The Message of the Teachings on the Mount (100)
By Abraham Eli
This study was first taught on December 20, 2011
Topic: Entering Into The Kingdom of Heaven (3.5.2)
No audio available for this study.Background
Last week, we began the first of a two-part instalment on the message to the church in Sardis. We saw that unlike the first four churches in Revelation Chapter 2, the church in Sardis had no commendation from the Lord, but a straight condemnation; for while the church had a reputation as a living church by men’s standards, in the Lord’s eye, it was a dead church! We noted that this divine assessment was not because its meetings and programmes were not boisterous and frenzied; but because, the Lord and His word (both symbols of life and light) were not acknowledged in the church!
We saw that the Lord’s condemnation came to the church at a time when the last embers of righteousness and morality were about to die. The Lord therefore, challenged them to arouse from their sleep of death, and, seek out the life and light of God which is in Him and His word. The church in Sardis was counselled to return to the first principles of the Christian foundation, or be in danger of being surprised by the Lord’s sudden appearing.
The lessons we took away from this first instalment were:
1. The appropriate assessment of any church is God’s assessment, not the accolades of men or the clichés we label them with.
2. Whenever we hear men and the world applauding us, we ought to seek the Lord’s face for a proper assessment of our standing before Him and not get carried away by their applause, much to our shame and detriment.
3. We ought to make every effort to awaken to righteousness and ensure that we are hearing the unadulterated word of God, rather than engaging in the unfruitful works of darkness, and secular humanism.
4. We should ensure that Christian foundation is firmly established in us, so that we would not be falling and laying the same foundation over and over again, but rather, we would move on to perfection.
5. We should be aware that the Lord’s return is imminent; hence we should walk circumspectly, and, preach the good news of the kingdom of God at every opportunity.
Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 7:21-22; Revelation 3:1-6
Tonight, we conclude our study of the message to the church in Sardis, by looking at the basis for the eternal rewards promised the church by the Lord. May the Holy Spirit enable us receive all that the Lord has for us in eternity, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
For all the condemnation of the church in Sardis, it is interesting to note that there were some people among them who remained undefiled (as indicated by their garments being unspotted). For these ones, and all those who would likewise overcome the ‘dead church’ syndrome, there are tremendous rewards in eternity.
Revelation 19:7-8; Ephesians 5:25-27; John 15:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Matthew 25:1-13; Luke 12:35-38; Matthew 22:1-14; John 10:1; Matthew 13:47-50; Revelation 13:1-8; Exodus 32:31-33; 1 John 1:7-9; Ezekiel 18:30-32; Hebrews 10:26-31; Luke 10:17-20; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:27; Luke 12:8-9; Revelation 7:9-17.
Conclusion
The Lord is not going to be married to a corrupt or defiled church, nor will He be married to a corpse! Instead, He will be married to a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle. He died so that the church might be made pure through His shed blood at Calvary. He has also made available resources that would ensure that the church, remain so: His blood; His word; His Spirit; and the work of His appointed ministers in the church. Righteousness (upright, just, and godly living, deeds, and conduct, and right standing with God) will be a very major issue in heaven—the virgins who were engaging in dead works could not enter in; and the man who honoured the King’s invitation to the wedding, was removed and thrown into outer darkness, because he was not wearing the white garment of righteousness!
As we look at the church today, the tendency is to wonder if any shall be saved. The truth is that once a person’s name is written in the Book of Life, everything that needs to be done to make him or her, a part of the glorious Bride (the church), will be put into motion. For this cause, we would do well to ensure that all that we need to become acceptable in the beloved is imbibed and absorbed within us. The Lord’s promise to us if we are diligent to remain unspotted is that, we will walk with the Him; our names will not be blotted out of the Book of Life’ and, He will proclaim or declare our names before His Father and the angels. What a glorious day it will be!
Hence, rather than get into an ego-trip that, we are the only ones calling on the name of the Lord in our church services; teaching and preaching the word of God in His name, in our bible study meetings; casting out demons in His name, in our deliverance services; and, “miracles are happening in His name, in our miracle services and crusades”; the Lord counsels us to be more concerned with whether or not our names are written in the Book of Life! It is unthinkable that those who are engaging in dead works would ever find their names in the Book of Life, except they repent and turn in faith to God for their eternal salvation. The church in Sardis, like most churches today, was a dead church with a reputable name among men; but the Lord offered them an opportunity to repent, which He is offering us today. He is the God of the living; not of the dead! Will you repent and begin to live righteously?
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