Strengthen What Remains
Surely this phrase brings
to mind Revelation 3 in the letter to the church at Sardis. Verse 2
reads: Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about
to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
While in prayer the other day I asked the Lord what He wanted to say to me. He spoke: “Strengthen what remains.” I know this scripture in its context which led me to a gasping, “Oh know” as my mind was flooded with thoughts from Revelation 3's Sardis. Its context immediately anchored my thoughts melding them with what the Holy Spirit had spoken. However (and thankfully), immediately another thought flowed through my mind “don’t add to My words” watermarked with a scripture from Luke 22.
We all know that things
have shifted since early January of 2020. We have both the election and
Covid-19 to thank for this. Then there is our porous southern boarder,
Afghanistan, the national debt, rioting, looting, shootings, harassment of
peace-loving people, and on the list goes. Yet, there is another realm at work,
the spiritual realm, where both the evil and the Holy are at work. Whatever the
outcome of all the world's upheaval both God and Satan are using this time to
promote their agendas. (There will be a day when the purposes of God allow and
even empower the rise of the antichrist.)
Now back to the title of
this blog.
Remember when Jesus told
Peter (you is plural, so this was spoken to all the apostles) that they would
be sifted? It is found in Luke 22. Satan demanded permission to sift the
apostles and Jesus implied He granted him permission to do so. (Aren’t you glad
he has to ask God for permission?) The word sift is from the word sieve. A
sieve holds back the larger items and lets the smaller particles flow through.
In the Luke 22 scripture Jesus uses the example of wheat being sifted. And even
though Satan had in mind to destroy the apostles faith, Jesus had already
prayed for them. He knew what was coming. He was using Satan's sifting for His
very own purpose. This is the backdrop the Holy Spirit gave me as He said not
to add to His words "Strengthen what remains."
What remains in you that
was given by God: your vision, your gifts, your passions? These are the things
to strengthen. Let the other stuff fall by the wayside. Don't pick them back
up. They are dead weight. A hinderance to what God has truly given to you. Someday we will really stand before the King of kings to receive a reward for
things done in the body. In that day you'll be glad you left the dead things
behind.
And how about your church? What things that used to soak up finances and time have become far less important? Let them drift away down the river of irrelevance.
As I write this, I know that some of His church in 20/21 has become more spiritually lethargic and dull. Wow (!) this not a time to be dull and lethargic! If this is you, get back in the battle, you have become a prisoner of war. Some likely need to hear the entire scripture: Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
But for those of us that
this word speaks to, set aside some time to ask the Lord what remains, if you
don’t already know. Know that it is God Who has removed things that are like
dead wood in your garden. Don’t try to carry forward what God has marked as
dead. Then strengthen by the power of the Holy Spirit what has remained
through this season of sifting. Let the Lord fully blow the chaff from your
wheat.
…let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith… Hebrews 12
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9
Sometimes as we walk through life God brings a season of reset.
This is such a time.
