Well, I want to talk to you about these white robes. I want you to hear what Jesus says in Revelation 3:1-6. So, I invite everybody, open your Bible and turn with me to the book of Revelation. Chapter 3, verses 1 to 6. People have a lot of thoughts about the book of Revelation. There are a lot of symbols and images in this book, and some of them are very disturbing. There's a dragon, there's a beast, there's a prostitute on many waters, but the image that has stood out to me the most this summer as we've been teaching through revelation here in the services. I got to go to High School Camp, and I was with the kids here at church all week. We've been going on Tuesday nights, and we've been learning about Revelation. And these white robes, I think, are such a helpful thing for you to think about as a Christian person. And Jesus, he talks about these white robes here to the church in Sardis. And so, I want to read what Jesus has to say to this church, to you today. This is Revelation 3:1-6. I need to apologize just up front. I've been teaching kids all week, all right? So, if I come across a little strong, a little excited, that's because everything I say, they're just like, Amen the entire time. Right? So, I'm trying not to judge you guys right now in my heart, okay, but when I taught them for the fifth time on Friday night, they were just shouting Maranatha, Maranatha. The whole time before the sermons even began, I noticed you guys weren't shouting that this morning before eleven o'clock. All right? So, if I come across, you know, I've been talking to the kids, alright. So, this is Revelation, chapter 3, verses 1 to 6. And I invite everybody to stand up for the public reading of Scripture. And this is what Jesus said to a real church at a real place in time. And this is also what Jesus wants you to hear here at our church this morning. Please follow along as I read Revelation in chapter 3, starting in verse 1.
“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 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 have still 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.’”
That's the reading of God's word. Please go ahead and have your seat. And I'd love for you to take some notes. There's a handout provided for you there in your bulletin if you want to jot down some notes of what Jesus says to the church here in Sardis. And it always begins with “The words of,” and then, Jesus introduces himself with a description, something about himself that's going to be relevant to what he's about to say to this church. And here he says he's got the seven spirits of God. “The seven spirits of God” is actually a phrase repeated in the book of Revelation.
I wonder if you've ever really thought about it before, what does Jesus mean when he says, I have the seven spirits of God. Turn back to Revelation, chapter one, and you'll see where this was previously referred to. Now, a lot of times in the introductions to these seven different churches, Jesus refers to something John saw when he had a vision of Jesus in Revelation. Well, this time, it's not the vision of Jesus, unveiled in all of his glory, where John falls over dead. This time, it's actually something John said in his introduction to the book of Revelation. Look back at Revelation 1:4-5. It says, “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” And he goes on from there, but he's talking about the one who is, the one who was, the one who is to come, the Eternal One, the I Am that I Am. He's talking about Yahweh, God, the Father. But then before the throne of God, there are the seven Spirits of God. And then he goes on to talk about Jesus. Have you ever paid attention and thought, what does that mean? The seven spirits of God that are before the throne?
Go with me to Revelation 4:5, where we get a picture of, where God is in the throne room of Heaven. In fact, we had a whole Tuesday night service about Revelation 4 and 5. It's on the website there, if you haven't been able to check that service out. But it gives you a glimpse; It takes you into the very presence of God. And here in Revelation 4:5, when it's describing this throne room scene. Here, it says, in Revelation, chapter 4, verse 5, “from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning, seven torches of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God.” So now you can kind of see them there. Before the throne, there are seven torches, representing these seven Spirits. So, this is something now that keeps getting repeated, that before the throne of God, there are the seven Spirits.
Look over at Revelation, chapter 5, where we're seeing a scene where Jesus enters here, and it says, “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” And so, hey, we're describing maybe you know about the four living creatures. You know about the twenty-four elders. Here comes the lamb. You're familiar with them. But do you know about these seven Spirits of God? What is this about? Why am I supposed to be looking at this in the book of Revelation?
Well, turn with me to Zechariah, chapter 4. I want everybody to grab your Bible and go all the way back to a previous prophecy in the book of Zechariah. So, you’ve got to go back to Matthew and then keep going. You might see Zechariah there. It's one of the last of the prophetic books, because Zechariah was a prophecy at the time that they came back from the exile in Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple, and we had the privilege… Who was here last summer when we went through the book of Zechariah for, I think, eight different weeks? Does anybody even remember last summer? Does anybody? Can you remember back that far? Does anybody remember going through the book of Zechariah? Anybody? Okay, a few of you remember. That's great, because we went through this for quite some time. It was all these visions that Zechariah had in one night, and he saw many different things. And one of the things that he saw, I think, is what we're supposed to think of when we think of the seven Spirits of God. It's here in Zechariah 4:1-8, “And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’ And I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’” Now, I love how the angel asked him, “What do you see?” That's always funny to me, when the angel in the vision is like, well, what do you think is going on? And the person who's having the vision is like, why are you asking me? I have no clue. I'm just having a vision. Right? And so, he's like, well, I can tell you what I see. I see these seven parts of this epic lamp stand that's being fueled by these olive trees, almost like an endless supply of oil is what's developing here in kind of this supercharged lampstand that can always have light coming out of it because of this oil from these trees. But I don't know what it is about. “What are these? My lord,” verse 5. “Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’” He doubles down, well, why don't you tell me what they are? And he's like, I don't know what they are, my lord. Why are you asking me? “Then he said to me,” verse 6, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.’” Okay, so they're rebuilding the temple at this time, that seems like a daunting task. Are they even going to be able to do it? Are they capable of rebuilding the temple? Well, actually, God's got everlasting energy. God is able. And look at this lampstand, and it's not going to be by your might or by your power. It's going to be done by the Spirit of the Living God. In fact, he goes on to say, “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” No, here's a prophecy. He's going to finish rebuilding the temple, and when he puts in the last stone at the top, people are going to be shouting grace, grace, because they're going to know God did this. God did this by the power of his Spirit. And so, it says in verse 8. “Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.’” These seven, oh, okay, so the seven parts of the lamp stand here, these seven are the eyes of the Lord which range through the whole earth. Okay, so there's a lampstand, and it's got this light because of this oil, and it's got seven parts. And what are the seven parts? Well, these are actually the eyes of the Lord. This actually represents the power of the Holy Spirit, of the living God, because you're going to finish building the temple, but it's not because of you, it's because of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the one who completes the work of God.
