The fifth letter is addressed to the church of Sardis. "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."
A lot of people today believe they're alive, but their souls are dead. They look vibrant, but they're decaying corpses, the walking dead. Spiritual death occurs when a Christian no longer follows the prompting of the Holy Spirit...quenching. For example, a pastor can accidentally bring spiritual death to his church by interrupting the flow of the Spirit due to his need to stay on schedule. The presence of God is heavy during praise and worship and the Spirit of God is about to drop in a huge way, but then the pastor signals to the worship leader to stop. The flow stops and the revelations that would have come about are interrupted. If a person continues to stop the flow of the Spirit, He'll become grieved and eventually leave that church or person until repentance occurs. One of the worst things that can happen is being spiritually asleep when Jesus returns. We must remember not to let the world, flesh, and devil lull us to sleep. So, repent, wake up, and have a revival happen so we can be full of life again. Let the Spirit of God reign supreme again and let Him have His way.
The sixth letter is addressed to the church of Philadelphia. "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, "These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens, and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie-indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I come quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Like the church of Smyrna, there are no criticisms from Jesus. Like Smyrna, Philadelphia is dealing with the synagogue of Satan, the false Jews. But what stands out is despite being small with little strength, they are faithful. They manage to keep their garments clean. To put it bluntly, Philadelphia is probably the most powerful church spiritually. Some people feel that because they don't have the riches, titles, prestige, and size of some megachurches, they're not making any kind of impact for God's kingdom. But their impact is MUCH stronger than they realize because the people who attend aren't distracted by the material things in some megachurches to keep members interested. You don't have to have a lot of money and a big name to be a spiritual powerhouse!
The seventh and final letter is addressed to the church of Laodicea. "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth. Because you say, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the same of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
God prefers that we either be 100% for Him or not for Him at all. We can't have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. Think about this scenario. You have a glass of fresh, pure, clear water. Next to it, you have a small bottle of water with an eye dropper in it. I take the eye dropper filled with the bottled water and every so often, I put a drop here and there into the glass of water. I take a spoon and stir it in. Is the water still clean? From all outward appearances it looks fine. The water still looks clear, but here's something you don't know. That water from the bottle isn't just water. It's water from the toilet. The glass water was immediately contaminated from the first drop. That's what happens to a lot of Christians. They start out on fire for God. They're walking the straight and narrow. They're reading their Bibles, have a prayer life, and are striving to live a holy life before God. But then something happens. They become distracted by the things and people of the world and instead of resisting temptation, they fall into it. They dabble here and there in the world and think they're okay since they still go to church.
Other people become lukewarm thanks to the misfortune of them coming across hypocrites who put out the fire in them. If you're a parent, you MUST set a good example of what a Christian is. You can't have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Not only are you confusing your children, but you could send them down a very dangerous path. In addition to watching your witness, don't prevent your children from getting closer to God because you're afraid of losing them. Don't worry about your children's popularity. Don't worry about their future because if they're in God, know that He will take care of them. If your child tells you they think God is calling them into a particular ministry, don't throw water on them. If it turns out it's not their calling, it's for them to find out. You stay out of it.
Some common themes in the letters to the churches in Asia is the descriptions of Jesus in the openings. The descriptions speak of who He is. A second them is Jesus speaks the promises that will come to the overcomer. A third theme is Jesus saying, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." The Holy Spirit is speaking to the church today. Can you hear what He is saying? Most of all, will you listen to what the Spirit is saying not only to the churches, but to you?
Before we move on to the next chapter, I want to tell you a little bit about where we're at regarding prophecy. We are currently in the Church Age. This age began after Jesus' ascension to Heaven and the day of Pentecost. Acts 1-2 Since that time, billions of people have trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Despite deceived men and women doing everything in their power to remove Jesus from the world, they can't stop the Holy Spirit from convicting the hearts of men, women, and children willing and ready to accept the Lord Jesus. The Bride of Christ is made up of men, women, and children of all races and walks of life. Despite the devil's many attacks, the Church will continue to grow strong and preach the Word of God to the world. As the years pass, we literally are watching Bible prophecy come alive. There isn't anything left that needs to be fulfilled until the next stage of Bible prophecy occurs...which is called the Rapture.
