When I was younger and in Sunday school, we always had the children singing, there's sunshine in my heart on a day like this. So if we don't have it on the outside, we do hope we have it on the inside. So take your Bible, please, to chapter three in the book of the Revelation. And we come to the letter that was written to Sardin. Your lesson sheet will be page number six. And we shall read the lesson. beginning at verse one and the reading goes down through verse six as we come to this letter that is written to Sardis for fifth one God writing by the Holy Spirit and through his servant John and let us not even forget as we come to these special words we are hearing them come from the voice of the Lord Jesus as he gave the letters to John to write and unto the angel of the church In Sardis write, These things said he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars, I know thy works, that thou hast the name that thou mirrored, and are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die. For I have not found thy works perfect, meaning complete, before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief. Thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcome us, the train shall be closed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He that Apennia let him hear what the Spirit said unto the churches. May the Lord bless the reading of his precious words, and we humbly but earnestly pray that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher. and the revealer of the truth that we find within it. Now this is the fifth letter written by the Lord Jesus and penned by his servant John and to the church which is at Sardis. You note on your lesson sheet once again we'd like to look at the heading of it and this letter that is written to Sardis and the explanation regarding what can be called the meaning of Sardis which we shall understand more clearly as we study the letter carefully. Those that are escaping. Well, very briefly, if you look for it follows, we'd like to give the outline that we have again, the historical reference, the prophetic inference, and also the spiritual application. Now, let me just repeat for emphasis, and the repetition will make the truth more clear to us that in every one of these letters, we have an historical application. There were seven churches literally existing in Asia Minor at the time these were written. There were even more than seven, but these special churches were existing. So there was an historical history in reference to those specific churches which the Lord chose to pen the epistles to. Again, more important that we are following in our study, which I think is more important, is the prophetical relative and if you please note please the what we have in reference to the prophetical reference telling us that it represents a period of church history a period between the year AD fifteen seventeen and the year eighteen hundred approximately and it brings us to what was known and called and was in its proof the Reformation period when there was a Reformation regarding the restoration of certain truths brought out under Luther and by Luther and his contemporaries in that day. Now, as you will please note, last week's letter, the one that was Sophia Tyra the last time we met, do you recall it was called the period of the Dark Middle Ages? it lasted approximately it was the longest period of church history to which these seven letters referred are approximately one thousand years from AD five hundred until about AD fifteen hundred and it was the longest period and it has been called by many historians the dark Middle Ages and the darkness refers really to the spiritual darkness when the word of God was not very prominently known, had not even publicly given to the people. And those that had the word of God were greatly in danger during that period of trouble and trial when, governmentally, the church seemed to rule politically over the then known world, and particularly, of course, in the eastern part of the world, not in the western hemisphere at all. But now we come to the letter with psalmist, the period that comes following that period of dark Middle Ages, beginning with the Reformation. And one can well rejoice that there was a movement. We well know the story perhaps of Luther and some of his contemporaries. And we may say two particular facts regarding that period that stand out. First, the scriptures were restored. that the people might have the Word of God. During those dark Middle Ages, the Holy Word of God was taken away, as it were, from the people of God. They were not privileged to have it. It was possessed by the so-called ecclesiastical authorities of state churches in that day, and one can well recollect in the reading of the history of the church. There were days when only the Bible could be found chained to a pulpit in some state building of the church in that period of time. But in the hands of the public, in the hands of God's dear people even, who had heard the gospel and believed in the Lord Jesus, the word of God was not known. But there came that revival when in the time of Luther and his contemporaries, the word of God was restored. and began