You Look Alive, But Are You Spiritually Dead? [LIVE] 09/13/2026

- Great way and so good to see you all on this baptism Sunday. (audience cheers) Psalms 100 says, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, "all the earth." (audience groans) Yep, Psalms 100 says, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, "all the earth." That's your opportunity, come on. (audience cheers) Serve the Lord with gladness and come into His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who made us and we are His. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good and His steadfast love endures forever and His faithfulness to all generations. Come on, let's pray. Father, I thank You and I praise You, Lord God, that we can come together and worship You as one body. Lord, I pray that Your presence will be made known and that we would worship You with hands lifted and with gladness. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen, it's so good to see you all. Brother, you're viewing online or in person for the first time.

Welcome to Christ's way. Come on. (upbeat music) ♪ I wish I could tell You ♪ ♪ Wish I could describe it ♪ ♪ But I can contain it ♪ ♪ And keep it to myself ♪ I hear You. ♪ You're running up colors ♪ ♪ To create the whole picture ♪ ♪ You're running up words to ever say what I find ♪ Come on, You're singing. ♪ It's wonderful and beautiful ♪ ♪ Like a glorious and holy ♪ ♪ It's merciful and powerful ♪ ♪ Come on, who is talking about? ♪ ♪ That's my kiss ♪ ♪ We declare the glory ♪ ♪ Give him all the honor ♪ ♪ He's all together worthy ♪ ♪ Who is talking about? ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪ ♪ That's the one before you ♪ ♪ And he asks me for the joy ♪ ♪ 'Cause all of this is for you ♪ ♪ Who is talking about? ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪ ♪ Come on, I see Your key today ♪ ♪ You ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪

♪ I'm not letting the rocks cry ♪ ♪ But I'm joining the chorus ♪ ♪ You're running the bells to make the heart of me ♪ ♪ It's the song of the angels ♪ ♪ Angels ♪ ♪ The angels ♪ ♪ Angels ♪ ♪ Earth and heaven to follow me ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ It's wonderful and beautiful ♪ ♪ And the glory is sitting on me ♪ ♪ It's merciful and powerful ♪ ♪ Come on, I'm dirty ♪ ♪ Who is talking about? ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ We declare the glory ♪ ♪ Give the mob the honor ♪ ♪ You talk together words ♪ ♪ Are you ♪ ♪ Who are we talking about? ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪ ♪ There's no one before you ♪ ♪ And yes, it will adore you ♪ ♪ 'Cause all of this is for you ♪ ♪ Who are we talking about? ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪ ♪ She that's Your my key ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ That's my key. That's my gun. Come on. That's my ship. Yeah. My protenter. That's my key. Come on, testify. That's my rock. That's my anger. My divinster. That's my key. That's my gun. That's my ship. My protenter.

That's my key. That's my, that's my anger. My divinster. Who we talkin' about? That's my key. Come on. We need her to glory. We camp 'em all the honor. His arms are getting worthy. Who we talkin' about? That's my key. We need her to glory. We camp 'em all the honor. ♪ It's all together worthy ♪ ♪ Who we talking about ♪ ♪ That's my key ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ ♪ That's the one you pulled ♪ praise. Yes Lord. I could see Your name for all my life and still find more to love each time. Jesus, be the name ever on my lips, and Lord, it's sweet in every time that I call. There's just something 'bout your name. There's just something 'bout your name. There's just something 'bout your name that makes me cry. There's no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name.

Jesus, you're worthy. You have been the friend who never last. I won't forget Your faithfulness. St. Jesus, be the name ever on my lips. Oh, it's sweet in every time that I call. Come on. There's just something 'bout your name. There's just something 'bout your name. There's just something 'bout your name. It makes me, it makes me cry. There is no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. Come on. There's just something 'bout your name. Jesus, there's just something 'bout your name. There's just something 'bout your name. It makes me, it makes me cry. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus, there is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. With holy hands lifted all over the room as a sign of a surrenderance to King Jesus who deserves all of our worship and all of our praise in even a surrendered life. Jesus, you're worthy. Come on, you tell us how worthy He is, how holy He is. Jesus, you're worthy.

Jesus, you're worthy. It's like the morning light. The one the darkness can't deny. The resurrection and the light. Jesus, Jesus, you're worthy. In shape you're making you. Your name can make the stormy still. You never felt, you never will. Jesus, Jesus, the bread of life. Amen for us. The wounded and the worthy one. The first and last are still to come. Jesus, Jesus, the King. Over and around the grave. The Lord who will forever reign. The name above our love. Shown Jesus. Oh Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name. Oh Jesus. We call on the Jesus. You'll get out of the glory. Oh Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name. Jesus, be the name. Give the soul. Oh Jesus, be the name. Oh Jesus, be the name. Oh Jesus, be the name. Oh Jesus, be the name.

