The primary concern and most happy thought of the Seventh-day Adventists church today is the nearness of the second coming of Jesus. I remember as a boy how time used to go by so slowly. It seemed like it was almost an eternity from one birthday to the next. We anticipated some special event coming up in a week or a month, and time just seemed to stand still.
As we get older, all of that changes. Now it seems like I have two or three birthdays a year. Time just keeps going faster and faster. But it was not like that when I was a boy.
I remember one Sabbath morning, when I was a young child, a visiting minister had come to our little church. I do not remember all that he spoke about that Sabbath, but I do remember that over and over again, he kept repeating the statement, “Jesus is coming soon!”
In my childish mind, that indicated something extremely imminent. I could almost imagine that Jesus would be back before the very next Sabbath! “What does he mean,” I asked myself.
On the way home from church that Sabbath morning, I decided to consult with the best authority that I knew, my father. My father tried to put my mind at ease by saying, “Son, Jesus is coming soon, but we do not know exactly when He is coming.”
My birthday was only a couple of months away and I was afraid that Jesus might come back before my birthday. So I asked, “Daddy, is it possible that Jesus will be back before my birthday.”
He smiled, and said, “He may not come back before your birthday, but I know that He is coming soon.”
Jesus did not come back before my birthday, or even within the next year. In fact, that conversation took place fifty years ago.
A half century has passed since my childish mind was disturbed with a message of the nearness of Jesus’ coming. I am still wondering when Jesus is coming. I cannot tell you, but certainly His coming is nearer than when we first believed.
Today Jesus gives, to you and to me, a final warning message. It is a call specifically to His chosen people—His church. We find this last call recorded in Revelation 2:7: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
This is an invitation to those who have spiritual discernment. Invitations should always create excitement. I remember the very first invitation I received to visit the home of my wife’s parents. Charlotte and I were attending the same college. Our friendship was growing, but I had never met her parents who lived in Colorado.
Charlotte and I both sang in the college choir, which was planning a tour to Colorado and the western part of Nebraska. One day, not long before the planned tour, I found a strange looking envelope from Boulder, Colorado, in my mailbox.
I tore that envelope open and, to my amazement, inside I found an invitation to go and visit Charlotte’s parents. You can be sure that because of the excitement that the invitation created, I made great preparations for that day. I made sure that my clothes were cleaned and pressed. I began studying politeness and manners, in order to leave a good impression. I believe invitations always create an excitement.
Today there is a special invitation to each of us from Jesus Christ Himself. He says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 2:7. Are we listening?
It seems that we are too busy to listen. We seem to live on the basis of “business as usual,” when neither business nor anything else is as usual, nor will it ever be again. We too often determine what kind of program we want for the church. We make our plans with a long range planning strategy. But today we need to be planning for a short range emergency. Time is very short. We do not have time to be doing some of the things we are doing.
As a people we do not spend the time in meditation and prayer or in active service that we should. We think that because we have to make a living, and are so busy, we are excused. It is easy to put a dollar or two or even a hundred in the offering plate, but to spend time with the Lord and spend time telling others about the wonderful plan of salvation, we do not have time to do that.
We are listening to many other voices but the Spirit. It says, “Listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” We decide what kind of revival we want, what kind of evangelism we want, and then if the results are not what we anticipated, we are disappointed. We need to let God direct in our lives.
Ask yourself the questions, “Am I really doing all I can to hasten Jesus’ return? How much time do I spend in meditation? In the study of God’s Word? In the study of the Spirit of Prophecy And on my knees?” We are negligent when it comes to the amount of time that we spend making our daily bread, in proportion to how much time we spend laying up treasure in God’s kingdom.
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.” The church, according to Scripture, is the bride of Jesus Christ. It is the body. It is the organism that God has ordained to carry forward His work.
The church is not an organization or an institution. The church is God’s people, and God’s program will never bypass His people. This message is for God’s people. God’s church is where two or three are met together. This is an invitation to them. Spend time trying to discern what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. Spend time with God fasting, pleading for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit. His Spirit will never bypass the church—His people. The Spirit speaks to the churches.
Look at your own sphere of influence. What about your home? Some are pained because they live in divided homes. The Lord’s servant said that in a divided home, the shadows are never lifted. (See Adventist Home, 67.) Some are troubled because it is difficult to serve the Lord with all the heart when one is being opposed by members of his own family. They use this as an excuse not to overcome.
I have an older brother who has wandered in the ways of the world for some sixty years. In his heart there is conviction that he wants to come back to the church. He knows what is right. He knows the message. He was brought up in it as a boy. But somewhere along the way he gave it up and drifted away. Because of family opposition and uncertainty, he is reluctant to come back.
