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[0:00] If you've got a Bible, turn with me to Revelation chapter 3. And as you do, let me just give you, by way of an introduction,! Just some statistics that you may be interested in, may not be interested in, but they kind of give a good framework for what we're looking at this morning.

[0:22] According to the Barna Research Group, which is an American research group that looks at church statistics, one in five churches permanently closed their doors last year in America.

[0:37] Lifeway Research Group, which is another church research organization, claimed that 4,500 churches closed in 2019 in the U.S. alone. In 2014, a guy called Thomas Rayner, who used to be the president of Lifeway, interviewed thousands of church members and leaders in churches to find out why their churches had closed.

[1:03] He then, of course, wrote a book, which became a bestseller, called Autopsy of a Deceased Church. And through his research, he found that churches, the churches that close, and churches that close in general, all close for the same nine reasons.

[1:22] Here they are. The first, treating the past as hero. When people talk of the past more fondly than they speak of the present.

[1:37] This can happen in churches. It can happen in church movements. It can happen in our own lives, can't it? When we talk about they were the good old days.

[1:51] And we talk more about the past than we do of the present, or we treat the past as the hero. Secondly, he found that refusing to adapt to the needs of the present community, church is closed.

[2:05] He comments that the people around the church building are different in every way than the church. So people around the church building, outside the church, are different in every way than the people inside the church.

[2:21] What was happening is people are coming from outside of the communities into the area. And so that could be age. Actually, the two biggest indicators were age and ethnicity.

[2:35] Okay. Thirdly, he found moving the focus of the budget inwards. So one of the observations was that when money was tight, the first budget lines to be cut were the ones that had outward focus.

[2:54] That would cause a church to die. Allowing the great commission to be the great omission. The great commission becomes the great omission.

[3:07] Greg Laurie says that when a church fails to evangelize, it will fossilize. Rainer says it's actually worse than that. It's called death.

[3:20] Number five, letting the church become preference driven. It's not a reference to purpose driven. It's a reference to preference driven.

[3:31] A church cannot survive in the long term when members are focused on their own preferences. What musical styles they like or don't like.

[3:45] The desired length of services. You guys don't get a choice about that, do you? The type and number of activities. Sixth, pastors coming and going too frequently.

[4:03] It's common. Most pastors in dying churches leave from between two and five years. So they stay for two years or five years.

[4:13] And they leave when they encounter conflict and challenges. Seven, failing to have regular corporate prayer. One church member said, we stopped taking prayer seriously.

[4:29] And the church started dying. No prayer, no hope. Number eight, having no clear purpose or vision.

[4:42] Some of the common phrases that were used of those interviewed were, we were going through the motions. Ever heard that? Ever felt that? Got stuck in a rut.

[4:53] But we became more attached to our way of doing church than we did asking the Lord what he wanted us to do. One person said we were playing a game called church.

[5:09] And then lastly, obsessing over facilities. What happens in dying churches is that inactive members with the loudest voices often become active for church members' meetings and then become inactive again.

[5:28] And it's always, almost always over brick and mortar. One story, I read that a church split over the type of pulpit. It seems crazy, but there's even crazier stories that I've heard.

[5:45] These are zombie churches with live bodies walking around with dead souls. And I do wonder, as we went through those, how many of those you would identify about our own church or about your own life.

[6:03] In another article by Indiana Methodist preacher Stephen Manley, entitled, Why Does My Church Need Revival? He identifies six signs that a church is standing at death's door.

[6:15] Here they are. Number one, the church is plagued with disagreements. Number two, the preaching is ineffective. Number three, few can remember when a person was last saved.

[6:28] Number four, God's supernatural power is never seen. Number five, God is not praised regularly. Number six, no one is being called into God's work. And again, I wonder how many of those concur with your thoughts about our own church.

[6:43] Rainer gives nine reasons that churches die. Nine reasons why Christians walk away from the faith.

[7:00] Manley gives six. Jesus writes to the church in Revelation, and he gives one. And it's not a symptom, it's a cause.

[7:13] So while Rainer can only give a symptom, and Manley can only tell a symptom, Jesus says, this is the cause of the sickness.

[7:24] All of those things that we've just read about are symptoms of illness. They're not the cause. You don't pray more patiently or passionately and more fervently.