Give the soul. Oh Jesus, be the name. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Hey, be the name ♪ ♪ I can't tell ♪ ♪ Come on, like, what do you want, we'll sing this ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Shall we sing Jesus ♪ ♪ Come on, there's power in that name ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Shall we sing the name now ♪ ♪ Hear the truth, hear the truth ♪ ♪ Hear the truth, hear the truth ♪ ♪ There's healing in your name ♪ ♪ There's healing in your name ♪ ♪ There's healing in your name ♪ ♪ It makes me cry only ♪ ♪ There's freedom in your name ♪ ♪ There's freedom in your name ♪ ♪ There's freedom in your name ♪ ♪ It makes me cry only ♪ ♪ Salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ Salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus, it makes me cry only ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ♪

♪ Jesus, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ It gets all the glory ♪ (upbeat music) - Welcome to The Grace Way. My name is John Stevens, and I'm so glad you're joining us today. Whether this is your first time with us, or you've been watching for a while, we're really glad you're here. You are a valued part of The Grace Way family, and it's a privilege to worship with you each week. No matter where you've been, or what your story looks like, God isn't finished with you. Throughout the Bible, we see Him using ordinary people with imperfect pasts, doing incredible things. Your past doesn't define your future. In Christ, there's always hope. There's always purpose, and there's always the next step. If you have a family or friends who use the Pando app, encourage them to watch The Grace Way 2. This is a great way to experience the same message together, even when you're in different places. One of the best things we can do is grow in our faith together, encourage one another, and keep the conversation going long after the service ends. If you're currently in a correctional facility in Kansas or Missouri, and would like to see Grace Way offered where you are,

let your chapel know. They can learn more about bringing Grace Way to your facility by visiting visitgraceway.org/prison. As we get started, don't just watch the service, jump in. Worship, pray, and listen, and ask God to speak to you. I believe He has something He wants to say to you today. I know what you came in here facing, but I want you to know that there's power in the name of Jesus. That's what we're going to sing about now, okay? Let's worship Him. ♪ ♪ I just want to speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, for every heart and every mind ♪ ♪ 'Cause I know there is peace within your presence ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ ♪ I just want to speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ 'Til every dark addiction starts to break ♪ ♪ Declaring there is hope and there is freedom ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ ♪ Your name is power ♪ ♪ Your name is healing ♪ ♪ Your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold ♪ ♪ Shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ For life ♪ ♪ Over fear and all anxiety ♪ ♪ Till every soul held captive by depression ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ ♪ Your name is power ♪ ♪ Your name is healing ♪

♪ Your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every struggle ♪ ♪ Break every struggle ♪ ♪ Shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪ ♪ If that's your testimony, come on and sing it out ♪ ♪ Your name is power ♪ ♪ Your name is healing ♪ ♪ Your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every struggle ♪ ♪ Shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪ Brothers and sisters, this is one of my favorite Sundays at Graceway. It's baptism Sunday, where we get to witness our brothers and sisters get baptized. So come on, let's witness some baptisms. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Share the name of Jesus in this place. Come on, chapter name of Jesus in this place. He's here to break every chain and break every generational person. Share the name Jesus. Come on, come on, church. You believe in your say's name. Come on, y'all. Jesus, Jesus, there is no other name given to mankind above heaven or on earth by which we must be saved. And the name of, say it with me, Jesus, come on, y'all. What an incredible opportunity we have to shout the name of Jesus from the mountains, from the rooftops, from the streets. And as I was standing over here listening to the voices and praises of his people, I had a picture in my mind that I want to share with you real quick. And it was a picture of so many of us shouting his name at the top of our lungs. But for some of y'all, no words coming out. And I wonder if there have been moments in our lives and things that we've been through where we've allowed the enemy to clamp on to our vocal cords so that we can't say anything. But I want to let you know something this morning

that if that's you, the enemies never had control over the things that God's given you. This is not his to control, it's yours to use. So shout his name from the mountains and shout his name from the rooftops because Jesus deserves it all. I'm excited to be with you this morning. I'm excited to dive into Revelation 3 because we continue this journey in this book. It's gonna be a good one y'all. I hope nine, I hope nine 30 came ready for something, okay? (congregation cheering) I hope you came ready for something. Let's pray, God, we trust you, we thank you. Lord, I think there are so many moments in our lives where it might be hard to say I trust you and it might be hard to say thank you because of circumstances and life events. But God, I pray that this morning we lay all of that at the foot of the cross knowing full well what we're walking into, knowing full well that you care enough about us that you sent your son in our place. God, would this not just be another Sunday morning in a church building, but would this be transformational for our lives? Would we walk out of this room different than we came in? Would conviction set in? And God, would you hear the praises of your people this morning?

