Today on Bold Steps, we're getting some powerful insight in how to deepen our relationship with Christ and avoid empty religion.

Today on Bold Steps, we're getting some powerful insight in how to deepen our relationship with Christ and avoid empty religion.

You need to be reminded of your story, reminded of your journey, reminded of the milestones in your life. Because those are important. What they do is they remind you of the things that you've learned so you don't forget they're crucial to your life in God. Oh, how quickly we forget.

You need to be reminded of your story, reminded of your journey, reminded of the milestones in your life. Because those are important. What they do is they remind you of the things that you've learned so you don't forget they're crucial to your life in God. Oh, how quickly we forget.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Today we're picking up where we ended yesterday in our lesson from revelation chapter three, taking a closer look at the church at Sardis, one of the seven churches God confronted through the Prophet John. We're finding that Sardis looked good on the outside, but once you pop the hood to look beneath the surface, things are spiritually dead. And so the Lord gave John five commands to share with the church at Sardis, to confront the deadness and make a recovery. Mark Jobe continues to outline these relevant commands for us today. To follow along, you'll find us in revelation chapter three, verse two. So let's get to the message with Mark Jobe on bold steps.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Today we're picking up where we ended yesterday in our lesson from revelation chapter three, taking a closer look at the church at Sardis, one of the seven churches God confronted through the Prophet John. We're finding that Sardis looked good on the outside, but once you pop the hood to look beneath the surface, things are spiritually dead. And so the Lord gave John five commands to share with the church at Sardis, to confront the deadness and make a recovery. Mark Jobe continues to outline these relevant commands for us today. To follow along, you'll find us in revelation chapter three, verse two. So let's get to the message with Mark Jobe on bold steps.

