Dear Sardis,

Revelation 3:1-3 (NASB) “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead. 2 Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

Among the seven churches the Lord is addressing in Revelation chapters two and three, Sardis is one we don’t like, so we don’t want to associate ourselves with the church at Sardis. They are in bad shape, and we don’t want to see ourselves like that. We will, perhaps, accept our lukewarm resemblance to Laodicea. And we may concede that we are like Ephesus in having left our first love. We may even concede that there are charlatans in our midst, like there were in Thyatira and Philadelphia. If we are honest, though, many of us live individually and collectively entrenched in the environment of Sardis. The Lord’s assessment of us is the same as His assessment of them. Here is the scathing rebuke they got from the Lord:

He tells them, “Wake up!” They were asleep, unaware of what was happening around them, dulled, consumed with dreams and fantasies. They were resting when they should have been working. They were forever relaxing while their works lay neglected, incomplete, and unfinished.

Their works were unfinished! Things were about to die around them, and they were not aware of it. They let things slide nearly to the point of death and were totally oblivious to it. Some definitions help at this point:

-complete [HELPS Word-studies]: 4137 plēróō – properly, fill to individual capacity, i.e. to the extent it is "meet" (appropriate).

So first the Lord tells them – and us – “Wake up! Wake up! Come out of slumber. Become vigilant again. Attentive. In tune. Responsible. Constantly alert. Understand that you are close to leaving incomplete the purposes for your life. Come out of always resting, always being entertained, always being distracted by vanities (even noble ones) and not laying your hand to the work that God has set before you. Wake up!”

Second, He also tells us, “Strengthen what remains.”

-strengthen [Strong’s] — to set fast, i.e. (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm.

We have some seeds that we have planted and forgotten, some things that we have begun and forgotten. We have some raw materials that God has entrusted to us. We have some gifts and some talents that are lying dormant. We have some projects that we have not completed. We are to strengthen these. Believer, strengthen what you have been given. Stake it and shore it up so that it may stand and not wither.

Then third, He tells us, “Remember!  Remember what you have received and heard. Obey it and repent!” The Lord has told us about the good works He created us for (Ephesians 2:10). He has given us gifts and resources and understanding so that we can do them, and we have recognized them and received them. He has given us time, but it is limited. Believer, fan into flame the purposes the Lord has placed in you. (2 Tim 1:6-7). Invigorate that which is languishing. Stir yourselves up to apprehend that for which you have been apprehended (Philippians 3:12).

Many of us can see parallels between inactivity in spiritual purposes and inactivity in our physical bodies. Inactivity and neglect only lead to degeneration. It is the same in the spirit. But I believe that, as we go, we will be healed. As we stir up the fervor needed to fulfill the Lord’s will for us, we will be rejuvenated in both body and spirit.

1 Timothy 4:14-15 (AMP) Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, [that special endowment] which was intentionally bestowed on you [by the Holy Spirit] through prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands on you [at your ordination]. 15 Practice and work hard on these things; be absorbed in them [completely occupied in your ministry], so that your progress will be evident to all.