God, the thing that I ask most of all this morning is, God, if you're not in it, I don't want it. God, if you are not in it, I don't want it. Lord, we love you, we trust you. It's in Jesus' name, we pray and all guys, people said. Amen, hey, we do this every single week y'all, before you sit down, pass some peace to the person next to ya, shake a hand, say hi to a friend, high five somebody, walk across the church if you need to, to everybody watching online right now, we're super glad that you are joining us. We love you guys. Hey church, before we dive into the message this morning, can we show us some love to our brothers out at Ozart Correctional and Crossroads? Love you guys, super glad that you're joining us. Appreciate you so much. Hey, we're gonna dive straight into it this morning. I have a problem, and I'm gonna let you know what that problem is. That problem is the fact that I can purchase anything on Amazon and it gets to my house within an hour. Anybody else have that problem? So I have this issue where I just buy stuff that I don't have the money for, and Amazon's different now 'cause you don't have to wait two days in order to get something. You just, your instant gratification kicks in and you're like, well I need it in the next 10 minutes, so can you get it here now?

And they do, Amazon's good at that. And so, we used to live in Phoenix, Arizona, just moved back to the home state of Missouri and Kansas City where I was born and raised, but my wife and I were in Phoenix for a little while. And I used to build big off-road vehicles in Phoenix and loved it and had fun with it. We used to go off-roading a lot. Now remember this one day I was sitting at work and I had just gotten this new vehicle and I'm sitting at work and I'm like, you know what I need? I need a lot of new things for this Jeep. I just bought, okay? And so I started ordering and ordering and ordering and I didn't wanna wait two days. I was like, no, I want it when I get home from work. And my wife works from home, okay? So I'm ordering things from work, and she's just seeing boxes show up, and boxes show up, and boxes show up. And I'm getting all the notifications on my watch, like new item arrived, new item arrived, and I'm just excited about it. So I get home after work, and I open the front door, right? I'm excited to see my wife, it's like I kick the door, and I'm like, "Babe, I'm here!" She's just standing in the hallway like this. She said, "You wasn't gonna tell me

about all these boxes you've been purchasing?" I'm like, "Well, you've been seeing them show up all day anyway, so why do I gotta tell you?" And she said, "We got a problem." And I said, "Oh boy, we got a problem." She said, "We don't have the money for this in the first place, so why are you spending money on something we don't have money for?" I said, "Well, babe, I'll find the money, I'll get it somewhere, I'll find it somehow, right?" And she said, "We got a problem." She said, "Clayton, you are dead." She said, "Those are fighting words, right?" She said, "Clayton, you are dead. You done, boy, you done." And I was like, "Uh-oh, right?" When wifey says that, "There's a problem in the household at the York household." And so what I did, what any other man would do in this moment, I ran into the bedroom to mentally prepare for this battle that's about to happen between me and my wife and I'm like, "Lord, give me some wisdom and give me something, right?" And so, I felt bad in the moment that I probably shouldn't have been purchasing all that stuff, but I was like, "Lord, change my wife's mind. Help her see my side of the story." That didn't happen.

And so, I'm standing in the bedroom and something clicked, y'all, something clicked. And she, I look out and I see her crawling on her hands and knees into the bedroom and I'm like, "God, you did something, thank you." And she locked eyes with me in that moment. And she said, "Clayton, get out from under that bed and fight me like a man." I was like, "Okay, well, I'm just kidding, that didn't actually happen, none of that happened, y'all." I just wanted to really all in for this message. But she did say, part of that was true. She did say, "Clayton, you are dead. "Clayton, you are dead, man. "Clay, you are dead, you are dead." She said, "Clayton, you are, say it with me, dead." I wanna talk about that this morning. I wanna talk about the concept of what it is and feels like to be dead. But before we start, I'm telling y'all, you will leave here different than you came in if you allow the spirit to change you from the inside out. Don't let this just be another Sunday morning where you walk into these doors, listen, consume something, and then go back into your car, drive home with no change whatsoever. Can y'all do that? Can we trust the Lord enough in this place to allow Him to change us?

Okay, before we dive in to Revelation 3, I want you to look at your neighbor, the person sitting next to you and say, "Neighbor?" Wake up. Okay, that was kind of okay. Now here's what I want you to do. I'm gonna give you another shot. I want you to look at your second choice neighbor that you don't like as much, that you didn't pick first and say, "Neighbor, wake up this morning. Wake up, wake up, wake up." Y'all, I love to have fun and I hope that's okay with you. Having fun is a gift and who says that we can't have fun in church, right? But along with having fun, there's gonna be some things that might trigger y'all this morning. And I hope that's okay with you as well, but I'm not gonna shy away from that. So, I wanna give you a little background on the church in Sardis. We're in Revelation 3 this morning. Starting off Revelation 3, the background on this church in Sardis, Sardis was kind of a city that used to be a big deal, right? They used to have all the things, do all the things. Everybody knew them. They knew that Sardis was to happen in place.