One of my bad habits is that I like to drive my car on the gas as far as I can go, and I'm always thinking I'll make it. It drives my wife nuts. I say, no, no, no, I have gas. She says, well, it's almost on the red. I got some miles. I can make it. And so, sure enough, last year I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school and I said, I can make it. And I got pretty far, and I knew it was low, but I thought, hey, I still can make it. And I felt the cargo truck and it went out and I realized I'm out of gas. Fortunately, I was on a hill, so I started, I put the car in neutral and I'm going. Because just a couple of blocks ahead was a gas station. So I'm going like this as much as I can. I get there, I'm going a half a block away. I have to go to get a can, fill it up, walk like I'm one of those people walking with a gas can like this down the street. One of those people fill up my car, go pick up my daughter. I was tempted not to tell my wife. I just did not want to tell her, because I knew it would give her too much joy. I knew she would just be thrilled to know that I had run out of gas. And sure enough, when I told her, it gave her great delight and great enthusiasm to hear that I had run out of gas. It made her day and I knew I would hear after that. See? Remember the time you ran out of gas? But here's the thing. Here's the thing. It's one thing on a gas tank in our car, but a lot of us play that dangerous game when it comes to our spiritual lives. You think? Well, I can make it. I still have some faith. I'll be okay or I'm not. I know I'm not as strong as I used to be, and I know I haven't spent a lot of time, I haven't cultivated it, and I know I'm not doing that well. But, you know, I can survive. I can make it. I can still go through life. I, you know, I know it's I got to do something about it eventually. But I think I'm okay for now. And we play a dangerous game with our spiritual life where we let our spiritual gas tank get really, really low. And in our mind we say, but I think I can still live off of the fumes. I think I can still make it. And what the Spirit of God is saying to this church is, you know, you need to strengthen what you still have. Because unless you strengthen what you have. You can run out. And you see what happens when you run out. You wake up one day and say, what happened to my faith? How did I get into this mess that I'm in right now? How come God feels like he's a thousand miles away? How come I have a very little hunger spiritually? How come I've gotten into these bad decisions and bad habits? What has happened to me? What has happened to me. I'll tell you what happened to you. It didn't happen overnight. It never happens overnight. It was slowly going down and you ignored it. You just ignored it. You didn't deal with it. Just like your marriage. It was slowly going down. You didn't go from this to this overnight. You just let it keep going on autopilot. You didn't give it the energy that how do you strengthen something? You strengthen something by pouring into it, by giving it attention, by making it a priority again, by saying, I'm going to invest in it, just like you strengthen your marriage. That way you also strengthen your walk with God. You say, God, I you've moved down to 10th place in my priority list. God, I need to give you attention again. I need to bring my heart back to you. God, I need to begin to do those things I did at the beginning. I need to strengthen that which still remains in my life. I need to strengthen it. Strengthen that which remains and is about to die. Listen. Listen. I want you to hear me well. It can die. It can die. It can get to the point where it just dies. Just the candle flickers and flickers and then goes out. I've seen it happen. You got a fan in? You got to invest in it. The third thing he says. Is. Remember therefore what you have received and what you have heard. Remember? You know what remember means. Remember means rehearse what is happened in the past. What you have received and what you have heard. You need to remember the things that have happened in your life. Listen, some of you need to go back to the moment. Maybe it was four years ago. Five years ago, ten years ago. You need to go back to that moment that you bowed your knee before God Almighty and you said, God, I make you Savior and Lord of my life. I invite you in, father, take control of my life. Wash me, cleanse me, make me a new person, father, for I am yours. Do you remember that? That's when you gave God your life. You said he was Lord. Remember that commitment. And just like I think the restoration of a marriage is remembering your wedding day, the vows that you made, the commitment that you made, for better or for worse. For richer, for poorer. Some of you say, yeah, I've been in the poor side a long time, you know. That was a commitment. Do you remember those words? And then you walk with God. Do you remember the times where you've had God encounters where you have actually remember what God has spoken into your life as some of you have had powerful, powerful encounters with Almighty God where he spoke to your life powerfully, but they become vague memories in your mind and what the Spirit of God says is, go back to those times. Remember what God has done. Remember what you have received from God the forgiveness, the healing, the change of heart. Remember what you have learned, those things that God has poured into your heart, those experiences that you've had, those life changes of events that have happened. You need to go back. You need to rehearse them. You need to be reminded of your story, reminded of your journey, reminded of the milestones in your life. Because those are important. What they do is they remind you of the things that you've learned so you don't forget they're crucial to your life in God. They really are. Oh, how quickly we forget. Oh, man. How quickly we forget what God has done, what he's touched us. What he delivered us from, what he forgave us from. His answers to prayer. How quickly we forget. And he says, I want you to remember, therefore, what you've received and what you've heard. Remember it. Remember it. I think if some of us remembered. Oh, if some of us remembered. It would stir our hearts back. Some of us has prayed to God in difficult situations. We have cried out to God and you have said, God, if you hear my prayer, I will never forget and will never turn back. I will. And you know what you forgot. You forgot. He answered. Delivered you and you forgot. Remember, take a trip down memory lane. Your spiritual journey. And stir it up again. The two last exhortations are obey it and repent. You see, the problem is that many of us know we have it in our head, but we've done nothing about it. And oftentimes, the church is looked at as a learning center, a teaching center. In reality, the church of the Living God. A place like this needs to be an action center. It needs to be a place where we come and we encounter God, and we do something about what we've learned. You see, Unapplied knowledge is a dangerous thing. You accumulate knowledge in your head, but you don't live it out. It's dangerous. Because your knowledge can actually become a barrier to your growth, because knowledge that you accumulate but you refuse to apply becomes data. And what happens is the next time you hear it, you say, well, I already know that. I already know that some of you have been around Christianity so long you say, well, I should I should talk to someone, but I already know what they're going to tell me. Don't raise your hand if you know. I should go have a brother pray with me and talk. I already know what they're going to say. I already know. Can I tell you something? Just because you know it. Up here. Doesn't mean anything unless you're applying it. Down here. Tara. I already know that message. Hey, no one asked you if you knew it. The question is, are you doing it? I already know about forgiveness in that stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. I know you know about it, but how come you're still being bitter against your father? How come you show resentment and resentful against your wife? I know you know it. But the question is, are you applying it? Have you done something about it? And when he says, I want you to obey the things that you know you need to do, obey them. And how many of us know what we need to do? But we haven't obeyed. We haven't taken the step here. Listen to me. Well, look up at me this morning. This afternoon. This is what God is saying to you. What you know to do. Do it.

