1 00:00:04,719 --> 00:00:09,759 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2 00:00:09,759 --> 00:00:15,119 with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and 3 00:00:15,119 --> 00:00:20,539 faith. And today, as we go through the book of Revelation, continue to go through the book of 4 00:00:20,539 --> 00:00:29,339 Revelation, I want to ask you this question about the city of Sardis in Asia. What does the city of 5 00:00:29,339 --> 00:00:39,899 Sardis, the somnambulant saints in Sardis, what does the letter to these somnambulant saints in Sardis 6 00:00:39,899 --> 00:00:45,060 have to tell us about our own day, about our own church, about our own spiritual condition? Because 7 00:00:45,060 --> 00:00:51,159 the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation were all composed not only for 8 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:57,060 those particular churches, but for the church throughout her history, throughout the remainder 9 00:00:57,060 --> 00:01:04,480 of redemptive history. And they do have things to tell us precisely about our own spiritual lives, 10 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:13,519 the life and status of the church throughout her history, not just looking forward to the rapture 11 00:01:13,519 --> 00:01:23,239 and the red heifers and the other things that we all speed right by the seven letters to the seven 12 00:01:23,239 --> 00:01:30,799 churches by going to get these other things and miss these very important issues that the letters to 13 00:01:30,799 --> 00:01:39,700 the seven churches of Asia teach us. So I'd like to deal with the church in Sardis from Revelation 14 00:01:39,700 --> 00:01:48,560 chapter 3 verses 1 through 6 and see what it has to tell us about our own day, our own status as a 15 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:58,700 church. Revelation chapter 3 verses 1 through 6 to the angel of the church in Sardis write. These are 16 00:01:58,700 --> 00:02:06,599 the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds. You have a 17 00:02:06,599 --> 00:02:14,520 reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, strengthen what remains and is about to die. For I have 18 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:21,719 not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and 19 00:02:21,719 --> 00:02:29,360 heard. Obey it and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at 20 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:37,300 what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. 21 00:02:37,300 --> 00:02:44,719 They will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be 22 00:02:44,719 --> 00:02:51,979 dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name 23 00:02:51,979 --> 00:02:59,759 before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 24 00:02:59,759 --> 00:03:09,460 Well, the church in Sardis, we have seen that every church has both commendation and condemnation 25 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:18,580 and our Lord front loads the condemnation here before us because, indeed, they had been caught 26 00:03:18,580 --> 00:03:27,219 by surprise in several instances and had been somnambulant. And a somnambulant is someone who 27 00:03:27,219 --> 00:03:33,379 walks in his sleep. And that's precisely what the Sardinians were doing spiritually. 28 00:03:34,199 --> 00:03:43,199 And whenever I think of being caught by surprise, I think back in my history learning to the 29 00:03:43,199 --> 00:03:50,379 Revolutionary War, the Battle of Trenton in 1776. Well, the Battle of Trenton is one of history's 30 00:03:50,379 --> 00:03:56,259 greatest surprise attacks in the chronicles of warfare. And despite some notable victories up to 31 00:03:56,259 --> 00:04:01,879 this point, like Bunker Hill, George Washington's Continental Army was beginning to dwindle as the 32 00:04:01,879 --> 00:04:07,500 war dragged down. His militia was composed of citizen soldiers who needed to get back to their farms and 33 00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:14,000 families, while the British troops were professionals who had nothing else to do but wage war. So 34 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:21,420 Washington needed a victory, and he needed one badly. With few men and resources, he decided on a 35 00:04:21,420 --> 00:04:28,600 desperate move, that is, cross the Delaware River into New Jersey and attack the hired mercenary force 36 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:34,740 of German Hessians at Trenton, who didn't want to be there in the first place. And he did it, 37 00:04:34,819 --> 00:04:41,379 Washington did it, in the early morning hours of December 26, the day after Christmas, when he knew 38 00:04:41,379 --> 00:04:46,300 the civilized Germans would be hung over from heavy drinking and partying on Christmas Day before. 