Firm up time!

Revelation 3 Amplified Bible

Message to Sardis

3 “To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in ^[a]Sardis write: “These are the words of Him who has ^[b]the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds; you have a name (reputation) that you are alive, but [in reality] you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen and reaffirm what remains [of your faithful commitment to Me], which is about to die; for I have not found [any of] your deeds completed in the sight of My God or meeting His requirements. ³ So remember and take to heart the lessons you have received and heard. Keep and obey them, and repent [change your sinful way of thinking, and demonstrate your repentance with new behavior that proves a conscious decision to turn away from sin]. So then, 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. ⁴ 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.’

In this this scripture, the Lord is speaking to a church that seemed to have forgotten that God is omniscient and omnipresent. They seem to have forgotten that no thought, word or deed escapes the all-seeing and all-knowing eyes of a Holy God. This church or group of people were well known, had a reputation of spiritual sensitivity and intimacy with the life-giving God. However, the Lord here shocks them all by revealing to them their true state, that they only have the appearance of life but are really dead. They have become unresponsive to God, numb to the things of the Kingdom that should be of importance. They are instructed to awake, regain consciousness to the things of God. Although they had an appearance of death all was not totally lost as they were instructed to strengthen and reaffirm what remains. Life can literally suck the life out of you, kill the joy of salvation and cause you to shelf your spiritual disciplines because of fear, disappointment, discouragement and despair.

I have been blessed over the years to hear the Lord say a few times, well done. Recently I carried out a task that in the eyes of men was commendable, but God was not impressed, it was just okay for Him. He told me that I fell below the expected standard. To sin is to miss the mark, so to fall short of a standard or to have a reputation that you are no longer exhibiting is sinful. If we used to fast often, pray at least an hour a day, share the gospel continually, if you are no longer waiting in His presence but in a hurry etc., whatever we have been known for in our relationship with God that we are falling short in, is sin and requires repentance.

In this season when the darkness is increasing and judgements worldwide are pending, as believers we must firm up. This season requires that we strengthen the things that are remaining. You may not have fully walked away from Him, but if you are honest, you are not as committed to Him as at the start, you are not as excited to be with Him as before, you are not easily awed by Him anymore. These are signs of lukewarmness and that spiritual death is in pursuit of you. The Lord told me that His people these days only want to serve Him at their convenience and are now unwilling to sacrifice. Everything is a bother. There is constant complaining and the service He is being given is of substandard quality. There are preachers and teachers that no longer put in much preparation before they stand before God’s people, this is causing a reduction of the impact of the word from the Man or Woman of God. He is saying strengthen that which is remaining as He has seen everything and His judgement, should there be no change, will be quick.

 We are encouraged in Ephesians 6:10 AMPC which says: “¹⁰ In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].” We need to rebuild our altars, spend more time in the secret place, consume more of His word and get lost in His presence.  We have to firm up in order to be able to withstand what is up ahead. I along with a few other saints of Truth Speakers Ministry International have been getting dreams and visions about disasters and unrest in different parts of the world. There is an onslaught that the enemy has planned and we have to firm up to fight and to resist it. There are also some serious judgements pending because persons, communities, churches, nations, though warned, have not turned and the Spirit of God will not be grieved much longer.

The second clause of Daniel 11:32 AMPC says, “…but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].” This call to true repentance for falling below standards, for missing the mark, is a must, so we can return to the school of the Spirit, so we can learn more about God and His ways again. When we do this, the strengthening, the firming up will come, and then we will be able to effectively do the exploits (bold and daring feats, brilliant, exciting or heroic acts) we were ORDAINED to do before the foundation of the world.