And I could never condone the darkness that befell him, but I cannot forget. That once upon a time He was a friend to me. And around the circle of people who know the story I make sure they remember. that there was a time when there was good When there was help coming from this person.
That you know, darkness is a complex thing. And this church in Sardis perhaps is the most complex of the seven. The Lord just gets right to it with them. He says I know your works, but he doesn't list any of them and he just gets right to You're dead. You got a few there still alive, but you're dead.
And this is what I need you to do. I need you to remember, therefore. That's what starts out, verse 3. Or maybe there's someone in your life. Who did you write?
at a time in your life when you needed someone To help you, as Jesus has done to the church. Maybe they threw you a lifeline when no one else would. Maybe you lost sight of how meaningful that person's help. has been in making you who you are today, and maybe you've forgotten. There's nothing wrong with remembering these things and acting on them.
Genesis 41, verse 9, the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying, I remember my faults this day. What was just fault? He forgot Joseph still in prison. He promised Joseph he'd mention him to Pharaoh. But he was so much enjoying himself.
When he could benefit from using Joseph, that's when he brought him up. But it's worded well. I remember my faults. And so he tells the church here, remember, therefore, How you have received and heard.
Now, there are also a lot of things in life we don't want to remember. I know I have a lot of them, and I'm sorry I'm bringing it up because they're trying to get into my head.
Now, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press for the mark, the high calling of God, the prize, the high calling of God. Taking every thought into captivity, it says in 2 Corinthians 10. How you have received and heard. Remember how you received and heard. You were not always a dead church.
Nothing has changed, Christ is saying on my part. I'm the same yesterday, today, and forever. You're the one. That has drifted away. There are people that go to good churches, and when they first started going, they loved it.
They couldn't wait to get there. They'd get there early. But then the passage of time Dad. Inspiration faded. They're not so excited over the church.
The church hasn't changed. It's still doing what it has always done. It's on their end. And if that's you, You need to take that to the Lord. Take steps to not let that happen.
Maybe you serve now. You got involved in the church because you loved it so much, and you found out that serving Christ is hard. That's why it's related to being a servant. to being a slave for Christ. It is hard work.
And if it wasn't We wouldn't need servants. Church always needs servants. If that is you, don't be a prisoner of your feelings. Just because you've lost sight of something doesn't mean that you have the right to forget the value of it all. Sardis did, and look what happened to them.
And so Christ says: hold fast, get your head and your heart back into Christ. Add worship back to your walk. King David such an influence on Israel. When they brought the ark to the temple, How far did they get before they stopped everything just to worship God? 2 Samuel 6.
So it was when those bearing the ark of Yahweh had gone six paces that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Everything stopped.
So they could worship God. Had they just got tied up in the Ark of the Covenant, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are these? They would have become like Jeremiah's Judah. Dead. And you compare King Saul's Dead kingdom to David's spirit-filled kingdom.
And you say, Yeah, but David, yeah, that's the glory of it all. David was a sinner like us. And he recovered. Not just once. Saul died without passion for the kingdom's future because he was too passionate about himself.
So we picked that up and 1 Chronicles chapter 28. And we listen to David as he's an old man, he's preparing to die, and he's trying to instill in his son. The holiness of God. What Solomon did with it is on Solomon, but this is what was on David. As for you, my son Solomon, no.
The God of your father, and serve him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind. For Yahweh searches all hearts, understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek him, He will be found by you. But if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Consider now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house.
For the sanctuary. Be strong. And do it. Man. That's the kind of dad I want to be.
Then he's not finished, David. It goes on in verse 20. And David said to his son Solomon, Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Do not fear nor be dismayed. For Yahweh, God, my God, will be with you.
He will not leave you nor forsake you. till you have finished all the work. for the service of the house of the Lord. It doesn't mean once you finish, he's going to forsake you. That's not the reading.
But that's. David's Inspiration. What Christian doesn't want that? He says, if you will not watch, Sin is going to prevail. I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know.
Your loss will be sudden, and it will be inescapable, and it just ain't going to be worth it. Verse four. You have a few names, even in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments. And they shall walk with me in white For they are worthy Well, again, the Reformation did produce some godly believers in spite of its incompleteness. There were a few here mentioned in this church that were still faithful.
God always knows who they are. They deserved a better church.
So much for the statement: well, you get to church, you deserve. No, well, these guys did not. They did not get the church they deserve. This to get the church that they were saddled with.
Okay, so what happens then? What do you do then? If you have no choice, this is the only option you have. Then make sure you shine brightly. The garments that he's mentioning here in verse 4 Not being defiled because they were genuinely redeemed.
They were true believers. Galatians 3, verse 27. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. If you've been immersed in Christ, if you've been soaked and saturated in Christ, you've put Christ on. But don't fake it.
They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
Well, there must be agreement if you're going to walk with Christ. Or, how many of you know, I think most of you know, Amos chapter 3, verse 3? Can two walk together unless they are agreed? We can't walk well. They'd be screaming at each other at best, killing each other at worst.
But the rest of the book of Amos is so powerful. You know what I like about Amos? He's this country preacher that they considered a bumpkin. They didn't consider that when he was preaching against their enemies, but when he turned his rebukes to them, all of a sudden now he needs to get out of the northern kingdom and go back to Koa. Powerful preacher Amos was.
Verse 5 now of Revelation 3: He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. I hope I have no biases theologically to say that that doesn't mean what it clearly says it means. But first question I have about these garments: will they have pockets? I mean, I like pockets.
You can put so many things in there. Anyway. In Revelation. The color white is mentioned more than any other book in the Bible, and it symbolizes purity and victory. That's the impact behind the use.