to be printed. We knew at what great pain, suffering, and even execution at times. Some of those dear men of God translated the Holy Scriptures as the people might read, and they themselves, Lattler was one, there were others, burned at the stake because they dared to violate the authority of the state church that prevailed in that terrible day. But they brought the word of God where the people could hear it, and ultimately received it for themselves in print. There was another great thing that happened in that time, and particularly in connection with Luther, how there was the restoration of that great principle, salvation by grace through faith, justification by faith, So may I say, if we recall the letters of Thyatira, there was a double emphasis upon the works of the Church of Thyatira. We might say there were certain kind of works the Lord could and did approve, but there were many other works he could not approve. And in that particular sense, may I say, we all may know it well, that in the rise of Roman popery and Catholicism, There came a great system of works for salvation. It still prevails in many places, but Luther brought out the precious truth, and he stood firm upon it, and God gave him grace and strength to stand upon the truth, justification, by faith alone. And it was the restoration of that precious truth of the gospel that certainly laid the groundwork for what followed. in blessing as we come to this period that is represented by Sardis. Now will you please note the prophetical application again? I want you to note it carefully. It represents the church period between fifteen hundred and eighteen hundred AD approximately. And it particularly of course takes in at the commencement of it that reformation that took place in its revival. Now look at the spiritual application before we go further. For as we think of the spiritual, we want to emphasize that the letter, and the letter itself proves the fact, the letter refers in the spiritual application to the general state of the church after the Reformation. This is chiefly revealed in this letter, as in the previous one, the state before the Reformation was revealed. Now let me repeat that again. For what we want to see, The letter that is written to Saul is in his prophetical and spiritual application, rather, does not bring us to the blessing of the Reformation, but what happened after the Reformation? For after the Reformation, there was a spiritual decline, a spiritual decline in the church's condition. And that is to what the Lord Jesus referred. And then I point out very carefully, look in this third chapter, please, of your Bible. Look in verse two to you. How do you denote the words that the Lord says in verse two? To prove the fact. He is now writing of the conditions that follow the Reformation. He said, be watchful. Strengthen the things which remain, which are what? Ready to die. Now here you can recognize there was a decline set in. And that has been so true as it not, throughout all the ages of God's history with its people. Take the Old Testament, the people of Israel. You've got some of the most clearest evidence that morally and spiritually, the people of God, after a revival, they decline in their spiritual energy. And that has been true in the history of Israel. All the way through. One example, I'll give you a parallel in the book of Judges. There were seven periods in the book of Judges. And they certainly, they paralleled the seven churches in the book of Revelation, in their moral character of history. And back in the book of Judges, there was blessing, beginning with blessing. And then there was a decline. Then God raised up and revived the nation by spending Judges. to deliver the people. Then when the judge that was used under God to deliver the people died, then there was another spiritual decline. And so it went right down to the end of the book of the Judges. There was a constant repetition of apostasy in each stage of its history. And you have that truly in the seven letters of the seven churches. And here you see Stalin, as the Lord Jesus writes And in the prophetical application, with its spiritual truth, it brings me forward, after that movement, things began to die. We'll see that more fully as we go into the detail. Now look in verse one, and let's see first of all what you have on your lesson sheet, the Lord's attitude towards Sardis. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis, right, these things, said he that has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Now let's stop right there. Now first of all, may I dwell again? No apology for the repetition of it. I feel the need of it myself, and I'm sure it will help you. But may I again refer to the meaning of that word, angel, unto the angel of the church. And will you also note, the Lord Jesus speaks of himself as the one that had the seven stars. Now let's go back again to chapter one. I want you to recognize again in chapter one what the Lord Jesus had to say to John when John saw him in that vision. And in his hand were seven stars. Look in verse twenty, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand. and the seven golden candlesticks, all aspects. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Now, let me repeat what we stated before. Without question or doubt, I do not believe. And may I add, this will be developed as we go further in the book of the Revelation. You'll find in the book of the Revelation many symbols. Words that are used that symbol. And the many symbols in the book of the Revelation are very helpful when we understand their meaning. And here you have the angel in chapter one and verse twenty liken to a star. Now when you think literally of a star, well go to chapter twelve of Revelation, will you please? This will be developed in another development of truth. But may I read with you please? Verse one, there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. Now I just want you to know three things. The sun is mentioned, the moon is mentioned, the stars are mentioned. Now every one of us are very fully aware, I'm sure, that sun is the highest of our as far as the physical universe is concerned in our solar system. With its light and warmth and so on, it stands in the literal creation of our literal creation at supreme authority over the affairs of nature. The moon, well, it derives its light from the sun, does it not? In other words, it's a lower authority. And the stars, they're lower still, subordinate authority. Now when you go back, go back to chapter three now, and note then, when the Lord speaks to the angel of the church at Stardis, he's speaking to those in subordinate authority over the church. They're not in full authority because the head of the church is the Lord Jesus. He's the head of the church. The Holy Spirit upon the earth is the chief angels of the church. But delegated in subordinate authority are the so-called spiritual leaders of the church. And may I say very kindly, clearly, the Lord lays emphasis in every one of these letters Regarding what he sees, what he tells, and what he writes, he lays emphasis upon the responsibility of the angel. In other words, now think this carefully through, those who take the leadership of any churches, he holds them responsible for how they lead, how they guide. Of course, We shall find that even any humble believer should listen to what the Lord has to say to every church. But the responsibility is chiefly upon them. Now may I make a statement? And this is a very sad, sorrowful statement to make. But I believe in all the history of the church from the beginning to the end. The great failure of the church has always sprung from unfaithful leaders. Can I repeat that? The great failure in its primary soul, humanly, has sprung from unfaithful leaders. No body of Christians can be led higher spiritually than their leadership. And you have the Lord writing to the angel in that respect. So may I point that out to you? And I say, with solemnity in my own heart, when I realize the implication of that truth, I sometimes shudder to realize. May I say this? What responsibilities those who are the leaders of God's people will have when they stand before Christ at the judgment seat of Christ? The responsibility of their leadership of the church is solemn. And there's the root of the failure from period to period. Now let's look at the Lord's attitude. Notice he says, these things that he, first of all, that has the seven spirits of God, second and the seven stars. Now, if you're please note, if you're on your lesson sheet, if you want to, you'll find the explanation regarding the Lord Jesus saying he possesses the Spirit of God. Now, you've got the expression, seven spirits of God. We had it in chapter one. We'll see it again in a later chapter. There's only one person who is the Spirit of God. There's not seven persons that can be called the Spirit of God. But here's another symbolic word. And it's a symbolism in a number. Seven. And if you know it, well, you've got it in what we're studying, these seven letters. Complete. A complete numeral of seven letters that have the spiritual significance in that numeral of meaning a complete representation. Seven. It's often called the perfect number. A number of completions. Now what the Lord Jesus is saying, a note you note on your lesson sheet. He possesses the plenitude, meaning the perfection or the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which is indicated by the expression of the servant spirit. Now this brings me to another solemn thought. Why does the Lord present himself as one who had provided the complete and the perfect agency of the Holy Spirit for his people and for their guidance. There is no question of doubt that after the Reformation and when the decline began, the Holy Spirit did not have his preeminence in the church. Can I give you this thought? I'd like to pass it on. I cogitate over this many times in my own heart and mind. There is a threefold authority that God is given to the church. First of all, there's the authority of Christ who is the head of the church. And you'll find that in Ephesians one, verse twenty-two and twenty-three. He has been made head of the church, head over all things to the church, which is his body. And then you've got the chief agent of the church upon the earth who is the Holy Spirit. And you go