Toronto UBF Bible Study : WAKE UP!

Bible Study Materials

WAKE UP!

by 05/08/2009

Question

1. Read verse 1. How is Jesus described? What problem does Jesus point out? Research Sardis and think about the spiritual condition of the church in Sardis. 2. Read verses 2 & 3. What command does Jesus give? What is the meaning of this direction? What should the church do practically? How does Jesus warn them? 3. What is the good point of the church Jesus commends? (4a) What does it mean that there are some who â€œhave not soiled their clothesâ€? What promise does Jesus give to the few people? (4b) And to the one who overcomes? (5)

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Message

We thank the Risen Jesus who searches hearts and minds. Many think that no one knows and cares for what they are thinking and how they are living. But there is the heart and mind-searcher. He is a righteous judge. He wants his people and his church to be purified and remain holy by living in his sight and by holding to his words. Todayâ€™s passage is Jesusâ€™ letter to the church in Sardis. This letter seems to be one of the most severe of the seven. Jesus says, â€œWake up!â€ May God help us listen to him. Look at verse 1. â€œTo the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.â€ The seven spirits of God is the sevenfold Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit. The risen Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to his servants (Acts 2:32-33). Jesus said to his disciples in the upper room dialogue, â€œâ€¦the Holy Spiritâ€¦will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to youâ€¦he will guide you into all truthâ€ (Jn 14:26; 16:13). When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of Jesus, they became powerful and courageous to speak the word of God boldly to anyone. There are two kinds of spirits, evil spirits and the Holy Spirit. Evil spirits make people miserable. But the Holy Spirit makes Godâ€™s people loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, faithful, gentle and kind, and powerful and courageous (Gal 5:22,23). The Holy Spirit is so good. Jesus holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Look at verse 1b. â€œI know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.â€ What a shocking rebuke! The reputation of being alive was quite different from the reality of being dead. The church of Sardis had acquired a name. Its reputation as a progressive church had evidently spread far and wide. It was well regarded in the city and in the neighbourhood. It was known by the other six churches in the province for its vitality. No false doctrine was taking root in its fellowship. We hear of neither Balaam, nor Nicolaitans, nor Jezebel. â€œWhat a live church you have in Sardis!â€ visitors would exclaim with admiration when they attended its services or watched its activities. Its congregation was probably quite large for those days, and growing, while its program doubtlessly included many excellent projects. It had no shortage of money, talent, or human resources. There was every indication of life and vigor. We can related this to the town of Sardis. Seven hundred years before this letter was written Sardis had been one of the greatest cities in the world. There the king of Lydia ruled over his empire in oriental splendor. The town of Sardis was situated at the foot of Mount Tmolus and in the fertile valley of the River Hermus. The name Sardis (Sardeis in Greek) is really a plural noun, for there were two towns, one on the plateau and one in the valley beneath. It was said that Sardis stood like some gigantic watch-tower guarding the Hermus valley. Sardis was almost impregnable. Greatest of the Sardis kings was Croesus. It was with him that Sardis reached its culmination and it was with him that it plunged to disaster. The fabulous King Croesus reigned amid his treasures until it fell to the swift attack of the Persian conqueror Cyrus. Later in history, Sardis had the distinction of being captured by both Alexander the Great and Antiochus the Great. But it gradually fell on evil days and lost its earlier renown, until in A.D. 17 it was devastated by an earthquake. The reputation that the church in Sardis had acquired was a reputation with human beingsâ€”but not with God. It was in the sight of God, Christ said, that he had found this churchâ€™s works deficient. They seemed solid and worthy enough to onlookers, but in Godâ€™s sight they were thoroughly defective. This distinction between reputation and reality, between what human beings see and what God sees, is of great importance to every age and place. Although we have responsibilities to others, we are primarily accountable to God. It is before him that we stand, and to him that one day we must give an account. We should not therefore rate human opinion too highly, becoming depressed when criticized and elated when flattered. Then what does it mean to be dead? According to the Bible, people are dead in sin (Eph 2:1). And those who are separate from God are spiritually dead. Romans 8:6a says, â€œThe mind of sinful man is death.