So, go back now to Revelation 3, and you'll see, what does Jesus say about this church that he's talking to? He says, “I do not find your works complete in the sight of my God.” Okay, wait a minute if the seven Spirits of God is referring to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the one that is going to complete the work because he has the power and ability to do God's work, well then, if you say to a church full of people that your works are not complete, what are you saying to that group of people? You're not really doing it by my Spirit. You don't really have my Spirit. So, Jesus is saying he's the one who gives the spirit.
Let's get that down. If you are taking notes, it's the words of Jesus: “Jesus gives the Spirit,” the seven Spirits of God. That's the power of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus, he gives the Holy Spirit to his people. This is the new covenant. This is what Jesus accomplished by his blood. Everyone who believes in Jesus, you get a new heart. You get a new life. You're a new creation. In Christ, you're no longer just you living in your own flesh. No, you now have the Spirit of the Living God living inside of you. Can I get an amen from anybody on that one here today? And now God's going to complete his work in you, because he put his Spirit in you, and his Spirit will cause you to walk in God's ways. His spirit will make you careful to obey God's commands. The Spirit of the Living God will empower and enable you to do things you were never capable of, but now you can do them. Now you can live a Spirit-filled life, a Spirit-empowered life, and God's work in you will be made complete. I'm the one who gives the Spirit, Jesus is saying, and I know you guys have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. That's what Jesus says to a church.
Now, I don't know if you've ever thought about this before, but Jesus just said that this church in Sardis, they got their name on their building, they got their service going on Sunday, they got activities and they got motions, but they don't have the life of the Spirit. And Jesus is saying that this church is a dead church. In fact, he then begins to talk to some of the people who make up the church, and he tells those people, wake up. Hey, this is your wake-up call. Hey, if I were to come back now, some of you are not even ready for me to come back. So, you’d better wake up and you’d better really think about what you heard, and you’d better repent; otherwise, when I come, I'm going to come like a thief, and you won't even be ready for me. Can you imagine you get a letter from Jesus at church where he says you don't have the Spirit. Can you imagine hearing Jesus say about you, yeah, I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God, because you don't have the Spirit. You're not really alive. You're dead. And you guys better get ready, because if I come back, I'm going to be judging you, not coming to get you and deliver you. That's what he says to a church.
So, I don't know if you've ever thought this through before, but there are churches that have a name that they are alive, but they're dead, and everything that's happening at the church, there are many activities happening that are not empowered by the Spirit. They're not actually the work of God. They're just people going through the motions of religious activity, and Jesus sees it, and he calls it for what it is. So, if you've never thought about the fact that churches could be dead, or if you've never thought about the fact that some people think they're alive in Jesus, but they're actually deceived, and they're actually still dead in their sins. So, we could be talking about a church that used to be doing great things and now it's dead, or we could be talking about a person who is deceived into thinking that they're alive, but they're still in their sin. You need to understand that's a real category of people, and Jesus is talking to them here in the city of Sardis.
So, get this down for point number one: you need to “Understand not everything named Christian is actually alive in Christ.” Not everything named Christian is actually alive in Christ. Oh, it may say Christian church when you look it up on Google Maps or how to get there. Oh, it may say Christian church when you go to their website. Oh, yeah, they might have a name that they are alive, but here's Jesus saying, I see you guys, and you are dead. Now, that might sound really harsh to say that well-meaning people trying to do good things who go into church together that their church is dead. That might sound harsh for me to say it. That might sound harsh if you say it, but Jesus is the judge, and he gets to call it as it is. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? Okay, so I understand. We're so used to, oh, well, who are you to judge? And who are you to judge, we start thinking, maybe nobody has the authority to judge. That's not what Revelation is saying. Revelation is saying he comes with a “sword coming out of his mouth,” and he's “one like a Son of Man.” One like a Son of man means the Ancient of Days, when the one like Son of Man came riding on the cloud. The Ancient of Days gave him all dominion, all power, all authority now belongs to Jesus, and Jesus is the boss. Jesus is the Lord. He calls the shots, and Jesus, he sees exactly how it is that church, they look like they're doing stuff. There's actually not anything going on. They're dead. And so, Jesus does get to say that about the church, and to me, it's fascinating that he says it to the church in Sardis. I don't know if you've ever heard of Sardis before, if you've ever studied or read anything about the history of the city of Sardis, but it was a unique city in that it was kind of surrounded by these cliffs. And to try to get up these cliffs would be a very steep and treacherous climb. And so there was really, if you ever read about Sardis, you'll read that there was only kind of one way to get into the city, and it was kind of like you had to go up and you had to go in this one way. So, they thought that their city was impregnable to any military attack, that they could easily defend their city. And that's the story of Sardis, like, hey, there's only one way to get in here, so we can defend that one way, and we can survive anybody coming against us. And if you read the history of this city, there are two different times in history, one with Cyrus of Persia, and then another one about four hundred years later, there are two different times when Sardis is like, well, they're trying. Our enemies are attacking us. They're trying to take us over, but they can't get in. Our defenses are too strong, and they can't go around and flank us. So, let's all go to sleep. We'll be fine. Everything will be great. And while they're sleeping and through the night, the enemies do this steep and treacherous climb, and they come over where they're not expecting, and guess what? They were asleep, and now they are dead. That's the story of this city. And now Jesus is saying that about a church in that city, that a church that's falling into their own history there in that city that you guys think everything's good. You guys think it's all fine, and you need to wake up because the thief is coming in and you're not even ready for him.
