Letters from Jesus - Part  3

Revelation 3:1-22 - Riley Boggs

There have always been and will always be movements of false teaching. These movements typically appear, and thrive, when they appeal to people’s hurts and longings. Like the crafty serpent in the garden, someone comes along and offers temporary pleasures that lead to destruction. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s there was a dangerous movement that began here in the United States. It is a movement that has led many people astray. It has led many people to places of hurt and further confusion. And it has even been packaged up and sent around the globe through so-called missionaries who carry a false gospel. For those who are a part of this movement it is known as the “Word of faith” movement. For those who see this movement for what it is, it is known as the prosperity, or health and wealth, gospel. 

The beginning of this movement is a bit debated, but it likely finds its start during the ministry of a man named Oral Roberts. If that name sounds familiar it’s because you’ve likely seen the university he founded when you were filling out your NCAA March Madness bracket. That alone should tell you how enticing his ministry was in its day. He traveled and preached, often declaring that he had received specific words and visions from God. He had a TV show where he would declare “healing” for people, and would encourage people to sow financial seeds if they wanted to reap financial or physical benefits. 

Unfortunately, any followed in Robert’s footsteps. Men such as Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, E.W. Kenyon and Kenneth Hagin helped this movement grow in the earlier days. Today some of the key figures in this movement are Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, John Hagee, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen,Todd White, and so on (https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/field-guide-on-false-teaching-prosperity-gospel). All of these people teach a false gospel. It often sounds good and flatters the ears, but at the end of the day, it has nothing to offer. 

Let me read you an example of this directly from Kenneth Copeland’s online devotional. He says, “...Some (beleivers) even claim God doesn’t promise us New Testament believers physical prosperity, just spiritual. But the truth is, you can’t separate the two. That’s why Jesus says, ‘If you’ll seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these [material] things will be added to you.’ He knows the spiritual realm and the material realm are connected. The physical world cannot operate independently from the spiritual world. What happens in one is simply a reflection of what happens in the other.

Obviously, your spiritual standing profoundly affects your financial standing. That’s why, when you get hold of the gospel and begin to prosper spiritually, you can begin to prosper physically and materially as well. Don’t let anyone talk you out of God’s promises of prosperity. You don’t have to choose between financial and spiritual prosperity. Both belong to you. Lay claim to them by faith. As a born-again child of God, dare to reach out and receive the riches that belong to you!” (https://www.kcm.org/faith-to-faith/2026-11-13/) 

The gospel that Kenneth Copeland, and those in his camp, proclaim is not the gospel of the Bible. Not only is it wrongly focused on worldly possessions and temporary health, but at its root, it makes Jesus out to be a means to an end. Jesus Himself is not where true joy is found,
He is simply the avenue by which you can have all the things that really make you happy. But see Jesus is not the means to an end, He is the end. All of creation was literally created so that Christ, in all of His majesty and splendor, might be glorified. He is the beginning and end of all things, not the means to other things. He’s where we find joy and peace that does not hinge on what we have, but rest squarely and firmly on who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised. The prosperity gospel is no gospel at all.

The reason I say all of this is because this morning we are going to be looking at the three remaining letters of the seven. And in each of these letters, I think, we are being shown what true faith looks like. We’re being shown truths by our Lord that lead us to an authentic faith. We’re being reminded of truths that help us guard against false gospels, such as the prosperity gospel.

The reality is that we’re all very susceptible to believing lies. It’s easy to scoff or look down at those who have fallen prey to false gospels. But we need to be careful, because it is only by God’s grace and mercy that we have not. And not only that, but we need to continually be growing in our knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He has said. We need to be continually protecting and defending the truth. I think that is what we are going to see as we look at these 3 letters. So, let’s start by looking at the first letter, the letter to Sardis.

In verse 1 we see the pattern remain the same as Jesus identifies Himself. He says that He is the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, which is a repeating, just like the beginning of each letter, of how we saw Jesus described back in chapter 1. And then after this, He begins speaking to the church in Sardis. Which you heard me read a minute ago.

What I want to draw your attention to in this first letter is what Jesus says right at the beginning. He says, “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” That right there is the theme of this entire letter, and it’s what I want us to see for our first point. 

1.) Jesus sees past our outward works and reputation (vv.1-6)

The city of Sardis was known for many things. Chief among them were its riches in gold and its defensive geography. On 3 sides of the city were these giant cliffs and then on the 4th side, where the gates to the city were, was a long steep hill. And so it seemed that the city was seemingly impossible for enemies to siege. They could not scale the cliffs, so Sardis only had to defend the long steep hill before its gates, which they could easily do. But, as the story goes, Sardis was indeed taken over. Not once, but twice. I want to read for you the story of one of those accounts from Dennis Johnson’s commentary. 