â€ So once Jesus said to a disciple, â€œFollow me, and let the dead bury their own deadâ€ (Mt 8:22), when he asked, â€œLord, first let me go and bury my father.â€ Jesus also said in John 5:25, â€œI tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.â€ Paul also said in 1 Timothy 5:6, â€œâ€¦the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.â€ And James 2:26 says, â€œâ€¦the body without the spirit is deadâ€¦â€ The Christians of Sardis became like worldly people dead in sin. They soiled their clothes in the world with the cravings of sinful man the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does. We can imagine the atmosphere of the church in Sardis. As observed, there was no heresy, no gospel enemy in the church. It meant the church was so lifeless that it was not worth attacking. In the church no living word of God was heard. There was no obedience to the word of God and no repentance. There was no sincere prayer offered to God. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit was not there. Even in their singing hymns there was no liveliness. Godâ€™s flock of sheep were suffocated spiritually with no word and spirit. Each individual and church must watch out spiritually deadened state amid reputation and peopleâ€™s praise. Then what message does Jesus give to the church in Sardis? Look at verses 2, 3. â€œWake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.â€ Here are five staccato imperatives: Wake up! Strengthen what remains! Remember! Obey! Repent! First of all, Jesus said, â€œWake up!â€ We say, â€œWake up!â€ to those who slumber. We do not say, â€œWake up!â€ to those who are dead. Jesus, however said, â€œWake up!â€ What a hope! It is true that they were spiritually dead. But the risen Jesus calls them to arouse from their deadened state. The word, â€œwake upâ€ is â€œgregoreuoâ€ in Greek, and it has also the meaning of â€œbe watchfulâ€, â€œstay alert,â€ â€œbe alert.â€ They must wake up and be watchful. It is noticeable that the once great Sardians had lost their city twice because they were too lazy to watch: one time by a Median solider under the Persian Cyrus in 549 B.C. and another time by a Cretan under Antiochus the Great in 218 B.C. They had thought themselves too safe to need a guard for their impregnable city; and so Sardis fell. This history of Sardis is a vivid example of what happens to the garrison whose watch is slack. Jesusâ€™ command to be watchful was particularly appropriate to the church in Sardis. No commandment appears more frequently in the New Testament than that to watch. There are many differences between Jesus and Adam. But one clear difference is, we can say, that Jesus was watchful; Adam was not. When the devil came to tempt him, Jesus, in his watchfulness, Jesus said to him, â€œAway from me, Satan!â€ In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to Peter, â€œWatch and pray so that you will not fall into temptationâ€ (Mt 26:41). Temptation waits for our unguarded moments and then attacks. In the Christian life there must be unceasing vigilance against it. The Christians must be on the watch against the deceitful cunning of the devil. So Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8,9, â€œBe self-controlled (sober, sound-minded) and alert. Your enemy the devil prows around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.â€ Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 16:13, â€œBe on your guard; stand firm in the faithâ€¦â€ He also said in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, â€œâ€¦Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.â€ It has been said that â€œeternal vigilance is the price of libertyâ€ and eternal watchfulness is the price of salvation. When we accept this one word deeply, â€œWake up!â€ or â€œBe watchful,â€ our Christian life will be different and much better. It is good to know that while the Bible says clearly and repeatedly, â€œWatchâ€, Satan whispers, â€œTake it easy, man; relax.â€ We must wake up and be watchful to see the spiritual reality. Then Jesus said, â€œStrengthen what remains and is about to die.