A commentary I really recommend about the book of Revelation is by Robert L. Thomas, an exegetical commentary, and he wrote this about the city of Sardis: “So secure did the Sardinians feel that they left this means of access, these ways, where you would have to climb up in a very steep way. They left the means of access completely unguarded, permitting the climbers to ascend unobserved. It is said that even a child could have defended the city from this kind of attack, but not so much as one observer had been appointed to watch the side that was believed to be inaccessible.” If anybody had been there, if anybody had been watching, it would have been easy to see people coming up and easy to stop them, because they're barely hanging on for their life. But no one was even watching. And so, Jesus says to this church, you guys are dead, and you need to wake up. And there might be somebody here today that when you came here, God brought you here today so you could hear Jesus say, wake up to this church, because it needs to be your wake-up call. Jesus is warning this church of judgment ahead of time, so they can heed his warning and get ready now and not wait until it's too late. And so, Jesus says to this church, wake up, you sleepers. Rise from the dead. That's what he's saying to this church.
And there might be people here this morning, that's what you need to hear Jesus said at the end of his famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, at the end of Matthew chapter 7, Jesus said that on that day, the day when he comes like a thief in the night, the day of judgment that is coming on that day, many are going to say to him… What are they going to say? Does anybody know what they're going to say? Lord, Lord. And they're going to say, Oh Jesus, there you are, my lord. Look, we did this in your name. We did this in your name. We did these mighty works in your name. And Jesus will say to these many people who think they're saved, and Jesus is their Lord, and they think they're living for Jesus, he will say to them, “Depart from me. I never knew you. You workers of lawlessness,” you are still dead in your sin. Many people are going to hear that on that day. So, if you've never thought this through that there are whole churches that Jesus would pronounce dead, and there are people who think they're doing the right thing for Jesus, and Jesus will say, I don't even know you, like if you've never thought that through, you really need to hear what Jesus is saying to this church today, because there is a category of churches that seem like they're good, but they're dead, and there is a category of believers who think that they're saved, but they're deceived, and we’ve got to watch out for that.
I remember the first church I ever worked at, it would fit this description. It had a name. It had a rich history. This church, I mean, this church had a big campus, and this church had shuttles, and because it used to barely be able to fit all the people that would come to this church. They had their own parking lot; they had their own buildings. They had a balcony at this church. And you know, I came there because one of my dad's friends invited me to be a part of that church, to do the high school ministry. And, wow, I loved working with young people. I loved being a part of the church. But we got a new pastor, and over the years, it was like, the pastor was like, we're going to try this this year at our church. And then, when that didn't work, he was like, we're going to try this this year at our church. And then when that didn't work, it was like, well, here's the new thing, we're going to try at our church. And eventually, you started feeling like we're just trying things and we're not getting anywhere. And these shuttles that used to bring people to church, they're just sitting in the back of the parking lot, broken down, and this place was not going anywhere. And the pastor came to me one day and he said, “You know, we really need to do something besides teaching the Bible to grow this church.” And as soon as he said that to me, I was like, I’ve got to get out of this church. Right? I mean, I knew right there that was so clarifying for me. I think the exact opposite of that, I think teaching the Bible is how the Spirit does the work and how Jesus builds his church. I need to get out of here. And I started praying to leave, and God answered my prayers, and he brought me to Compass Bible Church, down in Aliso Viejo. And they're the ones that sent us ten years ago up here to Huntington Beach. And as I was going to leave this church, a few of the elders, they wanted to have an exit interview, and they said, hey, how would you describe the church now that you've been here for a few years and you've been working at the church, if you could describe the church in a sentence or a couple of sentences, what would you say about this church? I was like, oh, that's an easy question. This is the dead church described in Revelation, chapter 3. I mean, the biggest program we just did at this church is we now have electronic recycling 24/7, where all of our neighbors can come and recycle their electronics. At our church, we're trying to get people to come to church for recycling, not to tell them about Jesus Christ. We've got a name that we're alive, but we're dead, and I'll tell you what those elders looked at me like I was a crazy person talking to them. Do you think I'm crazy? Or can you hear what Jesus is saying here today? I'll tell you what, that church, they had a Christian school, and I don't want to say anything negative about Christian school, because I knew some of the teachers at that church, and they taught those kids with all their heart, and they love those kids at church. They also had other churches that would meet at their building, churches that preach the gospel in different languages, that they let use their space. And you know, I saw the Christian school there at the church, and I saw other groups there meeting at the church, and I didn't get this sense that we had a real passion to teach kids the Bible. I didn't get this sense that we cared about the global church and people of all over the world, of all the nations worshiping Jesus. What I got a strong sense was that we were having a hard time paying the bills in the Christian School and the other churches really helped us keep the lights on, because we were dead, and we were looking for ways to turn our building into revenue and turn our space into cash. And there's a lot of churches, you go there, they're doing something, but people aren't professing faith in Jesus. People aren't getting baptized. People aren't reading the Bible and praying for revival. People aren't praying for our nation that's forsaking God, and going out into the streets, inviting the community to come and see Jesus. Oh, they're doing a lot of stuff, but they're dead.
And that's true. That's true about many churches. You might have driven by a dead church on your way here today. You might have gone to a dead church for many years of your life, like I did. Jesus says, Yeah, I see what's going on. There's supposedly something going on, but it's not complete. Not the works you're doing, they're not empowered by the Spirit. See, that could be true of you. You could be coming to church on a Sunday morning. You could be physically reading your Bible. You could be doing good works or acts of service. You could be doing a lot of things by your might and by Your power. But are you doing anything that is truly spiritual? Where, without the power of God, without the Spirit alive in you, you would be completely incapable and utterly unable to do those things. But by the Spirit of God, you have been made alive in Christ. See, are you doing spiritual things, or are you just going through the motions? Jesus is calling it for what it is, and he's saying there are people who are still dead, even though they're a church, or even though they think they're a Christian, they need to wake up. And the Bible often talks about death and sleep in a very similar way. When people die, sometimes it says they are asleep.
