“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)
This is a big part of the word the Lord gave to me going into 2026. There is a pattern found in the seven letters in Revelation, and when we look a little deeper we see the same root in the five Jesus rebukes. They left abiding in Him…
It’s interesting where the church of Sardis is placed in the order of the seven churches. It’s the one after the church that had fallen to a false prophetic voice and gone into spiritual adultery through false doctrine. What might this be warning us of? It’s easy to kind of go into a slumber after coming through that kind of correction and recalibration! However, Jesus comes right in with “don’t fall asleep”!
What is the church after Sardis? It is Philadelphia, the church of brotherly love! This is where we want to get to, and remain! A people who are personally alive in Christ as well as together as a family! However again what follows? Laodicea, a church of pride, complacency and compromise! What is this revealing to us? That we must guard against ever thinking we have it all figured out, and somehow hold it over or against others we may not think do it correctly. It is also a call to finish well!
There are quite a few ways the Lord has spoke to me out of this letter over the past, and many things to be seen. However He has recently shown me a new facet through this that I want to share.
The key is found in the exhortation to not fall asleep. What is sleep parabolic of in scripture?
“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;” (Psalm 13:3)
“Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.” (John 11:12-13)
“Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60)
It can speak of death! I believe in the context of Sardis this is obviously a spiritual death. So what is the opposite? To be alive, life, and who is Life? Jesus!
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.” (Acts 17:28)
Jesus opens each letter to the church with the key(s) to allow them to examine and overcome what He’s about to bring their attention to.
How do we see Jesus come to Sardis? He has the fullness of the Spirit and upholds the fullness of the church!
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7 Spirits (Isa. 11:2) or manifestations of the Holy Spirit
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What are three works of the Spirit? John 16:5-11
- Convict of Righteousness (hang on to that)
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What are three works of the Spirit? John 16:5-11
What is one of the primary ways the Holy Spirit speaks to His people?
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7 stars (Rev. 1:20)- messengers (earthly) or leaders
- Matt. 24:45-51 (wise and foolish leaders)
- Followers leaders produce (wise and foolish virgins)- Matt. 25:1-13
Be watchful! Go look up the original word for watch/watchful! Here are five verses on being watchful.
- Matt. 24:42
- Matt: 26:41
- Luke 21:34-36
- Eph. 6:18
- 1 Pet. 5:8-9
But wait Jesus just said they were dead! Yet here He says to strengthen that which is ready to die… Jesus saw the end from the beginning and He is with all seriousness warning them, but is still extending mercy and hope for them to arise out of slumber!
I have not found your works perfect- this word perfect means “complete” or “fully fulfilled”. There wasn’t a lack of activity, if you study the city of Sardis you’ll see much the same found in America today. The church is busy with all kinds of activities, programs, etc. but Jesus is saying they are incomplete… Why? Could it be in all the things we are doing we are not fulfilling the first and greatest commandment He left us with?
What is the primary “work” Jesus told the people to do?
“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:26-29)
To believe in Jesus, which is more than a head knowledge and a shallow verbal agreement. To believe in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross should bring a person into complete reconciliation, union, and fellowship with Him! To be in Christ, which is to truly be awake, and thus alive!
So in all of our doing, are we producing a people who are truly reconciled to the Father, thus converted and born again! To which should mature them as wheat which then produces a seed after its own kind (100 fold)! What is this a picture of? Discipleship, the very thing Jesus commissioned us to partner with Him in! The Great Commission wasn’t to just go preach the Gospel, it was to make disciples!
Now you're either in the process of becoming a disciple, or you have matured and now it is time for you to begin making disciples of Jesus Christ!
When a person comes into the place of union with Christ, their heart doesn’t just long to go, do good deeds, and just tell people about Jesus, and possibly see a quick encounter. It brings a desire to see them fall madly in love with Him and become His disciple!
What is the primary call of a disciple? To be watchful, live a life of prayer, come into the place of praying without ceasing! Why? Because genuine prayer is what transforms us! (Matt. 17:1-8). However, until a person truly believes they are clean and robed they will never step into the reality of what a life of prayer is…
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.” (Zech. 3:1-5)
Joshua is both a picture of Jesus, but also a picture of His children in their priestly function. We are priests in the secret place of prayer! So we must have the revelation of how the Lord sees us so we will position ourselves right where He has given us access to! Then we must remain awake and alive in this place!