[7:38] Why? Because you've forgotten that God is faithful to answer. You see, it's not an issue with prayer, it's a problem of faith. Why don't you evangelize more?

[7:50] Because you've lost hope that God is still at work. Your problem isn't evangelism, your problem is faith. Faith in what? Faith that God is still at work. Faith that God is true to what he has promised.

[8:06] Doesn't this tie in with so much of what Bill brought to us last week, actually? These things are symptoms of an illness that already exists. So what is the cause of the illness?

[8:17] Well, in this letter, Jesus writes about a singular cause of dead Christians and dying churches. And then what to do about it.

[8:31] Chuck Swindoll calls this church in Sardis the morgue with a steeple. Here's what Jesus has to say. Verse 1, chapter 3.

[8:42] And to the angel of the church of Sardis write, 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.

[9:19] The one who conquers will be clothed, thus in white garments. And I will never blot out his name from the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

[9:35] Sardis was 50 miles east of Ephesus, once the capital of Lydia, a commercial city on five main trade routes. It sat on top of a mountain and it was believed that the city was impregnable.

[9:51] That was, of course, until 549 BC when King Cyrus, the Persian king, declared war on the Lydians and offered a reward for anyone who could break into the city, could find a way in.

[10:05] And of course they did because you flash a bit of money at anyone, that's motivation. And so some soldiers found their way in. At night, the Persian army entered while the city and the people slept and they took over.

[10:20] And they didn't learn from that because it happened again a few centuries later. And the city became known as the city that was taken by a thief that comes at night.

[10:30] And so Jesus, as he has done before, is speaking to this church. He comes to this church and he presents the solution to their problem.

[10:43] Their problem? The church is dying. The solution found there in verse 1. Fully aware of the problems that is facing this dying church, he presents himself as the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

[11:03] Which of course comes from chapter 1 verse 4. We've seen before all of these solutions that Jesus brings comes from chapter 1 where he's presented himself before. And in this time, and you can go back and look at chapter 1 if you want to in verse 4.

[11:16] This time it's a reference to the work that God does through the Holy Spirit. And the backdrop is actually Zechariah chapter 4 verse 1 to 10. And I'd encourage you to read that in your own time where God says to Zerubbabel the priest, it is not by might nor by power but by my spirit.

[11:34] Not by might nor by power but by my spirit. This is the cause of all of the problems in the church. And I would say largely in our church also.

[11:48] I would say largely in our own lives. That we somehow think that things are done through might and through power. But God says no.

[12:00] Things are accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit is missing, churches and Christians get sick spiritually.

[12:11] But notice with me that it's Jesus that is holding or putting the Holy Spirit to work. It is Jesus who has.

[12:24] Jesus said in John chapter 15, when the helper, talking about the Holy Spirit, when the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

[12:37] So the Holy Spirit comes from the Father to Jesus. And the problem is that whilst Jesus has the Holy Spirit to give, he is not being received by the church.

[12:53] What amazes me is that Jesus is here standing with the Holy Spirit ready to breathe life, new life into this church. He hasn't forgotten them. He hasn't forgotten us.

[13:05] He's able to raise to life again, just as we saw last week. And he's ready. He's ready to give. And he also has the seven stars, Jesus says.

[13:20] Revelation chapter 1, verse 20, talks about those seven stars. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.

[13:33] And so probably the seven stars, as we talked about before, are the apostolic messengers that are carrying each of these letters to each of these churches.

[13:43] And so Jesus comes to this church giving them two things of himself. Number one, the Holy Spirit. Number two, a messenger with a message.

[13:55] This is what he says. I know your works. Once again, Jesus indicates his absolute clearness of mental vision that photographs all of the facts of life as they pass by.

[14:15] This is the ultimate photographic memory. He says, I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive. Now circle that word.

[14:26] It's Zoe in the Greek, alive. Zoe. It doesn't just mean that your heart is beating. This is particularly the quality of life that belongs to God.

[14:41] Zoe. You could literally say it's the God life. It talks about not just being alive, but it's the quality of being alive.

[14:55] It's the quality of life. Paul uses it in Galatians 2.20. And this is what he says. He says, I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives.