â€ How beautiful and important it is to strengthen the remaining weak and the dying. The weak can be made strong and the dying can be alive again. Matthew 12:20 says, â€œA bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.â€ We should snuff out what remains and is about die in us and in Godâ€™s flock of sheep. What remained is very important and precious. What remained can be restored and strong and prosper. This is true in a personâ€™s life and in Godâ€™s church. Look at verse 3. â€œRemember, therefore, what you have received and heard, obey it, and repent.â€ The ascended Lord had told the church of Ephesus to remember. The church of Sardis is told to remember too. Memory is a precious and blessed gift. Nothing can stab the conscience so wide awake as memories of the past. The shortest road to repentance is remembrance. As Christians what we have received is very precious and great. We received Godâ€™ Son Jesus Christ and through him salvation and eternal life and the kingdom of God. When we heard the gospel of Jesus and accepted it, all these blessing came to us. And we also received the Holy Spirit when we repented of our sins and believed in Jesus who died for our sins and rose again. The world does not know the Holy Spirit, but we know him. Nothing or no one is more wonderful than the Holy Spirit we received from our Lord Jesus Christ. When we refer to Jesusâ€™ introductory self-description to the church in Sardis as one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven starsâ€, Jesus wanted the church members to remember that they had received the Holy Spirit as well as the gospel. We also must remember that we have received the Holy Spirit. We must obey the Holy Spirit. But it is easy to ignore him and grieve him. So the Bible says, â€œDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,â€ â€œDo not put out the Spiritâ€™s fireâ€ (Eph 4:30; 1 Thess 5:19). The word of God tells us that we must pray in the Spirit, preach in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spiritâ€ (Jude 20; 1 Thess. 1:5; Jn. 4:24; Ph. 3:3; Gal 5:16,25). Godâ€™s word commands us to â€œbe filled with the Holy Spirit.â€; Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16,25). Here we learn the deeper meaning of being watchful. It is to obey the Holy Spirit through his words and repent, that is, change our ways of living. It is live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit and continuously seek the Spiritâ€™s fullness. It is true that spiritual revival can come to an individual and a church through the filling and ruling of the Holy Spirit. May we seek for this blessing. Jesus urges his church to wake up and be watchful. So he warns, â€œBut if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.â€ Look at verse 4. â€œYet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.â€ While the majority of the church members soiled their clothes in the world, some did not. They were not contaminated in the corrupted world. They did not follow the trend of the world. They kept their pure love for Jesus. They fixed their eyes and thoughts on Jesus. They treasured the words of God having absolute faith in the words of the Scriptures. They were the remnant of God. As we learned, the history of God is the history of Godâ€™s remnant. How would Jesus bless them? He said, â€œThey will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.â€ One whose walk with Christ is close on earth will enter into a nearer companionship with him when the end of life comes. Look at verse 5. â€œHe who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.â€ On one occasion Jesusâ€™ disciples were excited to see that the demons submitted to them in Jesusâ€™ name. Then Jesus said, â€œHowever, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heavenâ€ (Lk 10:20). In this world people wish that their names be written in books or stones of the buildings or in the list of those who have made a great achievement. It will be good to be so. But most importantly our names must be written in the book of life in heaven. Otherwise, their destiny would be too tragic. Revelation 20:15 says, â€œIf anyoneâ€™s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.â€ Then what a promise it is that â€œI will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.â€ We must know that Godâ€™s register is different from the worldâ€™s register. In this world peopleâ€™s reputation seems to matter. But God wants us to know the reality of ourselves and church and watch out spiritual deadness. May we wake up and be watchful and strengthen what remains and is about to die and live by the Spirit.

