Awake

Christ wants us to live our lives, awake. We can easily fall into live our spiritual lives mechanically and without energy, mindlessly and half-heartedly. If I am living that way, Christ wants me to "watch", becoming alert and aware... awake. The church at Sardis was told to wake up.

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Christ wants me to live the kind of life that is awake. Consider the church at Sardis:

A. Their Condition.

1. They had a reputation that they were alive, but Christ's reveals they were dead. 

It is possible for us to be this way.

How we appear to others and their opinion of us may be far different than Christ's perfect assessment.

2. They were dead.

Not a physical death (obviously) but a lifeless existence in need of a spiritual "awakening."

3. They were doing at least something, they were not inactive.

Some things were ready to die, but not dead yet.

Their works were not perfect.

4. They had been weakened by their slumber.

B. The Consequences

We must be awakened to the fact that it is costly to live our Christian lives in a state of sleep. The cost is not specifically identified, possibly so that we are not tempted to calculate whether it is worth it to us to remain asleep.

C. The Necessary Correction

1. They were to wake up, be "watchful", and continue to live that way.

2. They are to strengthen the things that they are currently doing, doing them with a different character.

3. Remember HOW they received the Word.

4. Hold fast to the truth, in the face of the temptation to let loose the grip and be tolerant of false teaching.

5. Repent.  They are not to think they can stay asleep.