One of my bad habits is that I like to drive my car on the gas as far as I can go, and I'm always thinking I'll make it. It drives my wife nuts. I say, no, no, no, I have gas. She says, well, it's almost on the red. I got some miles. I can make it. And so, sure enough, last year I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school and I said, I can make it. And I got pretty far, and I knew it was low, but I thought, hey, I still can make it. And I felt the cargo truck and it went out and I realized I'm out of gas. Fortunately, I was on a hill, so I started, I put the car in neutral and I'm going. Because just a couple of blocks ahead was a gas station. So I'm going like this as much as I can. I get there, I'm going a half a block away. I have to go to get a can, fill it up, walk like I'm one of those people walking with a gas can like this down the street. One of those people fill up my car, go pick up my daughter. I was tempted not to tell my wife. I just did not want to tell her, because I knew it would give her too much joy. I knew she would just be thrilled to know that I had run out of gas. And sure enough, when I told her, it gave her great delight and great enthusiasm to hear that I had run out of gas. It made her day and I knew I would hear after that. See? Remember the time you ran out of gas? But here's the thing. Here's the thing. It's one thing on a gas tank in our car, but a lot of us play that dangerous game when it comes to our spiritual lives. You think? Well, I can make it. I still have some faith. I'll be okay or I'm not. I know I'm not as strong as I used to be, and I know I haven't spent a lot of time, I haven't cultivated it, and I know I'm not doing that well. But, you know, I can survive. I can make it. I can still go through life. I, you know, I know it's I got to do something about it eventually. But I think I'm okay for now. And we play a dangerous game with our spiritual life where we let our spiritual gas tank get really, really low. And in our mind we say, but I think I can still live off of the fumes. I think I can still make it. And what the Spirit of God is saying to this church is, you know, you need to strengthen what you still have. Because unless you strengthen what you have. You can run out. And you see what happens when you run out. You wake up one day and say, what happened to my faith? How did I get into this mess that I'm in right now? How come God feels like he's a thousand miles away? How come I have a very little hunger spiritually? How come I've gotten into these bad decisions and bad habits? What has happened to me? What has happened to me. I'll tell you what happened to you. It didn't happen overnight. It never happens overnight. It was slowly going down and you ignored it. You just ignored it. You didn't deal with it. Just like your marriage. It was slowly going down. You didn't go from this to this overnight. You just let it keep going on autopilot. You didn't give it the energy that how do you strengthen something? You strengthen something by pouring into it, by giving it attention, by making it a priority again, by saying, I'm going to invest in it, just like you strengthen your marriage. That way you also strengthen your walk with God. You say, God, I you've moved down to 10th place in my priority list. God, I need to give you attention again. I need to bring my heart back to you. God, I need to begin to do those things I did at the beginning. I need to strengthen that which still remains in my life. I need to strengthen it. Strengthen that which remains and is about to die. Listen. Listen. I want you to hear me well. It can die. It can die. It can get to the point where it just dies. Just the candle flickers and flickers and then goes out. I've seen it happen. You got a fan in? You got to invest in it. The third thing he says. Is. Remember therefore what you have received and what you have heard. Remember? You know what remember means. Remember means rehearse what is happened in the past. What you have received and what you have heard. You need to remember the things that have happened in your life. Listen, some of you need to go back to the moment. Maybe it was four years ago. Five years ago, ten years ago. You need to go back to that moment that you bowed your knee before God Almighty and you said, God, I make you Savior and Lord of my life. I invite you in, father, take control of my life. Wash me, cleanse me, make me a new person, father, for I am yours. Do you remember that? That's when you gave God your life. You said he was Lord. Remember that commitment. And just like I think the restoration of a marriage is remembering your wedding day, the vows that you made, the commitment that you made, for better or for worse. For richer, for poorer. Some of you say, yeah, I've been in the poor side a long time, you know. That was a commitment. Do you remember those words? And then you walk with God. Do you remember the times where you've had God encounters where you have actually remember what God has spoken into your life as some of you have had powerful, powerful encounters with Almighty God where he spoke to your life powerfully, but they become vague memories in your mind and what the Spirit of God says is, go back to those times. Remember what God has done. Remember what you have received from God the forgiveness, the healing, the change of heart. Remember what you have learned, those things that God has poured into your heart, those experiences that you've had, those life changes of events that have happened. You need to go back. You need to rehearse them. You need to be reminded of your story, reminded of your journey, reminded of the milestones in your life. Because those are important. What they do is they remind you of the things that you've learned so you don't forget they're crucial to your life in God. They really are. Oh, how quickly we forget. Oh, man. How quickly we forget what God has done, what he's touched us. What he delivered us from, what he forgave us from. His answers to prayer. How quickly we forget. And he says, I want you to remember, therefore, what you've received and what you've heard. Remember it. Remember it. I think if some of us remembered. Oh, if some of us remembered. It would stir our hearts back. Some of us has prayed to God in difficult situations. We have cried out to God and you have said, God, if you hear my prayer, I will never forget and will never turn back. I will. And you know what you forgot. You forgot. He answered. Delivered you and you forgot. Remember, take a trip down memory lane. Your spiritual journey. And stir it up again. The two last exhortations are obey it and repent. You see, the problem is that many of us know we have it in our head, but we've done nothing about it. And oftentimes, the church is looked at as a learning center, a teaching center. In reality, the church of the Living God. A place like this needs to be an action center. It needs to be a place where we come and we encounter God, and we do something about what we've learned. You see, Unapplied knowledge is a dangerous thing. You accumulate knowledge in your head, but you don't live it out. It's dangerous. Because your knowledge can actually become a barrier to your growth, because knowledge that you accumulate but you refuse to apply becomes data. And what happens is the next time you hear it, you say, well, I already know that. I already know that some of you have been around Christianity so long you say, well, I should I should talk to someone, but I already know what they're going to tell me. Don't raise your hand if you know. I should go have a brother pray with me and talk. I already know what they're going to say. I already know. Can I tell you something? Just because you know it. Up here. Doesn't mean anything unless you're applying it. Down here. Tara. I already know that message. Hey, no one asked you if you knew it. The question is, are you doing it? I already know about forgiveness in that stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. I know you know about it, but how come you're still being bitter against your father? How come you show resentment and resentful against your wife? I know you know it. But the question is, are you applying it? Have you done something about it? And when he says, I want you to obey the things that you know you need to do, obey them. And how many of us know what we need to do? But we haven't obeyed. We haven't taken the step here. Listen to me. Well, look up at me this morning. This afternoon. This is what God is saying to you. What you know to do. Do it.

