The People-Pleasing Church Of The Walking Dead

Well, we are in a series. the the letters to the seven churches, and if you notice they're up on the slide, they're Jesus' letters. He's the author.

Some of your Bibles may actually have the print in red. Just like you would see in the Gospels, because they are the words of Jesus Himself. And they're His churches. The text tells us, in fact, the one we're going to hit today, that He holds the seven stars in His hands. And the seven stars are the seven churches that he's writing to.

He cares about them, he knows them. And he is very interested. In them. And so last week we were in Thyratira, the homogenized. Church.

One that had real trouble mixing worldly desires with the commitment to Christ. And this week we are going like in a severe change of church to Sardis. We are going to the people-pleasing church of the walking dead. I think this is probably My all-time favorite slide I've ever had preaching. And it fits because we have a fascination in our culture with the walking dead with zombies.

Like we have so many movies and so many TV shows, and they're just all over the place. For me, it started way back when with the original movie Night of the Living Dead. How many of you saw that? Don't no spoilers here. It definitely has an ending you aren't going to be ready for.

And it was in black and white when I watched it. It was a long time ago. And there have been lots and lots of takeoffs of that theme. And what do you get? You get the same thing over and over again.

You have these. They kind of are people. They used to be people. They're walking around. They're doing things, sort of.

But they're dead. They're not alive.

Some of them sometimes come out of graves and things like that. And guess what they like to do? They like to attack the living. They go after the living. They want the living to join them in one big happy family of zombies.

And so in all of these themes, you got this small group of people trying to survive, trying to not get bit by a zombie and become one, or even worse, get eaten. And this is going everywhere. These these walking dead. And why do I bring this up?

Well, because that's what Jesus says is going on in the. in the church at Sardis. He says they're dead. He's dead. They're dead.

Well, how are they dead? What happened? What's going on?

Well, I think Um Whereas In a lot of these churches, you have them doing and focusing good things in their following of Jesus, and then their struggles tend to be more fleshly. Here in Sardis, we have a totally different scenario going on. Proverbs 29, 25 is that famous verse that says, the fear of man brings a snare. But whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. And snare, by the way, is not a snag, it's a trap.

It's you're caught. It's like you get caught by a zombie, you're done. You're done. When you get caught by that kind of thing.

Well, what do we mean by the fear of man? This is different. Than the fear of the Lord. In fact, two different Hebrew words. The fear.

The Hebrew word fear, in fear of the Lord, is more of a reverence. Bring you to, oh my goodness. God's a big deal. And it brings you to worship. as a result.

That's the fear of the Lord. The fear of man is the type of anxiety, uh oh, panic that is instilled and bad choices just abound. because you're operating out of fear. This is like that Geico commercial that I love. I laugh at it every time.

The guys are sitting out there. They're trying to hide from the bad horror guy, you know, in the hockey mask. And they're like, the guy stands up and he says, Are you crazy? Getting to the running car and get out of here? That's a bad decision.

We need to go hide behind the chainsaws. Right. bad decisions out of panic because we're scared. Let me tell you, fear and faith don't work together. They produce two different kinds of works, and those works can kind of look the same.

Many times. But vastly different motivations and sources. And so the People Pleasing Church of the Walking Dead is a church that's trying. Bess is a zombie. move ever was in the mummy when when he's getting chased by the zombies and he turns around and pretends to be a zombie and then they all go around him.

Yeah. Yeah. The People Blazing Church of the Walking Dead. How do we get here? How do we get to Sardis?

You've seen this slide a lot. In the sermons, as we've been going, John is in Patmos, and Jesus tells him to write seven letters to seven churches, but these seven letters are going to be read by all the churches. And he starts the first one in Ephesus, then he works up the coast to Smyrna, and then Pergamon, and then Thyatira last week. And now we're landing in Sardis, and there's going to be two more to go. And it's going to be fun.

Those two have really interesting texts. I can't wait to hear them myself preached.