[15:10] And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. What Paul does, he says, there was a life that I used to live and now I live a different quality of life.

[15:24] And that life comes from Christ living in me. It's the Zoe life. It's the Zoe life. He says, there is a life that seems to be alive.

[15:41] But if it's not the God life, it's really not life. That life, that life that we thought was alive has to be crucified. So that this new life can take up residence in me.

[15:59] Paul says that the greatest thing in the world is to live your life, the Christ life living in you. That's the greatest thing.

[16:13] And so this church had a reputation for having the God life. But in reality, he says, you're dead. You have a reputation for being alive, but you're not alive, you're dead.

[16:30] In reality, you are living life in your own strength and in your own might and in your own power. Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3, he said, you have the appearance of godliness, but you deny its power.

[16:44] You have the appearance of godliness. You're going through the motions of godliness. You're playing the game called church. But there's no power.

[16:55] There's no life. There's a disconnect between what you look like on the outside and what you really are. Isn't this a sad, tragic letter? That has to be the ultimate shame, doesn't it?

[17:10] Notice that there is no rebuke here concerning heresy. There is no rebuke here concerning immorality. But to have the Lord himself tell you that you possess no spiritual life whatsoever is tragedy.

[17:29] Even more so because the church, by definition, is a place where God lives. If God lives anywhere in this world, it is in the church.

[17:42] And God is the giver of life. And the church should be filled with life. But Jesus hasn't finished with his assessment of this church.

[17:53] If that wasn't enough, right? Because there in verse 2, he continues and he says, wake up, strengthen what remains, and is about to die.

[18:04] For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. So verse 1, he says, you're dead. Verse 2, he says, you're dying, wake up.

[18:15] Which obviously is a picture when we talk about they've gone to sleep, right? That's death. So he said, wake up. You're dying.

[18:28] Now this must have been a particularly difficult thing to hear for this church, for people opening this letter, thinking that they're alive, thinking that they're doing pretty well, right?

[18:41] And opening this letter, particularly for this place in this time, knowing that the city had twice lost its sovereignty over its failure to stay awake and keep watch.

[18:58] Then he says, what remains and is about to die, all was not lost. This is the beauty of grace. There is still things there that remain, although they are about to die.

[19:18] All was not lost. Jesus is here and he is ready. And what is he ready to do? He is ready to fan the flames again. He is ready to bring life again. He hasn't written this church off.

[19:32] He hasn't said, well, you're dead. Let's have a funeral. Let's move on. I've not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

[19:42] You had a good beginning, but you never brought things to completion. You gave up before you saw things really take place. You couldn't keep going.

[19:58] So then, verse three, remember. And the idea is to be continually remembering. Don't just remember once.

[20:10] Be continually remembering. Okay, remember what then? Remember. Remember what you have received and heard.

[20:22] Now, pause there. Remember what you have received and what you have heard. Now, I don't think, it's really easy to go, oh, okay, what you've received and heard must be the gospel, must be the Bible, must be truth.

[20:39] It's not. It's not what Jesus is referring to here. Now, I want to clarify. I think we should remember constantly the gospel. Right?

[20:50] Can I just put that out there? Please don't come to me afterwards. Simon, were you saying we should forget the gospel? I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, I don't think that's what Jesus is saying here. Right? This is a reference not to the gospel, but how the gospel came to you.

[21:07] How your eyes were once opened to the truth of the gospel. Because none of us sat down with all the archaeological facts, all of the apologetics that we had, all of our understanding, all of our academics, all of our thinking, all of us philosophy, and then none of us concluded, that's right, I'm going to dedicate the rest of my life to the Lord.

[21:36] None of us did that. The Holy Spirit was at work in each of those scenarios, each of those messages, each of those testimonies, each of those things, persuading you, opening your eyes, enlightening your understanding.

[21:53] that would cause your heart to then submit to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You didn't come by might or power or strength, did you?

[22:06] You came because the Holy Spirit was at work in you. And so this is exactly what Jesus is saying. He's referring again to the work of the Holy Spirit.

[22:18] The what you received is the Holy Spirit. And then once you have remembered the what, the exhortation is then to keep it. You never graduate from that, you know?

[22:32] You don't go, well, now the Holy Spirit has brought me this far. Now I'm going to rely on my understanding, my ability, my might, my strength, my power. Keep it.