Do it.

Do it.

And I got to break up with this boyfriend. He's no good. I know he's no good for me, but. Yeah. Hey, wait a second. You've known that for a long time. Now do it.

And I got to break up with this boyfriend. He's no good. I know he's no good for me, but. Yeah. Hey, wait a second. You've known that for a long time. Now do it.

Do it.

Do it.

Gotta write this letter. I know I got to write this letter. Ask for forgiveness. It's been, you know. Hey, if you've known that for a long time, write it. I got a I got to get covenant eyes on my computer because, you know, get it. Stop knowing what you need to do and do it. Do it. You're stuck because of lack of obedience. Now do it. I'm talking about how to be the same on the inside as we are on the outside, that the label on the outside needs to match the label on the inside. Listen, you can make noise and you can praise the Lord and people can think you're alive. Let me tell you, if your heart is not right with God, then your label is not the same as your inside. And there's a mismatch that happens there. And God is saying, I see your heart. No label is going to trick me. I want what's on the inside to be the same. That's on the outside. Church of the Living God. Amen. That's what God is saying.

Gotta write this letter. I know I got to write this letter. Ask for forgiveness. It's been, you know. Hey, if you've known that for a long time, write it. I got a I got to get covenant eyes on my computer because, you know, get it. Stop knowing what you need to do and do it. Do it. You're stuck because of lack of obedience. Now do it. I'm talking about how to be the same on the inside as we are on the outside, that the label on the outside needs to match the label on the inside. Listen, you can make noise and you can praise the Lord and people can think you're alive. Let me tell you, if your heart is not right with God, then your label is not the same as your inside. And there's a mismatch that happens there. And God is saying, I see your heart. No label is going to trick me. I want what's on the inside to be the same. That's on the outside. Church of the Living God. Amen. That's what God is saying.

