SARDIS The Cure Revelation 3v1.
The cure for all the ills of the church is of course the Lord Himself. He presents Himself as the One who has the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars. In essence He has at His disposal the fullness of the graces and the power of the Holy Spirit for His people; in addition He controls the heavenly sphere where demonic angels seek to bring down His churches, He appoints the angels to limit their movements. The last mentioned of course was irrelevant in the case of Sardis, since they were so lifeless, the angels were redundant. However as soon as spiritual life starts to revive, the demonic activity would recommence. It was perhaps the fear of such attacks that caused them to go into their spiritual slumber in the first place. Jesus is saying here that He controls the heavens and that He can control our hearts if we will submit to Him.
The lifeless condition of the people at Sardis was reminiscent of the nation of Israel in Ezekiel chapter 37. The question was posed " Can these dry bones live?" The answer came " Behold I will cause breath (spirit) to enter into you and ye shall live.....then there came a noise, and a shaking, and they came together bone to bone." Then he said " prophesy unto the wind oh son of man; come from the four winds o breath, and breathe on these slain that they may live.....and they lived and they stood up, an exceeding army..... ", ready for war ready to do business for God.
What is the answer to spiritual lifelessness? It is the infusion of the Holy Spirit, known in the new testament as the "filling of the Spirit." He is with us, He will never leave us, but He will not work with us until conditions are right. Jesus speaks here of the seven spirits of God. This phrase occurs four times in the Revelation; chapter 1v6; chapter3v1; chapter 4v5; chapter 5v6. A summary of these occurrences reveal that He is the executive of the divine counsels, He is the prosecutor of divine judgements, He is commissioned by the risen Christ, and His scope of operations is the world. The number seven suggests fulness; this is in contrast to the partial works of the Sardis church; Christ offers the unlimited fulness of the powers of the Holy Spirit; not a cup half empty or half full, but a "cup running over." The Spirit of God is symbolized in scripture in many different and graphic ways.
- He is fire - Refining and burning away all impurities.
- He is wind - Untraceable but powerful.
- He is oil - Energizing and refreshing and commissioning; He is the lubrication which makes the engine run.
- He is water - For the cleansing of the soul.
- He is rivers of water - Not only satisfying us but flowing through us for the blessing of others.
- He is the dove - Representing purity and sensitivity. He senses very quickly the presence of evil.
- He is wine - The wine of the soul. Just as wine intoxicates a man by completely controlling him, so the Spirit can take over our lives completely, a process already mentioned, the "filling of the Spirit".
All of these deserve a separate study; the last of these fits the present profile perfectly; the cure for spiritual death in the Christian is for the Spirit to completely take over our lives. We cannot have more of Him, but He wants more of us. In Galatians chapter five it says "the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." James comments that "the Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy." The Holy Spirit wants all of us. He will not share our hearts with the "flesh". Jesus has the seven spirits of God, the fulness of spiritual power and blessing and the answer to death is the life-giving graces of the Spirit. When we allow Him into our lives, Jesus who also holds the seven stars will ensure that any demonic attack is under His control.
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