Greek For The Week: The Seven Churches Of RevelationSample

 Sardis: A Church Needing to Wake Up 

Ever fallen asleep when you needed to be awake? Hopefully not when you’re driving! The results could be catastrophic. The Sardian church knew something about falling asleep at the wrong time and the consequences were about to be severe.

To understand, there’s interesting parallel between the Sardian church and the city of Sardis. During the sixth century B.C., when the citadel of Sardis was at the height of its power, its citizens didn’t think it could ever be overtaken. When Sardis’ King Croesus went to war with Persia’s King Cyrus, Croesus was positive he was safe behind Sardis’ walls, untroubled about the Persians. He didn’t think they could scale the citadel, so he left it unguarded. Cyrus’s men eventually found a way up. When they got to the top, the Sardians weren’t prepared to fight and the city fell into Persian hands. 

After Cyrus conquered the city, he wanted to make sure it never rebelled, so he forbade the Sardians from having weapons. He also enforced a law that men had to teach their sons lyre-playing, dance, and trade. This emasculated the men. Their spirits had been taken from them. The city continued like this for years while under Persian rule.

It’s likely every Sardian in the Sardis church knew this story. That’s why Jesus tells them, “Wake up!” (ginou grēgorōn). The word “wake up” (gregoreo) means “to be watchful; to be in constant readiness; to be on alert.” It is found in a manner that means attentive, unwinking watching that doesn’t end, like a wide-eyed kid starring out the window during his first plane ride. Jesus is commanding the Sardians to continue to watch, watch, and keep on watching! They needed to stop being apathetic like King Croesus; otherwise, they’d be overtaken by the sinful culture and the presence of the Spirit would be taken from them. So Jesus tells them to “wake up” and “watch!”

The Holy Spirit moves among His people when they’re paying attention to their spiritual lives. The moment we lose our consideration for the Holy Spirit in our lives is the moment our spiritual victory starts to wane. To prevent this, we need to always be giving our time and attention to spiritual disciplines such as prayer, giving, worship, and reading God’s Word.

God has carried you too far to fall asleep on Him now. Stay alert, stay fervent, and stay ready. Victorious living depends on you being awake.