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By Jim Stern
Based on our study of Jesus’s words to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 so far, mission drift is a very real threat. Mission drift happens when people, churches, or ministries, fade away from the core realities of Kingdom life and teaching. This can be deadly to members and visitors because the church is the primary place where people are supposed to learn and grow in the LIFE of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So, let’s get right into our text today and see if the fifth church Jesus speaks to, Sardis, does any better.
Jesus says in Revelation 3:1, “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: …”
Again, Jesus introduces Himself differently in each letter. Here He highlights His authority at work in the Holy Spirit and angels. The “seven Spirits of God” refer to the seven perfections of the Holy Spirit listed in Isaiah 11:2. The “seven stars” are the seven angels assigned to each of the churches. That Jesus “has” both these demonstrates the degree of His authority. He directs even the Holy Spirit and the angels.
Far more than just a moral teacher, Jesus is a supernatural Person and there is no spiritual being higher than He. In a city like Sardis filled with pagan spirituality, Jesus’s claim is strong and bold.
The beginning of his evaluation is short and very cutting. He says in the second part of 3:1, “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”
That is the shortest, most brutal take down ever. That is the quintessential description of mission drift. You think you are alive as a church, or a person, because you are busy, but you have drifted so far from true north that you are, in fact, dead.
How deceived or numb or unaware must the leaders of the church be to receive this harsh an evaluation? How sober minded must I be in my personal evaluation to not repeat their delusion? I am regularly praying for our Father to bring the voice of the prophet in my life if I am so blind to my blind spots that I cannot see my own drifting!
We are all susceptible.
Jesus’s evaluation continues in verses 2-3, “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.”
As far away as Sardis has gone, there is still opportunity to return. How many times our Father through Jesus gives us the opportunity to return is amazing. The Holy Spirit woos us to faith and then continues to invite us to walk forward in the overflow. As we drift, He will speak and course correct our lives if we are willing to hear!
Sardis, and we, are to remember what was started in us in our salvation. Life in Christ. Spirit-filled. In our Father’s family. Now to run His race in totality until He calls us home. The Apostle Paul writes, “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will be perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
Sardis seems to have quit along the way. They seem to be content with some degree of busyness that has long since lost its substance.
Aye, the temptation is real.
I see this regularly in people for whom God our Father has delivered them out of pending danger. While in the crosshairs, they pray and read Scripture and go to church. Once our Father calms the storms, the priority of their faith drifts away. They rest on what they used to do. Their testimonies are of what God did five, ten, or fifteen years ago.
Jesus continues in the second half of verse 3 and 4, “Therefore 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. 4 But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”
His words are meant to shake Christians awake from their slumber.
Now, Sardis has a pastor, or several pastors. They regularly teach and lead the church. One day, a letter comes from the Apostle John. John is venerated. He is one who walked with Messiah and founded the first churches. He received word from the Holy Spirit with Jesus’s words to this church. You would imagine the leaders would be excited, expecting to receive high praise.
And they get this!
They are slumbering in the faith, and Jesus threatens to come and steal what they have. Like Thyatira, a remnant of faithful Christians who have not drifted remain in the church. Jesus knows who they are and knows their faithfulness. They will walk with Jesus in victory and innocence. The rest are in serious trouble.
He finishes in 3:5-6, “5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Staggering. The “book of life” is well attested throughout Scripture. It first appears in Exodus 32:32 then Psalms (e.g. Psalm 69:28), Daniel 12:1, other prophets and, lastly, in Revelation 20:11-15 at the great judgement. For those who overcome, there is no fear that their names will ever be erased from the book. What a glorious reality that those who remain faithful, who reject complacency, who run well, will have an eternal place in white!
And then Jesus will speak the name of each one who has overcome to His Father. Can you imagine what it will sound like if and when Jesus says your name to our Father?
Amazing.
Notice the Trinitarianism here. Jesus, the Son, will speak our names to the Father and then He implores disciples to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying! Being trapped in the godblob would render this verse very confusing. Walking in Trinitarian clarity is essential to experience the full blessing of being loved and led by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Overflow LIFE is the organic result of this kind of intimacy. And we run together, with one another, in gatherings of brothers and sisters called churches. And all of us, churches included, are susceptible to mission drift. May God our Father be faithful to send prophets to keep us in His will and, when He does, may we have ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying!