Well, what's John doing on Patmos? Tells us at the beginning of the letter of Revelation, I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. John's suffering. He's in exile. And it's because he has continued to be faithful to the message of the kingdom of God and to his.

Lord and Savior Jesus. And that's why he's there. He's here most likely in the mid-90s. Church history would seem to affirm that date, as well as the specific history in the church of Ephesus, where John at one point pastored before this. There's a little question sometimes on the date, but um for all intents and purposes, I believe it was written in the mid nineties.

Um and here he is, an old man, having lived out a faithful life In exile, and here is this vision that he comes into the midst of, and here is Jesus Christ. And he would recognize him, having walked with Jesus for many years. at least three years during the time Christ was on. Earth. And it's no surprise that he's suffering.

Remember, the fear of man brings a snare, but when you're faithful to the Lord Jesus, you know it's going to come. You will be hated for my sake, Jesus told his disciples. They will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. In John, Jesus says, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. This is the expectation of a follower of Jesus.

But then Jesus never leaves. His sheep. He never forsakes his sheep. Those are other important promises. And these, I think, have a direct correlation with our church here at Sardis.

This morning. And so as we go to the church at Sardis, just like in some of the other churches, I have some fun pictures for you. This right here has been excavated in Sardis. This is what was called the gymnasium. And you see that big open area there, but that building towards the back.

You see a little close-up here inside, this was the largest synagogue of the Jews outside of Palestine. The largest synagogue of the Jews.

So Sardis had a real Jewish population. There. And they were pretty faithful. And along with larger Jewish populations, you have God-fearers, Gentiles who also recognize the holiness. of the God Of Israel and will worship him as well faithfully.

If we look at the top view of Sardis, you can see in the upper middle there where that gymnasium is, and you got an outline of the walls at different times during the history. Sardis started as the capital of the kingdom, ancient kingdom of Lydia. It was also a Persian city, a Greek city, and a Roman city. And they would continue to grow. There's the in the lower left-hand corner was one of the later growth spurts under the Greeks and Romans, and that temple of Artemis, which is this right here, was built.

And I want to show you this view here, the Temple of Artemis, because the key to Sardis. Is that Mountaintop right in the back there. You see, that was where the citadel was, the Acropolis, it was called. Whenever Sardis was threatened, They could all retreat up there. and they felt they were unconquerable.

You can see some walls right there that are on top of that citadel. And so they were kind of cocky about it. They were a main trade route in Armies really didn't go after him because they knew that. Like, if we were going to sell Sardis, we would have to get all the way to the top. And that would involve a lot of deaths of sacrifice.

There's a little close-up view of that wall up there on the. on the mountain. And so this is where The church at Sardis is that Jesus is writing to, and as he gets into it, He starts. Where we're going to start this morning.

So, if you have your Bibles, if you haven't yet, turn to Revelation 3. Verse 1. If you don't have a Bible, there's Bibles under the seats in front of you. And if you don't own one, keep it as our gift to you. We want everyone to have access to the Word of God.

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. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 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 have received and heard. Keep it and repent. 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 still have 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.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Okay.

So a very similar format to the other letters. to the different churches. You see it written to this angel who is overseeing the church. We would take the stance that it was a real angel, and you can go to previous sermons to understand why we would do that. But the thrust of the letter is meant to be received by the people of the church.

And it is signed, this particular letter, by the words of Him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. The seven spirits and the seven stars, this is part of the introduction of Jesus at the front of the letter. And the seven spirits are part of the Trinitarian. Um Explanation of the author, where you have the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son, and so it's just a way of saying the Holy Spirit. We see this, the Holy Spirit kind of referred this way a little bit in other texts in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 11:2 talks about the seven attributes of the Holy Spirit. And twice in Zachariah, we have the Holy Spirit, which is very clear in the context: the Holy Spirit working as seven lamps in the world. This is Zachariah 4, and then later it talks about the seven eyes of the Lord roaming around the world. And so, this reference here to the seven spirits of God is not just the Holy Spirit, but it's as if Jesus is wanting to say, I am connected here through this. These aspects of the spirit, and I am very qualified to write what I'm writing to you.

