Jesus had John pen conditions and spirituality of seven churches that can also be applied individually. We read what was wrong with the whole church, but what about the individuals. Before a church can die collectively, it will die individually. Spiritually speaking our life is in Jesus Christ. He’s our connection and our lifeline just like oxygen is to our blood. Being disconnected spiritually is what happened to the Sardis church. It can also happen to us.
Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
There is a lot alive in the world today. Christianity should be alive as well. Sardis was one of the New Testament churches and had a name that it lived. It did the practices and ceremonies, order and functions of a church on the outside, yet Jesus said it was dead. It had a name that it was alive, yet it was not.
You have a name that lives. It’s stamped on you, but inside where it matters, are you alive? It’s important to the Lord what his house looks like, what the order of a service is, what the statement of beliefs is, but the most important thing is—are we alive about it? It causes us to practice our spirituality. Jesus didn’t want it, but Sardis was dead to the core, in the core. It looked good on the outside but was rotten inside. We can get caught up in that. We do have to focus on the outside things, but it must come from a heart right with the Lord. The inside must be right first. Sardis had a death sentence and wasn’t even aware of it. Jesus wanted “a live” Christianity from them; he wants it from us.
Our moments are live. September 11, 2001 brought the U.S. from the smallest home to the Oval Office together. We were shaken to the core. We were shocked and spell bound because we saw it happen live, on TV. Multitudes died right before our eyes. We watched it. We were witnesses. We have a continual 911 because we live life “alive.” The devil is alive and working. Sin is unbound. Anything goes. Nothing is wrong anymore. Souls are falling victim to it. It’s invading and taking lives to hell.
The devil doesn’t mind us going to church. He doesn’t care if we practice at it. Just don’t pray or try to win someone to the Lord. He doesn’t care what we profess as long as we don’t possess. That’s what matters to the Lord; it should matter to us. It will keep us from the manipulation of the devil. We can’t pull up a tape clip from the past when we were on fire for the Lord. We can’t rely on the blessings of yesterday. We’re on the spot right now. A video is something in the past. Be real time. The camera is on us. People can be whatever they want, but we can be alive in the Lord. The world is too much alive for us to be dead. We should be living, breathing Christians.
With a world so alive with sin, my prayer should be “help me be alive as a Christian.” We proclaim the only living God. It’s easy to go through the motions. We can have any kind of name tag we want but still be dead. Do you need to be revived? Maybe you need a resurrection. What Jesus said to Sardis, he may be saying to you. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
I want to feel alive in the Lord. I want to feel good about my life in the Lord. I can have it. The Lord of Life, Jesus, offers it.
He wants my life to be “a live Christianity.” Are we ready, like Lazarus, to “Come forth”?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 