They had money, it had influence, it had innovation and a reputation that's one of the great cities in the ancient world. The original city sat high up on a mountain surrounded by steep cliffs and I think we have a picture of it just to give you a little, yeah, yeah. So, Sardis is that church right up there on the top of the city, which made the people believe that they could not be conquered, that they were untouchable, unapproachable, because they sat so high up. But here's what's crazy. Sardis was conquered twice. How many times? Twice. Two times and both times it wasn't because the enemy overpowered them. It was because they got too comfortable to keep watch. The enemy soldiers would scale the cliffs that the people thought nobody could climb and open the gates. So, the greatest danger wasn't its weakness. It was overconfidence. Come on, y'all, we're five minutes in and this is already saying something. It was overconfidence. So, by the time Jesus speaks to this church in Revelation 3, the whole city

had become a shadow of what it once was. still remembering the good old days, but no longer holding on to what made it great. And apparently, the church started to look a lot like its city. Let me put this into context for you and I just for a little bit. I was gone for 15 years with my wife in Phoenix, Chicago, Houston, Texas, everywhere. But when we made this trip back down to Kansas City, my heart and my love for this city is massive, y'all. I love Kansas City. I grew up here, family's here. Born and raised. I hope you love Kansas City just as much as I love Kansas City. And what I believe is I believe Kansas City needs to know, understand, learn, and see the life-changing love of Jesus. And if we have the opportunity as grace way to show that to Kansas City, then we better get started and put our feet on the ground and move, right? I want Kansas City to look a lot like this church. Could you imagine with me just for a second? If we left here today and we're driving around our neighborhoods or downtown, Westport, Plaza, Waldo, wherever it is. And we just started seeing little pictures of Kansas City where you could be like, man, that's starting to look a lot like grace way. This city's starting to look a lot like the church

on 55th and Blue Ridge Cut-Off. Wouldn't that be wild? Older generations pouring into younger, thousands of people gathered to worship, pursue, and praise the name of Jesus. But can you imagine with me just for a second that instead of Kansas City looking more like grace way? Grace way started to look a little bit more like Kansas City. If that doesn't hit y'all, can I take it a little bit deeper than that and make it a little bit more personal? Are you becoming more like Jesus because of the church or is the church becoming more like the world because of you? Something's got to change. It's a scary concept, isn't it? That's gross, that's disturbing. So Sardis had this reputation. They had the appearance, they had the name, but somewhere along the way they stopped paying attention and started living off of what used to be. The things that used to take place, the things that used to happen. So here in Revelation 3, Jesus says something to this church that would have silenced a concert hall. And I'm hoping that you're ready to dive into this story with me. If you want to dive into Revelation 3, let me hear you say, let's get it, boy. Come on, say it with your chest, say, let's get the word, boy. OK, I love y'all already. This is home and family and I'm having fun

and I'm loud if you can't tell. Revelation 3, verse 1. Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the seven fold spirit of God and the seven stars. And remember the stars represent the angels of the churches and the seven golden lampstands that my God walks throughout are the seven churches he chose to speak to. He says, I know all the things you do. And I could end the message right there with enough conviction to send us all home. Why do you say that, Pastor? I know all the things you do, he says, some of y'all are living as though God's only snapshot into your life is the one hour you choose to sit in these chairs on Sunday mornings. Oh, but he says, I know all the things you do, not just the hour you're here. I know all the things you do and that you have a reputation for being alive-- here it comes y'all. Buckle up. I hope you're ready for this. But you have a reputation for being alive, but you are, say it with me? Dead. Dead. You are dead. I'm going to teach you a little bit of Greek this morning. Everyone say Thanatos. I'm not really sure if that's how you pronounce it,

but it's good enough for me. Thanatos, translated in Greek, this word means the actual state or concept of death. It's the version of this word we use when we get mad at a child for doing something they shouldn't have. Son, you're dead. You better go to your room, son. You're dead. War when a spouse orders way too many packages on Amazon. Clayton, you're dead, boy. But this isn't the terminology or word that we see here in Revelation 3. This isn't the I'm mad at my son or I'm mad at my spouse type of literacy. No, it's not that type of dead. It's not Thanatos. Here it's the Greek word necros. Everyone say necros, which means a literal corpse or dead body, representing the spiritual state of being lifeless or unresponsive. Well, what does that look like? That looks like you trying to pull out your phone, but face unlock does not work because you are unrecognizable. You are dead. You are gone. You are no more. Jesus is not saying, well, you seem to be dead. He's not telling the church, well, you seem a little off. What he's saying is that you once were alive, you once pursued me above yourselves,