39 00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:52,839 they would be sleeping and recovering as every decent Christian would be doing. No one fights in the 40 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:59,079 depths of winter, right? Especially on Christmas. Well, despite advancing in a heavy winter storm that 41 00:04:59,079 --> 00:05:05,000 slowed them up, Washington's army made it in the wee hours of the morning and took the Hessians 42 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:11,480 completely, utterly by surprise. And they were in no condition but to surrender in droves. And those 43 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:18,079 that resisted were quickly shot and or captured. General Henry Knox described the situation this 44 00:05:18,079 --> 00:05:24,259 way. He said, the hurry, fright, and confusion of the enemy was not unlike that which will be when 45 00:05:24,259 --> 00:05:31,800 the last trumpet will sound, unquote. The Battle of Trenton proved to the colonists that they could 46 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:37,399 beat the mightiest army then on the face of the earth. Volunteers began to swell the ranks again. 47 00:05:37,399 --> 00:05:44,839 Well, the element of surprise is always one of the greatest advantages that any army can have 48 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:52,079 over his enemy. It was true of the Americans over the British. It is also true of the Persians, 49 00:05:52,199 --> 00:06:00,240 however, over this city, the city of Sardis. It was true of the Persians and then again of the Greeks 50 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:06,800 over Sardis as well. Twice the city was built on a mountain to begin with and then had a fortress built 51 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:12,680 on a spur of that mountain and it was all but impregnable. At least that's what the Sardinians 52 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:21,959 boasted. Huh. Yet once and then twice. Sardis was taken by surprise and conquered because Sardis 53 00:06:21,959 --> 00:06:28,519 had grown careless and lackadaisical over her security. She was the laughingstock of Asia in this 54 00:06:28,519 --> 00:06:36,560 regard and a proverb was in use at the time as safe as Sardis. It meant you were overconfident and 55 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:43,000 in danger of being taken by surprise. As safe as Sardis. Well, many Christians today are as safe as Sardis 56 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:51,459 and our Lord rebukes the saints in Sardis in the first century, one of the churches, of course, 57 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:59,439 in Asia. And our Lord touches this soft spot today to warn them of their spiritual carelessness and 58 00:06:59,439 --> 00:07:06,120 lackadaisical attitude, the church in Sardis. What is their situation? Well, let me cover, 59 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:12,579 first of all, verses one through three. And I have a three-point outline that I'd like to cover with 60 00:07:12,579 --> 00:07:19,620 you here today. And point number one in that outline is the city of Sardis. Sardis, in contrast 61 00:07:19,620 --> 00:07:29,220 to the somnambulant saints in Sardis, the heavenly hosts are keenly aware of her true spiritual state. 62 00:07:29,220 --> 00:07:35,980 Yes, you hide nothing from God. You hide nothing from the heavenly host. And these sleepwalking 63 00:07:35,980 --> 00:07:46,000 saints in Sardis are indeed in danger of losing their place. You may recall that in chapter one, 64 00:07:46,180 --> 00:07:52,019 I pointed out that the vision of the son of man in chapter one was determinative for the whole 65 00:07:52,019 --> 00:07:59,839 apocalypse for the whole book of Revelation. And that point I made is borne out here because in 66 00:07:59,839 --> 00:08:06,839 chapter one, we saw that he, the son of man, our Lord Jesus Christ, had the seven spirits, that is 67 00:08:06,839 --> 00:08:13,740 the living presence of the Holy Spirit for power. That was John's Trinitarian formula for the Holy Spirit, 68 00:08:14,300 --> 00:08:21,540 the seven spirits. And he also has the seven stars, that is, which he explains are the angels of the 69 00:08:21,540 --> 00:08:28,579 seven churches, which are the heavenly embodiment of the earthly churches on the ground. And we have 70 00:08:28,579 --> 00:08:33,500 seen, this is one of the principles of the apocalypse too, is oscillation. We oscillate between 71 00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:40,779 heaven and earth, back and forth we go. And the seven stars are the heavenly embodiment of the earthly 72 00:08:40,779 --> 00:08:47,419 churches on the ground. And we're asserting these realities here for the church in Sardis too. 73 00:08:47,419 --> 00:08:54,100 Our Lord is saying in this letter that he is mystifying us all with a bit of prophetic mumbo 74 00:08:54,100 --> 00:09:00,720 jumble. He wants to impress us with his power and insight. No, no, no, no. These two metaphors come 75 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:07,799 as a warning that Christ is all knowing and ever present with his church. And there's nothing hidden 76 00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:15,360 from his sight. Seven stars, seven spirits. This is further elaborated than as we progress through 77 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:21,879 verses two and three. We see, because he has the indwelling spirit, which inhabits the church and 78 00:09:21,879 --> 00:09:29,299 sees them as they are in the heavenlies before him, he can say definitively, I know your works. 