This is Bold Steps with Marc Jobe. We're in the middle of five important phrases that the Lord gave to the church at Sardis and to us today, and will continue the study in just a moment. Now, if you ever miss any of Mark Jobe's teachings on the radio, you can always catch up by going online and listening at Bold Steps Radio. Org and for even more convenient access to these messages, be sure to subscribe to our podcast. That way, you'll enjoy listening to these daily lessons while you're out for a hike or hitting the gym anywhere you go. Just open up your podcast app on your phone or mobile device, search for bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe and tap the subscribe button. When you do, do us a favor and leave a comment and a five star rating and then share the message you're listening to with a friend. And did you know you can also find Mark's teachings available on YouTube by subscribing to the Bold Steps channel. You can watch Mark's insightful teaching videos on topics that really matter things like marriage, addiction, purpose, and what to do when you simply feel like giving up. So log on to YouTube, search for Bold Steps Radio and click the subscribe button. While you're at it, join us on social media too. Just search Instagram or Facebook for Bold Steps Radio and let us know when you're there. Well, now back to the lessons to be learned from John's message to the church at Sardis in Revelation chapter three. Here's Mark Jobe.

This is Bold Steps with Marc Jobe. We're in the middle of five important phrases that the Lord gave to the church at Sardis and to us today, and will continue the study in just a moment. Now, if you ever miss any of Mark Jobe's teachings on the radio, you can always catch up by going online and listening at Bold Steps Radio. Org and for even more convenient access to these messages, be sure to subscribe to our podcast. That way, you'll enjoy listening to these daily lessons while you're out for a hike or hitting the gym anywhere you go. Just open up your podcast app on your phone or mobile device, search for bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe and tap the subscribe button. When you do, do us a favor and leave a comment and a five star rating and then share the message you're listening to with a friend. And did you know you can also find Mark's teachings available on YouTube by subscribing to the Bold Steps channel. You can watch Mark's insightful teaching videos on topics that really matter things like marriage, addiction, purpose, and what to do when you simply feel like giving up. So log on to YouTube, search for Bold Steps Radio and click the subscribe button. While you're at it, join us on social media too. Just search Instagram or Facebook for Bold Steps Radio and let us know when you're there. Well, now back to the lessons to be learned from John's message to the church at Sardis in Revelation chapter three. Here's Mark Jobe.