you once held my truths above your desires. And even though you look a certain way, the inside don't match the outside. That's what he's saying. And I can't help but wonder what he would say about you. What do you say about me? Did you used to love him a little bit more than you do now? Did you used to talk about him a little bit more than you do now? Did you used to care more about his affection than the people sitting next to you? Their approval of you? Because I'm gonna tell you something right now. If you constantly seek the approval of man, you will miss out on the affection of God. I'm gonna say it one more time for the people in the back and in the sky box, if that's what we call it. If you constantly seek the approval of people, you will miss out on the affection of God. Who you living for? Who are you pursuing? Why does your name matter more than Christ does? He says you have a reputation for being alive, but you are necros. You are, say it with me, dead. Here are four signs of a dead or dying church, okay? Four signs of a dead or dying church. You know a church is dead or dying when? Number one, facade replaces fire. What does that mean? Well, it becomes more about appearance

and not the Holy Spirit. It's the man, we look good. Man, we got it all together. Our church is bigger than their church. When facade replaces fire. Number two, the preference of the people replaces the passion of Christ. It begins to become all about what we want and not what he wants. Well, we need to make it bigger. We need more people. We need this. We should do this. We have to have that. We, we, we need need, need. I am. Number three, when gospel preaching is replaced with people pleasing. You know what that is? I'm gonna tell you right now, that's when sermons become conditions to not offend nobody in this place. And we just want you to come back next week. And because of that, the gospel isn't being preached in churches anymore because we just want you to like us. That's what that means. I'm gonna tell you right now, from what I've seen and what I gather and standing and sitting underneath

a senior pastor such as Pastor Tim, this church cares tremendously about you and where you're going when you die. We love to preach truth and conviction and we're gonna give you that for as long as we possibly can. When gospel preaching is replaced with people pleasing and number four, when gatherings feel forced and not real. It's mechanical. We don't feel life here anymore. That's what that means. We used to be a place of spiritual growth and healing, but church has become a cesspool of people that know how to play church, but have forgotten how to pursue Jesus. That's what a dead and dying church looks like. So in Revelation three verse two, Jesus tells this dead church to wake up. He says, "Wake up, strengthen what little remains for even what is left is almost dead." I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. He says, "Wake up! Wake up, church! Wake up! Remember, Sardis had been sacked how many times? Two times. Sardis had been sacked twice. Because the people responsible for watching the walls got too comfortable twice, y'all.

Sacked twice. Overconfident and unprepared. It's a lot like that play. We see every single year over and over and over again. Where Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills drops back into the pocket. And out of nowhere, there's 350 pound line. I'm just kidding. I'm not gonna go there. But Chris Jones reminds Josh Allen who Kansas City really is. Sacked twice. Hey, we're in Kansas City. Let me have a little fun with the Chiefs. 'Cause I don't know how much fun we'll be having this season, but I'm just kidding. In my homes, we trust. Just kidding. (audience laughs) I hope the Lord is on our side this year. (audience laughs) Sardis had Bill's fever. Sacked twice. Who was Peter you ask? Oh, Peter, the one that denied Jesus. When, just when he thought he was too good to sin, boom, he denies Jesus three times. He caved under pressure and forgot about the man that he's been walking with for three years. That's called Peter complex. Being too confident in yourself that you forget your confidence comes from Christ. Sardis assumed, catch this, catch this, stay with me. Sardis assumed that they were untouchable. And when you begin to assume, do I need to go there? Not there, but I'm going to go there. When you begin to assume that creates a pretty fun playground for the enemy. You don't believe me? Let me tell you, creates a pretty

fun playground for the enemy. So here, Jesus is saying, church, wake up, stay on guard, be faithful, stand firm, be strong. But what I love is that even though Jesus says they're dead, come on, y'all. He doesn't say it's over. He says, strengthen what remains. Strengthen what little bit is left. In other words, there's still something here worth fighting for. But you better move before that dies too. He's saying, come on church. You think you're alive, but you're dead. Strengthen what remains because there's still something here worth fighting for. But you better move before you can't anymore. Everyone say move. Everyone say it like you mean it. Say move. Something happens when you begin to move. How many people in this room like getting on an airplane and flying? Raise your hands. That's a lot more than first service, probably because y'all are more awake. So I don't mind flying, but you know what's crazy for your boy is airports. Airports are crazy. They are chaotic and they are stressful for me, okay? Probably because I'm the only one in the line that always gets patted down by every single person stopping you. That's one reason, but the other reason is just because airports are just chaotic. And I've been to Africa five or six times now. When I flew there the first time, I didn't really know what to expect. We had to go from Phoenix to London, from London to Qatar, from Qatar to Intebi, and from Intebi, get on a bus that took you five hours to the place that we were going. So it was like 30-something hours of travel. It was stressful. It was just stressful. And if you're anything like me in airports or international airports on longer flights, you try to do the same thing I do. And you try and get your backpack or your water bottle and put it on the middle seat in hopes that the person who paid $1,500 for that seat doesn't show up, right? Because, Lord forbid, they show up and take the seat they paid for. Airports are stressful. And I international flights are fun, but also not fun. They're chaotic. They're stressful. Flying really tests your faith. Really, really test how much spirit you got. And if you don't believe me, fly front to your airlines, okay? If you work for Frontier, please don't come talk to me afterwards. I got Southwest vouchers for you you can have. I'm just kidding. It gets stressful. But airports are chaotic and stressful, but guess what? In order to get where you're going, you have to stop and make a connection first, okay? And as bad as I wish, there was one flight that took me from Phoenix to Africa. The reality is simply the fact that more often than not, you're dropped off. You get this just as much as I do. There's multiple different planes. And here's the other reason they're very stressful because you get off one plane and then you have four and a half minutes to get from A3, catch four buses,