So, this wake-up call that Jesus is giving here is like a call to rise from the dead. It's a call to admit that all of your activity, all of your reputation of being alive, all of your telling other people you're a Christian, well, Jesus still thinks you're dead and you need to wake up. You need to hear what Jesus is saying, and you need to respond today. Now, this idea of Jesus coming like a thief in the night that Jesus refers to here, he's the one that put that idea out there. Jesus is the holy and anointed one of God, a thief, a thief, thief. That's a sin. I mean, if you're a robber, if you're a thief, you're not going to the kingdom of heaven. So, this is an interesting analogy that the holy and anointed one is saying, I'm coming like a thief.
We go over to Revelation 16:15, and you'll see it said again here in the book of Revelation. And this is right in the midst of the judgment in the time known as the tribulation, the day of the Lord, where bowls of wrath are being poured out from heaven upon planet earth, and in the middle of all these seven bowls of wrath, it says here in Revelation, 16, verse 15, “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” Hey, I'm coming like a thief, and a thief doesn't tell you when he's coming. He comes in the middle of the night. You don't know what day he's coming. You don't know what hour he's coming. And so, what have you got to do? You’ve got to get ready. You’ve got to stay ready all the time. You’ve got to lock the doors, you got to close the windows. You’ve got to set the alarm. You’ve got to stay locked down, because you don't know when it's coming. And Jesus is using the analogy of the thief to get people's attention, to warn them there's going to be a time where it's too late. So, you need to understand that the thief is coming, and you need to get ready now. You need to wake up.
Now, go back to Matthew 24, where he originally said this in his Olivet Discourse. Jesus taught about the destruction that was coming on Jerusalem, and he also taught about his return. And that's how prophecy works throughout the Scripture. If you're studying prophecy, it usually has an immediate application towards the people that originally heard the message from God, and then it also usually has a long term application that all people could learn from to prepare them for the things to come. And that's how Jesus is speaking here. He's warning them that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, but he's also talking about the ultimate judgment when he returns and he says, nobody knows the time, nobody knows the day, nobody knows the hour. You ever hear somebody tell you the day or the hour that Jesus is coming back? You know right then and there that person is a heretic. Don't listen to that person if they claim to know exactly when Jesus is coming back. And if you're interested in the timeline of eschatology and how Jesus is going to come back, or when is Jesus going to come back, you should definitely come here on Tuesday night, because our Tuesday night services are back, and we'll be looking at the when of revelation this Tuesday night at 6:30. But look what Jesus says here in Matthew 24:42. He says, “Therefore stay awake,” which, in the letter to the dead church is, wake up, or if you are awake, stay awake. Keep alert, stay ready. Therefore, you’ve got to wake up, or you’ve got to stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Okay, so I don't know if anybody here has ever been robbed in the middle of the night by somebody invading your house, and I hope that hasn't happened to you. If it has happened to you, I'm sorry, because I've talked to some people here at our church over the years who had their house broken into or had things stolen from them. I mean, you just feel invaded. You feel intruded upon. It is a very unsettling thing to have someone come uninvited into your space, being a danger to you and your family, taking your possessions. I hope that doesn't happen to you, because the people I've talked to where it did happen to them, it really bothered them. I had one friend who actually had someone, a thief, come into his house and start taking things in the middle of the night, and he went to confront the thief, and the thief shot him, and my friend died. So, I have seen this go incredibly bad, this idea that a thief is coming. That's supposed to be like a dangerous thing. That's supposed to be like an alarming thing, like, I don't want anybody creeping into my house, messing with my family, so I’ve got to stay ready. This is how Jesus wants you to live. He wants you to know there's a day of judgment coming. So, you can't have a lackadaisical, complacent attitude about sin, you’ve got to stay ready like the judge is coming at any time, you don't know when he's coming. He's coming like a thief.
Now, Jesus is advocating a way to live here that some people in this room, you need to hear this, because the reason he's warning you about what he's going to do later is so you could get ready now. And if you hear a message like this and you do nothing, then you're probably going to wait until it's too late. And so, you need to hear Jesus say, wake up.
