1 “To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon.
God reminds us to 1. Wake up! and strengthen what remains before we die.
2. God has opened a door for us that no one can shut (except for God)
3. Endure patiently and God will help us
In the movie the coach is inspired by this man that God has sent with this scripture. The coach reads his bible and prays and then makes notes for the changes he's going to make on his team but, of course, they point out that these are important things to remember in our daily life. The team endures a thing called the "death crawl" and one member is blindfolded and is supposed to "give it his best". Thinking he is only going to go to the "20 yard line" the team member actually goes the whole lenghth of the football field. The coach encourages him the whole way... telling him not to quit! That team member thought he could make it to the 20 but didn't realize how far he could go with encouragement and faith. That coach did what my God does every day!! I need - we all need - to listen so we hear him when God's saying ... "Don't Quit!"
We are also reminded of the verses in
Matthew 7:13 - 14: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
* The small gate leads to life in God. We need to look for it and not be afraid. Just as the coach led his team to victory, God is leading us to victory in our lives. I need to remember that in whatever the stuggle is, God is leading us to victory. Thank you, God!
Just when the team thought they were not going to play any other games that season, the coach received a call and told his team, "I want you to know I serve a BIG GOD, and he can do whatever he wants to do. He's going to open what he wants to open and shut what he wants to shut. And a team that plays for his honor and glory will have his blessings following that team.... and we're advancing to the next round!"
I want to advance to the "next round" in my life. Don't you?
I'm looking forward to continuing to serve my BIG GOD! Have a wonderful night.