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Message

In the last lesson, through Christ’s message to the church in Thyatira, we learned that when the truth of God is compromised, the holiness of God in life disappears in a matter of time. Christ punished those who sinned so that all the churches might know that he is the one who searches hearts and minds and repays each one according to their deeds and might live before him. In today’s passage, Christ’s message to the church in Sardis seems to be one of the most severe of the seven. The congregation in Sardis was the very reverse of the church in Smyrna. Smyrna was put to death and yet lived, Sardis appeared to be alive with a reputation and yet was dead. Let’s listen to what Christ says. First, you are dead (1). Verse 1 says, “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:” Sardis was the capital of the old Lydian kingdom. It was situated at the foot of Mount Tmolus on a plateau around 450 meters high. It was almost like a granite pier sticking out into the fertile valley of the River Hermus. It looked like a giant watch tower and was almost impregnable. The fabulous King Croesus reigned here in the glory of the Lydian Empire expressing himself with unlimited luxury and wealth. But it fell to the swift attack of the Persian conqueror Cyrus in 549 B.C. It happened by failure to watch a Median solider climbing on a scale. At that time, the Sardians felt so secure that they left the city completely unguarded, permitting the climbers to ascend unobserved. It was said that even a child could have defended the city from this kind of attack by watching that one area where the wall could have been scaled, but not even one observer had been appointed to watch that side because it was believed to be inaccessible, and so the city was conquered. Again, the city fell prey to the surprise attack of Antiochus the Great, failing in watch. Then it gradually became evil, losing its earlier renown until in A.D. 17, it was devastated by an earthquake. Today. it is a pile of ruins near a little village called Sart. Christ says continually in verse 1, “There are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” Here the seven spirits of God is the sevenfold Spirit, the Holy Spirit in perfection and fullness. Christ Jesus appeared as the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. John the Baptist said to the people who came to him, “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8). Apostle Peter said in Acts 2:32-33, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” Christ the Lord can fill his servants with the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit’s work a church cannot function. Now Christ says, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” What a shocking message! We are not sure whether Sardis was a big church with a large congregation. Anyway, the church had a reputation like the city of Sardis with fabulous King Croesus and its past glory. People must have praised the church a lot. Probably their showing and performance was good. But Christ said, “You are dead.” So far, Christ the Lord commended before reprimanding. It was the case of Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira, though they were rebuked later. However, for the church of Sardis, Christ lost no time for censure. The church’s problem was that serious to Christ the Lord. It was dead. We can imagine the atmosphere of the church in Sardis. Outwardly in the church, everything seemed to go well with only a good reputation. There were even no heretics such as Balaamites, Nicolaitans, or a Jezebel club. No gospel enemies arose in the church. It was because there was no clear gospel faith dominating the church. In the church, no living word of God was heard. There was no obedience to the word of God and no repentance. There was no sincere prayer offered to God. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit was not there. Even in their singing hymns there was no liveliness. God’s flock of sheep suffocated spiritually with no word and spirit. They could not feel God’s presence in their church meetings. And in their practical lives, they did experience that God is the living God. At Jesus’ time, one religious sect, the Sadducees, came to Jesus with a weird question, “A woman came to marry seven brothers according to the law of levirate marriage, because each brother died without any children. Then at the resurrection whose wife will be since she married to the seven?” To Jesus, their question showed that they were spiritually dead. So, Jesus replied, “...You do not know the Scriptures of the power of God…He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Mt 22:32; Mk. 12:27; Lk. 20:38). Romans 8:6 says, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” In Abraham’s life of faith, he once got a son through his wife Sarah’s maid servant Hagar. Since then, Abraham was satisfied with the son who was born to him in his old age. The Bible is silent about Abraham’s life for 13 years from that time on. Surely, he could not believe and hold to the wonderful promise of God that a son would be born to him through his wife Sarah and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, he would be a great and powerful nation, and he would be a blessing and all peoples on earth would be blessed through him. His life was spiritually dead in spiritual complacency. He had no spiritual struggle in prayer and the word of God. He had no real fellowship with the living God. God endured with him for such long years, and finally came to him saying, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless” (Ge. 18:1). One of my biggest concerns is whether our Sunday worship is spiritually dead with just the motions of worship. Does our Sunday message reveal the living words of God? Do the worshippers receive the word of God and worship God in spirit and truth? Do the prayers of God’s people go up to him? Do they sing to