He writes, “Later Sardis was the capital of King Croesus, whose wealth was also legendary. Croesus’ reign ended, however, with an event notorious as an example of misplaced security. As the forces of the Persian Empire pushed westward, Cyrus and his troops caught Croesus’ army by surprise in the field of battle and then besieged Sardis. The fortress of Sardis was surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs, so apparently impregnable that ‘to capture the acropolis of Sardis’ became a maxim for achieving an impossible feat. Herodotus recounts, however, on the fourteenth day of the siege a few Persian troops climbed the cliff at a point ‘where no guard was stationed, for there was no fear that it would ever be captured at that place, for the acropolis is sheer and impregnable there.’ The city fell quickly into Persian hands. Ancient commentators blamed Sardis’s tragic fall on ‘a lack of vigilance in its defenders’” (Triumph Of The Lamb). The city had a reputation, a good one. It was rich and safe. And yet, it fell. It had made assumptions of safety, let down it’s guard, and was taken. Here in this letter Jesus is warning the church in Sardis to not make the same mistake.

See the church in Sardis also had a good reputation. They were known for their good works and deeds. If you were to ask anyone about this church, they would likely only have good things to say. They would’ve been the church in town with the largest crowd, with the most money, and the most ministries deployed. And yet, Jesus says that they are what? Dead. They are dead. He tells them that they need to wake up and strengthen themselves, lest the same thing that happened to the city happen to the church. That is, when they are least expecting it, He will show up and come against them.

It’s good to have a good reputation. We want to be known as good people, right? When our name is mentioned, individually, or corporately as “Covenant Community Church”, we want people to think well of us. We want to be known for good things. There is nothing wrong with that. But, if our reputation before God does not mirror what our reputation is before the world, we have failed miserably.

It does not matter what the culture thinks of the church of Sardis, Jesus sees them for what they are. He sees that they are, for all purposes and intents, dead. They haven’t fooled Him. He says that essentially all of the church has “soiled their garments”. He isn’t so enamored by their good works and reputation that He has looked past the fact that their works are not complete in the sight of God. 

I remember when I was at the Southern Baptist Convention in 2020 something like this kept happening. There was a contentious resolution being debated throughout the days of the convention. And I remember that one of the leaders who was on the stage was speaking about this resolution and he said this. He said, “The world is watching what we do”. Now he said that because he was calling the convention as a whole to consider the fact that the business we are doing is being seen by people everywhere, and so we need to take that into consideration as the debate continues. I understood the sentiment, but there was one thing that really bothered me about that statement. What bothered me was that it seemed that this man cared more about what the world thought of our decision than he did what God thought. He seemed to be primarily concerned about maintaining a good reputation in the public eye. And that week, he repeated that phrase multiple times, and everytime I thought, “Yes the world is watching, but what about the fact that God is watching? Shouldn’t we be primarily concerned about what honors Him?”

I think this letter is calling us personally and corporately to remember that we cannot fool God. He is calling us to faithfulness that goes beyond our public reputation and good works. He calls us to remember what we have received and keep it. Hold fast to the truth, in all things, and to not let our guard down. Don’t be lulled into thinking that all is well because all looks well from the outside. 

In Matthew 23 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for this very thing. He says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. This letter is a call faithfulness that goes beyond what the eye can see. A faithfulness that is primarily concerned about honoring our Savior, inwardly and outwardly. 

Now there’s more in that letter for us to see, but I’m going to circle back to the promises in each of these at the end. For now, I want us to see the second letter, the letter to the church in Philadelphia. 

Starting in verse 7, He identifies Himself as “...the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” And then, to the church, He says, “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

This is one of my favorite letters of the seven because Jesus has nothing bad to say about this church at all. He only reminds them of the promises He has made to them so that they might be encouraged. And I want us to see that same promise and be encouraged as well. But, in order to do that, we need to answer 2 questions about this letter. First, we need to know what the door is referring to in verse 8. And then second, we need to understand what Jesus is saying about those who say they are Jews but are not.

So first, the door. In verse 8 He says that before them He has set an open door, which no one is able to shut. Now when you first hear that your mind might go to what Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians. At the end of that letter he’s writing to them about how long he longs to be with them, and he says this. Starting in verse 5, “ I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Paul is saying that God has opened a door for him to do ministry in Ephesus. He’s made it so that Paul’s ministry is effective in that place and time. 

There are some who think that is what Jesus is saying here to the church in Philadelphia. They take what Jesus says in verse 8 to mean that he is setting before them a door for effective ministry where they are. I don’t think that’s an unfair reading, but I don’t think it’s the right one. I think the answer to what the door is a reference to is actually found in how Jesus identified Himself in verse 7. Look at what He says. He says, “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” That is not a door to an effective ministry, that is the door to the Kingdom of God. And I think that is what Jesus is reminding this church of.