79 00:09:30,100 --> 00:09:39,220 Our Lord tells the church in Sardis, I know your works. Have you forgotten the importance of works 80 00:09:39,220 --> 00:09:47,220 to the Lord? Or have you gotten a true feel for the importance of works yet to the Lord? Because 81 00:09:47,220 --> 00:09:53,639 he says this to almost every church. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me 82 00:09:53,639 --> 00:09:58,840 your faith apart from your works, James says. Show me your faith apart from your works and I will show 83 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:06,960 you my faith by my works. Faith without works is dead. That's a principle that we see borne out here 84 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:13,940 in the book of Revelation. We have a simple concrete sample of the kinds of works that Jesus loves 85 00:10:13,940 --> 00:10:21,000 from Matthew chapter 25. You may remember the separation of the sheep and the goats. Then the 86 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:27,320 king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared 87 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:34,539 for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you 88 00:10:34,539 --> 00:10:42,480 gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you 89 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:50,840 visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Unquote. Oh, what a great catalog of works that the 90 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:56,659 Christian should practice. If we occupied ourselves with these things, we wouldn't have time to complain. 91 00:10:56,799 --> 00:11:03,320 We wouldn't have time to speculate on the rapture and all these kinds of things. Well, at their best, 92 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:11,320 these works are done sincerely in love and without ostentation. If you do them to be seen by men, 93 00:11:11,379 --> 00:11:17,860 then as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, you have your reward and you shouldn't expect a heavenly 94 00:11:17,860 --> 00:11:25,379 reward from the Lord. And one gets the sense that here in Sardis, since Jesus says you have a reputation 95 00:11:25,379 --> 00:11:32,159 of being alive, that is, you have a name of being alive, then they may well have been doing their works 96 00:11:32,159 --> 00:11:38,720 to maintain their reputation or just going through the motions. Instead of perpetuating a worthless 97 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:47,139 reputation, our Lord tells them quite bluntly, but you are dead. Oh, but you are dead. From the 98 00:11:47,139 --> 00:11:54,860 context, it is obvious that they are not spiritually dead in a lost and reprobate sense. They're going to 99 00:11:54,860 --> 00:12:00,299 hell, but in the exercise of their religion, rather, they're not going to hell, but rather they are dead in 100 00:12:00,299 --> 00:12:08,500 their exercise of their religion. James also tells us in chapter one, religion that is pure and undefiled 101 00:12:08,500 --> 00:12:15,559 before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself 102 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:23,940 unstained from the world, unquote. Oh, sweet and simple definitions. Perhaps the saints in Sardis, 103 00:12:23,940 --> 00:12:30,899 the church there had lost its first love like the saints in Ephesus, or maybe they were only doing 104 00:12:30,899 --> 00:12:37,480 enough to get by and look good to the outside world. We are not told the exact reason, but their works 105 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:46,240 were incomplete in God's sight, as our Lord says. Their condition was sorry enough that it looked like 106 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:53,860 death to death to the Lord. And our Lord's exhortation then to them is twofold. Number one, 107 00:12:53,919 --> 00:13:02,259 he says, wake up. Or as the King James has it, be watchful. And so often death and sleep are 108 00:13:02,259 --> 00:13:09,779 interchangeable in the Bible as it is here, right? And our Lord gives them a metaphorical shake and call 109 00:13:09,779 --> 00:13:18,220 to rouse them from their spiritual slumber. There's some