God with their hearts? Are the people of God renewed in God’s presence at each worship service?” How easy it is to have a habitual and formal worship and so be deadened! If the worship is dead, the church is dead. So, we earnestly pray that our Sunday worship be alive and Spirit-filled each week, with each participant’s wholehearted worship. And if there is no spiritual fellowship between a husband and a wife, the house church is spiritually dead. There are so many spiritually dead churches in North America. There are so many spiritually dead Christian families. We should watch out for spiritual deadness as a church and also as individuals. Jesus once told a parable of ten virgins. They were all waiting for the bridegroom’s coming. But his coming took longer than they had expected. Five were wise virgins and prepared extra oil, but the other five were foolish without preparing extra oil. So, when the bridegroom arrived, the five virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. But the other five who had gone to buy the oil came back only to find that the door was closed (Mt. 25:1-9). The five foolish virgins were likened to those who were spiritually dead. On another occasion, Jesus said about people’s situations at his coming, “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left” (Mt. 24:40). Here also one man and one woman who were left could be those who were dead in the spirit. Truly those who are dead spiritually will face terrible consequences in their lives in this world and in eternity. Second, wake up! (2-3). Then now Christ says, “Wake up!” According to our understanding, those who are dead are dead and that’s it. They cannot come back to life. But Christ the Lord said, “Wake up!” The one who holds the seven spirits of God can make them alive. Christ still has hope for them. Anyhow, here the metaphor is changed from being dead to waking up. To Christ Jesus the dead are those who are in spiritual slumber and so they have to wake up. Paul said in Romans 13:11, “Do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” The word, “wake up” is “gregoreuo” in Greek, and it has also the meaning of “be watchful”, “stay alert,” “be alert.” When Jesus said, “Wake up!” he was obviously speaking to those who have an ear to hear. They must wake up and be watchful. As we thought of Sardis, the history of Sardis had its vivid examples of what happens to the garrison whose watch is slack. It fell again and again when the people neglected watching. The Christian is under continual attack by the powers which seek to seduce him from his loyalty to Christ. Often these attacks are subtle. He must, therefore, be ever, on the watch. No commandment appears more frequently in the New Testament than that to watch. There are many differences between Jesus and Adam. But one clear difference is, we can say, that Jesus was watchful; Adam was not. (Away from me, Satan! For it is written…) In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to Peter, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mt 26:41). Temptation waits for our unguarded moments and then attacks. In the Christian life, there must be unceasing vigilance against it. The Christians must be on the watch against the wiles of the devil. So, Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8,9, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prows around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith...” Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith…” He also said in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, “…Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled (sober, sound-minded).” It has been said that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” and eternal watchfulness is the price of salvation. When we accept this one word, “Wake up!” or “Be watchful,” our Christian life will be greatly different. It is good to know that while the Bible says these words, Satan whispers, “Take it easy, man; relax.” We should be able to discern these two different commands. After commanding, “Wake up!”, Christ Jesus continues, “Strengthen what remains and is about to die...” It is so easy to ignore what remains and about to die. The Lord Jesus is the one who does not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he leads justice to victory” (Mt. 12:20). Jesus once said to his disciples when he was going to feed five thousand of people, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they brought five loaves and two fish, Jesus blessed what they brought and fed the five thousand (Mk. 6:38). In Zechariah 4:10, the LORD Almighty said, “Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel” There would be the great day when Zerubbabel would complete building the temple after laying its foundation. It was like a mighty mountain becoming level ground. It would be done not by might nor by power, but by God’s Spirit. Such a great day would come through the day of small things. As for us, small things can be daily sincere prayer, weekly Bible study, testimony writing, faithfully worshipping God, or serving one person with the words of God, etc. We remember how God led Jacob’s life. God took hold of Jacob’s vow, which he made at the time of his lonely life after leaving his home. His vow was, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth” (Ge. 28:20-22). His vow seemed to be a small and selfish yet a sincere vow to have a personal faith in God. God accepted it and led his life until he became a spiritual giant. On one occasion, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “…I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lk. 22:32). Through Jesus’ strengthening, miserably failed Peter could be restored. God’s history is the history of the remnant. It started with God raising one old man Abraham. Jesus raised 12 Galilean humble men to be his disciples to be sent out as shepherds and gospel servants for the whole world. In Romans 11:2-5, Paul wrote about Elijah’s appeal to God again Israel. Elijah said, “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.” God’s answer to him was, “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” In light of this passage, Paul said, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” When we look at the campus, there seems to be no one who wants to study the Bible. But see there are some, who are here. There is a remnant in each and every generation even in this post modern time. Indeed “strengthen what remains and is about to die” is the life-restoring and life-reviving word of Christ. In verse 2, “For I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God” means they fall short of God’s standard. Christ says continually, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.” Remembering is again a very important factor in our human life, particularly in our spiritual life. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, “You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen” (2:4-5). He said to the church in Thyatira, “Only hold on to what you have” (2:25). Surely it is related to remembering what they received and heard. What we received and heard is truly amazing. First of all, we received the grace of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. As we studied, his grace is that he loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve the true God (Rev. 1:6). We also heard the words, “Look, he is coming on the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all people’s on earth will mourn because of him” (Rev. 1:7). This is the glorious vision we received. We also remember the wonderful words of promise we studied in Revelation until now: “To him who overcomes I will the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (2:7), “Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life…He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death” (2:10-11), “To him over comes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it” (2:17), “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give you authority over the nations…I will also give him the morning star” (2:26-28). These are marvelous promises of God which we received and heard and must remember. “Obey it and repent”. One can say that repentance should come first, for those who repent can obey. That can be true. Yet, it is also true that in the course of obeying one thing after another. a person can repent – that is to turn to God with full commitment. Anyway, obedience and repentance go together. One’s true faith produces obedience. Obedience should be learned. Hebrews 5:8 says, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” Then how much should we learn obedience? Jesus said to all those who want to follow him, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk. 9:23). This is the ABC and XYZ, or alpha and omega of Christian life, which is forever true. Apostle Peter said in his full maturity, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may life you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (5:6-7). St. Augustine said, “If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility.” What God wants from us is repentance. Repentance is turning to God from sin and myself. Repentance before God is truly a beautiful and wonderful thing. God is pleased with our repentance. Repentant people are truly beautiful and great people. We thank God for these five words of commands of our Christ the Lord, “Wake up”, “Strengthen what remains and is about to die” “Remember you what you received and heard” “obey it” and “repent.” Thank God for his hope even for those who are spiritually dead. Christ the Lord says continually in verse 3, “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” No one can predict a thief’s coming. Do you write in your calendar the day of a thief’s coming? Certainly, not. It is all of a sudden. And a thief comes to steal and destroy. Here Jesus is not talking about a temporal destruction, but eternal destruction, when he said, “I will come like a thief and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” In saying this, Christ Jesus seriously warns us to wake up. Third, a few dressed in white (4-6). Verse 4 says, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.” To the church in Thyatira Jesus said, “Now I say to the rest of you…” and to the church in Sardis, “you have a few people…” In number “a few” is most likely less than “the rest.” Anyhow, how precious these a few people are! They had not soiled their clothes, keeping themselves from the contamination of the world. They were not in spiritual slumber, but each awake being clothed with the righteousness of Christ as a pure virgin to him. Then Jesus says, “They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.” What a blessing! White stands for purity, righteousness, and victory. They will walk with the Lord Jesus dressed in white in the paradise of God. They would walk and talk with Jesus sharing everything with him in a pure and intimate relationship with him. Then Jesus says in verse 5, “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” Surely, this is Jesus’ hope for the church of Sardis to wake up and be overcomers. While so many others are in complacency seeking human recognition only, it will be easy for to be unsure of God’s recognition with my name remaining in the book of life. But Jesus assures to each overcomer, “I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” And he says, “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Thank God for his precious words. May we watch out for spiritual deadness and wake up, strengthening what remains and is about to die and remembering what we have received and heard and obeying and repenting. Being awaked and watchful, may we grow in the pure and intimate relationship with the Lord while on earth in the expectation of the eternal fellowship with him in the paradise of God.

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