to John chapter sixteen, when the Lord Jesus promised the giving of the Holy Spirit, he declared what he would do. And it's true, and it manifested the presence of the Holy Spirit in his power on the day of Pentecost and through the book of the Acts. One is well said, the prominent teaching of the book of the Acts is the presence of the Holy Spirit. You find those early believers were moved, were taught were led, were empowered by the Holy Spirit. And under his guidance and authority upon the earth, dwelling in their midst and abiding in their hearts, they sought to carry on their testimony for the Lord. Then may I remind you as, go to chapter twenty in the book of the Acts. This will be very significant to what we've already said regarding the angel. Will you please? Chapter twenty in the Book of the Acts. Now I want you to know what Paul said in this twentieth chapter of the Book of the Acts, and I think it's verse twenty eight, on the occasion when he asked the elders of the Church of Ephesus to come and meet him, and they came down to meet Paul. And in this twentieth chapter of the Book of the Acts, he gives this farewell message to them. Now will you please note these words in verse twenty eight? Now Paul, now if I may make it a literal application, I think we could. These elders were really literally the angel of the Church of Ephesus. They were the spiritual leaders. For example, go back in there, go back there if you don't please. Go back in verse seventeen, just verse seventeen. From my leaders he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church, the spiritual leaders. No doubt he knew who they were. They knew him too. And they come. But now look at verse twenty-eight. Look at his words of warning. Take heed, therefore, unto yourself and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost had made to oversee us to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. Now there you can read right in that verse, the Holy Spirit had also set them in that place of oversight and care and guidance for the flock of God. So we can recognize, as the Lord Jesus presented himself, going back to chapter three in the book of Revelation, as he presents himself, And this is why he presents himself as the one who has the seven spirits of God. The church failed to acknowledge the leadership of the Holy Spirit. And the second thing, he says, I'm the one that has the seven stars. Now look again, as you've got number two on your lesson sheet under that eddy. He possesses the power of ecclesiastical authority, indicated by the word, the seven stars, which we have already noted. in chapter one of the book. Now look, may I put it in this way? The Lord presents himself as his church to say, this is what you need of me. You need to know the complete sovereignty, presence, power of the Holy Spirit. Second, you need to know also. I'm the only one that can sustain you from heaven above. Oh, may I say again, I cannot re-emphasize it too much. The head of the church, the Lord Jesus, the spirit of God, the chief agent upon the earth, has a most important person relating to God's gift, people in their need upon the earth. Now we need to realize that And that's why the Lord presented himself. For note next, he comes in verse, he goes on to say at the end of verse one, and down through verse two, his accusation against him. Be watchful. Strengthen the things which remain. You're ready to die. No one can recognize there's nothing complimentary about the situation. He says, wake up. Strengthen the things that remain. They're getting about ready to die out. And that certainly was the condition when you come to the end of that period. It's coming close to the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Things were just about ready to die. And there came, like God will see in the next letter, there was a movement of the Holy Spirit that brought revival and blessing that has never been equal in the nineteenth century. never been equal since the first apostolic days as far as the spiritual movement. But when he writes the solid, things are ready to die, ready to die. And now he goes on to say, as you're reading the end of verse two, he says, for I have not found thy words complete or perfect before God. Now let's do a little thinking, please, as we read it. Read your paragraph on your lesson sheet, number two under under letter B, they were incomplete in their words for him. In other words, some things had been restored. May I put it this way? The word of God had been restored, thank God, for the people. The message of justification by faith in the gospel that had been restored. But may I say something? There's a lot of other scriptural teachings that were neglected, that did not continue on to find out more about the Word of God. Yes, it is lovingly. I believe, and I say this frankly, and I say it fearlessly, and it's the deep conviction of my heart. As far as the truth of God, I don't speak of just the gospel, I'm speaking of all the truth of God. The gospel is the foundation message without question of doubt that the world needs that we all have to receive before we know the Lord. So may I remind you what Peter said, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that she may grow their mind. And may I say this very lovingly, there are a lot of dear Christians that have been really saved. They just don't grow spiritually though. And one reason is they don't get fed. The Word of God. The Word of God. And what's the Lord Jesus saying? You haven't gone far enough. Yes, you're preaching the gospel. Yes, the reformation brought out the truth of it. Yes, the word of God was restored to the people. But you see, you're not getting in the book and being in and teaching the truth of God. And one can well recognize the Lord Jesus accuses them of it when in his accusation that you haven't done further. Oh, my beloved Christian, may I say again, and I say it lovingly and earnestly, how we need to grow. I think of something in my boyhood day, and I'd like to make an application in the spiritual truth of it. I remember as a boy in England, we walked to school. No school buses back in my days. Anyway, we walked to school. And yet that infant was twenty-one years of age. And what a catastrophe. A physical deformity. keeping it from growing. Well, I'm fond of babies that won't want to have one twenty-one years old, would you? I know you're losing. Can I put it in another way? I wonder how many babies the Lord has when it comes to his spiritual children. Not going on. Not going on. Study in the Word of God. And going on to know the truth of God. And that was an incomplete situation in Sardis. The decline of following through the truth. Now notice admonition, as we've already, please notice in verse three. Please notice. His admonition comes quickly. Remember. He calls us to remember what had happened in the past. How thou hast received, and you heard, and hold fast, and also repent. Now, you can recognize, as he says, look under your lesson sheet. They were told to be watchful, second, friend of the things that remain, and now remember. And then repent. They had received, they had heard his word, and they were responsible to hold such. You know, one of the sad facts, which is so true, that when there is a spiritual decline amongst the people of God, it usually begins by neglecting the word of God. neglect of the word of God. Neglect of the word of God. Frankly, I say it even at my time of life, my heart feels as though I'm suffering when I don't get the word of God as much as I ought to. Sometimes I feel convicted. Lord, I'm not getting into the world as much as I should. It's your life, it's your food. And may I suggest personally that every one of us are responsible, not just because our leaders may not give it to us, but we're responsible individually to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord. And so the exhortation exists. You've received, the apostle, the Lord said, you received it, you heard my word, holy fast. And he said, because you've been flipping, you've got to repent. Can I give you this thought? You've got seven letters to seven churches There's only two churches the Lord never asked to repent. Smyrna, Philadelphia. The other five, he said, repent. Now can I make an application? I wonder if the same proportion would be true today. Five churches out of seven are just not repenting. Sometimes I wonder he might say seven out of seven are just not repenting. Would you give the solemn thought? The solemn thought? Repent, repent. And he goes on to say, If then and therefore thou shalt not watch, and there is this thread of judgment, I will come on thee as the thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Oh, the sad thing, go back to verse one. We have to make an application that we didn't mention at the end of verse one, but it brings us before us here when the law makes this accusation and this thread of judgment. Go back to verse one at the end of it. I know thy word that thou hast a name that thou livest, but thou art dead. Now, what you have unfortunately what you have go back to the lesson sheet under letter B his accusation which we did not mention we would like to particularly take it at this time under number one they had a lifeless profession they had a name that thou livest but he said you're dead and he's speaking spiritually in other words they profess to be Christian They profess to be Christian. But he said, you're dead. You know we've got a lot of professing Christians, don't we? I remember D.L. Moody in his experience one time. He was walking down the streets in Chicago and some man saw him and said, Mr. Moody, look down the street. You see that drunken man going down the street? Yes. It's one of your converts, Mr. Moody. Yeah, he must be mine. The Lord didn't convert him. You get the thought. The man had made a perfection. The man had made a... May I say this? It's a fine thing to make a life with perfection. My heart rings. I've had a few occasions and I've had to deal with people that made a profession of Christianity and weren't really saved. I think of a dear young fellow up at a mountain camp up in New Hampshire where I was ministering to the people there and there was a bunch of dear young people from New Haven, Connecticut that I was very, very much devoted to. And there were two boys, two brothers with that