nambulance. They are blissfully unaware of their 110 00:13:18,220 --> 00:13:27,980 tenuous state. And secondly, he exhorts them, shore up your sagging defenses. That's the sense of 111 00:13:27,980 --> 00:13:36,559 strength in what remains and is about to die. Shore up your sagging defenses. The siege of your church 112 00:13:36,559 --> 00:13:43,860 has just about destroyed it all, and not much is left, our Lord is saying virtually. He says, shore it 113 00:13:43,860 --> 00:13:52,779 up before you lose it. And this is military language too. This is martial talk. Our Lord is needling them. 114 00:13:52,899 --> 00:14:00,480 He's provoking them, likening their spiritual situation to their twice previous military situation 115 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:08,820 in which they were taken by surprise and overcome. Don't let the church suffer the same fate as the 116 00:14:08,820 --> 00:14:15,299 city did, our Lord is saying. You're too much like true Sardinians. Wake up. Hear the call to action. 117 00:14:15,940 --> 00:14:24,419 Yes. And for me, this is so appropriate to our age. One of my colleagues the other day, and he does listen 118 00:14:24,419 --> 00:14:31,379 to our radio program. One of my brothers in the ministry, he asked me why I was so aggressive 119 00:14:31,379 --> 00:14:39,159 in this series on the received view of Revelation today and eschatology in general. That's the 120 00:14:39,159 --> 00:14:47,860 Revelation red heifer rapture rants that so many dispensationalists go on, right, and occupy all of 121 00:14:47,860 --> 00:14:56,320 Revelation with it. Well, it's precisely the reason I'm so hard on dispensationalism is precisely because 122 00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:06,340 dispensational premillennialism casts everything in Revelation as coming in the future. And dispensational 123 00:15:06,340 --> 00:15:14,820 premillennialism has an obsession with things like the great tribulation, or the beast, or 666, or Israel, 124 00:15:14,820 --> 00:15:23,600 and temples, and renewed animal sacrifices, and the rapture. Meanwhile, meanwhile, while the contemporary 125 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:30,799 church is obsessed with these things, the church today, right now, is enduring great tribulation 126 00:15:30,799 --> 00:15:38,200 and suffering. The church across the world, across the globe, is unwittingly, and the church in America 127 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:43,559 in particular, is unwittingly serving the very beast it anticipates will come in the future. 128 00:15:44,820 --> 00:15:52,600 And this same evangelical contemporary church puts its faith in a rapture that will not come to 129 00:15:52,600 --> 00:16:00,919 supposedly deliver us from a tribulation which cannot be avoided, dear listener. Dispensational 130 00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:08,879 premillennialism serves the beast it anticipates will come in the future, serves it now in the present. 131 00:16:08,879 --> 00:16:16,659 And the same church puts its faith in a rapture that will not come to supposedly deliver from a tribulation 132 00:16:16,659 --> 00:16:25,440 which cannot be avoided. If the devil himself had wanted to create an eschatology to confuse and put 133 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:32,679 the evangelical church to sleep so that the beast could operate unimpeded, he could not have done better 134 00:16:32,679 --> 00:16:42,519 than John Nelson Darby and dispensational premillennialism. The evangelical church by its eschatology will be 135 00:16:42,519 --> 00:16:50,059 taken by surprise and spiritually defeated, even as Sardis was militarily defeated by the Persians and 136 00:16:50,059 --> 00:16:59,139 Greeks. This analogy with their past, our Lord sustains in his threat. He says, if you will not wake up, 137 00:16:59,139 --> 00:17:05,940 I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. He says, 138 00:17:05,940 --> 00:17:14,880 our Lord promises them indeed that he will come surreptitiously, clandestinely, catching the church 139 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:23,640 in Sardis unawares. Just as Sardis was twice surprised and defeated by its enemies. Well, 140 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:30,900 so Jesus will come and take away the church in Sardis's lampstand. That is, he'll destroy its 141 00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:38,900 presence there and the Sardinians will not know what hit them. That is why it is so crucial for the 142 00:17:38,900 --> 00:17:46,859 contemporary church of today to respond in the manner exhorted by the Lord. He says, remember what 143 00:17:46,859 --> 00:17:56,019 you received and heard. Remember what you received and heard. Now we know that in the Bible, the exhortation 144 00:17:56,019 --> 00:18:05,640 to remember is to not just recall from memory. No, it is to recall from memory