Now, why would he have to remind them of this? Why would He need to remind them that for those who have kept the word and not denied His name, they are sure to enter the Kingdom of God? Well that leads us to the second question we have to answer. That is, what is Jesus saying about those who claim to be Jews in verse 9. Jesus says that there are some who claim to be Jews, but are not. Rather, Jesus says that they are those of the synagogue of Satan. Here’s what I think is happening here. The churches in Philadelphia are having a difficult time because there are many who claim to be the people of God, but have actually rejected Christ. Their claim to be Jews comes to them through their bloodline, not through their beliefs. 

And what Jesus is saying here is that those who claim to be Jews, but reject Jesus, are no true Jews at all. They are liars. And they are liars who have been persecuting and outing these true followers of Christ to authorities. So it’s to these Christians that are being “locked out” of the synagogue by the so-called Jews that Jesus says, “Have no fear. The door to the kingdom is one they cannot close. It is open and as you hold fast to the Word, I am holding fast to you.” That’s the encouraging promise Jesus is reminding them of, and it’s the second point for us this morning…

2.) Jesus will guard His people against the false church (vv.7-13)

As I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon, there have been and there always will be those who claim to be followers of Christ but are not. They bear the name Christian, but know nothing of Christ. And for true believers, for us, that can be a very difficult thing. It can be difficult because for one, we don’t want to be lumped in with them in the sight of others. 

I remember something similar happening when I was in elementary school and it always bothered me so much. The teacher would leave the room for a minute and tell us to be quiet. And we all would be except that one kid who loved attention. That kid would yell out really loud to try and make the class laugh or something. And sure enough, right as he did it, the teacher would walk in the room and begin to reprimand the whole class. We’d all lose 10 minutes of recess because of this one kid’s dumb decision. I always hated that. It felt so unfair.

In a similar way, there are times where those who falsely bear the name of Jesus will cause our walk to be much more difficult. In our conversations with people, we might have to spend most of the time explaining why the Christian they interacted with before wasn’t actually being obedient. We might have to talk about how the church they grew up in that taught a works-based salvation wasn’t right. 

And not only that, but at times those who falsely bear the name of Christ will seemingly be much stronger than those who rightly bear His name. Jesus says that in verse 8. He says, “I know that you have but little power.” In other words what He is saying is that they are the smaller voice in Philadelphia. I’m sure you all have felt that before in a culture where the label Christian has been slapped on so many false movements.

But what Jesus is trying to show us here is that we need not worry about that. In the end, those who truly follow Christ will be vindicated. He will turn the tables on those of the synagogue of satan. Through trials and tribulation, He will continue to carry us and sustain us, so that we might seize the crown. Jesus is calling us to remember this and to continue to be faithful in the small things. He says that we are to keep His Word with patient endurance. Just keep plodding along.

Jesus is not concerned with who is the strongest. He is concerned with those who trust Him in all things. My prayer is that as a church we would be a people who trust that God has us where we are, with the people we are with, for a reason. That we would be most concerned with what He has before us. That we would love the truth God has given us. Love the people who God has before us. Love the God who has brought us to those people. And trust that He will guard us the whole way through.

Now, to the last letter, the letter to the church in Laodicea. In verse 14 He identifies Himself as, “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” And then He says, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Have you ever been watching a movie and there’s a character who thinks they have it all figured out, but unknown to them, they are forgetting one key thing? They are arrogant and smug, confident that the victory is theirs. And you’re just sitting on your couch shaking your head saying, “Well, you’ll see…”

The city of Laodicea was kind of like that. It was a city that seemingly had everything. It was a major center of trade and transportation. It had a wonderful economy and was known for its medical college. It had everything, but one thing. One very important thing. Water. See, 6 miles north was the city of Hierapolis. Sure it wasn’t nearly as grand as Laodicea, but it did have hot springs where they could draw water for medicinal uses. And then just 10 miles east was the city of Colosse, which also wasn’t as luxurious as Laodicea, but it did have cold drinking water that came down to them from a nearby mountain. And right there between them sat the grandest city of the 3 with no usable water. Laodicea’s only source of water was the Lycus River, which was a river known for having cloudy muddy water that was entirely undrinkable. And so they had to bring water to their city from miles away, resulting in lukewarm, often very gross, unusable water. When you drank it, you wanted to immediately spit it out of your mouth.