Let's get that down for point number two: “Wake up, or the thief will wake you up.” I mean, what a nightmare. You talk about bad dreams. You talk about nightmares. Imagine waking up to the nightmare that the thief is in your house, and how did they get in? Oh, it's because I left the window open, or I left the door unlocked, or I didn't set the alarm. How did they get in? I wasn't prepared for them. I wasn't ready. They just walked right in, and now someone's in my house. What an unsettling picture there that Jesus is trying to put into our minds. A day of judgment is coming. It's coming like a thief. Well, how do you prepare for a thief? Well, here's how you’ve got to prepare is, you’ve got to be ready. See, I hear people say, people at this church say things like, well, I don't think Jesus is coming back in our lifetime. And if that's your eschatology, if you are this lackadaisical, complacent, well, I don't know when he's coming. It's not a big deal to me. Let me just tell you, if you think that way, this book didn't teach you to think that way. Jesus didn't teach you to think that way. That's not how the saints throughout the history of the church have thought. Now Jesus, one of the key themes of the teaching of the Lord Jesus is that he's coming back, and he's either coming back like a thief, and you don't want him coming like a thief, or maybe he's coming like a master who's been on a trip, and he's coming back to reward his servants, but he's coming back. And who's going to be ready when he comes back? And see, a lot of Christians that I talk to these days, they don't want to have to walk around and close their windows every night. They don't want to have to always make sure the doors locked at their house. They don't want to set an alarm and be on high alert. Hey, you know, yeah, maybe I said something I shouldn't have said earlier, or maybe I looked at something I should have looked at earlier. Or maybe I treated somebody not exactly in a way of love, but I actually preferred myself over that person. Yeah, maybe I did some of that stuff today. But you know what? It's not that big a deal. There's grace for that. I don't really need to think about that stuff right now. That's how a lot of people want to live these days, instead of living like, well, what if today is the day that my Lord is coming to get me? What if today is my last day? Well, I don't want to be looking at that. I don't want to be treating people like that. I don't want to be talking like that. And I want to confess my sins, and I want to keep short accounts with God, and I want to say that today, in this moment, right here, right now. Maranatha, come O Lord Jesus, because I've never been as ready for you as I am today. See, how are you living? The way Jesus taught you to, or are you just blending in with a lot of other people who maybe learned how to live at a dead church, and maybe aren't even really alive themselves. See, Jesus has given us a wake-up call here today, and if you're not living ready for him to come, you need to hear what he's saying. I'm coming like a thief. And the only way that you could be prepared for a thief who could come at any hour of the night is you’ve got to wake up and you’ve got to get ready. And so Jesus is that there's definitely people in this room right now where Jesus is saying to you, wake up. Hey, stop thinking everything's okay, there's a thief coming, there's a day of judgment coming. Are you ready for that? Have you turned from your sins? Have you put your faith in Jesus? Are you continuing to walk out your faith in Jesus and stay alert and ready for his return? Wake up if you're not now.
Go back to Revelation 3, because after he gives this intense wake-up call to this church. Hey you guys. I'm the one who gives the spirit. I see the seven spirits of God before the throne. I know who the Holy Spirit is, and I'm the one who gives the Spirit, and I have not found your works. You guys aren't like Zerubbabel, who rebuilt that temple against all odds because it was by the power of the Spirit and the might of God. No, you guys, you're not completing the works I gave you to do, because you guys don't have the Spirit. You are dead. And so after saying that to this church, Jesus then says here in verse 4, “Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments.” So, we've already seen other letters where Jesus starts out with commendation, and he says something good, and then he says, “But I have this against you.” Well, this letter actually works the opposite way, where he starts out with condemnation, and then he says, “Yet, not all of you are dead.” In fact, some of you, I know your names. Some of you, I see the way that you live. And some of you, you haven't soiled your garments. You're going to walk with me in white, for you are worthy. I know who you are there in Sardis. So, I mean, Jesus goes on to say, after he says this throwdown, that you're a dead church, he then goes on to say one of the most encouraging things that he could possibly say, that these people, when they die, or when he comes to get them, they will be clothed, they will be with him, because their name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. And there will come a moment when Jesus will go before the throne of God, in front of God and all the angels of heaven, and Jesus will say their name, and he will claim them as one of his people, and he will confess that he purchased them with his blood, and they deserve to be here with him for all of eternity. Wow, to just say just how it is, you guys are dead, and you need to wake up, but I know some of your names, and you guys are my people, and you're going to walk with me in white. Does everybody see what Jesus said there at the end of verse 4? Look at it with me. He says, “You have still a few names in Sardis. These people have not soiled their garments, they will walk with me in white, for they are.” What does Jesus say, everybody? Okay, now I want you to really think about that, because I could imagine a preacher when he's getting his preach on, and he would say something like, well, there's only one who's worthy. Shout his name. Who's the only one who's worthy? You're not worthy, you're not worthy, you're not worthy. Who's the one who is worthy? Jesus is the only one who is worthy. What did Jesus just say right there? No, some of you guys at Sardis, you are worthy. Somebody else said that they would have got run out of the church as a heretic. But this is Jesus saying this. He's saying some of you guys, I have found your works complete in the sight of my God, because some of you guys really do have the Spirit, and you really have been made alive. And the way that you walk, I see the way that you walk, you haven't soiled your garments. You're going to walk with me in white, because you walk in a worthy way. And so, I want to let you know those who overcome the world by your faith. To the one who conquers in my victory, you will be clothed in one of my robes of whiteness.
That's what Jesus promises here to the one who conquers. Let's get it down like this: “You will be clothed.” You will be clothed. There's an Idea that when you die and you leave this earthly tent, if you died today, and your soul left your body, and if you're a believer in Jesus, your soul would be absent from your body, but it would be present with the Lord. And the scripture has this idea that if you were to die, you're not going to be naked, you're not going to be unclothed. You actually will be further clothed, because, as a believer in Christ, when you die, you will be swallowed up by life. That you will actually be more clothed, more alive in the presence of Jesus than you have ever been. And Jesus is handing out white robes to his people that he's invited to the wedding feast. He's giving them a garment to celebrate at the wedding feast. And he's giving them these white robes that he has. And so that's a promise that Jesus has to his people, is you will be clothed. I've got your robes for you, waiting for you. And notice how he says that there in verse 4, these people have not soiled their garments. Under that point about you will be clothed, write that down, “soiled their garments,” and put next to it, Jude 23. Jude 23 has the same idea. At the end of Jude, he's saying, hey, you’ve got to reach out to the people around you, and you’ve got to have mercy on those who doubt. And you’ve got to go snatch those who are headed to the fire. And if you know somebody who's in sin, go reach out to them, bring them back, turn the wanderer from there. There are wrong ways, but make sure that you hate the garment stained by the flesh. So, you want to reach that person who's fallen away into sin. Well, go reach out to them and try to bring them back, try to encourage them to repent, show them the love of God and turn them around. But make sure you don't compromise with them. Make sure you don't start sinning with them. Because you’ve got to hate this idea that Jesus has promised you a white robe, and then you're going to go and soil your garments that Jesus has given you his Spirit. And then you're going to go and keep living in the stain of the flesh. No, if Jesus really has made you alive, if Jesus really has given you his righteousness and saved your soul, well, how should you now live? If Jesus is promising you a white robe, how should you then walk? You should walk in a way that is worthy of Jesus. That's the idea. That's why I think this white robe picture is so helpful for us to think about how the Christian life really works.