And then lastly he says, and repent. He doesn't go into an explanation of it. He says, obey and repent. You see, repentance is very simple. You say, well, pastor, I'm not sure if I know if I've repented or not. Let me give you one quick, easy way of knowing. If you haven't changed, you haven't repented. Because repentance brings about change. Period. Well, I was really sorry. And you were sorry. Repentance brings about change. Repentance means I was going in a direction, and I. I felt convicted about it. I confessed to God, and I felt enough compulsion that I really that I didn't go in the same direction. I turned around. Some of us are going, I feel really bad about this. Oh, God, I oh, oh, oh, this is terrible. I feel really bad, but I'm still going there. Oh God, I know I shouldn't, God, I know, Lord, I, I I'm a believer, I shouldn't go. Hey, that's not repentance. Here's repentant God. I know this is wrong. Lord, this is not right of you, I confess it. This is wrong. God, I will not go that way anymore. I turn around and I go in a different direction. That's repentance. That's repentance. You have not repented if you're still doing the same thing that you said you were repenting over, that's not repentance. Now you need to maintain your repentance, because sometimes that same old thing lifts its head up again. And but you need to you need to stop doing what you're doing. You need to go in a different direction and you need to maintain. The Bible says that you are to keep the fruit of repentance or manifest the fruit of repentance in others. You have to maintain what God gave you. And so he says, those are the things you need to do. You need to simply wake up, strengthen what remains, remember where you have come from, obey it, and repent. And then he gives a word of encouragement. He says. Well, first of all, warning. But if you do not wake up, listen. If you don't wake up. You don't wake up spiritually. Listen. I will come to you like a thief. You will not know at what time I will come to you. You know what he's saying there. Is. I'm giving you time to turn around. But. But you're not going to know when I come to you again. Hey, last I heard, thieves don't send little postcards warning when they're coming. What do you get in the mail today? Oh, I got a little postcard. It says I plan to burglarize your house Friday at 3:00 in the afternoon. No, that's not how a thief operates. A thief comes to your house unexpectedly when you least expect it. Jesus says this. Listen, I'm giving you time to come. I'm giving you time to repent. But you know what? Listen. If you don't wake up and don't repent, listen. I'm coming to you like a thief. You don't know when I'm coming, how it's going to come. And that could that could mean a lot of things. But basically he's going to show up. You better be ready. The end times is going to show up. You better be ready. Listen, your life is like a vapor. It's here a moment. It's gone the next. There is no guarantee. You say? Well, pastor, hopefully you know I'll have time before I die. You know, maybe on my deathbed I'll be saying, oh, help me, Lord, I repent and and then boom, I'll go, hey, hey, you may have that mercy of knowing that you're on their deathbed, or you may be hit head on with a car and never have a chance to even utter a prayer. Do you hear what I'm saying? You don't risk it. You don't risk your life that way. And then he says, hey, but there's some of you, listen, there's some of you who are alive on the inside and alive on the outside. You haven't soiled your garments, he says. I have a few people. Oh, it's a sad statement out of all this church, he said. I have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. Most of them have, most of them of our halfway. Most of them are not walking with me, but I have a few people who haven't soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, dressed in white. Is. This is a symbolism of a clear and pure conscience. These are people that walk knowing they're right with me. They're clean before me, for they are worthy. Verse five. He who overcomes, he, he who overcomes will like them be dressed in white because they overcome. Not that they don't struggle, but because they overcome. Secondly, I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my father and his angels. That is a scary verse. I will. I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life. It makes it sound like people's names can be blotted out of the book of life. Scary. I've heard various interpretations of it. Some people believe that everybody's name is originally written in the Book of Life, but those that don't come to Christ don't accept Christ. Their names are blotted out. The point is, whatever you have, you better keep. And strengthen it. Oh, I've been saved since I was six years old. I'm glad. I'm glad you prayed when you were six years old. But those that endure to the end. You see, your salvation is manifest by your permanence. Don't tell me you prayed when you were six years old and it only lasted till your 20 and now you're 45. So for the last 25 years, you've been backslidden. Well, hold on a second. For the last 25 years have been backslid. And I would wonder if you were. If you're in God. Or even worse, why even come to church? You know you can be backslidden and still come to church. No, let me say that again. Hello. Do you know that you can be backslidden and spiritually dead and still show up to the house of God for worship? Do you know that? Just because you show up to the house of God doesn't mean that your heart is right. There's a lot of reasons people come. They have kids, so they want to come. So their kids. Their wife drags them. I don't want my wife going alone. She may meet another guy. I'll be there. Huh? Don't worry. I'll be there.