three trams, six escalators that get you to Z99 before you take off on your next flight, right? You get it. And so you're stuck in these moments and you're like, I wish I could just get there a little bit quicker, but then something happens and you see something in the airport. And this is me and my son. My son's four years old. This is me and my son's favorite part about airports for different reasons and you'll understand why in a second. But I wish I could get from this gate to that gate quicker. And then all of a sudden you see the moving walkway and you're like, thank thank you Lord. Yes, the moving walkway, something you can stand on, get on to get faster and further than everybody else in the airport unless you do what my son does and just stand. And it's okay. Like I get it. I understand that he's four. He doesn't really understand the concept of a moving walkway and he just likes the fact that he can just stand still and keep keep moving. But the problem and I'm going to use him as an illustration, the problem isn't that my son is standing still. That's not the problem. The problem is the fact that he's standing on And anytime you have stagnation in a place created for movement, that's when things begin to stand still and eventually, necros, die. Are y'all following and tracking with me? (audience applauding) So I wonder if the church and Sardis looked alive but was really dead because they stopped moving when God said, move. They got too comfortable with standing still that they no longer were a threat to the enemy. And because of that, they began to lose everything they once had. They got so infatuated with the moving walkway that they just stood in a place God said, no, no, no, no. Put them feet to the ground and start moving because I'm helping you out. So Jesus says, wake up, strengthen what little remains

and keep moving. When Jesus tells them to wake up, it means that somehow, somewhere along the line, someone flipped the switch and they went to sleep. They were snoring, they were dozing. I'm gonna tell you some right now. The most dangerous type of sleep is the sleep you don't even know you're in. And I wonder if that's you this morning. Sardis became too comfortable that they started snoring when God said, would you wake up, strengthen what remains. From the outside, the church looked good, but Jesus has this way of seeing past the perception. Sardis was to happen in place without the Holy Spirit. They were activity without spiritual life. They were a walkway without the movement. They were doing church, but no longer fully alive to God. May it never be said about Graceway that we have become so enamored in ourselves that we've lost our wonder and awe and just began doing church. Revelation 3-3, we continue. So he says, wake up and then he says, go back to you or remember what you heard and believed at first. Hold to it firmly, repent and turn to me again. If you don't wake up, I will come to you suddenly as unexpected as a thief. So Jesus' answer to this dying church wasn't try something new. Pay attention to this church.

I don't want y'all to miss this. His answer to this church was, hey, go try something new. It was remember what you, remember what you received before. He said, Sardis, like, Sardis, kids, you remember how this all started in the first place? That this church was built off of truth and grace and mercy. And it was all about me. Sardis, remember that, right? But oh, Graceway, don't be so quick to judge Sardis. - Yeah, come on. - Watch this. Well, Clayton, don't you remember how this started in the first place back when you were 17 years old and you dedicated your entire life to me? You started living for me and pursuing me and doing everything for me. Clayton, remember that. Go back to that. Wake up, son, wake up. Wake up, daughter, wake up. Church, come on, can't you get the point? Wake up, church. Wake up. Here's what's interesting. Sardis didn't necessarily reject truth though. Rejecting is different than forgetting. Rejecting is outright refusal. Forgetting is failing to remember. So no, they didn't reject the truth. They just stopped building their lives around it. They traded convenience for compromise,

truth for tolerance, obedience for acceptance, devotion for distraction. They traded spiritual fire for personal comfort. Catch this. They didn't walk away from Jesus. They just learned how to live without needing Him. Sardis thought they were a safe spot, the safe place right up until the moment that they weren't and Jesus uses their own history to tell them, don't get so comfortable spiritually that you stop paying attention. Sometimes the way forward with God isn't discovering something new. It's remembering where you started in the first place. Some of y'all need to wake up and remember. So right after Jesus tells them to wake up, he hits them with this super gangster line here in verse four, check this out. He says this, he says, yet, remember, wake up. Remember, and then he says, yet, yet, yet, yet, yet. There are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. My son is four. There are two things that I get frustrated with the most. Number one, the word no. Number two, soiled clothes. And if you have any tricks on potty training, it for me. Okay? I'm just kidding.

