Revelation 1-3: The Spirit Empowered Church

Bible Reading

Turn to Revelation 2 and we’ll be reading from verse 8 to verse 11 and then we’ll go on to Revelation 3.

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The first and the last, who was died and who had came to life says this:
“I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11)

And we move on to Revelation chapter 3 verses 7-13, the message to Philadelphia.

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one will open says this: “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door, and no one can shut it; because you have a little power and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the words of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing – that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have in order that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it any more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God and My new name.”
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:7-19)

Please turn your Bibles to Revelation chapter 2. Revelation in Chapter 2. Those passages of Scripture have already been read to us. Beginning at verse 12,

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” (Revelation 2:12-17)

Churches Who Were Neither Very Good nor Very Bad

Now last night we began to zero in on the varied conditions or states of the churches in Asia Minor and our focus was on the churches there that were in grave danger. We looked at two churches in particular: the church in Ephesus, who had left their first love and stood in danger of having their lampstand removed, and the church in Laodicea whose members were lukewarm and who stood in danger of being spit out of the Lord’s mouth. They both were called to repent in order to have their fellowship with the Lord restored.

Now this morning, we want to turn our attention to the churches that were neither very good nor very bad, the churches that were neither very good nor very bad. And there were three such churches that fitted this bill: Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis. Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis.

And there are three things I want to share with you as we look at these three churches. First of all, I would like us to look at the good and the bad in these churches. And then secondly, we’ll go on to look at the Lord’s responses to the good and the bad in these churches. And then finally, the applications, the conclusions and applications from the good and the bad in these churches.

The Good in These Churches

Let’s begin with the good and the bad in the churches at Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis. We begin with a good, the good in Pergamos to start with. And we find in verse 12 through to 17 that laid bear for us.

First, Pergamos remained true to the Lord’s name in spite of living where Satan’s throne was. Pergamos remained true in spite of being located in Satan’s domain itself.

This is what Pergamos is referred to, “I know your works and where you dwell, church.” And where did they dwell? “Where Satan’s throne is.” Where Satan lives. (Revelation 2:13) This is where this church was located.

And there were a number of things already known about Pergamos as a city. Asclepius – it’s a Greek word – the god of healing, was worshiped under the emblem of a serpent there. Furthermore, many pagan altars were erected there to various gods; Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and so on. They all had their temples there and these people worshiped them there.

Pergamos was also the centre of Emperor worship. Here, believers were asked to offer incense – even Believers were being called to do that – and they were being compelled to say, to cry “Caesar is Lord.” Failure to which they were persecuted. Many of them lost their lives in the process.

And so you can understand why it is said Satan lived there; Satan felt accepted there, Satan erected his home there. There could be places in South Africa where you could have a similar feeling like Satan lived there, places where there is a multiplication of brothels, where the homosexuals are bold in asserting themselves, places where rape is taking place, secularism has entrenched itself. You can sense satanic waves, satanic influence. It’s there. It’s in the air. Satan rules there.

Well Pergamos was such a place. And the point the Lord is making is that, in spite of the fact that Satan had his throne there, this church had remained faithful. The Pergamonians did not misrepresent his name, both in word and in deed, in spite of the dangers they faced.

In fact, the Lord says they were faithful unto death, even from the time when a man known as Antipas lived. Those days appear to have been characterized by severe persecutions. It was very difficult for the people of God, very difficult for the church and this man, Antipas, is especially mentioned. He had been a faithful martyr; he died for his faith. He was among those that might have been invited and commanded to cry, “Caesar is Lord,” and he refused. He maintained his faith in the Lord. I imagined he might have said, “Jesus is Lord,” instead.

He might have said something similar to what another faithful servant of the Lord called Polycarp would have said: an 86 year old man, who was taken to the stake and commanded to renounce his Lord, Jesus Christ. And if he would only do that he would be free, he wouldn’t have to die. He only has to say that. He only has to give his allegiance to the Emperor. And how did he respond to that?

“Eighty and six years I have served the Lord and he has done me no wrong. How can I deny my Lord? What are you waiting for? Go ahead!” And I’m paraphrasing here, “Go ahead and burn me, because I will not deny my Lord.”

Had you been in those circumstances, would you have taken such a stand? Would you have said, “I am ready to die. I am willing to die. Christ is too precious for me to deny him. He is God. He is my Lord. He loves me. He died for me. He has saved me. I’ve been assured a place in heaven where I will live with him forever. I’m prepared to lose this life that I may gain the other.” Are you prepared to say that?

