2/18/07 – 7LAW “Revelation’s Seven Churches – Part 5”
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s subject – “Revelation’s Seven Churches – Part 5”

Before we begin today’s program, shall we reverently seek God’s presence. Heavenly Father, once again we ask for divine guidance through the agency of the Holy Spirit, as we open the word and continue our study of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation.  In Jesus name Amen.

I continue to keep my pledge to cry aloud and spare not, lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s Law.

We concluded our study last week of the fourth of the seven churches of Revelation as found in chapter 2. That was the church in Thyatira and its parallel church period was from AD 538 to 1798.

In our continuing study of the seven churches of Revelation we have discovered that there was a dual application, as the description, warnings rebukes and promises applied to the seven churches of that first century, but also describes the Christian church in seven periods of its history to our present day.

Today we will continue with the fifth church, starting in Revelation chapter 3, verse 1. It would really help your understanding if you follow along with me as we study verse by verse. Verse 1 reads, “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.” 

The period of history covered by the church of Sardis was from 1798 AD to 1833 AD. The meaning of the name Sardis is uncertain, however there are three meanings that have been suggested: “that which remains;” “song of joy;” and “something new.” 

“These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars…” Seven is God’s number for perfection and the seven Spirits of God would be the Holy Spirit. The seven stars are the messengers, leaders or elders of the churches. ‘I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” Here the name is the reputation. Hypocrisy characterized this church, which was not what it pretended to be. They had a name to live, but their works were destitute of the love of Jesus.
However he who deservedly bears the name of Christian, which signifies Christlike, will be filled with piety and purity, with love and reverence for God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent; and his spirit, his words, his actions, will all bear the impress of Heaven. Others will see that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him, His prayers will be simple and fervent, and will ascend to God on the wings of faith. Learning in the school of Christ, he will have a humble opinion of himself; and though he may be poor in this world's goods, he may be rich in the graces of God's Spirit, and may bless and enrich others by his spirit and influence, because Christ is in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. He will shed about him an atmosphere of hope and courage and strength, and will put to shame those who are worldly, selfish, formal professors, who have a name to live and are dead.

Professedly, the reformation churches had discovered what it means to live by faith in Jesus Christ, but for the most part they eventually lapsed into a state resembling, in certain ways, that of the organization from which they had withdrawn. Their name – Protestant – implied opposition to the abuses, errors and formalism of the Roman Catholic Church, and the name Reformation implied that none of these faults were to be found within the Protestant fold.
“…that thou livest, and art dead.” The sin of hypocrisy here calls forth from the Glorified Christ, His most unqualified rebuke. Rather than being ‘quickened’ or made alive in Jesus, as this church claimed to be, in reality, it was dead. Thinking men who found the avenues of independent theological thought closed to them by the rigid formulas of Protestant orthodoxy turned, in some instances, to the new philosophical rationalism. Rationalism’s presuppositions when applied to religion went far to encourage the spiritual coldness that characterized much of Protestantism in the centuries following the reformation.

Verse 2 “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.”   
Watchfulness is a Christian duty, but even in degenerate Protestantism there were certain things worth laboring to preserve. The spiritual life of Protestantism was dying, but the system was not yet dead.

Verse 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.”
This verse implies that not only had Sardis received the truth, but that she still had it – not all had been lost. That there was still hope is further indicated by the injunction to “hold fast.” So some Christians in the Sardis period had not backslidden. "Hold fast." This does not mean, Hold fast to your sins; but, Hold fast to the comfort, the faith, the hope, that God has given you in His Word. Never be discouraged. A discouraged man can do nothing. Satan is seeking to discourage you, telling you it is of no use to serve God, that it does not pay, and that it is just as well to have pleasure and enjoyment in this world. But "what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" You may have worldly pleasure at the expense of the future world; but can you afford to pay such a price?  
     We are to "hold fast" and live up to all the light we receive from heaven. Why? Because God wants us to grasp the eternal truth, and act as His helping hand by communicating the light to those who are not acquainted with His love for them. When you gave yourself to Christ, you made a pledge in the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--the three great personal Dignitaries of heaven. "Hold fast" to this pledge.
“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.” Jesus used this warning in Matthew 24:43. At every phase of the history of the Christian church, it is imperative to be watching and ready for the second advent of Jesus.

Verse 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.  

“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis” means there are some faithful persons, (names), in this period of Christian history. Therefore it is   represented as having in it a few faithful ones among the many who had become, as it were, careless and insensible of their obligations to God. "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." Who is so favored as to be numbered among these few in Sardis? Are you? Am I? Who are among this number? Is it not best for us to inquire into this matter, in order that we may learn to whom the Lord refers when He says that a few have not stained their white robes of character?
  
Verse 5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.  

I must repeat verse 5 for it is very important. Listen carefully, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." 
     If we would be overcomers, we must search our hearts to be sure that we are not cherishing anything that is offensive to God. If we are, we cannot wear the white raiment that is here promised. If we would stand before God in the white linen, which is the righteousness of the saints, we must now do the work of overcoming.  
     Christ says of the overcomer, "I will not blot out his name out of the book of life." The names of all those who have once given themselves to God are written in the book of life, and their characters are now passing in review before him. Angels of God are weighing moral worth. They are watching the development of character in those now living, to see if their names can be retained in the book of life. A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Who is doing this work? Who is separating from himself sin and selfishness? "Ye are dead," says the apostle Paul of the true followers of Christ, "and your life is hid with Christ in God." When we are alive to God, we are dead to self. May God help us to die to self. Whose names will not be blotted out of the book of life? Only the names of those who have loved God with all the powers of their being, and their neighbors as themselves. 

“…but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Jesus, the advocate, intercessor and great High Priest, wants to confess the name of His loyal followers before the Father and the holy angels. The broader and deeper purpose of the plan of redemption is to vindicate the character of God before the universe. Satan maligned the character of God and made a lot of false charges. He has been allotted the six thousand years to prove his case and has fully exposed the evil of his intentions.  
When Jesus presents His ransomed people before the throne of God, He thereby provides the angelic hosts with a convincing testimony, that the ways of God are just and true. They see the righteousness of God vindicated, alike in His “strange act” (Isaiah 29:21) of committing the unrepentant to destruction and in His pardon of sinners who accept His saving grace by faith.
 
Verse 6 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

Well it looks like time is up again for this week’s study, so be tuned in next week as we continue our study with the 6th church, the church of Philadelphia. Next week, “Revelation’s Seven Churches – Part 6”.	

	If you want some more information or even Bible studies, contact me by writing to: Pastor Vaughn that’s V-A-U-G-H-N, at PO Box 727, South Hill, VA 23970. Once again that’s Pastor Vaughn that’s V-A-U-G-H-N, at PO Box 727, South Hill, VA 23970. 
 
	And remember, you are always welcome to worship with us each seventh day Lord’s Day (that’s Saturday mornings) at the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church located at 117 W. Danville Street in the center of South Hill, VA. 

	Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Even so, Come Lord Jesus.