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Wake up!

Words of Faith Final

Wake up!

Words of Faith 12-2-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

www.faithfellowshipweb.com

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Revelation 3

[2]  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. [3]  Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, 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.

 

       The church at Sardis was dead. It had a great reputation and, apparently, a glorious past. But somewhere along the line, they had lost their grip on life in the Spirit and become simply religious.

       So, what is the solution? Jesus directed a Resuscitation effort that included five steps.

       1 - Wake up… We know that it is the Lord who awakens us, but we have to cooperate. There are many calls in Scripture to wake up. Isaiah 51:17 – “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.” Romans 13:11 – “The hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. Ephesians 5:14-24 – "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

       2 - Strengthen what remains and is about to die [2b]. The believers in Sardis weren't doing the wrong things. They had simply lost the life of Jesus that had once been the center of everything they did. This was a call to center their worship on Christ alone, not on appearances. This was a call to focus on what the Word of God actually is saying and not what they might want it to say. This was a call to be revived before life is gone.

       3 - Get back to work [2c]. I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. The Lord was saying you are not done. I am not finished with you. We have work to do. Get back to work on the things that we started.

      4 - Remember what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent [3]. Jesus was calling the believers in Sardis to remember how they first received and heard the gospel. They needed to remember how the Gospel gripped their lives with a dynamic spirit of devotion, readiness, love, alertness and energy, hunger and thirst, life and vitality, service, witnessing, and ministry. Revelation 2:5 - Remember, therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

      5 – Be Alert. [3b] If you will not wake up, I will come like thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. “Come like a thief” simply means without warning or expectation. You are going to have to change some things.  “Come like a thief in the Night” is used in a number of places in Scripture. Matthew 24:43 - But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 - For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 - But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

       Is it time for an awakening in your life? Do you need to cooperate with the Lord? Strengthen what remains and get back to work?  Remember what your first heard and repent? Be alert because none of us knows the day of His coming.

 

        Father God, may I be found awake and ready for You. May I be found faithful in my work for You. May I reflect the Gospel that I first heard as I wait in readiness for Your return.  In Jesus’ Name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.