Synopsis: All of us know how easy it is to be fooled by the way that something (or someone) looks on the outside.  And that can be true, not just of things and people; Christ says it can be true of entire congregations.  For reasons we don’t know precisely, Sardis had a reputation for being a lively and thriving church.  However, barring a few exceptions within the congregation, Jesus sees the opposite—they’re dead.  Jesus’ rebuke is reminiscent of his interactions with the Pharisees—it’s possible to have all the external trappings of fervent religiosity and yet to have a heart that’s far from God.  It’s time for Sardis to “wake up!”  More specifically, Christ tells Sardis in verse 3 to “Remember then what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.”  In short, they need to go back to the very basics of the gospel they had first received at their conversions: who Jesus is and the meaning of his death and resurrection.  All spiritual revival is, at its core, a basic (re)discovery of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What brings the dead to life is the realization that I am a great sinner, and Christ is an even greater saviour.  It is to this central reality that we (and all the church of Jesus Christ) need the Spirit’s constant reawakening.