Revelation 3:1-6  The letter to Sardis.  This time the Lord refers to Himself as the One "who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars."   We know from 1:20 that the seven stars are the "angels of the seven churches".  Jesus holds these "angels" - who seem to be the pastors of these churches.  In 5:6 John sees " a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth."  From what I gather from the commentaries, the seven horns represent the fulness of strength and authority given to the Lord.  The seven Spirits... or seven eyes - are mysterious to me.  Zechariah 4:10 talks about "the eyes of the Lord which range to and fro throughout the earth."  and in 3:9 he talks about the Branch ( Jesus) and a stone which is engraved with seven eyes.  In Isaiah 11:1-2 the "stem of Jesse" will produce a branch "from his roots" which will bear fruit, "And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord..." But, this lists only 6 aspects of the Spirit.    Whatever this really means is beyond me.. however it is enough to know that it is Jesus who has them.

The church in Sardis is in bad shape.  It has a reputation for life, but is really dead.  Their deeds are incomplete. All the strength that remains is seeping out.  It is on its death bed and time is running out.
Jesus tells them to "Wake up" and to "Remember... what you have received and heard; and keep it and repent." 

There are a few who " have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy."   For these few faithful ones, Jesus has words of encouragement.  They will 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."   

To overcome, we must remain unsoiled. We need life, which we find in the Word of God through the Spirit of God.   We need the Spirit of God, Who grants us wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  We need to hear and to heed His instructions.  We need to make sure that we are staying awake, alert and remembering all that we have received.

Father in heaven, thank You for the Word of God, and for the Spirit of God given to us by the Son. Fill us once again that we might stay awake and alive in You!  May we never be blinded like the church in Sardis, thinking we are alive, but really on our deathbeds.. in danger of being left behind.  Keep us walking in Light and Truth, in a worthy manner, we pray, in the Name of Jesus who has all authority and power and glory. Amen!