Well, these dear brethren were prepared to say that. And this man Antipas particularly, he seemed to have stood out. He calls him, “my faithful martyr who was killed among you.” (Revelation 2:13)  And like him they were faithful too.

Well, that’s the good in Pergamos. What about the good in Thyatira? We read about this church from verse 18. We are told that they had things which remained. It would appear that there were things which didn’t, but there were also things which remained. In verse 2, “Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. (Revelation 3:2)

They were endeavouring to be faithful, compromising in some things, but there were things that remained. I find that interesting; the Lord didn’t condemn them for everything. The Lord didn’t throw them away because they were not doing everything correctly.

They were doing some things wrong, as we shall be seeing in a moment, but there were things that remained. And the Lord didn’t call those things that remained – because they were among other things that were not good – evil. He commended them. There were things that remained. They were ready to die but they remained.

They also had a godly remnant among them. In verse 4, we read about that. “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:4) Sardis appeared to be a difficult place. Many had fallen, but even there, there was a remnant maintained by grace.

In Sardis…I’m sorry, I think I mixed up some names here. I was supposed to be talking about Thyatira but I ended up talking about Sardis. Let’s go back to Thyatira. In verse 19 of chapter 2.  “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.” (Revelation 2:19)

“I know your works…” and the works are described in relation to their character, “love, faith, patience.”  They were also involved in service. We are not told what services but different kinds of services. And then he says, “…the works you are doing; the last are more than the first.” There was growth among them. They were making progress.

Are you making progress? The tendency we see in churches is for people to start well but before long, they end badly or they just stop.

I remember the days when I laboured in Pretoria and we used to go out on the streets from house to house sharing the gospel. Many who joined in that activity had never done it before and so they were very excited to be part of this outreach.

We started on good numbers. As time rolled on, they were falling off one by one. And before long, many of them weren’t doing it. We start well and then we stop. It’s too much now, it’s too much pressure now. I have other things to do now. It starts well but they don’t grow in that work. They don’t maintain the momentum. And so, you don’t see the benefit, you don’t see the fruit of your efforts because you can’t finish anything. Well, these Thyatirians were doing even better. That’s a good thing.

The Bad in These Churches

These churches also did bad things. Note the bad in Pergamos. We are told first of all that they had people who held to the doctrine of Balaam in chapter 2:14. The doctrine of Balaam. They also held to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

The doctrine of Balaam, you also read about it in the Book of Numbers chapter 25. We are told when Balaam could not successfully curse the people of God, he used another method to destroy them. He seduced them into unbridled sensual living by dangling the prostitutes of Moab before the men of Israel. The curse couldn’t work – illicit sex could.

And the devil does that, doesn’t he? We’re learning about him. If persecution will not work he tries seduction, he tries deception even. Well here, he tried seduction and the Israelites fell for it. Same thing was happening here. The doctrine of Balaam. The Pergamites gave themselves to the teaching and to the practice and that was bad.

There was also the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which we read about in verse 15. And their doctrine was similar to that of Balaam. This doctrine was basically encouraging the church to compromise with the world.

“If we don’t involve ourselves with the world, (and by that I mean with worldliness) we won’t understand the world. We won’t know how to reach the world. We won’t know how to influence the world. We must be like them to win them. We must be in it to win them.”

Even where the Lord would have clearly said we are part of the world, indeed, but we must not be of the world, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans was basically saying, “we must be of the world as well. We should be a part of the world. We are in the world but we should also be of the world. We must compromise to win the world.”

And that always results in a weak Christianity, a powerless form of Christianity. James says friendship with the world is enmity with God. (James 4:4) You cannot be of the world and also hope to be a friend of God. You cannot be yielding to the lust of the flesh and of the eyes and to the pride of life and also hope to be an effective Christian.

If that’s what you’ve been trying to do, I am sure that you are not succeeding at it. You are not succeeding at being an effective Christian because you have befriended the world. The Nicolaitans encouraged that and that was bad.

What about the bad in Thyatira? Well, they allowed a false prophetess called Jezebel to teach and seduce God’s servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Now I don’t know whether this was really her name or she is just called as such, borrowing from the book of Kings, whether it was just a figure, a figurative name, so to say. But whatever the case, this woman was there and she encouraged sexual immorality, she encouraged people to eat foods sacrificed to idols – which was really an encouragement of idolatry itself.

So what she taught and encouraged people to do was similar to what was happening in Pergamos. Balaamism in a different dress was at play here too.