Go to Revelation 19. Let's go to the scene where everybody's wearing the white robes, and there's the marriage supper of the Lamb, and it's this great wedding feast. What a joyous occasion this is going to be. People will rejoice. They will be glad, and they will give the glory of Jesus. Can you even imagine a celebration where we've reached the end of the story? There's nothing more to worry about, nothing more to try to figure out what we’ve got to do the next day. It's just a joyous celebration for all of time, celebrating the Lord of heaven and earth, the Savior of mankind, Jesus. Let's just all raise a glass to Jesus is the idea here at this scene. And it says about all these people wearing their white robes, it says in Revelation 19:8, “It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.” So, I love that idea that these white robes are a gift. They are granted to us. Nobody's leaving here with like a sewing kit today to go home and make your own white robe. Okay, no, crafts. Sorry, sorry, if you can't go to Hobby Lobby after the service, so you can't go there today anyways. But you can't go to Hobby Lobby and get your white robe, and you just got to do a few mods to it, and then it'll be ready to go. No, you're given Jesus will clothe his people. Jesus has the white robes. And the white robes are a gift of grace. They are granted to you. There is no possible way you could earn merit or achieve a white robe. No, it is something that Jesus grants to his people. And then it says, well, this “fine linen bright and pure,” for the fine linen is the what, everybody? It's the righteous deeds of the saints. See, this is it like I have a righteousness that is not my own. Not one of us is good. There is only one who is good. His name is Jesus, and he gives me his righteousness. He gives me the robe. But see, here's the thing that you’ve got to understand is, when Jesus gives me that robe, it makes a difference. It actually matters that Jesus declared me righteous, that Jesus died for my sin, that Jesus shed his blood to pay for me, and because Jesus gave me that robe, and I have now his righteousness, how do I now want to live my life? Do I want to just keep going back? Well, thank you very much, Jesus, that you would die in my place and that I could go to your presence and celebrate with you. Now I'm going to get back to my regularly scheduled sin. Is that the response now? I'm just going to keep doing what I've always done? Is that the response? Or is it like, wow, if Jesus is inviting me there, and I get to be with him in that place, and if Jesus went through all of this for me, how would I now live my life for Jesus? See the righteousness that I freely receive becomes the righteousness that I now want to walk out, and I actually do now righteous works. Why? Because I have the Spirit of the Living God making me capable to obey Jesus in a way I wasn't before I had the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So, see, there's, along with the free gift of the white robe, there's a personal responsibility in what you're going to do with your robe.
Look what it says at the end of Revelation, chapter 22, if you can turn over there with me. Three times here in Revelation. 22 Jesus says he's coming soon. And people start to say, come. The Spirit starts to say, come. And the church starts to say, come. And the people who've read the book of Revelation and have heard it all, they start to say, come. And even the kids at camp this week, they start to say, Maranatha, come Lord. Like when you hear about how awesome Jesus is and how he's going to love his people forever, and he's going to make all the wrongs right, how could your response not be, come Lord Jesus? And then it says, but there are some who still need to come to Jesus. That's why Jesus hasn't come yet, because some still need to come to Jesus. So, you’ve got two ideas. You're either like, YES, COME Jesus, and if you're not, yes, come Jesus and get me, then you still need to come to Jesus, because you're not ready yet. And when it's describing that he's coming soon, and people are starting to shout, come Lord. It says this in Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon, and I'm bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the First and the Last. I am the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their” what, everybody? Wait a minute. I thought the robe was given to me as a gift, yeah. But there's also this like idea of responsibility that you see throughout the Scripture, like, keep your robe clean. Keep it washed. Don't soil your garments. Don't have the stain of the flesh on what Jesus has given you. See, I love that. Like if Jesus gave me one of these white robes, that means I've now been made pure. Somebody who's a sinner like me, has now been declared righteous in heaven, and my name is written in a Book of Life, and Jesus will say my name before a holy God and all of his angels, and I’ve got to put that robe on. Well, how now should that matter to me? Should I just be casual about it? Should I just kind of, well if I fall into this sin, or if I end up thinking that it's okay because I've already got my robe, no, I should have this I don't want to mess my robe up kind of mentality? I want to wash my robe. I want to keep it clean. How many times does the Bible say that you should wash yourselves? You should cleanse yourselves. Clean your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts, you double minded? Yes, it's all by grace. It's all a gift of Jesus. What does it mean to you? Does it matter in how you live?
We did these skits. It was so fun with these kids to do these skits every night. And there's this one character at the kids here. They just love this guy. His name is Egg. Has anybody ever seen any of these skits? There's this guy Egg, this guy named Ryan, here at our church. He's going to get married in two weeks. It's very exciting. But this guy, this guy, he’s in his character. He's just kind of always stumbling into trouble and somehow saving the day at the same time, right? And he's always ready for snacks. He's always ready for lunch. He's always ready to push this button and just find out what's going to happen next. So, he just kind of bounces around. He's a very unassuming hero. All this guy has to do is just flip his spacesuit mask up, and when the kids can tell it's him, there is a roar, all right, like you want to talk about people getting hyped up. When Egg enters a scene, these kids are like, yeah, they're just like, I love it.
