Part of the culture of Sardis was overconfidence and smugness. This plays into the letter sent to this church. Revelation 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Club Sardis! All the other churches wanted to be like Sardis. But Jesus looks down and he’s not impressed with the reputation that they have out in the world. He just flat out tells them, “you are dead. You’re lifeless. You have no fruit, I haven’t been there for months and you haven’t missed me.” What is it that makes a church alive? I think that I can answer that very simply in one Bible verse. Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Here is a verse from Isaiah that Jesus quoted more than once; Mark 7:6 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Remember. We see the lost but were not moved. We see the deformity of our culture - but were not moved. We see people suffering – but were not moved. I will admit that it bothers me that Tucker Carlson or Greg Gutfeld can move people faster than the Holy Spirit can. Jesus is yelling, “wake up.” God one time told Belshazzar of the Old Testament; Daniel 5:23 says “But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!” Then Daniel told him, “you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.” The letter ends with a word of encouragement to those who have resisted the culture, who have not gone asleep… Revelation 3:4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 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. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’