What about the bad in Sardis? They had a reputation of being alive but they were dead. They were alive in name only. They appear to have marketed themselves well in that regard. They were able to create the impression that they were good and effective. They managed to create a lively atmosphere that gave the world the impression that they were okay, they were fruitful, they were productive.

Even their ministers – the stars – they appeared to be good preachers. They made a noise that moved people but when you looked inside at the content, you found nothing there.

It reminds me of my first pastorate, way back in Mufulira, a small town called Mufulira in the north of Zambia. To go to our church, we needed to walk past another church and there was a very loud preacher there. And what we heard each week as we passed there was something like “owa owa owa owa owa owa owa owa.” Every week!

One Sunday I decided to stop by and ask somebody who are standing outside, “What exactly is your pastor saying?” And he said, “I don’t know.” Literally, and I’m not exaggerating, “I don’t know. I don’t usually hear what he says.”

And there are many preachers like that: they make a noise but they say nothing of substance, nothing helpful, nothing beneficial, but there is a lot of heat around them, isn’t there? There’s a lot of noise, there is an impression of life, of productivity, but there is nothing there. A reputation of being alive. Sometimes it’s just the atmosphere that gives the impression of being alive.

There are churches that are good at music – now don’t get me wrong: I love music. I love watching this team here; hearing this team do what they do and lead us in music. I love music – but sometimes, church is all about music, church is all about atmosphere. People are closing their eyes and raising their hands. And it’s all wonderful, it’s all lovely, it’s all pleasurable and when you come in as a visitor, you have the distinct sense that there is life here. There is life
here. But it’s not really life, it’s an impression that has been created. It’s an atmosphere that has been carnally brought about. And these people at Sardis had something of that: alive in name only.

Are you alive in name only? Everyone thinks, “That’s it, that’s the model, that’s him, that’s what life looks like, that’s what it should look like.” But you’re only an actor, a hypocrite. The truth about you is that you are dead. Dead. This is how Jesus puts it: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1)

Though it appears to be alive in the eyes of men, and we must stress that – in the eyes of men –  Jesus saw through it all. It was just a skeleton. Sardis was living for people not, as the Latins would put it, “Coram deo,” in the presence of God, for the eyes of God. Is your faith, your activity being lived out “Coram deo?” Or are you doing it for men? It’s all ostentatious. They were dead.

God’s Response to These Churches

Well, that’s about the good and the bad in these three churches. Let’s come, in the second place, and observe the Lord’s responses to the good and the bad in Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis.

Let’s begin with his response to Pergamos. First, he calls them to repent in verse 16. “Repent or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16) Repent, repent. He called them to change, not to follow these teachers, not to follow these people who were misleading them. They needed to repent and stop following, stop listening, stop doing what they were doing. He calls them to repent.

Secondly, he threatened to fight against them with the sword of his mouth. In verse 16 again, “Repent or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my
mouth.” (Revelation 2:16)

Notice he will come quickly, with rapidity to judge them. Unlike this church which was slow to exercise discipline, Christ says he will come quickly to judge. And what would be the nature of the judgment? “I will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16)

It’s interesting that the Lord introduces himself to the church, to Pergamos, as “he who has the sharp two-edged sword.” (Revelation 2:12) He’s going to use that to fight them with. And by sword, we are to understand the word of God, his word. He is going to use it to probe their consciences. He is going to use it to reprove them for sin, to fill them with sorrow. He is going to use it to injure them within, because of their sin. And he will try and do that to subdue their impulses to sin. He threatens to fight against them with the sword of his mouth.

Thirdly, he promised to bless those among them who would overcome. They will be given to eat “the hidden manna,” in verse 17. That language of manna is obviously borrowed from Exodus and chapter 16. It’s called “hidden” because it’s often hidden from the world, from unbelievers. But it is seen and experienced by the true believers, the true church. And it must symbolize Christ in all his fullness. It must symbolize Christ, the spiritual manna. The manna that Moses’s manna was pointing to. The bread of life – the Heavenly manna.

Those that overcome will be given this manna. They will enjoy this manna. They will be filled by this manna. They will enjoy this manna as they meditate on the word of Christ, as they assemble with the saints for worship. They will enjoy this manna whenever they go in the secret place.

But that is not all. They will be given a white stone and a new name, a white stone and a new name. We read about both of those in verse 17. White is a symbol of purity, of holiness, of beauty, of glory. It stands for freedom from sin and guilt. A stone, on the other hand, is a symbol of durability and imperishability. And what he saying is that he will give them a life, a holy life, that will endure.