[22:45] Hold on to it is the idea. And repent. Walk in it. In what? The Spirit. And look, there is an experiential reality of receiving, hearing, keeping, repenting.

[23:08] Can we make a note of that? That all of these things have an experiential reality to them. We don't see here this morning go, oh yes, I agree.

[23:23] This is about walking with. This is why Jesus includes the word repent. Because essentially, repenting is having a change of mind and walking in a different direction.

[23:38] What I mean is that when you read the stories of the New Testament, you read the stories of men and women following Jesus, their following looks a lot different from contemporary Christian experience, doesn't it? But we believe the same things.

[23:54] Our head knowledge hasn't changed. We agree with the same gospel that they agree with, but their lives look distinctly different. For them, knowing the Holy Spirit was a fact of experience.

[24:08] For many Christians today, the Holy Spirit is only a fact of doctrine, often to be debated. But there is a life to be lived that isn't your life.

[24:26] It's no longer I who live, Paul said, but Christ who lives in me. Oh, but don't expect to notice any different.

[24:38] Just believe that you have received the Spirit and move on from there. But that is far from what we see in the New Testament. Jesus said in Acts 1, verse 5, that living the kind of life, that kind of life that is marked by the Holy Spirit was a life that you and everyone else would know about.

[25:01] He said in Acts 1, verse 5, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Now, think about that phrase just for a second.

[25:13] He says, he's lightning, he's lightning, he is liking Holy Spirit baptism with water baptism. Now, how many people have been baptized?

[25:28] Let me just see your hands quickly. Okay, so, so when you got baptized, you went, I'm just presuming because, you know, we're good Protestants and we do this properly, you went under, yes?

[25:41] And depending on who baptized you, they kept you down for probably maybe a little bit longer than your lungs may be. You were down and then you're out.

[25:51] Now, you didn't come out of that water and people going, I wonder whether he's been baptized. The distinction was, at one point, you were not wet and now you are.

[26:07] And there was no part of your life, no part of your body that wasn't exposed to water. Correct? You didn't go down and go, oh, my knees, my knees are going to be dry when I come out.

[26:21] No, no, it was every part of your life. There's no mistake. There was an experience to be had.

[26:35] You can't imagine in this context that Jesus is painted, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. You can't imagine the Holy Spirit sneaking up on you.

[26:51] and baptizing you in secret and nobody knowing or some part of your life not being affected.

[27:07] There was no mistake. It was an experience to be had. In fact, one of the things about living this life is that you were marked by power, boldness, and confidence.

[27:23] Receiving, hearing, keeping the Holy Spirit is a real, life-changing experience that not only raises dead people from the grave, but also dead people who are spiritually dead and heals sick Christians and sick churches.

[27:45] And let me just say this.

[27:56] It's not on the screen. I don't think it's on the screen. But let me just say this. We, I think, do really well with our Bibles. Like, I think you guys do.

[28:09] I think you do well with your Bible. What I mean is I just think you know stuff. Like, we sit down and we're able to talk about the Bible as if, like, you know it.

[28:23] That's not the same in other churches. You know that. Right? I mean, you go into some churches and they'll be like, they don't even, they don't even open the Bible. Some Christians, professing Christians, they don't get past Matthew.

[28:41] Actually, Matthew's a really hard one. John. And look, we do this well.

[28:52] You do that well. But listen, to the degree to which we have the truth of the Word of God and are living by it. Right? Acts 2.42, those who received His words were what?

[29:04] Baptized. What happened to those who were baptized? They were the ones who received the Word. Now look, you guys are great at that. You've received the Word. You do receive the Word.

[29:17] But look, it's also got to be coupled with the power, boldness, and confidence in a real life-changing experience of the Holy Spirit. And to the degree to which we have the truth of the Word of God and are living by it, in the power, boldness, and confidence and a real life-changing experience of the Holy Spirit will be the degree to which God saves us from death.

[29:46] Someone once said that you can have all of the Bible, if you have all of the Bible and none of the Spirit, you dry up. But if you have all of the Spirit and none of the Bible, you blow up.

[29:57] But having the right amount of both, you grow up. Jesus would put it more urgently and say that we need both to be revived from the dead.

