dailywordofdestiny

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; ‘These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying: for I have not found a thing that you have done meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight! So call to mind the lessons you have received and heard; 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 will come’ ” (Revelation 3: 1- 3).

Sardis is located 35 miles south east of Thyatira. It was the capital of Lydia and was once a portrait of strength, fertility, and wealth. The church at Sardis had a good reputation, and it appeared to be alive. But in reality, there was nothing but inward deadness. Their deadness was at least partially due to some type of defilement because the Word says there were only “a few” which had not been defiled (vs.4).

This church desperately needed the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The mention of the “seven Spirits of God” is a reference to the sevenfold ministry of the Spirit found in Isaiah 11: 2: “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”

If you are spiritually dead, you need these ministries also:
• The Spirit of Wisdom: A lifeless, dying church or individual needs to seek the wisdom of God.
• The Spirit of Understanding: A lifeless, dying church or individual needs a true understanding of their condition so they can correct it.
• The Spirit of Counsel: A lifeless, dying church or individual needs to heed the counsel of God.
• The Spirit of Might: A lifeless, dying church or individual needs new strength to enter into its lifeless body.
• The Spirit of Knowledge: A lifeless, dying church or individual needs to flow in renewed revelation knowledge.
• The Spirit of Fear of the Lord: A lifeless, dying church or individual needs to have their fear of the Lord rekindled.

If you feel spiritually dead or your church is dying corporately, then you must follow the five-fold plan that the Spirit gave to the church at Sardis (vs 2):
1. Be Watchful: The amplified Bible says to “Rouse yourself and keep awake.” It is time for us to wake up, become alert to the signs of the time, and be active for God as never before.
2. Strengthen: Take hold of the things that remain and are ready to die in your life and strengthen them through prayer and the Word.
3. Remember: Reflect back on the promises of God – what you have received and heard in times past.
4. Hold Fast: Hold fast to your faith and God’s Word.
5. Repent: Repent so you will be ready for the return of Christ and not caught unaware.

This church is very obvious to me. When I was a child, I went to a certain denomination church. This particular church was seemingly very strong in the Lord. People shouted and said amen. People were prayed for who were sick. Then all of a sudden, something called the National Council of Churches was formed and my church, I had loved so dearly, changed. The National Council of Churches seeks to physically make the church one. God’s plan from the beginning has been for the churches to be one in Spirit. You cannot legislate Christianity.

In my church we no longer taught Sunday school from the Bible, but we got lessons from headquarters that we were to use. As best I could see, they had dropped many of the Biblical teachings and went more too teaching social reform.

What had been a way of life for me for nearly all my life had changed. The shouting stopped; the church became too formal for the amen corner. The first thing I knew, I found myself in a cold formal church, not the warm caring church I had loved so well. Church never dared run over fifteen minutes; we had to stay on schedule. Bible studies became fewer and fewer. The congregation was not even made aware of how important Bible reading and study at home was. It seemed my church, which loved all Christian people, had made a detour.

I really believe that churches like this is what the church at Sardis was all about. They started out just great; but as time went on, they waned away.  Notice in the verse above that Jesus speaks of ‘the seven Spirits of God’. When the gifts of the Holy Spirit are denied and even spoken evil of, the true church will dry up. The power of God is in His Spirit. The church is still flying the flag of Christianity, but denying the power thereof.
I use this scripture in Second Timothy a lot because it perfectly describes the time we are living in and describes this church at Sardis best of all.

• II Timothy 3:1 “But understand this, that in the last days will come perilous times of great stress.”
• II Timothy 3:5 “For although they hold a form of godliness, they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it. Avoid such people.”

Many denominations would have us believe the gifts of the Spirit are not in operation today. If they are not, it is because of our lack of faith. God never changes; we change. You see, a man without a spirit is like a horse who has lost his wind. A church without the Spirit is slowly dying.

Jesus continued by saying that there is still some good in this church; to build upon those things. However, in Sardis it appears that even the good in this church was being watered down to the point, that it is about to die. If you took a count of how many true conversions were made within the last year, you would be amazed at the shortage. You see, what we call good works and what God calls good works are two entirely different things. God looks at the Spirit, and we have a tendency to look at the physical.

In verse 3 Jesus also points out that their message at the beginning was alright, go back to that, the pure Word of God. Today we see new Bible translations that are watering Jesus down to the point that He is not God in them. Some Bible colleges would have their people believe that Jesus was not born of a virgin, that the Red Sea did not part, that Jonah was not truly swallowed by a large fish, and many more things.

They are reducing the miraculous workings of God and trying to analyze them with what they call scientific knowledge. This is just another attack of Satan to destroy the beauty of Christianity. These are basic to belief in salvation through Jesus Christ. If a mere man died for your sins, you are lost. Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. He was the perfect Lamb of God. He was and is LIFE. To deny that He was born of a virgin, denies that He is God the Son.

We must believe the Bible in its entirety or not believe it at all. As for me, I believe it in its entirety. Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us. I believe to deny Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, is to deny salvation through Him.”

“Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy” (vs 4).
A defiled garment is one not washed in the blood of the Lamb. The white robe that we must be wearing has been made whiter than snow by being washed in the blood of the Lamb. This is our robe of righteousness that we will wear in heaven. “Righteousness” means in right standing with God.

The churches today similar to the church in Sardis, do not like to preach or teach on the blood of Jesus. It was the shed blood that defeated Satan and purchased our salvation. We read in Hebrews, just how important this shed blood is. Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” If we are not washed in the blood of the Lamb, then we are walking in sin. To deny the power of the blood, would deny us our right to stand before the throne of God.

Do not be deceived. Believe the Word of God, the Bible. Let no one convince you that it is not true. Amen and amen.