Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight (Revelation 3:2, AMP).
Jesus speaks to this church mentioned in the book of Revelation, and He tells them that He knows all of the “good works” that they have done. He then goes on to inform them that nothing they have done has met God’s requirements.
What does God then require?
"Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent'" (John 6:28-29, NIV ).
God is not expecting man to perform for Him; God expects man to live by faith. Man wanted Jesus to list the works, plural, that God required. Jesus listed a singular work—to believe in the One He sent. God sent His Son because He loved us (John 3:16), and Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). God’s plan for man is to live by every word that proceeds from His mouth; God wants man to live by faith. We live by faith by abiding in His Word—that is what He requires.
If the things that we do are going to meet God’s requirements, then they must find their origin in the Word. Our actions originate with the Word when we are abiding in the Word to the point that it is producing faith and that faith is producing Spiritual actions in us. When we produce fruit on our own it is worthless in God’s estimation. Appearances mean nothing to God; God cares about the Source of our fruit. He has given us His Word in order for us to produce Spiritual fruit—if we ignore the Word we will only produce fruit that does not meet God’s requirements.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away (2 Timothy 3:5, KJV ).
A form is an appearance. We can appear to be godly—our works can look good, but if they are of the flesh they are worthless.
The people to whom Second Timothy is referring are not simply in the flesh where we can see the “obvious” fruit of the flesh—they are pretending to be spiritual; this makes God sick. Their actions appear spiritual but they are not—they have no power. God also describes actions that only appear spiritual as lukewarm, too. (Revelation 3:16)
The word “power” can be defined as miraculous power and ability. It also means strength and authority. The spiritual actions that we accomplish through Christ have power; they have miraculous power. When we are abiding in the Word, we have miraculous power and ability dwelling inside of us, and we see it being worked out through us.
Some people only appear to be godly; they deny this miraculous power. To deny means to contradict or to reject; it means to give up. When we reject the Word of God we cannot operate in this miraculous power. By deciding to ignore the Word, we also decide to walk in the futility and weakness of the flesh. Walking in the flesh, whether it appears godly or not, can only produce works of the flesh.
We need to rouse ourselves and keep awake; we need to recognize what kind of fruit we are producing. If we are more concerned with appearances rather than origination, then we need to make a change. We need to look to the Word of God for the help we need. Instead of focusing on how we look or on what man requires, we must focus on the Word—it is our spiritual power; it is what God requires.