[30:13] Now, in the middle of verse 3, Jesus says to the church, if you will not wake up, I, and look, circle that word, I, because you're going to come back to this at some point in your Christian walk, right?

[30:27] I will come like a thief in the night. He's not saying I will come like a thief in the night, right? And, and, and, you know, this is a great proof text for pre-tribulation rapture guys.

[30:45] It's not proof text. He's saying, look, the Persians came, the Seleucians came, those guys came, and I'm going to come.

[30:56] It's not a matter of doctrine. In this verse. Did you get me? Right? What Jesus is saying, especially in relation to the history of Sardis, is not to think that you are so well versed in the Bible that you can't fall.

[31:15] That you are impregnable because you sit on a mountain. Yeah? Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, he says, if you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

[31:31] Now look, here's what I love about this. The thing I love about this is actually the love that Jesus shows to this church and extends to us. It's amazing. Listen to what he's saying.

[31:44] He's saying that you are a dead and dying people and you're in trouble, but I am here to rescue you. Not only has he redeemed us, he again and again goes out to rescue us from our own self-inflicted wounds of self.

[32:08] And look, you know, we're convinced, aren't we? We should be convinced that our God is a life-giving God. When the leadership team met earlier this year, we had a like at a, what do you call it, an away day?

[32:25] An away day at home? It wasn't really a away day, it was just a day. Wow. We met earlier this year and the great sense that we had was that God was alive and still working here.

[32:43] That God is active in breathing life into dry bones. And he makes rivers out of deserts. In that popular song, he makes gardens out of graves.

[32:56] He makes families out of outcasts and orphans. He takes that which was chaos and brings order. And he's doing that and he's still doing that today.

[33:10] Precisely because we believe that God is alive. And he has not left his church to their own devices to figure things out in might and in power.

[33:24] But he's given us the Holy Spirit. So then he says in verse four, yet you have still a few names in Sardis.

[33:37] People who have not soiled their garments. The church had a name that was alive and only a few people in the church lived up to that reputation.

[33:49] So it wasn't all bad news. There's a few people. Jesus said, a few people, you're okay, you're doing well, well done. And then he says, and they will, and now Jesus is going to make three promises to those who are walking in the Spirit.

[34:07] They will, and look, can we just, I just want to warn us, let's just humble our own hearts right now, not to place ourselves as one of those people. Because we all do that, don't we?

[34:20] Right, oh, this is a message for me. We always like to think better of ourselves and actually sometimes is the reality, right? So he says, three promises now to those who are walking in the Spirit.

[34:33] And the first, they will firstly walk with me in white for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments. The source of this image is actually of being clothed in white and being robed in white robes is found in Zechariah chapter 3.

[34:52] Now you may ask, well, who cares? Well, I care because Zechariah chapter 3 comes before Zechariah chapter 4. And he may say, well, I still don't care. Well, if you remember what we talked about in Zechariah chapter 4, Zechariah chapter 4 is the chapter that Jesus is pulling the idea from, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit.

[35:13] And because Jesus is the author of the Bible, he knows it better than we are, so he kind of goes, well, let's put chapter 3 and chapter 4 together in this letter to the church. Does that make sense?

[35:24] So he's talking about the Joshua in Zechariah chapter 3, the high priest is given clean robes as a symbol that his sins are forgiven.

[35:39] Here it is, Zechariah chapter 3 verse 4, he says, remove the filthy garments from him and to him he said, behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you and I will clothe you in pure vestments or pure robes.

[35:52] The thing that Jesus is talking about, he's talking to those who are walking in the spirit who were not dead, were alive, and he links them to the priesthood.

[36:10] He links them to ministry. And the thought is about their acceptability to God, number one, but also the divine recognition of their ministry as priests to God.

[36:33] And again, look, this is the work of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit gives us this purpose.

[36:48] He empowers us for ministry. Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 7, to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good.

[37:01] Or, if you want to put it in the lingo that we're using, to each, he is made alive by the spirit of God, continues to make alive by the spirit of God, so that everyone else benefits.

[37:15] That's ministry. And so this first promise that Jesus makes is about purpose. God gives those who are walking in the spirit purpose to be empowered by the spirit.

[37:32] the second promise he gives in verse 5, he says, I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will never blot his name out of the book of life.