He also gives them a new name. It’s another way of speaking about adoption, isn’t it? The name we enjoy because of Christ. And this is not so much just a reference to their legal standing but much more to the character that represents that legal standing, a new character of the person. A character that speaks to the fact that they are children of God; the holy God, the righteous God, and their lives exudes the character of their father whose name they bear.

What about his response to Thyatira? We read about it in verse 24 to 29. He called Jezebel and her followers to repent in verse 21 and 22. He promised to chastise Jezebel by bringing sickness upon her and her children in verse 22 and 23. He threatened to bring tribulation upon all who followed her in verse 22. (Revelation 2:21-23)

There’s more he did. He encouraged the church. Remember, there were things that were good about them and he wants to encourage those things. And so, in verse 25, he says, “…hold fast to what you have.” (Revelation 2:25)

It may be small, it might appear insignificant, but hold fast to that. You may not have much passion, you may just have a little, don’t let it go. Hold fast to it. You may just have a little opportunity to serve the Lord and you’re only able to do it in a somewhat weak manner, don’t let it go. Hold fast to it. “Hold fast what you have till I come,” he encourages this church. (Revelation 2:25)

Hold fast. Hold fast to what good deeds you may have. Hold fast to love and to faith. Hold fast to your ability to serve and to persevere. Hold fast to that. And you are growing. You are growing. There are things you are doing more, better than you did before. Hold fast to that. Hold fast. He encourages them.

My friend, have you, have you grown weary? Are you thinking about giving up? Your love is no longer strong, you say. Your stamina is failing, you say. What little you have, hold fast to it. Hold fast.

There is more: he promised to reward those who hold on and those who overcome. He promises that they would share in Christ’s dominion over the nations in verse 27.

Matthew 28 reminds us that Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. And he has given, God has given to Christ to exercise that authority over all things: over angels and over saints, over other of the starry hosts. And the people of God, those who overcome, will share in something of that authority. He promises that they will share in Christ’s dominion. That’s a promise.

And furthermore, they will share in the glory of Christ. In verse 28 he says, “I will give them the morning star.” (Revelation 2:28) I will give them the morning star, figurative of the approach of the day when he will appear as the Son of righteousness. And he will come for them to change them, to take them in the glory, in his glory.

He also responded to Sardis. He calls them to be watchful in verse 2. “Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain and that are ready to die.” (Revelation 3:2) He calls them to remember. Verse 3, “Remember, therefore how you have received and heard. Hold fast and repent.” (Revelation 3:3)

He promises to walk with the godly among them. There was that godly remnant. Where most people have gone astray, but there was a remnant of godly people; people who still knew the Lord and loved the Lord and served the Lord and lived their lives in terms of the Lord’s will and were passionate about living to his glory and infecting others with it, as it were. He promises to walk with the godly among them. He promises to bless the godly because they are worthy.

Conclusions For Us To Learn From

We’ve run a little fast with that, but I’ve done so because I want to spend the rest of the time on this third point: conclusions and applications from the good and the bad in Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis.

Let me first comment on the conclusions – the things we must learn. First, the fact that the ability to endure persecution and the violence of the world does not make us immune against loving the world. The fact that we can endure persecution, we can go through difficulty, we can persevere, does not mean we can’t fall for the temptations of the world. The temptations that call us to receive, to enjoy its pleasures.

The church at Pergamos are commended for being faithful even in the face of persecution but at the same time, they were willing to yield to the temptation to commit sexual immorality. That you are strong and enduring does not mean you may not fall for the dazzling things of the world.

Secondly, the ability to do good works does not make us immune to false teaching and also the temptation to go for illicit sex. We may be doing good, even the Lord may commend that good, only for you to fall for Jezebel’s teaching and Jezebel’s encouragements.

Thirdly, a faith that is in name only – and there are many in the church who may display that – can live side by side with a faith that is held by a remnant – the godly. Here in Sardis we find these two groups. The godly can go on. The godly here carried the church.

If you are godly, don’t be discouraged about the fact that you are the only one. The Lord will walk with you and carry the church through you.

Applications For Our Churches

Let me say more about some applications, a number of them. First, the church is a communion that demands a commitment to church life and to holiness. God expects holiness. You can’t miss that when you read his messages to these churches. God expects holiness among his people. He expects individual holiness and he expects corporate holiness.

