Revelation 3:4-6, ‘But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
AMP Version, ‘But you [still] have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes [that is, contaminated their character and personal integrity with sin]; and they will walk with Me [dressed] in white, because they are worthy (righteous).
5 He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] will accordingly be dressed in white clothing; and I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess and openly acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels [saying that he is one of Mine]. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’’
God is speaking through the Apostle John, to the seven Churches. To the Church in Sardis, they don’t have any problem outwardly, compared to the other Churches, where Church in Ephesus had the deeds of Nicolaitans; Church in Pergamum had teachings of Balaam; Church in Thyatira, tolerating the woman Jezebel where she teaches and leads God’s bond-servants astray.
Church in Sardis is going through something inside, an inward corruption; which is worse than any of these other Churches, as they have faults only outward but in Sardis, we see that, they are dead inside, nobody knows from outside. There is a hypocrisy!
V2-3, ‘Wake up, 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. 3So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.’
God through John, is encouraging them to ‘repent and wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die’, so they can have an inward transformation – ‘a cleansed heart’! The Lord also says through John, that there are few in Sardis who did not soil their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. We know the white garments are symbol to – ‘I honor/ respect’, the white clothes were also, given to those who are faithful, pure and righteous.
Isaiah 61:10, ‘I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation ,He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.’
God is promising them, to those in Sardis, to those who did not soil their garments, those who are faithful believers, these three:
- Granting them White garments
- Will not erase his name from the book of life
- He will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
God is encouraging to those who are dead inside to wake up, strengthen what remains and repent. Let us examine ourselves, how are we inside and outward? Let us be true to the Lord and to our calling, standing up for God in every areas of our lives. Let there be no hypocrisy! There is an urge for us to go in the right direction without any inward corruption in our hearts!
1 Peter 5:8-9, ‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.’
It is very important to be of sober spirit. God wants us to be victorious in every part of our lives. Let us work in those areas where we are falling short of the glory of God. The small areas where we fail, leads the Satan to have grip and will be leading astray!
God Himself planted the Church in Sardis; He knows their requirements each day. God is Sovereign, He can stop the devil from their inward corruption, but God gives us free will to choose. There are few faithful ones, who chose to serve God, even though it was hard; the promises of God were leading them to strive to follow God.
We need to be of sober spirit and be on the alert! Resist the devil, firm in our faith, when devil throws different temptations on our way! There is look, lust and sin, in every kind of sin. When we encounter suddenly something, we do not sin, but that look, if it leads us to lust, then it will lead to sin! Even buying something we do not require is also sin!
2 Timothy 2:22, ‘Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.’
There are certain things, which we need to do – like running away from youthful lusts.
Psalms 119:9, ‘How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word’.
We need the Word of God to know – ‘to flee from the youthful lusts, hypocrisy and from any impure things; and to keep our way pure, in order to resist the devil and in order to guard our heart’.
Hebrews 4:12, ‘For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’
Everyday of our lives, we need the Word of God in order, to have purity in our hearts and also to keep our garments unsoiled and pure in white! Word of God is our foundation, reminding us to keep His Word whenever, Satan tempts us to have wrongful thoughts or intentions. Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart!
Revelation 19:7-8, ‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.’
As we progress faithfully in our Christian walk, inside and outside, we will be given these clothes of fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. They will walk with God in white, for they are worthy.
We see the Parable of Ten Virgins,
Matthew 25:1-13, ‘“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.’
We see two groups of believers; one group did not bring extra oil and became drowsy and slept when the bridegroom delayed. When the bridegroom came, there was no oil in their lamps, so we need to be alert and faithful, guarding ourselves inside and outside, for we do not know the day nor the hour.
The Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14-30, ‘“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
We do not want our Lord calling us, ‘You wicked, lazy slave!’ We need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the oil in our lamps, in our daily lives. We need to remain faithful to God in all the areas of our lives. Cling on to the promises of God. Then the Lord will say to us; as the master said to his slave, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ As the Lord testified to the few faithful believers in Sardis Church that ‘You did not soil your garments!’ We need to heed to the Word of God; we need to be anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our example. God knows our heart – though we have many shortcomings, are we longing to cleanse ourselves immediately from the attributes and things, which are not Christ-like? We have a High Priest, who can sympathize with our weaknesses.
Hebrews 4:14-16, ‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need’.
May it be our hypocritic nature, impure thoughts, intentions of our heart, the way we deal with our money, how we deal with others in our secular job; wherever we know that we are not faithful enough, God is asking us to wake up, strengthen the things that remain, repent and take hold of eternal life, to which God has called us.
Revelation 3:6, ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’’
James 1:22, ‘But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves’.
Matthew 10:32,33, ‘“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven’.
We need to confess that we are the children of God. Our deeds and lives should prove that we belong to our Lord, that we are His disciples. Let us strive towards having purity in our hearts; inside and out!
1 Corinthians 3:10-15, ‘According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire’.
We need to build carefully, on what is entrusted to us by the grace of God. As each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work, if any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. This reward is waiting for us if we remain faithful, in God’s sight. Joseph, was faithful to the Lord. He found favor in the sight of God and from the Egyptian ruler. When temptations came on his way, we know he fled! God blessed him. He had consistent faith and trust in God.
Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’
Even when we have to suffer, when we stand for the sake of righteousness, God will give us grace and strength to endure it. Let us strive to be among those who are faithful, in the Church in Sardis, to whom God testified that, ‘they did not soil their garments’, who guarded their hearts!
May God bless us.