And then lastly he says, and repent. He doesn't go into an explanation of it. He says, obey and repent. You see, repentance is very simple. You say, well, pastor, I'm not sure if I know if I've repented or not. Let me give you one quick, easy way of knowing. If you haven't changed, you haven't repented. Because repentance brings about change. Period. Well, I was really sorry. And you were sorry. Repentance brings about change. Repentance means I was going in a direction, and I. I felt convicted about it. I confessed to God, and I felt enough compulsion that I really that I didn't go in the same direction. I turned around. Some of us are going, I feel really bad about this. Oh, God, I oh, oh, oh, this is terrible. I feel really bad, but I'm still going there. Oh God, I know I shouldn't, God, I know, Lord, I, I I'm a believer, I shouldn't go. Hey, that's not repentance. Here's repentant God. I know this is wrong. Lord, this is not right of you, I confess it. This is wrong. God, I will not go that way anymore. I turn around and I go in a different direction. That's repentance. That's repentance. You have not repented if you're still doing the same thing that you said you were repenting over, that's not repentance. Now you need to maintain your repentance, because sometimes that same old thing lifts its head up again. And but you need to you need to stop doing what you're doing. You need to go in a different direction and you need to maintain. The Bible says that you are to keep the fruit of repentance or manifest the fruit of repentance in others. You have to maintain what God gave you. And so he says, those are the things you need to do. You need to simply wake up, strengthen what remains, remember where you have come from, obey it, and repent. And then he gives a word of encouragement. He says. Well, first of all, warning. But if you do not wake up, listen. If you don't wake up. You don't wake up spiritually. Listen. I will come to you like a thief. You will not know at what time I will come to you. You know what he's saying there. Is. I'm giving you time to turn around. But. But you're not going to know when I come to you again. Hey, last I heard, thieves don't send little postcards warning when they're coming. What do you get in the mail today? Oh, I got a little postcard. It says I plan to burglarize your house Friday at 3:00 in the afternoon. No, that's not how a thief operates. A thief comes to your house unexpectedly when you least expect it. Jesus says this. Listen, I'm giving you time to come. I'm giving you time to repent. But you know what? Listen. If you don't wake up and don't repent, listen. I'm coming to you like a thief. You don't know when I'm coming, how it's going to come. And that could that could mean a lot of things. But basically he's going to show up. You better be ready. The end times is going to show up. You better be ready. Listen, your life is like a vapor. It's here a moment. It's gone the next. There is no guarantee. You say? Well, pastor, hopefully you know I'll have time before I die. You know, maybe on my deathbed I'll be saying, oh, help me, Lord, I repent and and then boom, I'll go, hey, hey, you may have that mercy of knowing that you're on their deathbed, or you may be hit head on with a car and never have a chance to even utter a prayer. Do you hear what I'm saying? You don't risk it. You don't risk your life that way. And then he says, hey, but there's some of you, listen, there's some of you who are alive on the inside and alive on the outside. You haven't soiled your garments, he says. I have a few people. Oh, it's a sad statement out of all this church, he said. I have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. Most of them have, most of them of our halfway. Most of them are not walking with me, but I have a few people who haven't soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, dressed in white. Is. This is a symbolism of a clear and pure conscience. These are people that walk knowing they're right with me. They're clean before me, for they are worthy. Verse five. He who overcomes, he, he who overcomes will like them be dressed in white because they overcome. Not that they don't struggle, but because they overcome. Secondly, I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my father and his angels. That is a scary verse. I will. I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life. It makes it sound like people's names can be blotted out of the book of life. Scary. I've heard various interpretations of it. Some people believe that everybody's name is originally written in the Book of Life, but those that don't come to Christ don't accept Christ. Their names are blotted out. The point is, whatever you have, you better keep. And strengthen it. Oh, I've been saved since I was six years old. I'm glad. I'm glad you prayed when you were six years old. But those that endure to the end. You see, your salvation is manifest by your permanence. Don't tell me you prayed when you were six years old and it only lasted till your 20 and now you're 45. So for the last 25 years, you've been backslidden. Well, hold on a second. For the last 25 years have been backslid. And I would wonder if you were. If you're in God. Or even worse, why even come to church? You know you can be backslidden and still come to church. No, let me say that again. Hello. Do you know that you can be backslidden and spiritually dead and still show up to the house of God for worship? Do you know that? Just because you show up to the house of God doesn't mean that your heart is right. There's a lot of reasons people come. They have kids, so they want to come. So their kids. Their wife drags them. I don't want my wife going alone. She may meet another guy. I'll be there. Huh? Don't worry. I'll be there.

Keep an eye on the brothers.

Keep an eye on the brothers.

It's a tradition. You feel like I better have at least am earning brownie points. I go to church, I don't really want to go, but I go anyways because, you know, I may need the connection sometime. A lot of reason people go to church. Listen, just because you go to the university doesn't mean you're smart. Yeah. You could you could dress preppy and get the books and learn the schedule and show up in class and not not be learning anything just because you go somewhere you could go. Just because you go to work doesn't mean you work. Hello? We've known that for years, right? I mean, come on, let's be honest. Let's be honest. Just because you come to church doesn't mean your heart is in the right place with God. And what the Spirit of God is calling for is honesty. Honesty.

It's a tradition. You feel like I better have at least am earning brownie points. I go to church, I don't really want to go, but I go anyways because, you know, I may need the connection sometime. A lot of reason people go to church. Listen, just because you go to the university doesn't mean you're smart. Yeah. You could you could dress preppy and get the books and learn the schedule and show up in class and not not be learning anything just because you go somewhere you could go. Just because you go to work doesn't mean you work. Hello? We've known that for years, right? I mean, come on, let's be honest. Let's be honest. Just because you come to church doesn't mean your heart is in the right place with God. And what the Spirit of God is calling for is honesty. Honesty.

