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Revelations 3- (The message)
To Sardis
1 Write this to Sardis, to the Angel of the church. The One holding the Seven Spirits of God in one hand, a firm grip on the Seven Stars with the other, speaks: "I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you're dead, stone-dead. 2-3"Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there's life in you yet. But I wouldn't know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of God's work has been completed. Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears—grasp it again and turn back to God. "If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I'll return when you least expect it, break into your life like a thief in the night. 4"You still have a few followers of Jesus in Sardis who haven't ruined themselves wallowing in the muck of the world's ways. They'll walk with me on parade! They've proved their worth! 5"Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names indelible in the Book of Life. I'll lead them up and present them by name to my Father and his Angels. 6"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."
To Philadelphia 7Write this to Philadelphia, to the Angel of the church. The Holy, the True—David's key in his hand, opening doors no one can lock, locking doors no one can open—speaks: 8"I see what you've done. Now see what I've done. I've opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don't have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn't deny me when times were rough. 9"And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they're forced to acknowledge it's you that I've loved. 10"Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I'll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test. 11"I'm on my way; I'll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown. 12"I'll make each conqueror a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, a permanent position of honor. Then I'll write names on you, the pillars: the Name of my God, the Name of God's City—the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven—and my new Name. 13"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."
To Laodicea
14Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God's Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God's creation, says:15-17"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.
18"Here's what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that's been through the refiner's fire. Then you'll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You've gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see. 19"The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God! 20-21"Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That's my gift to the conquerors! 22"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."

Our God is a jealous God! He desires nothing less than all of our heart! But because of our flesh and sin in our life it is so hard for us to completely say yes to God. But is it really that hard? Can we really live in this world and not be of it? Is it possible to live in this world and still follow hard after God? I believe it is, but its not easy. God never said that once we commit our lives to Him that our life would be easy, please find the verse or promise! If anything God warned us that it would not be easy!
John 15: 20 (NASB) says, "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also."
God never promises easy.
Matthew 16:24 says, "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."
Besides the main point of following after Him I think that we skip over the denying of self. What does that mean to us? I can not sit here and tell you what it means to just you, it means something different to every person. To deny yourself is to stop making yourself the object of your life and everything you do. It is so much easier to say than to live out. But the point is that we have to strive to live it out! When we deny our self only then can we wholeheartedly follow Him.
The Holy Spirit can convict us, but we need to act on that conviction and not just go back to our lives and wish we could do something about it. The list of what self denial is NOT is much longer than the list of what self denial actually IS! Self denial is choosing God over yourself. It is taking action! It is staying strong in Him. It IS taking your eyes off of yourself and putting them on the one who loved you enough to save you.
God is calling us to a radical lifestyle, not one of a self gratification and pleasure. This life is about loving the one who first loved us. He is always calling us to a higher standard the result is up to you, you just have to take action.
Keep seeking Him~