And it's going to be some harsh words. The seven stars are the seven churches. We already mentioned that. And he says, I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

And there's something missing now. There's a break away from the first. The previous four letters we've read.

Something is missing. Here. And so I brought them all out so you can kind of see. What's missing? In Ephesus, he said, I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance.

How you cannot bear with those who are evil. To Smyrna, it says, I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. In Pergamon, he says, I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith. Even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, and then in Thyatira, I know your works, your love and faith, and service, and patient endurance.

But in Sardis he says, I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. We're missing a commendation. There's no commendation. There's no praise.

to this church in Sardis. None whatsoever. a very sad Story, at least middle of the story for the church at the time. Jesus writes this Letter. Fig.

And it's backwards. When I think of faith and works together, I think of faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. This is the message in James. He talks about how when you have faith in Christ, it will have a natural outpouring of his works in your life. People will be able to see and say, oh, That guy trusts in Jesus.

Basardis is backwards. They have this reputation of good works. They're doing a lot of those same types of things, but Jesus says they're dead. There's no. Faith inside.

Well Where do we come to this conclusion of faith? Not being there, I think it's in an investigation of the Bible's idea of dead. Um we been doing during the school year. the the series in Ephesians, and we walk through this passage. This last winter, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passion of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

I want to key your eyes into the very middle here. Following the prince of the power of the air. That's the enemy of God. Satan. The devil, he has a lot of names.

And he desires to control everyone he can and control them in a manner to keep them from being what God created them to be. And this is it. Because when we look at Sardis, it's not like some of these other churches where you have some good works, but you're really struggling with the sins of the flesh. In Sardis, we don't see the struggle of sins of the flesh. On the surface, but we see a lot of really good works, a really good reputation, and yet they're dead.

They're dead inside. When you're alive. You get the following verses in Ephesians: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. And then, as the passage continues on with his great salvation, he shows how the works tie in in verse 10.

For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So here, Ephesians is lining up with James: like, when you have it in the inside, when you're alive, there are works that come out and they are. God's works. And that's the formula. God's works. And so we have dead versus alive, and here in Sardis.

We're told they're dead. I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are... Dead.

So, to expand a little bit more, the reputation of being alive, they are pleasing in the eyes of others.

So to be pleasing in the eyes of those who don't. really want anything to do with Jesus. you really can't have anything to do with Jesus. Because Jesus himself said, if they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you. to have a good reputation, you got something missing there.

And if you're dead, you're empty in the eyes of Jesus. You're not one of his. Empty out of the eyes of Jesus.

So we have two possibilities of people here. I've seen them. Both in different commentaries and stuff. He might be writing to someone who is in Christ, and maybe they engage the gospel early on, but. As far as living a life Recognizing and allowing the power of the Holy Spirit, of Christ through the Holy Spirit, to work in them, they aren't.

They're trying to do everything on their own. Or they're not in Christ. The inward life transformation has not happened. The Holy Spirit is not indwelling and producing the works of righteousness. That He has promised to do.

Regardless of which one you're still dealing with a sanctification or a salvation understanding by comparison, and it's motivated by fear rather than faith. Because when you don't have inside working right, All you have to judge whether you're good with God. is the outside. The reputation. How do people think of me?

If I look at me, can I find enough people I'm better than?

So that I can justify my struggle inside with being right with God. And this is where people go. And the church at Sardis has got this nail. They've got a reputation of looking alive. The people around said, man, you guys are crazy.

Wait. You are awesome. Man, when God weighs the scales, you're going to be at the very top. And yet inside. Nothing.

Zip Zero Nada. I believe that this is primarily writing to those not in Christ. And there's some other. Other evidences in the text I think that would justify that conclusion. But in either case They are not the works of God that they are producing.

Jesus talks about it like this when he talks to the scribes and Pharisees. He says, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanliness.

So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. This is a statement that might be written to the church at Sardis. You look really beautiful on the outside. But you're just dead. You're dead inside.