You’ve likely heard that this comment about being lukewarm is a reference to the spiritual health of the church here, but I don’t actually think that’s the case. It’s not that they need to be hot as in on fire for the Lord or something like that. We know that because in verse 15 Jesus says he wishes they were hot or cold, just anything other than lukewarm. What I think that Jesus is saying here is that the church in Laodicea to Him is like the city's water to the people, good for nothing. Not hot, not cold, just right there in the middle where there is no use to be had. Jesus says that this is how that church is to Him and that He would spit them out of His mouth. They are like lukewarm water to Him.

And you might be thinking, “Wow. I mean, what are they doing to cause this?” Well Jesus tells us in verse 17. The reason that Jesus has called them useless is because they think that they are in need of nothing. They think that they have it all. Like the city itself, they sit in luxury assuming they have no lack. All the while, the one essential thing needed to survive can’t be found. And that right there is the point that I want us to see this morning. Point number three…

3.) Jesus calls us to trust Him by faith, not to self-sufficiency (vv.14-22)

I don’t know about you all, but the older I get, the more I like to have a backup plan, for my backup plan, for my backup plan. I used to be more spontaneous, and then I became less fun. But the reason I like having a backup plan now is because I don’t like asking for help. I mean there are times where I will really struggle, have access to help, and just won’t ask. And I think part of the reason that I, and anyone else, does this is because self-sufficiency seems like a noble thing. And I would argue that there are aspects of it that are a good thing. It is good to be capable and willing to struggle for things. It is good to be thoughtful and plan things out. All of that is good. But, there comes a point where self-sufficiency flips to pride. And that is a very dangerous thing. 

Like the church in Laodicea, we often want to be a people who have everything they need. We don’t want to ask for help. We don’t want to “burden” other people. We want to get to a place where everything is all nice and sorted like it should be. That is an incredibly dangerous place. A place that first of all doesn’t exist and second of all we should not desire. Jesus does not want a bunch of people who think that they are self-made men who can have arrived, because that is simply untrue. Jesus wants a people who strive hard, run well, but are under no illusion that they can do it alone. He wants a people who recognize their continual need for the Spirit’s power. A people who continually call out to Him for provision and wisdom and mercy. He wants His church to be a people who literally have to rely on one another. Who rejoice when others rejoice, and cry when others cry. He wants to be met by others. He wants a people who live by faith. That’s the kind of people that God uses.

If you ever get to a place in your life where it really seems like you’ve arrived, it would be good to turn to verse 17. Look at what Jesus says of this church. “...you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Jesus wants us to come to Him, not embarrassed to show our weakness and incapabilities. When He sought you out and saved you, He didn’t do it because He wanted you to walk at a distance trying to make it along by yourself so that you don’t bother Him. No, He sought you out and saved you, knowing all of your sin and weakness entirely. He saved you so that you might walk in the strength that He provides, showing Him to be the truly glorious one. 

And can I tell you something else? Jesus loves His people too much to leave us in this unusable state. Look at verse 19. He says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” What He is saying here is that we need to let go of this idea that we a self-sufficicent and that the things we have are from our own hands. He’s calling us to repent of that. But He is also saying that if we don’t, if we are too blinded by everything we have that we forget our dependence on Him, He will, out of love, discipline us. And trust me when I say, that can hurt. He might bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will begin to trust Him in faith. He does that not because He delights in our pain, but because He loves us too much to watch us walk in lethargic pride.

Jesus desires to be in very close fellowship with us. He says, in verse 20, that He stands at the door and knocks, and if anyone hears His voice, they should open the door so that He might come in and they dine together. Think about this. He’s talking to the church here. The church that He just said was unusable. He is telling them, telling us, that He desires us to walk in an intimate fellowship with Him, to dine with Him. He wants us to trust Him by faith. 

And in each of these letters we’ve looked at this morning, Jesus promises something to those who press on in faith until the end, and I want to look at them as we close. But first, I just want to point out a few different places some of you might be this morning. Some of you might feel a bit convicted by these things. Maybe you hear these things and are embarrassed or ashamed at what you think is your lack of faith. If that’s you, I want you to hear these promises and know Jesus has not brought us to this Word to heap on burdens or shame. He has brought us here so that we might repent of our short-comings, turn from our sin, and walk in the joy and forgiveness He eagerly gives us. 

Or maybe you’re here and you are just tired. You feel beat down and your pursuit of obedience feels like it’s only growing more and more difficult with all the things going on around you. If that’s you, I want you to hear these promises and let them be like you seeing the finish line ahead. Let it be the wind in your sails that pushes you to continue running the race well.

Or maybe you are here and nothing I have said has described your situation at all. No matter the case, I want you to hear these promises that are for those in Christ and let them urge you to a further obedience and a greater trust.

Verse 5, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” Verse 12, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” Verse 21, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Soon and very soon our glorious King is coming. Let us be a people, a church, who walk in faith casting our mind on the promises He has made us. Amen.