Okay. And so, there's a scene that they did in this skit where Egg gets a white robe, and he puts it on, and it's a big deal. And we've already taught what the white robe means and how Jesus is granting them, and you get to go to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and so Egg's got this white robe. And then one of the other characters in the skit is like, hey, Egg, would you like to eat a hot dog right now? And you can just feel the tension rise with all these kids. They're just like, oh, Egg, don't do it. Don't eat the hot dog. And then the guy just pulls out this big bottle of ketchup, and he's like, Egg, and Egg's just up there in his white robe, you know, just bouncing around having a great day in outer space. Would you like some ketchup in outer space? Oh, that sounds delicious. Yes, yes, yeah, man, I would love some of that ketchup. And what are all the kids shouting? No egg? No. I mean, it is a classical element of physical comedy at this point that you know where that ketchup is going, and the kids are trying to, like, shout it out, don't do it. And then after the ketchups, it's like, well, would you like some mustard to go with that ketchup? And Egg’s just like, well, you know, I would like some mustard. That sounds good. So, we’ve got ketchup all over the white rope. We’ve got mustard. Well, you probably need something to drink to wash it down. And then they hand Egg this fizzy beverage, right? And Egg’s, like, oh, this will be really nice. And he starts shaking it. And you can just hear the kids, don't do it, Egg. Egg, you're my best friend for my entire life. Stop. Egg, don't do it.
Do you ever feel like that? Do you ever feel like I'm so thankful for what I have in Jesus that I want Jesus to know it matters to me, and I'm going to make a decision right now to not do something, because all I care about is walking in white in a way that is worthy of my Lord, and I don't want to soil my garments. Jesus is really looking for people who are living for him. Jesus wants to know that what he did for you has made a fundamental difference in the way that you live. And this, even this idea of these robes, go back to Zechariah with me again, and go to Zechariah chapter 3. I really think that when Jesus was speaking to this church in Sardis, he had Zechariah on his mind. He had these two chapters, Zechariah, chapter 3 and Zechariah, chapter 4. And we already saw one about the power of the Spirit to rebuild the temple with Zerubbabel, the governor. But we also had this other guy at the time, Joshua, the high priest. The point of rebuilding the temple is that God could dwell among his people, and the people could be with their God, and the people would be right with God. And so, the high priest is the one who mediates between God and the people. The High Priest is the one who would go and offer the sacrifices that atone for the sins of the people, even on one day, the high priest would go into the holy presence of God to offer a sacrifice for the people. And so, you get this scene here where Joshua the high priest, this is Zechariah 3:1. He's standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan is standing at his right hand. Does anybody want to take a guess who the angel of the Lord is here in this chapter? Okay, so remember, angel means messenger, and a lot of times it's heavenly beings, but sometimes the messenger from God is Jesus. Sometimes it's even human messengers that the word ain't and gloss could refer to later on, and but here it says, Jesus is there, Satan's there, and Joshua is there, and Satan is standing at his right hand to accuse him, which is in Hebrew, the word Satan means accuser, adversary, enemy. So, it's like Satan is there to satanize him. If you hear the name Satan, it means accuser. And look what happens in this scene. “The Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, O Satan, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now, Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments, and the angel said to those who were standing before him, remove the filthy garments from him. And to him, he said, “’Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.” Here's Satan saying that guy, he's a sinner. That guy doesn't deserve to be the high priest of these people. These people don't deserve to be right with God to have their sins atoned for. Here's Satan ready to accuse them of all their sins, and then here's Jesus, as the angel of the Lord showing up. I rebuke you, Satan. You're not going to accuse these people because we're taking off their filthy garments and we're giving them clean vestments. We're giving them white robes. There's a lot in the Law of Moses about what the high priest has to wear and the way he has to approach the Lord. And Jesus is saying, yeah, we're removing the sin, we're removing the stain, and we are pronouncing him clean. So yeah, you take your accusations elsewhere Satan, because here's Jesus in the presence of God and his angels, claiming his people. And that's what Jesus is going to do for you. There would be an accusation against you. There would be a reason to say, well, that person's dirty. They've got the stain of the flesh. That person's fallen short. And Jesus will come to your defense. He will say your name, he will claim you as one of his own, and you will receive a white robe.
So, let's get this down. We've got two dashes here about how we're going to be clothed. First is: “It needs to be washed.” It needs to be washed. And I hope you can understand what we're saying. Well, who's the one who can cleanse us? Well, it's really only Jesus who can forgive us and cleanse us from our sins. But also, we want to take personal responsibility, and as Jesus forgives us for our sins, we don't want to then go back into sin, but we want to now learn how to walk by the power of his Spirit, to walk in a new way. So, we want to make sure the robes are clean, but Jesus is the one who declares them clean by his blood. And so I can confess my sin, if I see that I'm saying something wrong, or I've been looking at something wrong, or I've been just thinking away where I'm the most important person in the room, and I haven't been considering other people, I can go to the Lord and I can confess my sin, and he is faithful and just to forgive me for my sin and to cleanse me from all my unrighteousness. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? Like, hey, I can keep things locked down between me and God by addressing my sin and he is ready to forgive me and to cleanse me and to wash me. Praise the Lord.
Okay, but go back to Revelation and look at chapter 7, because there's a specific way that our robes need to be washed. And it says it here in Revelation chapter 7, where, when the Great Tribulation is happening, the time of judgment is happening, there are all these souls wearing white robes, coming out of the Tribulation. And so that's the question here in Revelation 7:13, you can see here one of the elders, one of the people there in the throne room scene. “One of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these clothed in white robes?’” And from where have they come? Look at all the souls wearing the white robes? Who are all these people? Where did they all come from? And here's poor John being like, hey, why are you asking me? I'm just the guy having the vision. He says, sir. You know, that's a nice way for John to say it. Hey, I have no clue who these people are. I was hoping you could tell me, sir, you know. “And he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the” who does it say, everybody?
