Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches

‘if we are not willing to live the Bible and to take notice and to follow what it says, then as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:1 when talking about love, we are 'only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.'

Source: Devos and Dumplings 

I recently delivered a series of talks from the book of Revelation on the letters to the seven Churches found in Chapters 2&3. As I studied and preached on them a number of things struck me, however I would like to focus on just four things in this article.

Firstly, you will notice that every letter starts with; 'These are the words of' and then goes on to give a Name or description of Jesus. This leaves the reader with no doubt as to who it is that is sending the letters to the Churches. Secondly, these letters were not sent to the secular society, but to the Churches for those who have confessed to be followers of Christ, 'Christians,' who should have been living in accordance with the scriptures. Thirdly, at the end of every letter we are told to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches; ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’. This indicates that God is telling us in the Church today, to listen and understand what is written in these letters. For God to make this statement at the end of each letter must mean it is important that we take notice.

Source:The overlooked Truth

You see, we could read the Bible from cover to cover and know it inside out, we may be able to quote any scripture from any part of the Bible, and this may lead people to think how incredibly clever or holy we are. However, even if we could do all this and more, if we are not willing to live the Bible and to take notice and to follow what it says, then as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:1 when talking about love, we are 'only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.' Being able to know and quote the bible without living it, is in my opinion simply a statement of religiosity and void of any power or authority. God knows and searches our hearts and minds. Revelation 2:23 'Then all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.'

Fourthly, and the thing that struck me the most, is the incredible promises for those who do 'listen' and 'understand' what the Spirit is saying to the churches and are 'victorious'. So, let’s look at those promises, they are as follows:

Revelation 2:7 (Ephesus) ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God'.

Revelation 2:10-11 (Smyrna) ‘Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death’.

Revelation 2:17 (Pergamum) ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it’.

Revelation 2:26-28 (Thyatira) ‘To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron sceptre and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’.

Revelation 3:4-6 (Sardis) ‘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. 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. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’.

Revelation 3:12-13 (Philadelphia) ‘The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’.

Revelation 3:20-22 (Laodicea) ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’.

I hope you have noticed an incredibly important statement that is repeated in every single promise. That these are for 'The one who is VICTORIOUS’. Seriously, why would anyone not want these promises? Why would we not want to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches, and to do it? If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour then these promises ARE yours, they ARE mine and all we have to do is obey the will of God, who loved us and gave Himself up for us. We need to run the race to the end and be found 'victorious’. As Paul puts it in his letter in 1 Corinthians 9:24 'Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize’. After all, if Jesus said to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane ‘Yet not as I will, but as You will’ (Matthew 26:39) and ‘May Your will be done’ (Matthew 26:42) and then went to the cross for us, how much more should we say 'Father in Heaven not my will, but Yours be done’, and then obey His Word.

Revelation 1:2-3 says 'is the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near’. The time is near, and we need to stop messing about and walk as 'Bond Servants of Christ’ who are in complete surrender to Him and His will. I actually cannot think of a better way to live, or another way to be 'Victorious’.

My prayer is that each of us has ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, and that we take it to heart and respond to it. Don't let anyone stop you from obeying the truth. Galatians 5:7 'You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?' Let's ensure that we all finish the race.

Let me now finish with by repeating the final promise in the letters: Revelation 3:20-22 (Laodicea) ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is VICTORIOUS, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was VICTORIOUS and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’.

May we all sit with Him on His throne. God bless.

Author: Kevin Hunt

May God bless and enrich your life

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