Living as an Overcomer: Jesus’ Messages to the 7 Churches in RevelationSample

Day 5 – Walking in the Spirit’s Power: The Church in Sardis

Located just 30 miles south of Thyatira in the same general vicinity of Asia Minor, Sardis was built on a high mountain where the people had constructed an acropolis that made the city appear impregnable. It looked as if there was no way anyone could defeat this community on a hill because of all the trouble they would have to go through to do so. Yet Sardis was overthrown on two occasions: once around 547 BC by Cyrus the Great and then again around 213 BC by Antiochus III. Both their armies came during the night—the most unsuspected time—and hit Sardis with a surprise attack.

The attacks were successful because Sardis had become so comfortable with their self-sufficiency and security, believing their city was indeed impregnable. They assumed nothing could happen to them. And what was true of Sardis the city became true of Sardis the church.

The root of the problem these Christians in Sardis had was they had also become so self-sufficient in their minds that they didn’t feel the need for the Holy Spirit anymore. They believed they could do everything on their own - a dangerous position to take.

The Christians in Sardis were looking to their self-interests rather than seeking to be close to the Spirit. One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to energize and fuel your spiritual life, but another is to make sure Satan doesn’t have his way with you. It’s to give you the tools you need to access the victory you want in what you’re trying to overcome. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t do His work apart from your connection and cooperation to and with Him.

THREE STEPS FOR CONNECTING WITH THE SPIRIT

In Revelation 3:3, Jesus instructed the Christians in Sardis to do three things: remember what they had already received, keep (act on) what they had received, and repent. For us to connect with God’s Spirit, we need to do the same things.

1. Remember What You Already Know

When Jesus asks the Sardis Christians to remember what they’ve already heard, He’s referring to the Biblical teaching given by the apostles. They weren’t applying what they’d heard but had enough Bible knowledge and small group participation to know how to do what they weren’t doing.

Sometimes, we don’t need new sermons. We need to do something with the old sermons that gave us Biblical instructions we’ve not yet acted upon. Because if all we’re doing is digesting information rather than implementing what we’ve learned from it, we’re not fully experiencing the Christian life.

2. Act on What You Already Know

We each need to be personally responsible to act on what we already know to do because the Holy Spirit and the electric current from Him flow only in the context of motion. The Spirit responds to our walking according to the Word, not merely talking about the Word. This is the second thing the church in Sardis was called to do in Jesus’ message—put into action what they remembered of God’s Word. And again, this is a call for us as well. James 1:22 says, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers,” and in Luke 11:28, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (NKJV).

3. Repent

Then, the Christians in Sardis were told to repent. To repent means to turn from what you’re doing that the Word says not to do and then start doing what it says to do. This is turning away from something while simultaneously turning toward something else. It’s not merely a word you say or a prayer you pray. The church in Sardis was called upon to repent from turning their back on God. They were to repent from knowing what to do but failing to do it out of laziness and complacency.

And what would happen if the church in Sardis did not repent? Jesus said, “If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you” (verse 3). Remember, that’s what happened to the city of Sardis when the armies of Cyrus and Antilogous came during the night with a surprise attack.

The Christians in Sardis knew that history.

LIVING AS AN OVERCOMER

Being an overcomer means overcoming subtle sins like complacency, ease, a desire for cultural popularity, and spiritual distance from the Holy Spirit. And you can overcome these when you stick close to Jesus and make His will and desire your own. As you do this, He will manifest His strength through you as the Spirit enables you to live out your life as His kingdom overcomer.

That’s the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led walk Jesus wanted for the church in Sardis and us today.