Outline

“Jesus Inspects: The Church at Sardis”
(Revelation 3:1-6)

Intro/Set-Up
· Introducing Sardis

I. Jesus’ Title (v. 1)
· His Possession
· His Knowledge

II. Jesus’ Assessment and rebuke (vv. 1-4)
· Reputation vs. Reality
· Jesus’ Advice:
- Remember
- Hold Fast
- Repent
· Consequences

III. Jesus’ Call (vv. 4-5)
· Commendation
· Hold fast and Overcome
· A List of Gifts

IV. Conclusion
· P.S. (v. 6)

QUOTES:

“The combination of easy money and a loose moral environment made the people of Sardis notoriously soft and pleasure loving.” –David Guzik

“The great characteristic of Sardis was that, even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Its people were notoriously loose-living, notoriously pleasure-seeking and luxury loving. Sardis was a city of the decadence.”
–William Barclay

“Remember, Jesus presents himself or describes himself in terms of what the church needs. What does this church need? Life! The Spirit gives life…”
–Gino Geraci

“What a church is and what a church does is never hidden from Jesus.”
–David Guzik

“We are not to get the impression that Sardis was a defunct affair with the building a wreck, the members scattered, the pastor ready to resign. It was a busy church with meetings every night, committees galore, wheels within wheels, promotion and publicity, something going on all the time.” –Vance Havner

“Sardis was “A perfect model of inoffensive Christianity.” –G.B. Caird

“Christ enforces his counsel with a dreadful threatening in case it should be despised: [stating] I will come unto thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know the hour, v. 3. Observe,
(1.) When Christ leaves a people as to his gracious presence, he comes to them in judgment; and his judicial presence will be very dreadful to those who have sinned away his gracious presence.
(2.) His judicial approach to a dead declining people will be surprising; their deadness will keep them in security, and, as it procures an angry visit from Christ to them, it will prevent their discerning it and preparing for it.
(3.) Such a visit from Christ will be to their loss; he will come as a thief, to strip them of their remaining enjoyments and mercies, not by fraud, but in justice and righteousness, taking the forfeiture they have made of all to him.” –Matthew Henry

“Thus, at the final judgment, the book contains only the names of believers (Rev. 20:12–15). It then becomes “the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev. 21:27), because only those saved by the Lord Jesus Christ have their names in it. All the others have been blotted out, something God would never do for any true child of God (see Ex. 32:32; Rom. 9:3). It is a book of life, and lost sinners are dead (Eph. 2:1).” –Warren Wiersbe

“We are still listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say to the churches, for these messages from Christ belong to our day as well as to the first century. Churches are people, and human nature has not changed. So, as we continue our study, we must not look on these letters as ancient relics. On the contrary, they are mirrors in which we see ourselves!” –Warren Wiersbe

Revelation Resources:

Got Questions: What is Prophecy?
https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecy-prophesy.html

Book:
“The Non-Prophets Guide to Revelation”
https://www.amazon.com/Non-Prophets-GuideTM-Book-Revelation-Prophecy/dp/0736975403

Podcast:
“Prophecy Pros Podcast” (Todd Hampson and Jeff Kinley)
https://prophecyprospodcast.com/

Overview of Revelation:
Dr. J Vernon Mcgee “Notes for Revelation”
blueletterbible.org/Comm/mcgee_j_vernon/notes-outlines/revelation/revelation-notes.cfm

Podcasts for Commentary on Current events and Culture:
Jan Markel
- “Jan Markel” on YouTube
- Ministry: Olive Tree Ministries

Amir Tsarfati
- “Behold Israel with Amir Tsarfati” on YouTube

Don Stewart
- Educatingourworld.com

Ed Hindson
- https://www.thekingiscoming.com/