It's these types of thinking, as Paul continually addresses the church at Corinth when he says in his last letter: examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves, or do you not realize this about yourself, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test. What is he getting at? If Jesus is really in you.

You'll know. You'll know, and your life will live accordingly. The life will live accordingly. You need to test yourselves. To see that.

If you're trying to covering the fact, trying to cover the fact that you don't feel like he's in here. Then all you're doing is painting the outside of the tomb. and not dealing with the inside. where you need to go. And so the main thrust of this passage then becomes Jesus telling the people who are dead in the church of Sardis.

You need to get alive. Or to use the vernacular, you need to get a life, guys. And he gives five imperatives on how to come go from death. To life. And this is where we're going to just kind of walk through these things.

and gain from the wisdom Here. and see where it challenges even us today. The first one is wake up. It's what it says in the text. Wake up!

Hey. Wake up! You're dead and you don't even know it. That's what it is. This is that kind of wake-up when Peter is preaching the first sermon at Pentecost, and he's preaching to all of those people, and he says, You guys, wake up.

Your Messiah came and you killed him. And then he rose from the dead to prove he was the Messiah, and now he's with God himself. You need to wake up. And the text says there in Acts: they were cut to the quick. They were like, oh my goodness, what do we do?

All is lost. help us. And that's kind of attitude. that engagement of the gospel starts with. Like you in trouble.

You're in trouble. And you need to wake up and recognize the seriousness of what's going on. You need to let this reputation stuff go, and you need to do some deep heart diving. and recognize you don't have. What you're supposed to have inside.

God's opinion is way more important than that of those around us. Jesus illustrates this with some very harsh language in his ministry on earth when he says, I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who killed the body, and after that, have nothing more that they can do, but I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. You should be way more worried about This Relationship.

than this relationship. That's why the first commandment, love God with all your heart, soul. mind and strength. Love your neighbor, yes, second commandment. But it comes out of the first.

Don't skip the first step like the people in Sardis. This is serious.

So he's telling you: when you're dead, when something's not here that's supposed to be here. You need to wake up. And you need to recognize that that's where the real confirmation of being right with God takes place. Second, you need to strengthen. What remains?

It's work uses used together with this wake up.

Well, what remains? Strengthen what remains.

Well, now it sounds like, well, maybe they have a little something.

Well, they do. The church was originally founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like they say they follow Jesus. They just left out those tough verses like, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

Or, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven whereby we may be saved. They just focus on the good works. Because that other stuff, man, people don't like us. When we dig into the gospel, and now you're second generation, third generation down the line, and I'm a follower of Jesus because. That's on our name.

We're the First Church of Jesus. here in Sardis, and we do good things for people. And their own engagement of the gospel. There's just a tiny little bit left. That remains.

They need to go back to the fact that the gospel is, we need Jesus. We need Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And the wages of that sin is death.

This is the first opening of the Romans' road. if you're familiar with that gospel presentation method. All have sinned and fall short. You are lacking. You don't have enough gas to get to where you want to go.

And you are dependent on whether or not God will come and rescue you. Anyway. You need Jesus. I like Fanning's. Quotation here: according to Christ's assessment, their present spiritual condition falls far short.

In God's view, however satisfactory it may be in their own self-estimation. God's evaluation is that their works. their conduct in general, are not adequate. that is fulfilled or accomplished to a degree reflective of genuine Christian life. Genuine faith is seen in behavior that shows forth the new life that is within.

You want to really show Jesus within, endure persecution well. There's Jesus in. And then you need to remember. You don't need the just. Grab a hold of the fact that we need Jesus.

You actually need to walk through the gospel. You need to remember the gospel. Otherwise, you're just left in your sin. And that's not a comfortable place to be. like you're still condemned.

Jesus provided a way. For your sins to be overcome, for them to be taken care of. I love. Paul's, the way he talks about in 1 Corinthians 1:18, for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. When the embrace of Christ.

When faith in Christ is inside. People, he's right. They don't want to hear about it. It's foolishness. out there.

