Jesus' 5th letter to the church --
Church of Sardis
-Sardians is one of the most wealthy ppl
-however, wealth brought complacency and moral degeneration
-soft, love for money, pleasure
-the name of the church in Sardis has reputation.. its good works are well known to all
-always busy with outreach
-no shortage of money, talent, human resources
-to the public, the church appeared to have a strong spiritual life
-but Jesus sees them as spiritually dead...disconnected from God
-nominal = just a name / label
-a church cannot just have the image of being alive but also to have life itself
-hypocrite = actor
-Jesus hates it!
no persecution, no false doctrine cos they are spiritually dead..theres no need and not worth for Satan to attack them
-its not too late for the church
-only the Holy Spirit give life to the dead
-though they are very reputable, God sees differently
-what human sees and what God sees is different and impt!
-God sees what is behind every act of ours
the Holy Spirit is our greatest gift
-empower us to serve
-fills us with love, joy and peace
-subdues sinful passions/cravings
-transforms character into Christlikeness
*we are the temple of the Holy Spirit
only a few good among the bad
God often works through the minority
to walk in close friendship / relationship
overcomers are those who resist the temptation of complacency and living in pleasure
-not kingdom, but Book of Life
-entry to heaven
-the Sardians are so busy that forgot to confess Christ
-they have the best name/reputation on earth, but not in heaven
-we may have bad names on earth for the sake of Christ, will be openly acknowledged in heaven
#6 letter - Church of Philadelphia
-very small in membership and not wealthy
if the door is shut tight, it will be useless to force open
-we need to wait for Jesus to open for us
-dont be impatient, learn to be patient with God
-open door symbolized the opportunity to preach the gospel
-bigger the door, the more and bigger the adversities
3 obstacles
1. little strength
-they were small and poor
-its only when we are weak that we will be strong in Christ
keeping God word and keep mediating and obey Jesus' words and apply them to our life
the name of Jesus refers to Him as the person and His works
3 things about this church
-Jesus is very pleased with church of Philadelphia
2. opposition from Jews
very often the oppressions make us afraid, fearful to share the gospel
the church preserved in hardships
3. obstacleswhen in trial, we are not to escape, but protected in it
nobody were spared in trials, but Jesus promised to uphold and preserve
only after this great tribulation that the 2nd coming of Jesus will take place
during the great tribulation, we shouldnt be afraid cos we know that Jesus' return is round the corner
keep on going on, keep holding on
-keep preaching the gospel
-keep relying on God
-keep staying faithful to Jesus to the end
in eternity, the overcomer is promised stability, permanence and rest
3 names
-name of God
-name of New Jerusalem
-name of Jesus
#7 letter - church of Laodiceans
Laodicea is a very wealthy city, but lack of water supply
-theres is no persecution in church of Laodiceans
-similar to the Sardis
-reputation is very important to the Sardians.. so they were very busy with works
-they wanted a good name.. pretentious church
-church of Laodiceans totally dont care
-self-satisfied church
-very democratic.. everything decided by the population
-nothing by the Holy Spirit
theres no wholeheartedness
Jesus wants us to be wholehearted
-in worship, faith and love for God!
-they think that they have no lack
-pride and self-sufficiency have creeped into their culture and then creeped into the church
-God is not in their equation of life
-pride can easily blind us to see corruption in us
they were rich naturally, but spiritually bankrupt
we cant buy with money
only Jesus can heal the eyes who are spiritually blind
-we are correctly judged and disciplined for our sins, its a sign that God truly loves us
-dont be afraid of God allowing us to go through though times to prune us
-to every church, Jesus ask to repent!
-repent = change of mind, views, values, lifestyle
Jesus stands humbly at the doors of our heart and waits for us to open to Him
guard against..
losing our first love, fear of suffering, doctrine compromise, moral compromise, spiritually dead, failure to preach the gospel, luke-warmness
dont just live for money/pleasure
-God has a greater purpose for us