But soiled clothes, right? When this happens, what happens is the clothes need to be removed and either thrown away due to how bad they are or thrown in the wash and completely changed. But removal of the clothes needs to happen first. Love clothing is a symbol for sinfulness that must be stripped. And right here, Jesus is saying that there are some of you that have kept yourselves clean and focused and he says, "They will walk with me in white for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white." And he says, "I will never will is a promise." And I hope at the end of your life, you are on this side of that promise. He says, "I will never erase their names from the book of life, but I will announce before my father and his angels that they are mine." What a promise that is. Put yourself in the story. Based on your life, are you one of the ones being condemned and checked? Being asked to wake up because you're spiritually dead or are you one of the few that has stood strong and kept on guard? Now here comes that part of the message. Well, I'm just going to call truth truth because I think this world does a really good job at feeding us lies. So I'm going to keep truth truth and you'll either agree with me or you'll disagree with me. But I care more about helping you wake up than you're a plus. And so you might be sitting here saying, "But Clayton, like those few, those few, man, they were the super saved. Most few, they were the extremely faithful." So much like the rest of the church and Sardis, it's easier for you to fit in on Sundays and, "Hey neighbor, God bless you brother. What's up sister?" All around the lobby and then all of a sudden get in your car, flip the switch and forget

who you even serve on Monday. And if that is you, I want you to lean in and pay attention because there's excuses for a lot of these things. And you might be sitting there saying, "Well Clayton, listen, listen, listen." I'm just not as bold as those other few that Jesus is talking about. What that really means is I care more about being liked than being faithful. Not good enough. Okay. Some of you might say, "Well they were extremists. They were like really good rule followers." Which really means I've reduced obedience to a special calling instead of a basic command. Okay, some more of you all. Some of you might say, "But I don't want to push people away." And so I'd rather follow the crowd and do what they do. Which really means I'm more afraid of losing relationships than I am of people losing eternity. And if that's not you, you might say, "But my faith, Clayton, my faith is my faith and my faith is personal." Which really means I've hidden the very message Jesus died publicly to proclaim. And if none of those other ones got you, you might be sitting here saying, "But look at you boy." Like I dressed up and I looked good on Sundays and every time I hit the lobby, I say Jesus is name and sing it at the top of my lungs. I talk about him on Sundays, which really means I've learned to look alive in the one place where looking alive costs me nothing. Can we call truth truth? Listen y'all, the uncomfortable question is that whether we can be bold like the few that remained faithful and Sardis, it's whether we actually want Jesus more than we want comfort. So Jesus promises these faithful few something incredible. He says, "They will walk with me dressed in white." And listen y'all, their purity wasn't because they've never been dirty.

It's just because they let Jesus clean them. You got to understand that. And then comes the most powerful promise of all and this is so good. Jesus says, "He will stand before the Father and all of heaven and acknowledge these few, by what? By their name." He says, "Listen, those of y'all that didn't soil your clothes, I'm going to remember this. I'm going to write your name down in the book of life and when we get, I'm going to stand before my Father and all of heaven and I'm going to acknowledge you and say your name." Think about that. We spend so much of our lives wanting to be known, accepted, followed, celebrated, recognized. [BLANK_AUDIO] But Jesus saying your name in heaven. At the end of your life, the greatest words you could ever hear aren't, and everyone knew them. It's Jesus saying, "I don't know, this one's mine. This one is mine." On Thursday, I went to a funeral of my high school soccer coach. It's been 20 years since I graduated. That is crazy. Now that I say it out loud, I'm like, "Whoa, you guys are all like, but you look like you're 15. I know, thank you." I went to my high school soccer coach's funeral, and he was such a good man. And there had to have been over 600 people that showed up because of the impact that he made on so many people. He was more than just a coach to me. He saw something in me that I didn't see in myself, which was the story for so many people there in that room. And when we walked into the lobby, one of the coolest parts about it was all across the back wall, there were signed soccer balls from our state championships, pictures and posters everywhere from state and everything that he had been a part of, but people had won. And I was a part of a lot of those. So I got to relive the old days where I'm seeing my picture in newspaper clippings that came out 20-some odd years ago. And I'm just like, "Man, this is so cool." But you know what the coolest part about that was? Is when we showed up and we went into the lobby and we saw that, we showed up to see less about him and more about us because he cared about us. He wanted us to be better soccer players, but more importantly, he wanted us to be better men at the end of our time. Coach helped us do that. He'd yell my name in practice when I screwed up or did something I wasn't supposed to, but he'd read my name during the trophy ceremonies as proud as he