so as to do. That's the 145 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:13,420 biblical idea of remembering. Remember what you received and heard. At one point, they had heard the 146 00:18:13,420 --> 00:18:20,299 gospel and they had believed and lived it. And our Lord is exhorting them, saints and Sardis, return to 147 00:18:20,299 --> 00:18:29,079 those days. And then remember what you received and heard. And then remember and keep it. Don't just get 148 00:18:29,079 --> 00:18:35,720 emotionally nostalgic over the good old days. Do what is commanded and obey. That's the essence of 149 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:45,880 keep. Keep. Keep what you have received and heard. Remember and keep it. And then thirdly, repent is the 150 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:54,140 other exhortation. Make sure and repent. Now, repentance is, in part, a turning from what you were doing 151 00:18:54,140 --> 00:19:02,920 and turning 180 degrees in the other direction to the things of God. He urges them to repent as well. 152 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:10,059 Now, if we were to remember what the church has taught on these things in the past, we could receive 153 00:19:10,059 --> 00:19:17,700 it too. We could receive and embrace sound biblical teaching on the worship of the church, taking 154 00:19:17,700 --> 00:19:25,779 dominion of Christ's inheritance. The earth, right? And the nature of the enemy of the church faces this 155 00:19:25,779 --> 00:19:35,019 in every generation, not just the last one. The church of today needs to remember the things then 156 00:19:35,019 --> 00:19:42,859 that we heard at first and then do them. If we were to remember what the church has taught on these 157 00:19:42,859 --> 00:19:49,880 things, and we have, we've seen this in the past, read a church history book, see what the history of 158 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:57,680 doctrine has been through the centuries, because we could receive and embrace sound biblical teaching on the 159 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:03,740 worship of the church. The church has taught a great deal on what worship is, and revelation is a great 160 00:20:03,740 --> 00:20:12,440 source, as we'll see, a great source and resource for structuring our own worship. That's one of the motifs all 161 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:19,099 through revelation, is that we conquer in our worship. Every time you go to a worship service on Sunday 162 00:20:19,099 --> 00:20:25,619 morning, you take a little bit more ground from the evil one. You help to conquer a little bit more. We 163 00:20:25,619 --> 00:20:31,960 are commanded to conquer. Dominion is our destiny, and worship is one of those means by which we take 164 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:38,420 dominion. We don't do it by the ballot box. We don't do it with guns. We don't do it through 165 00:20:38,420 --> 00:20:48,599 politics. We don't do it by building big factories or tall buildings. No, we take dominion in the kingdom 166 00:20:48,599 --> 00:20:58,799 of God through our prayers, through our worship, through our blood and sacrifice, through our being 167 00:20:58,799 --> 00:21:06,000 persistent, through persecution. But worship is one of those means by which we take dominion. And the book 168 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:13,640 of Revelation is just chock full of suggestions and guidance on how we are to worship. That's one of 169 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:21,299 those things that's skipped over by most evangelicals, the happy clappy worship service, the rock concert 170 00:21:21,299 --> 00:21:28,720 writ small worship service. Well, worship is far more than that, brothers and sisters. And Revelation is key 171 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:38,039 to us understanding what New Testament worship should look like. So if we were to remember and then do as 172 00:21:38,039 --> 00:21:47,460 our Lord exhorts the church in Sardis, then we would be taking dominion of Christ's inheritance. We'll see in the 173 00:21:47,460 --> 00:21:55,460 future that the seven-sealed scroll is indeed a last will and testament. And that last will and testament is bequeathed to 174 00:21:55,460 --> 00:22:02,680 our Lord. And what he has bequeathed by his Father, what he has earned by the shedding of his blood by 175 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:12,839 ransoming many saints from every tongue and tribe, people and nation, what he has earned then is the 176 00:22:12,839 --> 00:22:21,660 entire universe, is the entire world. And he takes dominion of that inheritance all through the book 177 00:22:21,660 --> 00:22:29,500 of Revelation. And we take dominion with him because we are his army. Joshua is the new model. 