So let's not talk about, let's do those things. And then you become Sardis. Romans 5:8 says, But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You know, the cross is not. liked by the world for many different reasons.

It's either foolish at best or it's an offense. But it is the power of God for salvation. It is the only way through which anyone can be right with God. The only way. And it is given out of love.

of Jesus. Hold fast to what you've seen. Hold fast to what you've heard. Christ came to save sinners. It's not the healthy that need a physician, Jesus said.

It's the sick. that need healing. That's why Jesus came. It's because he loved. people He loved.

Israel. He loved the whole world and He came to be the perfect sacrifice. And with that truth, you need to keep it. Guard it. This is the most important thing in life.

That word for guard, to keep it, is the the type of grip on something. that you would sacrifice your life for. Whatever happens, you will not let this one thing be hurt, corrupted, assailed. In any way, shape, or form. That's what you need to do.

with Christ died for you. You need to grab a hold of that. That's the central. Peace of the gospel. Hold on to the basics.

Romans 10:9. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Right there. Simple. And there is now therefore No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Equally important truth, you don't have to be in fear of anyone anywhere at any time. when your insight's right with God. There is no condemnation. You're never going to get anyone, including God, going. Shame, shame.

No condemnation. for those in Christ. Jesus, this is why you want to guard it so well because people are fickle. You can please someone one day and then the next day. You're the enemy again.

It happens even in our own families, like in church families, in home families, at work. I mean, we know, you know what I'm talking about. When you put your faith in people, particularly when it's out of fear. It's a it's a trap. That is a terrible master.

And now that Jesus has said, get back to the gospel itself. Get back to me. and engage it. Repent. And this is the fifth imperative in this letter.

He doesn't sit there and say, You need to get rid of these Nicolaitans, you need to get rid of Jezebel, you need to stop doing this or that. He says, just repent. That's where you need to go. Repent. This is saving repentance.

This is the kind of repentance that embraces Jesus Christ as your Savior. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. It's almost like the same thing Jesus is talking to the church at Sardis to say, Do it now. Grab a hold of it.

You just went through these other things. Don't let it go. Your natural reaction is to say, Lord, forgive me. for holding on to myself. I need you.

I need you to take control. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. Repentance is directed towards God. It sits in this middle of us. in our relationship with him.

There are a lot of people who have done a lot of things and regret it in society. And they may want to do penance. They may want to use money to get it right. They may go to jail for a while to pay for their crimes. But unless it is directed to the one who made.

Everything including right. And wrong as written out in the scriptures. The one who defines what it means to be right with Him. That's where repentance focuses. This is why David says, against thee and thee only have I sinned.

Because what is a sin against anybody else compared to a sin against the Holy God? You need to embrace Jesus. Or else. And the passage moves on, and that's what Jesus says. Or else, I will come.

like a thief against you. These are serious words. Wake up! Serious. If you don't.

Follow this recipe for becoming alive, which is repent and grab a hold of me. then I'm going to come like a thief against you. It's interesting, this unconquerable City of Sardis. was conquered twice. Both times in one night.

The first time, King, I think Crassius was his name, he was the Lydian king, the last Lydian king. He got Cyrus the Great mad at him. And Cyrus came with his armies and besieged Sardis, and they all retreated up to the citadel. And they thought they were cozy, and Persian army is trying to figure out how are we going to take these guys. And so they're just kind of starving them out a little bit until a Persian soldier noticed a guy all the way at the top.

drop his helmet off the wall and roll all the way down.

Well, the soldier proceeded to get off the wall. and climb all the way down. picked up his helmet and went all the way back up. And the Persian soldier made sure to to tag the route. that the guy used.

And so then the Persians decided the next night or to to stage a big distraction on the other side of the mountain. With their main army. And they did so, and then all the Lydian guys, they get on, are they really going to try to storm up here? Ha, ha, ha. Boy, they're going to in for it.

while Cyrus's cracked troops ran up that trail. and took the whole city. One night I'm gonna come like a thief in the night. You think you're unassailable because of your works. How dare God judge me?