company and we were all praying for their salvation. And it wasn't until the last day of that conference I said, I woke up in the morning, said, Lord, these boys haven't yet moved toward you. We want to see them saved. I prayed, Lord, do something today. Well, that night, I had the privilege after preaching to speak to one of the brothers. And when I spoke with him, he was so brokenhearted. You know what he was brokenhearted over? Mr. Bramwell, I am scared to death to make another profession because I made it once. My heart just ached for that boy. I don't want to do it again. And not mean it. And he cried like a baby. And I don't blame him. And I tell you, I lived in my heart with the Lord and said, Lord, please bring him through. And the Lord did bring him through. He's going on with the Lord still. But oh, as I saw the difficulty that he faced. He said, I don't want to make another one like that. In fact, My own brother professed to be saved the same night I was. And he was even baptized the same day I was. He wasn't really saved till twelve years later. Lifeless profession. Beloved listen. It's a sad fact. In the nominal churches of Christendom today, there are more people with lifeless professions and real professions. And what you've got is It's been the rise of Protestantism. After Pulsary, it was in power. And then the Protestant churches began to bud and flourish. Can I also say this? I've got a story at home of a Church of England preacher. And you know, it's a strange thing. Some of those preachers in the Church of England are in my boyhood days. They went to school, they went to college, they went to university, they studied for a ministry as a profession, and they had academically, they knew how to preach the gospel. They had a theory down pat. And I have a story at home where one clergyman of the Church of England was preaching on, you must be born again, and while he was preaching, the Lord convicted him, you've never been born again. And he'd throw it into the Lord. The next season, when we'd be advertising, the fact that he was going to preach how God saved the clergymen while he was preaching. My mother used to tell me how often she'd listen to some of those preachers when it often said, Don't do as I do, but do as I say. Not a very good example, is it? Because they knew. There was no genuine character to that. Life as a Christian. Oh, beloved, how solemn it is, a lifeless profession. Now then go down and see what the Lord says. And one can recognize at the end of verse three, I'll come upon thee as a thief and shalt thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Judgment. To overtake them as a thief, I'm with surprise. And then I say this, frankly. As we go to the next verse, he's not referring to those who were really him. He's referring to those who only profess to know him. And not really. But now go to the next verse for it. And see what he has to say. Ah, he's got some of his own. And he commends them. But thou hast a few names. Even in Sardis. Which have not been defiled their garments. It's to be that sum. I know the joy of knowing they would say, you know, the word garment always, another symbolic meaning to it is. Well, your garment refers to your outward dress. And spiritual images refers to their outward life. And their outward life, true, belongs to me. They belong to me. And it's a man's name. You've got some that know me. And beloved, may I say, it's a sad confession, but if you have to be one that we appreciate, you never can tell, you can find real born-again Christians almost anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes you may wonder what they're doing there, but there they are, they found the Lord. And there's no question of doubt. There's so many like that who've not been taught, not encouraged, are growing in the Lord. but they seek to go on the best they can by the Lord's grace. And he does have a few. And may I also make the refer to the fact. Remember the Lord Jesus in Matthew seven made the comment, now is the way that leadeth unto life until there be the finder. But broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. May there be the go on in there. Now let me ask you a question. You're an adult. And in your right mind, I'm sure... Look at the church at large today. The whole profession of Charlotte. Everything that claims to be Christianity. How many are genuine Christians? In proportion. Be very difficult as they were made. Very difficult. Very difficult. Oh, the importance of realizing... The Lord knows those who, well, in one thing, go to Second Timothy chapter two, will you please? Second Timothy chapter two, in Second Timothy chapter two, you have a description of the last days of Christianity in this epistle. And in Second Timothy chapter two, I want you to note some words that are found in verse, I think it's nineteen or twenty. Second Timothy and chapter two, and perhaps verse nineteen and twenty and here the beloved apostle writes regarding the perils morally and spiritually he said nobody has to say in in verse nineteen for preceding that he's spoken of some men who have gone away from the truth and in verse nineteen he said nevertheless the