And secondly, the church has a duty to discipline in a corrective way those members who do what is inconsistent with what God expects of his holy community, his holy people, his holy
nation. The church has a duty to discipline. The church here in Thyatira, for example, has a duty to discipline this woman called Jezebel. The church has a duty to discipline anybody who is living inconsistently.

Thirdly, a vision of Christ must ever be before the church. Each of these churches are given a vision of Christ. Now imagine trying to correct the wrongs of each of these churches without Christ. We can identify our sins, we can identify our shortcomings, we can have a clear understanding of what we need to do personally at a practical level to overcome those problems but if Christ is not before our eyes, and if we are not abiding in Christ, all of those efforts will amount to nothing.

And so what does he reveal of himself to the church at Pergamos? He was he who has the sharp two-edged sword. What did he reveal about himself to the church at Thyatira? He is the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and his feet like fine brass. And what did he reveal of himself to the church at Sardis? He is the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

For them to see any growth, any change, any improvement, they must not ignore this Christ and the character he presents to them.

Now I find it interesting that he reveals this about himself to Sardis – “He who has the seven spirits of God and the Seven Stars…” (Revelation 3:1) Something was ready to die in these people. To whom must they turn to maintain life? To whom must they look to be revived, to be strengthened? They must look to he who has the seven spirits of God. He who has the Holy Spirit, he who pours out the Holy Spirit. It is to Christ we must look, to Christ we must pray, on Christ we must depend to receive the Holy Spirit. It’s part of his ministry. He came, he obeyed, he died, was buried, he rose, he ascended, he poured out the Holy Spirit. He is the baptizer.

And yet, there are believers, there are churches who think that they can somehow manufacture the Holy Spirit, they can somehow bring about the Holy Spirit. They only need to engineer a few things; set the music this way and do this the other way and create this atmosphere and then the Holy Spirit will come. But where is Christ? Where is Christ? The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.

Those who are filled with the Spirit honour Christ, and those who honour Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit. It is to him we must look. Upon him we must depend.

Fourthly, repentance is the only way to restoration. Have you noted that the call to repent was present to each one of these churches? Repent, repent, repent. The Lord is not tired of saying that. Perhaps you as a sinner are tired of hearing it: repent, repent, repent. Is there nothing else that we can do? Repent.

It’s like someone coming to George Whitfield and saying, “Why do you always say you must be born again?” And he responds by saying, “because you must be born again!”

Why do you always say repent? Because you must repent! Otherwise you can’t relate to God. You must repent otherwise God can’t live in your heart. He can’t put his throne in your heart.  You must repent otherwise God, who is holy and pure, cannot have any dealings with you.

The church is a repenting community. It’s not just a repentant community; it’s a repenting community. And you are doing well as a believer if, when you sin, and each time you sin, you repent. It’s the way of restoration of fellowship with God.

Fifthly, notice the need for encouragement, exhortation. The Lord uses this a lot in all the churches. In these three churches we’ve been looking at, he uses it a lot to lift people up, to lift their spirits. We live in a world that makes us sad. And if you are one who listens to the news, you will be sad every day.

We live in a world that makes us sad. There is so much in this broken world to make us sad, to discourage us, we need to hear words of encouragement. The Lord knew these churches were existing in a world, in a wilderness that could break them and depress them and oppress them and suppress them. They needed encouragement. The seven stars, the preachers, the shepherds, must encourage the church often.

And there are churches where pastors never encourage their people; they bash them. They are harsh with them. They are cruel towards them. I don’t believe that’s the work of shepherds. They must encourage.

Sixthly, look at the place of warning to instil appropriate fear so that the church would be kept from sin and kept in line – the line that God himself has drawn.

And then finally, the importance of promises, reflecting on promises. It is promises that inspire hope. And in a world that is always drawing us backwards, pulling us backwards, filling our hearts with despair. How can you not despair in a country where there is so much crime? Inflation is up, prices are up, how can you not despair?

But so often we find answers in worldly solutions. The Lord doesn’t give them worldly solutions. He always seems to lift their minds and their gaze to look on Christ and to think about Heaven and the joy and the glory that will be ours there. He always seems to point us to the fact that this same Christ we have served here, sometimes with difficulty, we will meet him there and we will live with him there. We will bask in the light. We will bask in his sunshine, in his joy forever and ever. Thinking about that gives us hope.

And may the Lord bless these words to our hearts, amen.

[Music] Oh, to see the Dawn – Stuart Townend

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us,
Took the blame, bore the wrath:
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin;
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees,
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
‘Finished!’ the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death,
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the power of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.