Look at all the good I've done. The second time was a very similar story. Antiochus III, now he's one of the four Greek. Empires, and he was also in that Persian area. He came after the city.

Um He had an enemy there, besieged it again. Only this time his soldiers noticed that at a certain time, once a week, the people in Sardis would come out in this weird section, and come down and they would throw their dead to the vultures there. And so they did a little research and found a trail up, and the same thing, and they did the same thing. And conquered the city and One night. In fact, in their case, the enemy up in the city tried to get away that same night coming down that trail.

And it's like, Surprise. I will come like a thief in the night. You think you got time. You think you're okay. You think that.

I really wouldn't judge my own Church. We're told that judgment begins at the house of God. Oh yes you will.

So who then, Jesus would say, is the faithful and wise servant? whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, My master is delayed, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards.

The master of the servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces. and put him with the hypocrites in that place where there will be weeping. And gnashing your teeth. Or come like a thief. Don't risk not being right on the inside.

Don't risk it. But as he continues, he says, You still have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. Is there another reason why we're talking about people who have not engaged the gospel. In this church, and it's because he specifically calls out just a few and says their names. There are few names, there are few individuals there, that are still with me.

They are right with me. They are right on the inside. These people may do the same good works. With the people of Sardis, but they're being fueled through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ in them. And they're doing it out of the right motivations, not out of fear, but out of faith.

And Jesus tells them, says, I see you. Don't think I'm lumping you with the whole church. I gotcha. And I'm going to give you white garments. You're good with me forever.

You're good with me forever. Some people think that using the garments as the symbolism here is because Sardis was well known for trading in woolen goods and stuff. Maybe, that may be the reason, but the point is, I think, clear. that you have You're trying to do right here. You're sitting in a good place and you're going to sit in the great place forever.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Faith is the key. Faith is what overcomes the world. Not our works.

And to those who conquer, Those rest of y'all? Those as uh Dabu Sweeney would say on the rest of y'all bunch. Bus, rest of y'all bus, right? Yeah. He says, 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. All you gotta do is do that repentance piece. Engage the gospel, engage Christ, and you get the same thing: white garments. Forever with me. Never have to worry about it again.

You don't need to fear others, and you don't need to use what others think about you to judge whether or not you're okay. He says, not only the white garments, he specifically says, you're going to stay in the book of life. You're not going to get blotted out. There's a lot of assumptions there. In that.

And so I want to talk briefly about the book of life. And then he says, confessed by Jesus. And we'll talk about that too. for a second. First, the book of life.

A lot of references in Scripture to this book. It's one of many books. and distinct from the record of judgment. It is not a book of judgment. It belongs to the Lamb.

That's Jesus. and is opened through his sacrificial death. And it is written from the foundation of the world. A number of passages say that. God wrote the book, and its enrollment is beyond space and time.

This is the book of life. It has got. every name that will spend eternity We're Jesus. Every name in it. And he's saying, you want security?

Embrace Jesus. He's the one that owns the book on it. That's the message here. It's not about can you lose your salvation or anything like that. I would challenge, there's way too many things that say you can't.

If you're in Christ. you're never going to be blotted out of Christ. The key is being in Christ. And finally, confessed by Jesus. I think Jesus is referring back to a couple of passages here.

Where he says, first, so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny my Father. And before my Father who is in heaven. And then in Luke, he says, And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

The heavenly the people that dwell in will know. Because of Jesus' own words, who are his and who are not, and he will back. Anybody. who has put their faith in him. He's the ultimate I got your back guy.

And he will confess the name of anybody that will just. Be in. Faith. through saving repentance. Trust, putting their trust in Jesus because all they have is themselves without Him.

So he ends the passage. Just like the other. passages, the other letters. He who has an ear Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Everyone here today who has ears.

This is written for you. We just read this. And there's a challenge here. There's some takeaways. And this is where I want to wrap up here.

For the one trusting in salvation through comparison, the one who is looking based on the outward. To try to convince themselves that they're good with God, God does not grade on a curve. He does not. I don't care whether you're the best-looking corpse in the cemetery. It doesn't matter to him.

