Revelation 3:2-3 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. 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.
Jesus gives the church in Sardis a warning. “Wake up!” means that they were falling asleep on the job. They had become lazy. Their energy was low. They were about to die. This was a warning sign flashing red like on our computers when the battery is on reserve. The problem is that they had not completed what had been started in them. This reminds me of the Philippians 1:6 where Paul prays that God will complete what was started among them. God had started something in Sardis but some of the Christians had failed to grow. They had retreated and were about to die. They were like the seed that started to grow quickly in Mark 4 but did not have strong roots. Without strong roots, a plant will wither away and die. Evidently some in Sardis had come to believe but had forgotten it.
There is always hope. They needed to “hold it fast, and repent.” Return to what they knew. Become rooted in it. This takes study, learning, devotions, prayer, fellowship. All these things will help us all grow our roots deeper. This new knowledge will help us realize that we need to repent. Turn from the sin that so easily entangles (Hebrews 12:1-2). Put our focus where it should be.
If the Sardians did not repent, they would lose what little they had. They would become outsiders. This was a critical point for them. What they needed is “revival.” A relivening of what is almost dead. Revivals are important for all of us because the world will dull us to sleep. Cultural forces and subtle temptations will dull our consciences until we no longer feel disturbed by sin. The red sign of “Danger” should be flashing!
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