The Overconfident Spirituality

(Rev 3:1-6 KJV) And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. {2} Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. {3} 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, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. {4} 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. {5} He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed 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. {6} He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Continuing our study of the seven letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, we turn today to the letter addressed to Sardis. Each of the letters addresses a spiritual condition which existed in that congregation and which exists today in some congregations and individuals. The condition of the church in Sardis is what I refer to as an Overconfident condition. This condition is one that goes by the name Christian, but does not actually have the Spirit of God within them giving them life. To call yourself a Christian and still live after the flesh is to deceive yourself.

You may take the name of Jesus and call yourself a Christian, But you are only a true Christian when the Holy Spirit of God lives in you and directs your life. You are controlled either by the Holy Spirit of God or by the spirit of your flesh. The Holy Spirit is the giver of eternal life while the flesh is the giver of death.

Jesus introduced himself to Sardis as “he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars. We saw in Chapter 1, verses 4 & 16 that Jesus has the seven spirits of God, and that He holds the seven stars in His right hand.

(Rev 1:4 KJV) John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

(Rev 1:16 KJV) And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

We know that there is actually only one Holy Spirit, therefore, the reference to seven Spirits must mean the particular working of the Holy Spirit to each condition found in the seven churches. Each condition requires a particular solution and the Holy Spirit is able to lead the church In the right path in each condition. The Holy Spirit is that force that brings life to the dead soul.

(John 4:13-14 KJV) Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

(John 7:36-39 KJV) What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come? {37} In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. {38} He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. {39} (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

If you will accept the invitation of Jesus and come to Him and drink of His Holy Spirit you will obtain eternal life. You will no longer thirst for a righteousness life, you will have within you the power to live holy and godly in this present world. The Holy Spirit becomes in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life. At the well, Jesus drew a comparison with literal water reminding us that everyone that drinks of literal water thirsts again, but everyone that drinks of the Holy Spirit gains a connection to a river of water of life. The thirst for righteousness is satisfied and the soul is alive toward God. Every soul that is not filled with the Holy Spirit is dead to God.

(1 Tim 5:6 KJV) But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

The problem with Sardis was that they had a name that they were claiming but they were dead. Jesus said, “I have not found thy works perfect before God. .. thou hast a name that thou liveth, and art dead.” There are many today that are living a name while they are dead spiritually. This condition is addressed in:

(Isa 4:1-4 KJV) And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. {2} In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. {3} And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: {4} When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

Again we see the reference to seven and again we remind you that this implies that this condition exists in every spirituality. The devil is always trying to get you to obey him and ignore the Word of God. Notice the attitude expressed by the women, “we will eat our own bread”, “we will wear our own apparel”, we only want to be called by your name. This is a very deceptive condition; to call yourself a Christian but refuse to eat the Bread of Life or to wear the Robe of Righteousness.

Jesus said that we are required to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

(Mat 4:4 KJV) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

If you want to take the name of Christ and be a Christian, then you are required to live by every Word of God! There are no optional passages of the scripture. If you check the Bible that some people live by, you will find it to be smaller than the Reader’s Digest version. By that I mean that if you removed all the portions that they refuse to obey, their Bible would be a very little book. The Bible often directs the reader to live a holy life, to follow in paths of righteousness, to go and sin no more, to love God with all the heart, mind, strength, and soul, to love your neighbor as yourself, to love your enemies and much, much more. Yet we have a multitude of people in our time that call themselves Christians and make no effort to live according to these principals of God’s Word. This is the condition of living a name while being dead.

The women say they want to wear their own apparel; in other words they do not want to live a righteous life. They want to wear a robe of sin and still think that they are Christians. Living a life of sin leads to a spiritual death.

(Rom 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Zec 3:1-7 KJV) And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. {2} And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? {3} Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. {4} And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. {5} And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. {6} And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, {7} Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

Here we see the Bible explaining what happens when a person gets salvation. Before salvation, Joshua was clothed with filthy rags or with his sin; then when his iniquity (sin) was removed, he was clothed with clean garments. The clean garments are the robes of righteousness.