Let's get that down for our second dash, “It needs to be washed by the blood of the Lamb.” So look at how that was even said. They have washed their robes. They made their robes white. How? Through the blood of Jesus Christ, through their transfer of trust away from anything they've done. They're trusting in what Jesus did when he died on the cross, when he sacrificed his body, when Jesus shed his blood, it is the precious blood of Jesus that ransoms us from all of our sins. That's what it did. The righteous blood of Jesus is what it took to pay our debt before God. And so yeah, their robes are white and clean. How? Because they're trusting in the blood of the Lamb. And then it says here, look at this verse 15. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence, and they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” And what a beautiful scene that's going to be to see the sea of white robes and all the people there shouting altogether with a sound that even the kids at camp couldn't compete with, a sound of people shouting “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.” Because I understand that the reason I get to wear a robe of whiteness and the reason I get to be in the presence of a holy God is not because of what I did, but it's by the blood of Jesus, Christ, my Savior. And so, I want to encourage all my brothers and sisters that Jesus knows your names and he knows that you haven't soiled your garments, and Jesus made a promise to you that you will walk with him in white, for you are worthy. And when you get there, whether Jesus comes to get us or whether you die and your soul goes to be in his presence, you will be clothed, and you will find that your name was written in that Book of Life, and someday you are going to get to hear in front of the throne and the one who sits on the throne in front of the myriads of angels in the heavenly courtroom, there will be a moment where Jesus will confess your name and claim you to be one of his blood bought people. Can you imagine that in heaven, they're saying your name a sinner like you, getting your name said because the blood of the lamb has atoned for your sins.
And so, we want to take some communion right now. We want to remember what Jesus has done for us. This is time for you to say thank you to Jesus that he shed his blood for you. Thank you for the promise of the white robe. And then it's a time for you to also confess any sin and just commit yourself afresh to Jesus, that I want to walk in a way that's worthy of you, Jesus, I want to live out if you've cleansed me from my sin, if you've given me your righteousness. Oh, Jesus, let it matter to me today. I want to walk in a way that would be worthy of you because of what you've done for me. So, I want to encourage all my brothers and sisters who have not yet soiled your garments. I want to encourage you with what Jesus says. I hope this picture of a white robe will be such a precious promise to you that you're going to be there, that you will be clothed, but also will give you a sense of responsibility, like, yeah, and I want to keep my robe washed. I want to keep my robe clean. I pray that you'll be encouraged here today. But I also want to say to some who are here today, and I don't know, when Jesus spoke to that church, he spoke to people like they were dead, and they needed to wake up. And then he spoke to people like they were alive, and they had the spirit. And I don't know how many people were getting the wake-up call and how many names there were. I don't know the number of the names that Jesus knew in Sardis. I don't know what the percentage is. As I speak to you here today, whenever we gather together as a church. I don't know how it is. I mean, the way I thought it was supposed to be is that we're the people who've been saved out of the world, and so we are all the set-apart ones in the Church of Jesus. We've all been saved by his blood. We've all been cleansed from our sins. And so, it's the world out there, and then there's supposed to be two groups, like the world, and then us, the people that Jesus died for, the people that we've been set apart. But here, Jesus has to say to a church that it's not like all those people are his people. And then the world out there is the other people. No. Jesus is saying to the church in Sardis that there are two groups of people at church. There are people they have a name that they're alive, but they need to wake up before he comes in judgment. And then there are people that he knows your name, and you don't have to worry about what's going to happen in Judgment, because he's going to confess your name before God and his angels. And so, I want to say to some who are here today at our church, this is your wake-up call here today. This is your chance to admit that I don't have a supernatural power. I'm trying so hard by my might. I'm trying so hard by my strength, and I'm always trying and never arriving. I'm always seeking to be good and always feeling so bad, and I go to church, and I read my Bible and I do good things, but it's all me, me, me, and it's not the blood of the Lamb. And if that's you, could you please listen to Jesus. Say, could you have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to this church? And you need to wake up, and if that's you, you don't need to take communion with us. You need to talk to Jesus, and you need to ask him, I need your life. I don't want to be dead in my sin. I don't want to go through the motions. I want to really live Jesus. I need your blood to cover my sin. I need one of your white robes. And today could be the day that you cry out, that you hear Jesus talking to you, and you call on the name of the Lord today. And so, I hope that everybody who, if you know you've got a white robe coming, I hope you'll be encouraged as you take this communion, and if you need to wake up, now is your time. And even after this service, come talk to me. Talk to somebody at the compass connect table. Don't think I need to wake up and then leave here without talking to somebody about it. So let me pray for us right now. Then we'll sing this song, and then we'll take communion.
Father, I just pray that as we have a moment now, while this song is going for everybody to consider what we've heard here today, what Jesus said to this church in Sardis. I pray that you would make it by your Spirit, clear to everyone here who they really are, because there are some who have a name, oh, they've told other people they're a Christian. But. Jesus knows them by name as one of his people. Father, I pray that at this service right now, that people would wake up, that you would give people life, that they would rise so that Christ could really shine on them, so that they could really have a new heart and your Spirit for the first time today. Father, please hear our prayer on behalf of those who are still dead in their sins. Please, by your grace, make them alive in Christ. And for all of us who have received such a precious gift, to have all of our sin forgiven, to be cleansed from all of our unrighteousness, I pray that we would cherish the blood of Jesus, that it would be so precious to us as we hold these elements and we think about his body that was sacrificed in his love for us, as we think about his blood that was shed to pay for our sins, as we think about these robes that He has promised to each one of us, bright and pure, made a fine linen, washed by the blood of the Lamb. Father, I pray that we would be a group of people that Jesus could say are worthy. Group of people that Jesus would know who are going to walk with him in white. Because what your Son, Jesus, what he did on that cross to pay for our sins, it actually matters to us a whole lot. It makes a difference in our life, right here, right now. How can I go and get stained and soiled again when Jesus declared me clean by his blood? So, Father, we want to thank you for the blood of Jesus that washes our robes and brings us into your holy presence. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.