Revelation 2:13

I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

Revelation 1:4

John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia

• In the Old Testament, Jesus is predicted.
• In the Gospels, Jesus is revealed.
• In the Acts, Jesus is preached.
• In the Epistles, Jesus is explained.
• In the Revelation, Jesus is expected.

Revelation 1:9–20

. . . I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. . . I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 

His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 

. . . I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 

The local church matters to God; therefore, it should matter to us.

Revelation 3:1–2

To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 

The essence of a church is not its programs or its buildings or its reputation or its doctrinal purity—as important as that is. The essence of a church is its spiritual life.

Revelation 3:3-4

. . .  if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.

The boat is supposed to be in the water, but the water is not supposed to be in the boat.  

Revelation 3:2

Wake up!

Revelation 3:3

 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.