Lessons drawn from the church at Sardis, from Mark Jobe here today on bold steps. Mark whatever we have spiritually, we better keep and strengthen.

Lessons drawn from the church at Sardis, from Mark Jobe here today on bold steps. Mark whatever we have spiritually, we better keep and strengthen.

You know, Wayne, this message is so relevant for us today. Uh, because really, the essence of what God is saying through to the church of Sardis is you have a reputation of being alive. Mhm. I mean, you have this reputation, but really you're spiritually dead.

You know, Wayne, this message is so relevant for us today. Uh, because really, the essence of what God is saying through to the church of Sardis is you have a reputation of being alive. Mhm. I mean, you have this reputation, but really you're spiritually dead.

Oh how.

Oh how.

Sad huh?

Sad huh?

Yeah. And I think we can all relate to that. We can all relate to seasons in our life where we can allow spiritual deadness to set in, where we lose the fire, that zeal, we just become dormant. And God may be speaking to someone right now. You've listened to this message and you say, you know, that's exactly where I'm at today.

Yeah. And I think we can all relate to that. We can all relate to seasons in our life where we can allow spiritual deadness to set in, where we lose the fire, that zeal, we just become dormant. And God may be speaking to someone right now. You've listened to this message and you say, you know, that's exactly where I'm at today.

Yeah, I believe that. And so we just want to encourage you and equip you to start moving out of that place and into a deeper relationship with Christ. Now we have several resources and opportunities available for you on our website. Bold Steps radio. Org. If you're a brand new believer, or perhaps just now considering placing your faith in Jesus, please go to that website and click the My Next Step link. There you'll find a video and additional resources that Marcus put together to help you walk through your next steps of faith. Once again, you'll find this and much more at Bold Steps radio.org. You know God isn't some distant observer passively watching the journey of our lives. He's intimately present in everything we see and do. That's why the struggles of fear and sin and doubt that we face aren't trivial. God is with us in the fight. According to Scripture, he already holds the victory as Christians were invited to share his victorious power right where we are today and discover what that really looks like. We want to help you with a book titled The Loudest Roar. Packed with fresh biblical insights, encouraging testimonies and powerful prayers, this special resource will help you reclaim the power you've already been given and to step into your victorious identity as a warrior for God's kingdom. The book is titled The Loudest Roar, and we'll send you a copy with your gift of any amount. To support the Ministry of Bold Steps, simply call 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or give your gift online at Bold Steps Radio org, or send your donation and ask for the book by writing to us at bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Well, thanks for joining us. Next time. Mark begins the final message in our series, Deeper Beyond Shallow Spirituality, where he'll explain what it means to be lukewarm and what we can learn today from the church at Laodicea. That's all just ahead on Wednesday's edition of Bold Steps with Mark Joh. Bold Steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

Yeah, I believe that. And so we just want to encourage you and equip you to start moving out of that place and into a deeper relationship with Christ. Now we have several resources and opportunities available for you on our website. Bold Steps radio. Org. If you're a brand new believer, or perhaps just now considering placing your faith in Jesus, please go to that website and click the My Next Step link. There you'll find a video and additional resources that Marcus put together to help you walk through your next steps of faith. Once again, you'll find this and much more at Bold Steps radio.org. You know God isn't some distant observer passively watching the journey of our lives. He's intimately present in everything we see and do. That's why the struggles of fear and sin and doubt that we face aren't trivial. God is with us in the fight. According to Scripture, he already holds the victory as Christians were invited to share his victorious power right where we are today and discover what that really looks like. We want to help you with a book titled The Loudest Roar. Packed with fresh biblical insights, encouraging testimonies and powerful prayers, this special resource will help you reclaim the power you've already been given and to step into your victorious identity as a warrior for God's kingdom. The book is titled The Loudest Roar, and we'll send you a copy with your gift of any amount. To support the Ministry of Bold Steps, simply call 800 D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or give your gift online at Bold Steps Radio org, or send your donation and ask for the book by writing to us at bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Well, thanks for joining us. Next time. Mark begins the final message in our series, Deeper Beyond Shallow Spirituality, where he'll explain what it means to be lukewarm and what we can learn today from the church at Laodicea. That's all just ahead on Wednesday's edition of Bold Steps with Mark Joh. Bold Steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.