Good Morning Sabbath...
Father Thank You for this NEW Day. Thank You for Your REVELATION. Thank You for Your Gift of Life, which IS OURS in Your Son Yeshua, Jesus Christ. We praise You, we worship You, and we pray to You in Yeshua, Jesus Christ’s Name. AMEIN!
- The Great Revelation: Unfolding Eternity Today (7)
The Message that Our Savior gives us in The Book of Revelation is the same as The Message He is giving The Seven Churches. His message is full of correction, conviction, and also full of encouragement and Love. When The Apostle John wrote these letters towards the end of his life we don’t know if he knew how relevant it would be today, but we do know Yeshua, Jesus Christ Our Savior Did.
Yesterday we looked into His Message to The Church of Ephesus. Today, let’s take a look at what Our Savior Had To Say To The Church of Sardis. We will start in Revelation 3:1-6:
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”
Revelation 3:1
The Church of Sardis had a big problem. The King, Our Savior, tells them: “I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive, but you’re dead.” Whoa! That’s hardcore. Right? Well, as I am sure we have all found out at some point, it is a great tragedy when a church has a public image that far exceeds its Truth.
How is a church to be alive? With The Word of God of course! The Church that Lives is The Church that submits to The Authority of The Word of God and is zealous about obeying The Creator of All Things, God Our Father. This submission for The Church that Lives includes prayer and complete allowance for The Holy Spirt, in Hebrew The Ruach Ha’Kodesh, to move freely. Ruach Ha’Kodesh literally translates as The Breath of God. The Church that Lives is The Church that is open to The Breath of God moving freely, and when this happens... Our Father’s Holy Spirit Will Convict The Church. This is where conversion and Life are given.
Now, let’s take a look at the next few verses in Chapter 3 of The Book of Revelation:
“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”
Revelation 3:2-3
Is there any hope for a “dead” church? Our Savior sure seems to be affirming yes with His Word. He tells those in Sardis: “Hey! You! You Better Pull It Together!” He tells them to “Strengthen the things which remain” and to “remember therefore how you have received and heard; HOLD FAST and REPENT.” For someone, in this case a church, to repent, or come alive, they first must realize where they have gone wrong, or which actions they are committing for Our Savior to say they are “dead.” They first must be conscious of their “deadness.” Once a realization of where a church or person "went wrong” is made conscious, then we must follow the path Our Savior has given us to restore “Life.” They must “Strengthen the things which remain, remember therefore how they have received and heard,” then “hold fast and repent.” In other words, hold on to the things you have learned from God Almighty And Be Changed By Them.
It is distinctly clear this Word is for us today as well. We have many Brothers, Sisters, and entire church congregations that need to be awakened from a spiritual sleep. They must be reminded of The Gospel that we have received and run back to Him for their Lives. They must take The Truth that we all know when we first “Awake,” turning to God Our Father and receiving Salvation, Yeshua, Jesus Christ. We all must guard, protect, and “Be Transformed” by Our Savior, God’s Living Word. We must all pay close attention to what Emmense Love Was Shown To Us In The Sacrifice of Our Savior, Our Best Friend, Our King, and The Son of The Most High.
“Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:14-16
Prayer:
Yeshua, Thank You For Your Sacrifice For Us. Father, Bless You Forevermore! Thank You for Our Best Friend! Thank You For Not Letting Us Go! Please Father and Yeshua help us to return to You if we have gone astray in any way. Reinforce us, so we may be strong in Your Truth. Help us to rejoice and relish in Your Amazingly Good News, Your Gospel. Thank You. We Love You. In Yeshua, Jesus Christ's Mighty Name we pray. Amen!
“Oh, taste and see that The LORD Is Good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
Psalms 34:8
“Taste and see that YAHWEH Is Good; Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
Psalms 34:8
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 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. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:1-6
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.”
Psalms 34:8-19
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:1-2
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Sabbath Everyone!
A copy of this devotion, pictures with verses, and other encouragement for sharing, is available at:
https://servantofyeshua7.weebly.com
Thank You and Yahweh Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, God Our Father and His Son, Bless You!