possibly could like a father to his son. All I ever wanted to do as a player was make him proud. And then it hit me thinking about this message and thinking about this church in Sardis. Why do we work harder for our names to be read from a coach than we do for Christ? He says he will acknowledge you before the Father in heaven. Whose lips matter more than your name coming out of than his? And then the letter ends with this as we close. It says, "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he's saying to the churches." You are the happen in place. Sardis, you got a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, strengthen what remains, stay faithful, hold the truths that this was built upon. Yet there are some of you that have not soiled their clothes, and I will acknowledge their name in heaven. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he's saying to the churches. And I can't help but wonder, if you're with me this morning and you're listening to this, I can't help but wonder if Sardis became known as the debt church because they begin wanting the things Jesus could do rather than wanting Jesus himself. And you see the church in Sardis used to want Jesus more than they did. That's what it was built upon and founded upon. Why else would it have happened? Somewhere along the way they just closed their eyes and fell asleep. But the hardest part as well as the best part about this whole passage y'all is that Jesus cared enough to call them out of that slumber because he wanted them more than they wanted him. What God do you serve? Who cares more about you than that? And if you're anything like me or like them perhaps they actually thought and got to the point that their focus shifted a little bit and somewhere along the lines they began to believe that if they just became bigger or better they became more popular or the best church in town that maybe somehow maybe the Lord would bless them or want them more. And if you're anything like me or anything like them we can get caught up in thinking God wants our talents our treasures and accomplishments over anything else. Like okay God like God you see me right? I'm in I'm I'm back home, God, I'm in Kansas City, Missouri. I'm a father now. God, thank you for making me a father and God, whatever it is, I'll preach on any stage that you want me to preach in. What do you want, God? What do you want from me? Whatever it is, I will do it. But that, but what if God's saying, no, no, Clayton, like, that's not, that's not the point. Clayton, that's not, well, God, then what is it? Because I sell, I'll do

anything, I'll do anything for you, whatever it is. What do you want from me? Well, Clayton, I just want you. Yeah, but God, like, like, what talent, like, because I'm pretty talented, right? God, like, what talent do you want? What, what accomplishment? What is it of mine that's you? No, no, no, no, son, no, son, no, son. I just want you. And that might be a hard thing for you and I to grasp and understand, but I want you, I want you to get that the things you've accomplished won't make him want you any more than he already does. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But Clayton, like, what do you mean by that? Want me more than he are? I don't even feel like he does want me. How do you, how can you stand on that stage and say that and be true about it? You don't know what I've been through, you don't know my life, you don't know the people that I've come in, you don't know what's going on in my family. I got a broken, God, this, how do you know he wants me? Oh, well, because, um, moments before he was to be handed over to the enemy crucified, a criminal's death. He stood in a garden and he had a conversation with God the Father and Jesus actually said, God, come on, like, if there's any other way, like God, I, you know what I'm about to walk into. God, if there's any other way, would you please just take this from me? I don't want to do it. I'm scared, I'm nervous. But God, what do you want? And as Jesus had this conversation and asked the Father what he wanted. You know what the answer was? Yeah, it was you. It was you. It was the church in Ephesus. It was the church in Pergamum. It was the church in Smyrna. It was the church in Thyatira, Laodicea, Philadelphia. It was the church in Sardis. And it was the church on 55th and Blue Ridge Cut-Off. God said, you know, I want them. Jesus, you're going to do this because I want them and I want every part of them. That's how I know he wants you. I want them. And it's not your accolades or accomplishments that he's impressed by or moved by. It's not your talents, your inventions, or your investments. He doesn't care about all of that. It is not the bigger churches, louder music, or impressive people that you surround yourself with. That's not what your God is impressed by and that's not what your God wants. He just wants you. It's always ever been you. If it didn't want you, he wouldn't have created you. It's just you. And if you're a person that wants the things Jesus can do more than Jesus himself, than your view of him is no better than those in Sardis that he said are dead. And just like Pastor Tim said a few weeks ago, I'm going to say it again. Do you love Jesus more than anything? Or is Jesus just one of the things you love?

You need to want him. It's always been Jesus. It'll always be Jesus. It'll never stop being Jesus. And to book in all of this, I hope you understand. And I want you to picture this. If he was to write a letter to you, not to this church, but to you personally. Would it say, well, you have a reputation for being alive, but you're dead? I hope not. And if that's the truth, I want you to wake up and strengthen what little bit remains because there is something worth fighting for. It's his goodness, his mercy, let the life-changing love of Jesus overflow you and fill you from the inside out. So I ask you, do you want him, Grace White? God, we thank you for this morning, Lord. I thank you for the fact that we get to dive into your word, into scripture, and gain clarity and understanding from what you say, from what you tell your people. God, I pray that if there are people in this room that are spiritually dead, that have been walking corpses for a long time, God, would you knock on their hearts, and would you pull on their heartstrings to wake up and change something, to do something different? God, it does not matter what the people around us say. At the end of my life, God, all I want to hear you say is that one is mine. He did such a good job at serving me. I don't care about serving anybody else besides you and you alone, Lord, would our goal be to serve you? God, would the conviction set in as people walk out of this room, God, knowing that you care so much about us,

that you did send your son? (gentle music) To die in our place, where we love you, God, we praise you, and we thank you. And it's in the mighty, powerful, and matchless name of Jesus, and everybody in the church said...