Wake up church!

Revelation 3;1-6 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says this, I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive but you are dead. 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. Remember therefore what you have received and heard and keep and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. 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. He who overcomes shall 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Although the words are directed to the church in Sardis that was facing some problems, they are also relevant as a warning in our life. They would  relate to  the church  where believers  are in the state of 'spiritual sleep.   What does it really mean to be in a spiritual sleep?
Some think that all we have to do is going to church  sing a few songs, we might do once a while something extra  contributing to the whole congregation by some kind of service like welcoming the guests, opening the door, sticking a  leaflet about the church to a visitor's hand, and after the service we rush quickly home. It  definitely should sound familiar. Sometimes we might actually do even more but  still  we would be considered  in  a state of 'sleep'. Jesus might refer to us with the same words like  He confronted the church in Sardis;  "You have a name you are alive, but you are dead."
One example of an alive person and being 'dead' at the same time is a person in coma. Although the body is alive, the main organs sustaining  life are working but one is not. The part of the brain is not responding. There is no communication with the person speaking the the one in coma. The sleeping person won't respond to our words. The same is true with the 'sleeping '  believer. There is no communication with the Lord, there is no response to His words. The believer might be doing  some works but they would be  coming out of the wrong motivation. You might be singing in a  church' choir  but if there is no relationship with the Lord in your life, you  are spiritually sleeping. You might be doing Sunday school but if you do not abide in relationship with the Lord,the work would be done  by the obligation and you are considered  spiritually 'asleep'.
A believer might be apparently 'active ' member of the church, but without walking  with the Lord, he is  definitely in a spiritual 'coma'. Many Christians have dozed off and they don’t even know it. They are in need of an abrupt wake-up call. We can decline into spiritual lethargy if we do not stay alert. We better watch our spiritual condition.
Jesus  continues " I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God."  We read that there  might be some deeds, there might be some activity but something is missing. The deeds are not completed. They are not perfect. We know that we are not saved by works so why  Jesus would be  talking about the works that are not perfect? If we read carefully the chapter 3 of the book of Revelation, we notice that  the works relate to the spiritual  condition of believers' heart  and  mind.
He says;  "Remember what you have received  and heard and keep and repent."
" Wake up and strengthen the things that remain which were about to die."
What we have received when we came to Jesus for the first time?  Isn't it  forgiveness of sin purchased with a high price by His  blood? We`accepted it with a great joy, our hearts were filled with gratitude. We were eager in reading and abiding in God's word and excited about it but then we neglected it and  our spiritual life 'froze'.  We stopped applying God's word into our life. His  words might be kept in our memory but if they are not in our heart, our dependence upon God  is diminished. The works are not 'completed'.
If there is a little need for prayer, little reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, where there is only  confidence in human wisdom, human effort, we loose our dependance upon God.  We need to be able to hear the Lord's voice. He is alive! We need to hear His call. He has a plan for every one of us! We need to cooperate by applying His word into our life!
We are reminded  to strengthen what is about to die  which is our relationship with the Lord.
The church might have a great reputation, seen as a group of very active believers but from God’s perspective, some deeds  there might be  as good as “dead.”  We have to notice that  the church in Sardis doesn’t appear dead. This church has a reputation for being alive. People are impressed. They have a name, but that is it!
 We see that this church’s deadness is not man’s evaluation but God’s.
He knows the hearts and knows how close people are to Him. The fame of some  church might be great but the hearts of the believers cold. God doesn't want the fame, He is looking for  our obedience toward His word.
For many  believers today God's word  isn't alive  and active in them anymore.They may remember what it says . They may even be able to quote some scriptures  but they aren't really speaking to their hearts anymore. As  a result, their faith weakens and starts to fail. They stop getting answers to their prayers. They don't move forward but they decline in their spiritual life. Their works are considered  not 'completed'.  They might think that God is not hearing them but the truth is,  it is them who don't communicate with Him.
We  are to bring fruit by abiding in the Lord. It is not on our own. Neglecting  the close relationship with Jesus  is what keeps us from  bringing   fruit. It keeps us from being useful in His work.
In John 15;4-5 Jesus said;
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. "
By bringing no fruit the Christian is unproductive. If the whole church  is like that, it looses it's purpose. It becomes spiritually 'dead'.  It is not doing what the Lord pleases.
Such church will focus  only on it's rules, regulations and forms and will  neglect the spiritual condition of it's members. It will mainly get  involved with management rather  than with ministry. It will be operating on its own, while the Lord  Jesus will be only on the pages of the Bible!
What can be done about sleeping believer? How can he/she  be revived? Jesus will answer these questions and more in Revelation 3:1-6.
What is  needed,  it is renewed commitment to Him. He says; “Wake up!” This is His reminder and we should respond to it. Be awake or else you will be apathetic.
The cure for this nearly dead church  in Sardis was to keep in mind the way that they had first responded to the truth of God and to once again respond in the same way. Psalm 139, verses 23-24  are  worth going through every day. This will ensure that you wake up well and are spiritually watchful.
 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
God has called us to apply the truth of His Word.  We don't just  keep it on the pages of the book. We apply it into our life! Do others  see the difference in your life without being told that you’re a Christian? Jesus still exhorts us to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (Eph 4:1). Don't allow yourself to fall into  comfortable church  pattern where you just sit and listen and do nothing else. James 1;23 says ;"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror." You don't want to be like that, you can do much more by applying the word!  If you don't hear His voice any more, you need to wake up. Pray and renew your relationship with the Lord.
  We know God is compassionate and merciful but surely everybody can be pushed to his limits. So Jesus  continues; " If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you."   The same words we hear in Revelation 16;15
"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed"
You don't want to be shamefully exposed! You wouldn't want to hear the words like the five foolish  virgins in the parable in Matthew 25;1-13;
"Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you!." v.12. And the verse 13 says ; "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
A similar warning we find in Mark 13;33-37
"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.  It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task,
 and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”