THE DANGER OF CRACKS IN YOUR LIFE

Revelations 3:1-2 “…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.

You have some dangerous Cracks in your life!

Are you in the Doldrums better known as the “dead zone”? Be reminded, the church is you individually and personally, along with the “Body of Christ” collectively.

The Doldrum is a part of the ocean near the equator with abounding calm and light, very timid winds, and stillness. The weather is scorching and dispiriting. When caught in the doldrums, the sailing vessels of old would lie helpless for days and weeks in still waters, just waiting for the wind to begin to blow.

The Doldrum is a perfect description of what Christ calls the “Dead Church” of Sardis and Dead Churches around the globe, today’s church! Maybe you are having a Doldrum experience right now. As always, God has a remedy! Thank God!

Background/Context for Revelations 3:1-6

The city of Sardis was located very high on top of sheer cliffs that were almost impossible to climb. Therefore the people became very confident and believed it could not be penetrated by a foreign enemy. Their overconfidence in something other than God causes serious problems for them.

Being a superpower, they became very proud, cocky, lazy and complacent. (Sounds American doesn’t it!) As apathy took over they stopped giving attention to the foundations and walls of their spiraling city. At first, the cracks were small but grew bigger and wider. They missed seeing that the walls were deteriorating and massive cracks had formed at the foundation of the walls.

One night while the City of Sardis slept an enemy army scaled the cliff and slithered through the cracks in the foundation and walls. They were besieged by their enemy.

Self-Reflection Moment:

Are you aware of any areas in your life that are deteriorating and need attention? Marriage? Finances? Your relationships? A whole host of other vital areas in your life? Are there cracks in any of these areas through which the devil may try to sneak up on you and take you captive?

(Revelations 3:3) “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!”

Cracks in Life (The Doldrums)

• Prayerlessness
• Insensitivity to the Spirit of God.
• Complacency
• Too busy to get into the presence of God.
• Trusting in the security of the world, i.e. jobs; money; government; material holdings …

Don’t get too busy that you forget the foundational things, cracks begin to form spiritually over time! Here’s how to seal those cracks through which the devil may try to enter and lay siege to your life.

• Be watchful! Wake Up! (Rev. 3:2)
• Repent, turn back to God
• Strength the areas that are about to die or comatose,
• Remember. it’s never too late to do something to fix the problem.

Locate the problem! Find a solution! Strengthen what you have! Do it before it’s too late!

In Summary: If you have a part of your life that is broken cracked or splintered, there is still hope it can be restored. It may require emergency care to get it on life support now, but it can be resuscitated and brought back to life again. Preventative medicine is always better than corrective surgery.

It may seem like it takes lots of time to be watchful and prayerful about your spiritual life, but I assure you it is less expensive and less painful than it is to crash spiritually and then have to fix things in your life that never had to be broken in the first place.

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Pray: Lord help me to stay awake and watchful regarding the spiritual conditions of my life. I realize that my old habits of not praying is an offense to you and a danger to me and those I love. Examine my heart and help me to identify those areas of my life that need to be fixed or corrected. Please give me the power to apply the needed corrections. Amen!