178 00:22:30,339 --> 00:22:37,900 The conquest is the new paradigm for the book of Revelation, taking dominion of Christ's inheritance 179 00:22:37,900 --> 00:22:43,559 we do. And if we remembered what the church has taught us on these things in the past, we could 180 00:22:43,559 --> 00:22:53,519 receive it and live it then as well. And we would also then learn of the nature of the enemy that the 181 00:22:53,519 --> 00:23:00,359 church faces in every generation and not just the last generation. You think there's a beast coming? 182 00:23:00,619 --> 00:23:05,519 There's been beasts already all through depth of history and there's a beast right now. And if you 183 00:23:05,519 --> 00:23:09,720 continue looking for the one in the future, you're going to miss the one in the present 184 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:16,759 and you will be his servant as well. We would know the nature of the enemy that we face if 185 00:23:16,759 --> 00:23:22,859 indeed we were to remember what the church has taught on these things in the past. And we need to 186 00:23:22,859 --> 00:23:31,759 recall them, those things that were taught in the past. And so we issue the call to the modern 187 00:23:31,759 --> 00:23:40,079 contemporary church to repent of their slumber and the lullaby of last things. There is indeed a 188 00:23:40,079 --> 00:23:48,559 lullaby of last things. Dispensational premillennialism is indeed a lullaby that has put the church to sleep 189 00:23:48,559 --> 00:23:56,440 looking for things in the future. It is the lullaby of last things. While the rest of us out here resist 190 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:03,019 the beast, we endure tribulation. The church all over the globe is suffering under persecution. It is 191 00:24:03,019 --> 00:24:08,839 enduring great tribulation. They don't have to wait for the great tribulation. The church is already 192 00:24:08,839 --> 00:24:17,359 under it in the struggle then to take dominion of the earth in the Lord's name. Lay down then your 193 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:24,920 eyeglasses looking for the last things, the lullaby of last things. And wake up from your somnambulance, 194 00:24:25,019 --> 00:24:33,400 O Evangelical. All of you, Revelation red heifer rapture ranters, wake up, join the contest with the 195 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:41,079 rest of the church because it is indeed our destiny. Yet there were a few things to be commended in the 196 00:24:41,079 --> 00:24:51,059 church in Sardis. And our Lord details those then in verse 4. And we will take those up then that next 197 00:24:51,059 --> 00:24:58,380 week. We'll see the remainder of this letter and put it under scrutiny and apply it then to our own 198 00:24:58,380 --> 00:25:04,740 lives. But in the meantime, there is something here for all of us, is there not? We need to wake up 199 00:25:04,740 --> 00:25:15,000 from our somnambulance to stop sleepwalking and wake up and engage in the warfare at hand and not 200 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,619 wait for it to come in the future and not expect to be miraculously delivered out of it with a 201 00:25:21,619 --> 00:25:29,039 fictional rapture. This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church exhorting 202 00:25:29,039 --> 00:25:35,319 you to the struggle, exhorting you then to the conquest that we have before us. Indeed, 203 00:25:35,539 --> 00:25:42,400 dominion is our destiny. It's time for us to start taking dominion. And if indeed worship services are 204 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:49,200 one of the tools that the Lord has given us to take dominion, then New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian 205 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:56,420 Church takes a little more dominion every week at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings in our worship services. 206 00:25:56,420 --> 00:26:01,980 I'm preaching through the book of Revelation, enjoying every minute of it, and our people have been 207 00:26:01,980 --> 00:26:09,880 edified by it. And if you'd like to participate with us in taking dominion in our worship services, I exhort you 208 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:17,640 to cross our threshold. You can do that on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. We meet for holy worship at 209 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:24,880 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. And you can call us then for further information, give me 210 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:30,440 some feedback. Perhaps you like what you've heard. Perhaps you're curious about it. Or perhaps you'd 211 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:36,940 like to maybe say, no, Pastor, I don't agree with you on this. And that's good. That's okay. That's fine. 212 00:26:36,940 --> 00:26:49,420 But you can call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.