(Rev 19:8 KJV) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

In Luke chapter 15 you find a parable of a son that backslid and wasted his life in sin. When that son returned home repenting of his sin, the Father had a new robe put on him. When you return home to the Lord repenting of your sin, confessing and forsaking all sin, the Lord will put a new robe on you too. It is the robe of righteousness, clean and white, It is given to every one that repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as their owner. Jesus gives His children the Holy Spirit to dwell within them and direct them into a life of holy, clean and pure living. That is life, Real life; not just an empty profession, but a real, genuine life that is worth the living. If you try to live a Christian life without repenting and forsaking all sin, you will only be living a name with no real life within you. You may have grown up in a church and maybe you have been faithful to your church in many respects, but if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, you have no life in you. His invitation goes out this morning. “Come unto me all ye that thirst and I will give you living water.” Living in sin will never bring the peace and joy of real life:

(Rom 6:1-2 KJV) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? {2} God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

(Rom 6:12-18 KJV) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. {13} Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. {14} For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. {15} What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. {16} Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? {17} But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. {18} Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Too many today are claiming to be Christians and yet they are trying to justify living in sin. It seems that the writer of Romans made it really clear that sin has no dominion over the Christian. If sin has power over you and you cannot keep from sinning, then you need the Holy Spirit to come into your life and set you free from sin. You are either a servant of sin or a servant of righteousness; and you cannot be both. Jesus told us that we cannot serve two masters. Either sin is our master or Jesus is our master.

(Mat 6:24 KJV) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

You cannot serve God and your flesh. The word mammon means “a desire to gain and hoard wealth” You are either living to please the Lord or you are living to gain wealth for yourself. When the love of money replaces the love of God in your life, you are serving mammon. I know that you don’t think that you love money; you just need more of it. The truth is that no amount of money will bring peace and happiness to your soul. Look at the condition of our nation today. The good times are rolling, people have jobs, they are making money and how important is it to them to have a moral, righteous president? Let me assure you that there are a lot more people serving mammon that are admitting it. You may be calling yourself a Christian, but I assure you that Jesus knows your works and to every one that is serving mammon, He is saying “I have not found thy works perfect before God ..repent”.

You may look good on the outside and you may appear righteous, but Jesus is looking on your heart:

(Mat 23:25-28 KJV) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. {26} Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. {27} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. {28} Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

(Mat 15:18-20 KJV) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. {19} For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: {20} These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Jesus knows your works, He knows your thoughts, He knows all about you. It does you no good to claim to be a Christian and not really be one. What foolishness! What nonsense! To be full of sin and claim to be a Christian. If sin has dominion over you, then you are a sinner and as a sinner you are dead to God.

(James 1:13-15 KJV) Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: {14} But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. {15} Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

(1 John 3:8-10 KJV) He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. {9} Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. {10} In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

John is reminding us that “whosoever is born of God does not commit sin”. If you are claiming to be a Born Again Christian and you cannot keep from committing sin, you have a major problem. As long as you are controlled by sin, death is your reward. Life is only given to those that drink of the Holy Spirit. Notice that he is the Holy Spirit. He is not a spirit, but He is Holy. When you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, he leads you and empowers you to live Holy! To be born of the Spirit of God, you must obey him:

(John 3:1-8 KJV) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: {2} The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. {3} Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. {4} Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? {5} Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. {6} That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. {7} Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. {8} The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Jesus said that to see or understand the kingdom of God, you must be born of the Spirit. The reason that many today do not understand the kingdom of God is that they have been born of some other spirit. The kingdom of God is:

(Rom 14:17 KJV) For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Jesus advised us:

(Mat 6:33 KJV) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

How about it this morning? Are you a real Christian? Have you been born of the Spirit of God? Or are you just calling yourself a Christian while you continue to live an unholy, ungodly life? Jesus is walking in our midst this morning, He knows your heart, he offers life to every one that will repent of sin and accept Him as their Lord. He wants to replace your filthy robe of sin with a clean, white robe of righteousness. He wants to write your name in Heaven, in the Lamb’s Book of life. He is crying: if any one “thirst come unto me.”