“…I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive, but in reality you are dead. Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and it is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight.
So call to mind the lessons you received and hear; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I come.
Yet you still have a few person’s names in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, and they shall walk with Me in white, because they are worthy and deserving.
Thus shall he who conquers (is victorious) be clad in white garments, and I will not erase or blot out his name from the Book of Life; I will acknowledge Him [as Mine] and I will confess his name openly before My Father and before His angels.
He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Holy Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:1-6)
The folks in Sardis have a pretty bad report card from what Jesus is saying here. The key word is ALIVE. They are supposed to be ALIVE. The people have lost their vision, their purpose for being here and they have lost touch with Jesus. For Him to say that He hasn’t found one single thing they have done that has pleased the Father, there needs to be a major overhaul in attitudes and priorities!
We, as Christians are not saved by works. We are saved by FAITH, but we are required to WORK in the harvest fields for the Lord of the Harvest! Our mission is to bring people to Jesus and disciple them into strong and mature believers who in turn will go out and win the lost and disciple them. That is our job–our ministry from the Lord.
Another thing about these folks is that they have disconnected from the Vine. Without a strong relationship to the Vine (Jesus), we (the branches) will wither and be good only as kindling for a fire. Not a good way to end!
No matter how dead a church is, there is always a remnant who really love the Lord. Who are loyal to Him and Him alone. These are the overcomers who Jesus will call out before the Father and all the angels. More ominously, is the promise that failure to wake up and return to the obedience of Christ results in removal of a person’s name from the Book of Life.
Unlike Ephesus, Sardis isn’t even alive anymore. Religious activities and programs that discount or even deny the Blood of Jesus or the power of His Name to overcome. A form of godliness without the power to change and transform.
For you and me, as individuals, we should continually examine ourselves and our hearts to ensure that we are strongly connected to the Vine–Jesus Christ. He should be the center of our world. If He isn’t then something or someone else is sitting in His place. Life if full of tough choices. The road is narrow. Jesus said it is a narrow, rocky and hard road to eternal life.
In the perilous times we are living in, there simply isn’t anymore time to have a “happy Christian life” that people did years ago. Our country is different, our culture is different and most certainly the world is different. The lines have been drawn and the tide of tolerance for Christianity and the Gospel has turned against Jesus. So His people have a hard choice to make: do I want to be a shining light or do I want to blend in with the world? That’s the choice.
Sardis had to make a choice, get back to the main road or perish along with the rest of the world. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it a again: Jesus Christ is coming back very soon for a pure, spotless, passionately in love with Him Bride! Lackluster Christianity is not Christianity. Christianity is a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. Sardis Christianity is just another religion that is full of dead men’s bones.
The Word is clear: “This day I put before you: Life or Death. Choose life!” Wherever you are, no matter how dead your walk is with Him, He is calling to You to return and He will reignite the passion in you for Him. What does it take?
- Make the decision to return
- Pray and repent and ask for forgiveness. Then receive that forgiveness by faith!
- Start over…spend time every day with Him..just talking. Soon He’ll begin to use you once again.
- Obey His Word and do what He tells you to do until He comes back.
- Find a church that is alive if you are in a dead one.
Welcome back!
Blessings everyone…
From the Heart of God... 