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young man was traveling
by train to Nashville, Tennessee to seek a job as a news reporter.
When the conductor asked for his ticket, he named a newspaper
company in Nashville and reminded the conductor that news reporters
did not need a ticket. The conductor told him that the editor
of that newspaper was riding in the rear of the train. If the
editor could identify him as a reporter of the newspaper, he
could ride for free. When they arrived, the editor did indeed
identify the man as a reporter of the newspaper. The man was
surprised. After the conductor left, he asked the editor why
he lied for him. The man responded with, “I am not the
editor. I am traveling on his pass and I was afraid you were
going to give me away.” Deception! Neither man was what
they appeared to be. They were both phonies.
Looking Spiritually Alive.
The church in the city of Sardis was phony too! It looked like
a spiritual power house. The church looked spiritually healthy
to the other churches in Asia Minor. It had a reputation
of being alive. The pastor may have been a strong Bible teacher.
The church may have had great home Bible studies, a wonderful
children’s Sunday School, or even a large outreach
ministry to the community. We are not sure, but we know that
everyone thought this church was alive, real, and spiritually
healthy. But God had a different opinion about this church,
He did not think the church was alive or that it had wonderful
ministries. He had this to say,
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I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are
alive, but you are dead. (NASB) Rev. 3:1
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