foundation of God stands assured having this field The Lord knoweth them that are his. No matter the condition, the Lord knows those that are his. Now this is comforting, and it's also sorrowful to realize that sometimes only the Lord knows who are his. But then will you please know the end of the rest? and let everyone the name is the name of Christ or the name of the Lord depart from iniquity and you can recognize if you say you belong to him sure I met one of the preachers of the city at the radio station the other day and he was talking with me and he was mentioning this time we were talking about witnessing and he'd been in a certain place that I'd been down in Key West and he had a friend he had a lady in his church from Key West that used to hear me preach down there. And I said, well, Key West has certainly gone different. I said, the hippies take it over every winter. You go down there, there'll be four or five hundred hippies in that town, take it all over. It's a disgrace that we've been able to do it. And he said, you know Brother Brown only says, one of those hippies came to me and offered me a trite. A gospel trite. And he said, he was just a young lad, maybe in his teens, nineteen or twenty, with a beard and long hair and dirty and smelly and ragged and clothes. And he offered me this track. And I said to him, I said, son, you profess to be a Christian? Yes, sir. Well, he said, let me ask you. Does your father and mother know where you are? No. If you're trying to tell me, you're trying to give me a track to tell me how to get to heaven, and you don't even know, your mother and father don't even know where you are. And furthermore, he said you're a disgrace to look at. See, don't you think you better clean up your own life first before you start giving out tracks? Good idea. It's a grand thing to be saved and know it, but it's better to be saved and show it. Show it. Show it. And oh, that we might realize, though the Lord knoweth him and the one that names him should depart from iniquity. Now back to Revelation three quickly. And know what we have in verse four. What the Lord says of those who are faithful to him. They shall walk with thee in white. for they are worthy. Please note your lesson sheet. Let's look at number two under letter D, his commendation. The faithfulness of their walk with him would reward them in glory. They shall walk with me in white. Their spiritual character here will be acknowledged by him there. Oh, beloved, may I say this? We fail to realize it. The measure of our faithfulness to him... Here will be acknowledged when we get to him in glory. And another thing, look, what you offer him down here is going to shine forever in glory. Whatever measure of glory you may have brought to him and for him, it's going to shine with him in glory. You'll go even further. Look at what he says in verse five. He that overcomes what? Lifeless profession. Dead work. He that overcomes the same shall be clothed with white raiment. And one recognizes that in glory they'll walk with him in that white raiment. And then he adds, And I will not blab out his name out of the book of lies. Please go through your paragraphs, see your lesson sheet, please. First of all, the overcomer and the reward of threefold honor. Their purity of character will be eternally acknowledged, clothed in white garments. Second, their names will never be erased from, now note carefully what we have written, will never be erased from the register of Christian profession. Now we know that when once we have saved, the word of God says we eternally is, I give unto my sheep eternal life, they shall never perish. Neither shall any blossom out of mine hands. Well, when do you think of Sardis, please? Go back to verse one in Sardis, where at the end of the verse says, I know thy works. You have a name that thou livest and are dead. Can I ask you a question? How many people have their names on church rolls today that are not really Christians? I never will forget, I knew a fella, he was about my age in my early days, his mother and dad was godly a couple, and they knew the Lord and the book. And George Pink was his name, and poor George, he didn't follow his parents. But George told me himself, and I was sorry to hear it, because I knew this particular Baptist church that he attended, went to an attendant. And he said, they insisted they wanted me to join the, be baptized and join the church. And he said, I told the preacher, I said, I'm not saved. But they pressed joy so much that he yielded to the pressure and he was baptized. And he told me this. He said, Brother John, he said, John, he said, when that preacher baptized me, I told him while he was baptizing me, you're baptizing an unsaved man. Another name on the lifeless profession. And George, well, you should have more sense, not to let him do it, but anyway, he joined the lifeless profession. Oh, beloved, how important to be real and know your name from what, what, look, those that are saved, who upon the earth profess to be God's people. Now, are God's people? He said, I'll never blow your name out. He said, I'll, he said, glory. in the book of life. And thank God the joy of knowing when your