"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.Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.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.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. 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.He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." - Rev 3:1-6 (KJV)"

The congregation at Sardis is a mirror image of the ones we have seen till now (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamom, Thyatira). Can you tell how? Take a moment and think about it before you read on...
The previous four congregations had a majority of the people doing good works, with a few (NONE in the case of Smyrna) people indulging in activities that merited rebuke and chastisement. Sardis has the majority of their congregation characterized as "dead", with only a few that are alive!

THE REPORT CARD OF SARDIS'

A. ISSUING AUTHORITY :
From the person(s) without whom we can do NOTHING! "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit."-Zec 4:6 (The Tabernacles Mission Verse!) "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." - John 15:5.It is not without reason that Christ brings two images of Himself, one who has the Seven Spirits of God AND the seven stars (the pastors of the seven churches) under His authority. The two are connected - a church without the Spirit is a DEAD church! Worse than dead, its actually a ZOMBIE(!) looking and acting alive but dead inside...

B. WHATS GOING WELL : Nothing. Apart from a few individuals and a few works (which are on the verge of dying as well) there is no commendation here at all, just a very sad state of affairs. You can find individuals like this even today (maybe you are one!) that serve God and not the church, unsung and unrecognized, humbly and diligently - in the parking lot, in the sunday school, leading a bible study, cleaning the church....

C. WHATS NOT GOING WELL : Everything... this congregation has a name/brand that they are alive - indicating at least that they are famous in their local or even Christian community - maybe because its of the few works that are being held up as poster children for everyone to see - but as far as our Lord is concerned, they are not doing much of anything at all - and a lot of their other works "are not perfect" - a euphemism for stink" if there ever was one! "All our righteousness is as filthy rags." - Isaiah 64:6 Here is proof that doing things 'your way' and in your own strength gets you no credit at all!

D. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS:
Remember Who drew you to Himself, How you were drawn, what you heard, and CHANGE!

A lot of churches today have been so infected with the consumer mentality that they, like Sardis, have completely departed from the original mission of the Commission - preach the Gospel, Baptize and Teach - thus making disciples. Let us clarify what we mean.

In a consumer driven economy, the customer is king. Everything is focused around YOU. Businesses are all about the customer experience, your opinion/feedback is constantly sought through surveys, customer service is a top priority - all for the sake of attracting and keeping your business/money, by making you feel you are the center of the universe.This has only been accentuated today by social media etc.,where the focus is increasingly me, me, me!
Its the same thing in a Sardis type of church - they are looking to attract and keep an ever growing number of 'consumers' - through the tools of their trade - a good worship/concert "experience", contemporary music, lightweight and repetitive lyrics to create a trance like state, a liberal - no offense message, a what-can-Jesus-do-for-you doctrine, comfortable surroundings, and a minimal demand of the congregation except for tax deductible donations. If enough paying customers show up, they can afford to hire "professional" employees to keep the business going, and have no need for church volunteers(!) - even if they do, they ask them to do the "low-profile" jobs. Success is measured in terms of the size of attendance, not the manifest fruits of the Spirit or changed /transformed lives. These churches don't need the Spirit because they are relying on Church growth consultants and 'leadership' training.

That's sad, because Christianity is not about you!

Its about glorifying GOD, preaching the gospel to others, faithfully expounding the Word of God, and building up the body by encouraging them to discover and use their gifts for the edification of the church and for the benefit of our fellow man.Love people by telling them how much God loves them, by teaching them how to live a rich and fulfilling life without the snares of riches, and even in tribulation, all through the power and anointing of the Spirit! These are the works our Lord is asking Sardis to go back to...

E. BENEFITS/CONSEQUENCES OF FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS
If Sardis does not change, the day of Christ's coming will come upon them like a thief - because they are not watching for Him! Here is clue to unravel a seeming contradiction around Christs coming. Some passages indicate He will come like a thief, others say every eye will see Him. Which is it? Some commentators have tried to resolve this contradiction with a doctrine of a secret rapture, and a glorious appearing (Parousia) as being two distinct and separate events.
One takeway from this letter is that they can both be the one and the same event simply because a Sardis like church has NO CLUE, and NO DISCERNMENT to detect the signs of the times - therefore for them - His coming is like a thief! They are told to watch - "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up."-Matt 24:43
A severe consequence of not having the Spirit is that you are NOT BORN AGAIN! You are dead in your trespasses and sins and do not have the white robe of Christs righteousness covering you. This is the warning. It is accentuated (in a backwards fashion) by a POSITIVE reference - NOT being blotted out of the Book of Life, but being acknowledged and owned by Christ before the Father and His angels. This is why we say that the warning is "backward" in that it promises the overcomer that he/she will NOT be blotted out.

Here is another difficult topic.The fact that Christ says He will not blot a person out from the Book of Life does not mean that some people WILL be blotted out. One does not "necessarily" logically follow from the other - even though we may be tempted to extend the logic to do so. In Revelation (20:11-) we read that there is the Book of Life, and there are other books that contain our deeds, and the unsaved are judged out of those books at the FINAL WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT.

This judgement does not judge those who have already died in Christ, or those that have gone through the Great Tribulation period. The first group are seen in Revelation 7:9, the second in Revelation 20:4. This judgement is for the -rest- of humanity, and it will surprise you to learn that a lot of them are ALSO written in the Lambs book of Life, by virtue of them obeying their conscience. God saves retroactively!!! Hallelujah!! The rest get what they deserve, the lake of fire.
What a stern warning - but nothing short of this can wake a dead church! Dear Friends, for God to have a child of His perish in the lake of fire is similar to us seeing our sons and daughters willingly and willfully choose a path of destruction and estrangement from us in spite of our love for them. His severe warnings are out of the greatest love He has for them, that they live and not perish.

This is the burden shared by this Page and our associated web site www.tabernacleoftheholyspirit.org where you can read about our mission, and values. We sincerely urge all to go through our "Are You Saved?" video (link below), and also available on the site, to make your calling and election sure, and make sure that you are alive and not dead! Pray for your church that it may not go down this path!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj2_jW-PYhY