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Hi, I'm Ryan.

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I'm the pastor at Ocean Water.

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Thank you so much for watching or listening today in our podcast.

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If you're new to this, would you do me a favor and please like and subscribe and turn on

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the notifications for this.

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I have over 263 Bible teachings in the last few years, over 31,000 downloads.

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My heart's to help us get a little bit more of God's word in our life that we can apply

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into it so that we can do a more deeper, more fuller way of following Jesus.

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Now they're available to you for free because my life verse is 1 Corinthians 9, 18, which

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says, what then is my reward, just this, that in preaching the gospel, I may offer it free

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of charge.

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I hope my teachings are a blessing to you and your life.

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Now today we're going to be in Revelation chapter 3 verses 1 through 6.

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If you have your Bible, you can turn there.

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If not, you can just listen and follow along.

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Now Revelation chapter 3 verse 1 starts out like this.

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It says, into the angel of the church in Sardis write the words of him who has the seven spirits

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of God and the seven stars.

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I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

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Now a little bit of background here.

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Sardis was an ancient city located in Asia Minor, which is like modern day Turkey, which

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has really been in the news a lot lately.

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Now in the first century, this area was a significant center for commerce and for culture.

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Its history included moments of glory, but also a series of humiliating defeats.

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The city had a reputation for being wealthy and flourishing, a lot like some of the places

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that I've lived in California.

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Now this verse likely pertains to the period shortly after the destruction of AD 70.

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We've talked a lot about this.

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This message is addressed to this local church, this community, and Jesus introduces himself

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very interestingly here.

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He says, I'm the one who possesses seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

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Now this reference to seven symbolizes divine completeness.

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Jesus is saying, I'm everything that you need.

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Just listen to me.

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Now the phrase here, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

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I want you to look at it.

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It implies that this church was outwardly flourishing, but they had significant internal

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issues in spiritual complacency.

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This reflects a common theme that a lot of the early churches had a challenge maintaining

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their faith and devotion during times of persecution and pressure, just like we do today.

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Now today in our world and in our culture, we often feel like this.

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So since the beginning that Jesus started his church, you don't need to feel alone when

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you feel persecution and you feel pressure.

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Jesus is with you.

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Now look at verse two, it says, wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die,

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for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

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Now during the first century, the early followers of Jesus, they were facing a lot of very difficult

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things.

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This particular church in Sardis likely encountered difficulties in a very hostile environment.

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This verse exhorts them and us to wake up from spiritual complacency.

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Now it acknowledges that despite the reputation, they had a good one, their works were not

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complete in the sight of God.

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This view here suggests that God has one view of things and we have one view of things.

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This church had allowed its faith to weaken due to pressure, due to persecution.

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Just like we do in our lives, God wants us to wake up and to be revived to his word,

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to his calling and to his purpose.

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Now sometimes our faith just needs a little bit of a wake up call.

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Boy do we need one today.

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There are so many voices to be heard throughout our day to day.

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Most importantly is the voice of God.

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That's why I'm always trying to teach God's word because this is how he talked to us.

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Now look at verse 3, it says, remember then what you received and heard, keep it and repent.

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If you will not come, if you will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will

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not know what hour I will come against you.

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Now these early followers of Jesus were urged to remember the teachings and traditions that

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were passed on to them by the apostles.

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This was a critical time when the church was in its infancy, when it was just starting

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to form its doctrines and its practices.

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Now this church, Sardis, was called to remember what they had heard and received.

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Do you remember what God has spoken to you in your heart, what he's dropped into your

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spirit for what you're supposed to do in your life?

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You should persevere with the things that God has dropped into your heart.

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But they were also told to repent from their lethargy and return to their original faith.

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The warning of Jesus coming like a thief indicates that we're not going to know when

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he comes.

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And at times in our life we can face unexpected moments of judgment.

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Now look at verse 4.

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It says, yet you still have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments,

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and they will walk with me in white for they are worthy.

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Now what does this mean?

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Well, in times of persecution and spiritual compromise, there were still faithful individuals

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who maintained their integrity within the church.

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This is God's calling for us today, to maintain our integrity.

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This verse acknowledges the presence of a faithful remnant in the church.

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God always has a faithful remnant, a faithful few who walk in the spirit, who follow his

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voice, who do, who does what he says.

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These individuals represent the dedicated Christians who remained steadfast in spite

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of all of their circumstances.

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This group of people was humble and hard core, just like God wants us to be today.

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Humble and hard core.

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Now verse 5 reads, the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will

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never blot his name out of the book of life.

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I will confess his name before my father and before his angels.

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What does this mean?

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Well, the concept of conquering here, or remaining faithful, is interesting.

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It means that despite persecution and challenges, they overcame.

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This is a central theme.

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Perseverance and overcoming adversity is really at the heart of the Christian message.

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Look at the cross that Jesus was crucified.

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Overcoming, perseverance, conquering.

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Now today we have a consumer culture, so the idea of being humble and being hard core and

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persevering and pushing through adversity and having faith sometimes gets missed.

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Just because things are easy doesn't mean that they're good.

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This verse emphasizes the rewards of those who remain faithful and conquer.

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The promise of being clothed in white garments symbolizes the purity and the righteousness,

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while the assurance that their names will not be blotted out of the book of life is

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a powerful affirmation of our security.

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Did you know that our names, if you follow Christ, are written in a book of life?

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God knows every single person's name who's written in there.

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If you're wondering, just say, Lord, please write my name in this book and help me to

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follow you.

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Now lastly, in Revelation 3, 6, it says, him who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit

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says to the churches.

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This comes up a lot in Revelation.

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This saying is a recurring refrain in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation,

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urging the readers to pay attention to the message.

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Are you paying attention to the message in your life?

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This concluding verse serves as a reminder that the messages contained in the letters

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to the seven churches are relevant not only to the specific people in the Church of Sardis

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when this was written, but also to us today.

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We are to heed the words of this book.

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We are to hear God's voice, and we are to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Today's verses convey a message of a call to repentance and the assurance of rewards

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for those who remain faithful, regardless of external pressure and challenges.

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This is a sobering and encouraging and realistic look at a first century church and how it

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applies to us today in our lives.

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There is so much truth and treasure in this book.

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Thank you so much for joining me again today.

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I love doing this.

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Until next time, I hope you have a beautiful day.