name, I think it's the dear old hymn, Lord I can offer riches neither silver nor gold. I would make sure of heaven I would enter the fold. In the book of thy kingdom on its page is so fair. Tell me Jesus my Savior, is my name written there? And what a joy when you can say, yes, my name's written there. On the book, why didn't they? Look at chapter twenty, please. Go to chapter twenty. Oh, well, did you notice something? Poor folks in service that had just their names on the record, on the roll were not really born again. Look what's going to happen to them. Chapter twenty in verse eleven. The great judgment of the white throne. I saw a great white throne in him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heavens led away. There was found no place for them. I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books will open. I wonder how many books. I think all every church row will probably be open. The books will open. The Lord keeps the record of all that happens in one's life. And if one makes a lifeless profession, it goes down in the book. Up there is record, her record. and prefer to go on. And then another book was opened, which was the book of life. The dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their work. Whatever their portion of suffering and punishment in eternity was based upon their life. What they were, what they did accordingly. and then the measure of it. But no, the three gave up the dead which were in it. Death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them. They were judged every man according to their words. Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Now no, whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And beloved one can recognize the joy of knowing when your name's in that book of life. Yonder in heaven. That's where your name needs to be written. Well, I think I met a fellow on time. He joined for near every church in town. How's that? I think of a dear man who was trying every way. And I'll tell you how he got saved. He was so miserable in his hotel as he was in New York, Chicago. In Chicago, in his hotel, he went down the street to walk the streets in his misery. and he heard a blind man reading a braille Bible in a doorway, a store doorway, and the blind man was reading, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none, and somebody hit the blind man's elbow, and he lost his place. And he tried to remember what he was reading in life. He kept repeating, So there is none other name. There is none other name. There is none other name. And none other name until he found his place with his fingers and went on reading. For there is none other name under heaven. Give it among men. Whereby we must be saved. And the first one. I've been trying any other kind of name. And he went back to his hotel room. And he got on his knee to be bedside. And came to the Lord Jesus. He got his name written in the right book. And beloved, that's where we need it. It must be. Now finish the letters, as the Lord said. Know what he goes on to say at the end of verse five, rather. But I will confess his name before my father and before me beg him. My beloved, can I just say this? Here's the Lord Jesus said, Father, Lord, here's somebody that believed on me. I want to confess this one of my children, one of your children. Oh, the joy of none. See, let me put it very plainly. Aren't you glad you trusted the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus sent you. You confess me as your Savior? I'm going to confess you before my Father. Know what we have on the ladder? On that sheet number three, they will be publicly confessed and honored by Christ before my Father, before these angels. What an earth. My friend, look. Wouldn't it be wonderful to find ourselves in the Lord Jesus' name? To the Father, to all the angels of heaven, these are my children. They trusted me as their Savior. Why am I glad I'm saved? What an honor in that day, a greater honor than you could ever get down here. And what a joy to realize is the Lord says at the end of that letter, see that happen here, let him hear what the Spirit said under the church. And even though the angels, look, let me, careful now, even though the leaders of the church may fail, you and I as an individual, God hath us to overcome. Don't let us fail. Don't let us say. It's an individual responsibility. And the Lord said, if he's got an ear, listen to what I'm telling you. And obey. Shall we pray? Blessed Father, how we thank you for thy precious and holy words. Oh, there's so much in it. For though we think of the one who walked in the midst of the churches. our Blessed Lord, the head of the church, examining, accusing, condemning, commanding, and admonishing. Blessed Lord, we put ourselves before thee and say, Lord, keep us close to thyself. Help us to be walking faithfully with our garments white while we're down here until we see each face to face. and walk with thee in heaven. What a joy, Lord, to know we'll be walking with thee in heaven and what sorrow there will be for the dear souls that will be in hell. Lord, help us to appreciate thyself and thy great salvation, we ask in thy precious and worthy name. Amen.