It doesn't matter to him. And yet, this is how the vast majority of the religions of the world work. They set an impossible standard in front of you. They know and you know it's impossible. And so then the challenge is: well, if I can look better than most of the people that share my religious views, then somehow God owes me.

Salvation.

Okay.

Yeah. That's no you think. It's only through faith in Christ. God alone does the work of salvation. Um Paul says in Titus, but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works.

done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. By the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. It's all the work done by him. And so if you find yourself today Whether in here or out there, listening. And you say, you know what?

I don't know that I've ever actually dealt. with the void inside. Then you have your platform right here on what to do. Wake up. Strengthen what remains.

Recognize it's all about Jesus. Grab a hold of it and don't let go that it's all about Jesus, and he promises complete mercy and forgiveness. and then engage that. by calling out to him. Save me, Jesus.

You're my only hope. Second takeaway: what about those who are pursuing sanctification on their own? This is coming from that group of people that are in Christ, but. All their works really are sourced by them rolling up their sleeves. This is the person who is focused on trying to please God rather than trust God.

And this is why so many Christians who find themselves in this category struggle so much with thinking that they're a failure, thinking that God won too many sins into this is going to be done with them. And this is also slavery. And it is doing things out of fear. And you need to stop. If this is you.

You need to stop. You need to remember the gospel truth. Christ is in you. If you have embraced Christ, And you need to trust him and let them work. It's one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Do you believe this verse? I was always bothered.

You know by the Bracelet, what would Jesus do? And I never knew why and it hit me this summer. It's because it's the wrong question. It should be: what would you do, comma, Jesus? Because Jesus is always with you.

Asking what Jesus would do implies that he's not there. And that's not the way we should approach the relationship. There's a formula here in this verse: I trust Jesus, Jesus lives in me. I bear fruit. As my trust in Jesus grows, I become more like him because who is doing the living?

Jesus. is doing the living. I do the trusting. And that's how sanctification works. That's why all of a sudden I can look back and say, wow, I'm not the person I was five years ago.

Why? Because Jesus has lived more and I've trusted him more. And that's where we need to go. And finally, Last takeaway here is there's always the possibility of the faithful few. Always.

And if you're one of them in your family, you may be the only Christian in your family or extended family. Your family may be the only one in. Who follows Christ in your extended family? You may be the only Christian at work, in your school, wherever it is. Don't lose hope.

Never lose hope. There is nothing to fear. Nothing to fear. Look for the good opportunities and support them. It's okay.

to go alongside an unbeliever and work at the food bank, that's okay, but your motivation should be different. It comes from what's inside. It becomes, it's by who's living in you. and serving Because Jesus loves people. Make sure you also shine.

in that service. Don't ever. hide the name of Jesus. Hide it under a bushel? No.

I'm going to let it shine.

Alright. Make sure, no matter how hopeless it seems, that you grab and hold on to that. gospel core inside. And let your life live accordingly. I want to close with a quote in the passage.

Jesus does not forget the few individuals in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. Even when he must paint with broad brushstrokes, he doesn't lose the fine touch of personal knowledge and attention. He knows and values his faithful ones, his godly remnant. Even if they are small in number and their future reward with him is assured, they can also serve as catalysts to trigger a return to life and health for the majority. That has lost its way.

But to do so, they must be preserving and winsome. A fickle and belligerent minority is likely to provoke resistance. rather than real change. But God in God's hands, a few well placed embers, a small spark of real fire can revitalize even the coldest congregations or at least stir the flames for a few others. There was a faithful few at the end of the Old Testament in the book of Malachi after God.

explains to the readers that they are doing a lot of good things, but they are dead. And he addresses them with hope. He says, Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Then once more you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. My sheep hear my voice, Jesus says, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give to them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one is able to pluck them out of my hand. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. for salvation.

It's so hard because of us, and so easy because of you. Lord, I pray. adamantly. that it would be what runs our lives and that we would hold on to it. Just like Jesus said to you.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.