Of the word. Because stains show up on white more than any other color, I think. I mean, there are some runner-ups, but Quite clearly, you can have a tiny speck on a white sweater, and somebody will see it driving by at 100 miles an hour, and you'll see them looking at you pointing. In heaven, nothing will be allowed to stain what Christ has done for us. We'll never have to worry ever again about sin.
in our own hearts. or in the kingdom.
Now, originally, mankind, of course, did not need clothing. And the writer of Genesis, Moses, who put it down on parchment or paper or whatever he He did? In Genesis 2, He mentions that they were naked and not ashamed. But the fall is not recorded until Genesis 3, verse 7. And there they are shown after they have fallen.
Ashamed of their nudity because innocence was transformed. and just something that was not. to be proud of. There's nothing to boast. Freedom was lost.
A new and unwelcome feeling Had entered into the picture and it required concealment. Modesty is good. You know, how do you Legislate modesty as a church, very difficult. I mean, yeah, don't come. I mean, some churches you can go there wearing a bathing suit because they're meeting on the beach.
But I went out by the beach. And so, you know, others have said, okay, they would like to have, you know, the shoulders covered and garments at least down to the knees. Bermuda shorts get that name because in Bermuda your shorts have to be down. I haven't been there in years, but when I was there, you couldn't go around without a T-shirt. I'm riding on a moped all over the island.
Everybody's staring at me. You know, man, I know I'm handsome, but this is ridiculous. Everywhere I get just staring. And then I get to the home of the host, and they say, Yeah, because you're breaking the law, you felon. And uh,.
Yeah, I had to keep a shirt on. And nobody stared at me like that ever again. When the prodigal son When he came home barefoot with the stench of pigs on him. What did the father do? He commanded that they bring out a robe and a ring and sandals and put it on my son.
Well, our Father in heaven still commands that our garments be changed. When we come home to him, I will not blot out his name from the book of life. Another judicial metaphor, seven times in Revelation we read about this book of life. It shows up in other parts of Scripture too. I don't want to get into the whole Calvinist and can I lose my salvation thing.
I'm so sick of it, to be honest.
Well, twice I've said, to be honest, I can't stand that phrase. Unless I'm lying to you, that's when I'm going to use that. That's reserved. I don't use that when I'm already telling the truth. Did you eat all the donuts?
Yes! I don't have to say, to be honest. Anyhow, back to this. To get blotted out, you have to be in. I'm not going to mess with the language.
And I'm never worried about my salvation because I trust Jesus. I trust I can do that much. I know that I am a sinner, that I fail, but I also know That where sin abounded, grace did much more. And I'm not going to pretend like that's not in my Bible. And I'm not going to pretend That it doesn't apply to me because it does apply to me.
And I'm not gonna just say it applies to you. God loves you, God wants you in His kingdom, but He doesn't want me. That's not sane.
So, I'm going to quote now somebody who I don't care for. When I mention your name, please stand. I'm kidding. Kidding.
Now, he's a big guy in the finance world. They dote over him. He's all this gene.
Well, I'll say the name. It's hard to say it. But I like this quote. articulates the thought that needs to be said. Puff it.
There are many things in life that I don't fully understand. One of those elusive things is why some people. Obsessed with making easy things difficult. Yes, there are people that say, we got to make this complicated. It's too simple.
And they do this with doctrine all the time. It says your name will be blotted out. Let's not be so quick to believe what it says. Let me give you some doctrine why that can't be. No, that's your doctrine, it's your bias.
Don't put it on me. I believe that. Remember, Satan started out saved. Judas Iscariot did too. That's what I believe the scriptures teach.
But both got themselves blotted out, one in heaven and one on earth. And I'm not going to ignore those lessons because they are just that lesson. God keeps two types of books. The saints and the ain't. And it's up to the individuals, largely up to the individuals.
The book of life and the book of death. Listen, the girl, Jesus said this about a particular woman. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, She should have said, Thank you, Lord, for letting everybody know that my sins are many. But that's what he said: her sins are many. and are forgiven.
We don't read about her. running around. Oh, I sure hope I don't mess this up. If anything, she Through all of her support and back of the Lord who saved her. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
Who would dare say I've been forgiven a little bit by God? Who would say that? Psalm 69 verse 28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. And not written with the righteous.
Jeremiah 17, 13, oh, Yahweh, the hope of Israel. All who forsake you shall be ashamed. Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Yahweh, the fountain of living waters. You cannot forsake that which you have not had. If you give someone $100 and they put it on the table and walk away from it, they have forsaken that money, but they had to first have had it to forsake it.
And that's how I think the clear reading is.
Well, I've got about eighty more verses like this, and so here we go. No, I I do have a lot more, but time prohibits us. We continue. But I will confess his name before my Father. and before his angels.
Let's put that back in context. of verse 5, he who overcomes The ones who stay, who abide with Christ to the end. Shall be clothed with white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before. His Angels.
Well this Where it says, I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels. Confess who? Me, the sinner. Matthew 10, verse 32, therefore, whoever confesses me before men. Him I also will confess before my Father who is in heaven.
Church of Smyrna. Confessing God before men. and dying to do so. This is the positive side of not being blotted out. remaining in.
And we close now verse 6. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The word of Jesus is the voice of God. John chapter 10, verse 27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Well, that's why you're in church. You've come to follow Christ. Don't always expect to be blessed by everything you hear. It has to be filtered by Christ, through Christ. And I have another quote, this time of a person that I like.
Thomas Sowell. He says, when you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. A lot of truth to that one. That's why a lot of churches don't tell you what you need to hear.
They're afraid you won't come back.
So they tell you what they think you want to hear. And I close with Isaiah 55, verse 11.
So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth It shall not return to me void. But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Well, what did the Church of Sardis do with that?
Okay. This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
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Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Uh
