Robert Thomas describes the church at Sardis as one with a good public reputation for following the Lord, but with only a few members of the church actually still doing it. Most churchgoers there were neglecting what Jesus calls all churches to be – the hands and feet of Christ.
In His message through the apostle John, Jesus warns this church that they were nearing the point of spiritual death, and that now was the time to wake up, to get back on track, and return to being a faithful and loving assembly for Christ.
Jesus states:
3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you. Revelation 3:3 (HCSB)
Jesus coming back to earth as a thief in the night is a recurring theme in the Bible. Depending upon our positional righteousness with Him by faith, that will be either a very good or a very bad thing.
The apostle Paul wrote about this to the church at Thessalonica, encouraging them to remain faithful, to walk in the light of God, and to not allow themselves to slip into spiritual darkness.
1 About the times and the seasons: Brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2,4-5,9-10 (HCSB)
During His earthly ministry, Jesus also used the “Thief in the Night” analogy. It emphasized to His followers the dangers of letting faith wane and reverting to old behaviors and the ways of darkness we once followed:
35 “Be ready for service and have your lamps lit. 36 You must be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. 37 Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed. I assure you: He will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, those slaves are blessed. 39 But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. Luke 12:35-40,45-46 (HCSB)
Some of the lessons we can draw from these passages are:
· If we neglect our relationship with God, we can grow cold over time, and our hearts may lose the “oil” of the Holy Spirit that keeps our spiritual lamps lit. Without God empowering our Christian walk, we may begin to experience more dark, sinful behavior, and start following the ways of the world around us rather than the righteous ways of God.
· There is hope – Jesus is extending this warning to the church at Sardis so that they, and we, can wake up, repent, and be restored to Him. Christ is abounding with grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness for all who would turn to Him, no matter where we have been or what we have done in our past. He can and will light (or re-light) the fires of faith if we seek Him.
· If Jesus should find us hard-hearted and mistreating others when He returns, we are in danger of being treated as though we were unbelievers.
All people sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all have days when we act contrary to God’s will, so this is likely referring to former believers who have become hardened and consistently cold in their attitude toward Jesus as well as others. So cold and cruel that they have reached the point of rejecting Him.
· Our relationship with God is our top priority. We commit time to prayer, worship, self-reflection, and confession, seeking to put on Christ’s righteousness, not our own. He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves and continues to do so daily – He is deserving of our time and reverent attention.
· We seek to learn and do the works that Jesus has assigned us, fulfilling them in His power. These divine acts bear fruit for the kingdom and contribute towards our eternal reward in heaven.
The window of opportunity for all to receive salvation by faith is now open. When we invite Christ in, we receive the warm sunlight of the Spirit, the loving presence of Jesus, in our hearts. This is a true fact, whether we feel close to Him or not.
If you have never invited Christ into your heart before, Jesus loves you, and wants to bless you abundantly with eternal life by His Spirit, now and into eternity.
Reflection
Where does my relationship with Christ fall today – close to Him, far away, or somewhere in between? What do I need to confess to Him and repent, or turn away, from to get back on track with Jesus? He is calling to each of us with open arms of love.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, thank You for taking all my sins upon Yourself at the cross, sins of the past, present, and future. Help me to walk with You, awake and looking for Your coming, doing Your will, and serving You in the power of the Holy Spirit. Forgive us for all the times we have sinned and fallen short of Your glory, including the sins I now recall and confess to You. I humbly confess my disobedience, please help me to turn around and walk in the purity and righteousness of God. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a blessed and beautiful day, walking cleansed and forgiven in the presence of the Holy Lord today.
Times and Seasons - The Book of Revelation FOR TODAY 