Something I overlooked until now, and this passage in Matthew 17 is one of my favorite pictures of prayer, is in verse seven Jesus says “Arise, and do not be afraid.”, have you ever looked at the word arise here? It means, to arouse from sleep, to awake; to arouse from the sleep of death, to call the dead to life! Luke's account says something interesting...
"But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him." (Luke 9:32)
We see when they were fully awake and lifted their eyes is when they could see! However, we must only see Jesus and His righteousness or we will never understand what it means to be clothed in Christ, Matt. 6:33!
The enemy will try to divide our vision where we see Moses (Law), Elijah (Prophets), when both reveal Jesus! To see Moses is to try and earn through keeping rules, to see Elijah is to focus on performance through gifting… we must see and behold Jesus alone!
“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15)
This is a powerful verse if you will sit in it for a while!
Now, to those who refuse to watch Jesus warns He will come as a thief. What is Jesus talking about here?
Hebrew idiom- comes from the priestly duties assigned to constantly keep watch of the temple! Two of the major duties are the fire of the altar (sacrifice- Lev. 6:8-13), and the flames of the lampstand (intimacy- Exo. 27:20-21), the priests assigned were never to fall asleep during their night of service. In order to ensure that the priest(s) stayed awake, the High Priest (or the Captain Of The Guards) would walk around the Temple looking for the priest(s). If a priest was found sleeping during a surprise visit, the High Priest (or Captain) would take hot coals from the altar fire, place some of the hot coals in a fire pan and take them over to the sleeping priest. He would then gently place the pan and hot coals under it on the edge of the sleeping priest’s garment!
The priest’s linen clothing would soon be ignited in flames – The guilty priest would have no choice but to leave his burning clothes and run burnt, naked, and ashamed back home. Quite a lesson not to fall asleep on the job or to be un-alert! It was this practice of surprise visits that according to early tradition got the High Priest (or the Captain) nicknamed the “Thief In The Night”!
Does this sound familiar?
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” (Rev. 16:15)
What is this priestly garment?
"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (Isa. 61:10)
So not just salvation, but Righteousness! So go back to the second work of the Holy Spirit, through His leaders, to convict/convince of righteousness!
What was the outcome of the priest whose garment was burned, he was naked, and where did he go? Back home… Does anything come to mind in the New Testament?
Jesus commanded the three disciples to watch and pray! Matt 26:36-46, how many times were they told to pray? 3 times! How many times did Peter deny the Lord? 3 times! Can we see a pretty stern warning in what falling asleep could lead to? Like the OT priest would run home naked, where did Peter end up before the Lord came to restore him? John 21:1-19, Peter had gone back to his old life, and notice it says he had removed his outer garment… upon the declaration of John, we see Peter put his garment back on and go running back to Jesus!
“The declaration of Beloved identity should cause others to be robed and run to Jesus!”
The Lord then restores Peter threefold, a complete restoration of his threefold denial!
Do you see the mercy of the Lord in this? In the Levitical priesthood the High Priest came looking once and when found asleep set their garment ablaze… Jesus came to them three times calling them to wake up!
Next we see Jesus make the statement about those in the midst of this church who had not defiled their garments! So these would be the ones who were remaining faithful and watchful, this is His remnant! These He uses to provoke those falling into slumber to awaken!
We must be and remain awake, keeping our lampstand full of oil and burning for Jesus, guarding our garments (righteousness), and not be found naked!
Let’s go back to the verse in Psalms!
“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15)
Only when we know we are robed in Jesus’ righteousness will we be able to see His face rightly! Even in our failures we won’t backslide like Peter… remember John was right there asleep too, but because he was secure in His identity where was he found? At the foot of the Cross! Even when Jesus hid himself on the shore John knew His voice when Peter missed it…
Is your satisfaction is waking up each day more and more in His likeness? Or what else are you trying to find satisfaction in, that you may be hiding under the banner of the Kingdom…
Are you asleep? Are there areas in your heart that you have allowed to become dead? Things the Lord has been trying to awake you to?