[37:42] Now, look, 28 times in the book of Revelation, books are mentioned, right? There is a book, and there's a book of life, and there is a promise as believers that we will never be blotted out of this book.

[38:03] And it seems that this book is the record of life itself. Read this along with Psalm 69 at your leisure, but we'll get to Psalm 69 in a minute, but it seems that this book is the record of life.

[38:20] We already commented on how Jesus knows your works, that he is photographed everything that ever happens, before it happens, thinks about it, motives of life, everything, and here, it seems, this book of life, as it's written about in the Bible, is the record of that life.

[38:40] A record of every human name recorded in it, the names of all living, the wicked as well as the righteous. Here's what the psalmist says about this life, this book, Psalm 69 verse 28, let them be blotted out of the book of the living, let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

[39:03] It seems that at the end of every man and woman's life, if they have not accepted God's salvation as Jesus Christ as Lord, their name is taken out of that book.

[39:17] Revelation chapter 13 and verse 17 suggest that the names are written in the book from the foundation of the world. every human being recorded in this book.

[39:30] And as unbelievers die, their names are removed from the book, so at the final judgment the books contain only the names of believers.

[39:42] So Revelation 21, 27, that book then becomes the Lamb's book of life because only those saved by the Lord Jesus Christ have their names in it. And so where the first promise to this church and to us was about purpose, this promise is about security.

[40:07] Now where do you find security in the Lord? By might, by power, strength, or through the Spirit of God?

[40:25] Well, Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13, clearly Paul says that our security is because we've been sealed by the Holy Spirit. in Him you also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed Him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

[40:54] The one who has been sealed with the Holy Spirit is securing the knowledge that they will never lose their salvation. salvation. Your name is in the book.

[41:06] You've been sealed. How? Again, not by might nor by power but by my Spirit. And then finally, not just a promise of purpose and security but one of legitimacy.

[41:23] He says, I will confess His name. That literally means I will announce what is true. I will confess His name before my Father and before His angels.

[41:37] Do you remember the promise? I will give Him a new name. Jesus is going to announce that new name. One day Jesus will say to those who are His, well done good and faithful servant.

[41:55] How many times the response in our own minds can be, well I'm not very good and I'm not very faithful. We think about the promises in the Bible as one day becoming like Christ in holiness and character and we rightly think that we are a long way off today.

[42:16] And we might think that we actually aren't really worthy of being saved or being called His now. You see one day Jesus will announce all that to be true. and that because of what Jesus has done on the cross, but also that He rose from the dead and has given us life, that that claim on us will be announced.

[42:44] And He will do it in front of witnesses. We've seen this, haven't we, in the last few weeks. You know, the new king is being announced. Is he legitimate? What is his name?

[42:55] And his name has been pronounced in front of witnesses. That's just a foreshadow, like a rubbish foreshadow of what is going to happen in heaven one day.

[43:11] And then Jesus reminds us finally in verse six of the application to each and every one of us. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

[43:27] You cannot hear without the Spirit. The Spirit is speaking. And so the message that we are confronted by from Jesus, who comes to the sick and dying church, is a promise to revive them.

[43:52] And He alone grants spiritual revival. He extends a sincere invitation to you, to us today, to receive, to hear and keep the Holy Spirit as a real life-changing experience.

[44:13] Let's pray together. Father, we come to you, Lord, and we are humbled by this letter. we are humbled Lord because we know so many of these things to be true about ourselves and we are also humbled that you want to revive us your word says of yourself that you will not put out a smoking flax you will not extinguish that which is about to go out but you fan the flames into a bright fire Lord and that is our prayer this morning Lord we know that we are complicit in that

[45:16] Lord we know that we have a part to play in receiving Lord but first we want to acknowledge that you are here and you are ready to revive and Lord that we are probably in a much worse condition than we will probably acknowledge and so we say today Lord breathe life into us Lord as we come to you your word says that as we draw near to you you will draw close to us and Lord standing afar standing at distance standing apace from you will not revive us so we pray help us to draw close to you and to receive the very thing that we need

[46:29] Lord would you do that this week Lord not because well Lord because we need it Lord if if Rainer and Manly are right we're in trouble so would you help us in Jesus name Amen Thank you.