We can never influence anyone in favor of the truth by waffling around in sin. We have to make a firm decision regardless of what happens with our friends and our family. There are some today who are suffering because members of their family oppose them. Jesus said, “A man’s foes or enemies) shall be they of his own household.” Matthew 10:36.
What is happening in our circle of activity? What is happening in our homes? What is happening in our communities? What is happening in our towns or cities? This is a desperate hour for the world, for the cause of the Gospel and for the individual experience that we are going through. If anything can be shaken, it will be shaken. It is the time for us to stand firmly for the right.
He that Hath An Ear, Let Him Hear What the Spirit Says to the Church
The Spirit is trying to say something to us. In the Gospels, our Lord repeated eight times, “He that hath an ear, let him hear.” Again in the book of Revelation eight times we have this message, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
To the Laodiceans Jesus said, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him.” Revelation 3:20. This invitation is wide enough to include everyone. It says, “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door.” It is limited, however, in its fulfillment to those who hear His voice and who open the door. Our ears must be open. We have to be listening to what the Spirit is saying.
The message of the Holy Spirit to each of the seven churches was, “Repent.” That has become a very unpopular message. There are those who say, “Just leave sin alone. Do not disturb the status quo. Leave that stone rolled up against Lazarus’ tomb. Let Achan keep his wedge of gold. Let Jezebel raise up her altar to Baal in Thyatira. Do not worry about that immoral brother over there in Corinth. Just leave sin alone.”
There are those who are watching and praying, and who are trying to bring about a revival and reformation. Sometimes they become discouraged and want to give up. But we must follow the example of our Savior who tried in every possible way to awaken the churches to their great spiritual need. Five of these seven churches in Asia Minor were in a lamentable spiritual condition. He called them to repentance.
What a wonderful change would take place in our churches today if we would all get on our knees and say, “I am sorry.” Some people, when they reach a certain level of responsibility in the church, feel that they cannot say they are sorry. They think they are too big to say, “I am sorry.”
God expects us to be able to say, “I am sorry. I am a sinner. I have done wrong.” The Bible tells us that we are all sinners. None of us have reached the level where we do not have to repent of our sins. We must each do this individually. It is not something that can be done corporately.
We have all reached different levels in our spiritual pilgrimage. We cannot be the judge for someone else. We need to be careful that we do not try to set up a measuring stick that we expect everyone else to live up to. As individuals we must make sure that our relationship is right with God, and repent of what we have done to bring pain, suffering and anguish to our Savior.
Jesus, who is our example in all things, told His disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. All of us have problems and trials, but it is wonderful to know that we serve a God who has already been there. He knows what we are going through, and He suffers with us. Although He tells us we will have tribulation, He says, “I have overcome and through my grace you can also.”
“To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and am sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21. We can each overcome all sin and its influence in our lives.
We all have the same basis to overcome that Jesus had. Just as He said, “I can of mine own self do nothing . . .because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which sent me.” John 5:30. The answer to sucessfully overcoming sin in our lives is to make a complete surrender to Jesus. This is not a once and for all transaction. We must die daily as Paul did. Every day he was aware of the fact that he had to crucify self.
Self is our biggest enemy. The big “I” is the thing that gets in the way of Christ working out His will in us. We have to make a complete surrender of our selfish will, and choose God’s will instead. Not just when we are baptized and join the church, but we must do it daily.
In our own strength it would be completely impossible to make that surrender. “Whatever may be our inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong, we can overcome through the power that He is ready to impart . . . We cannot change our hearts, we cannot control our thoughts, our impulses, our affections . . . But we can choose to serve God, we can give Him our will . . . By yielding up the will to Christ, we ally with divine power . . . A pure and noble life, a life of victory over appetite and lust, is possible for everyone who will unite his weak, wavering human will to the Omnipotent,unwavering will of God.” Ministry of Healing, 176. [All emphasis supplied.]
Who says we cannot overcome all sin? There it is! It is wonderful to be able to link up with Jesus and His divine power. To be able to overcome through the power that He is willing to give. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot be an overcomer. If we will grasp the divine hand, God has unlimited strength to impart to us.
A Panoramic View
The panorama of heaven and earth passed before the enraptured eyes of John there on that lonely island of Patmos. In vision he saw the glories of the new earth. He saw the gates of pearl. He saw that wall around the city, glistening in the glorious radiance of Jesus Christ Himself. He saw the throne of God with the Tree of Life silhouetted on both banks of the river as it flowed from God’s throne. He saw those glistening streets paved with pure gold. He saw the radiance shining in the faces of the redeemed. Can we imagine anything more wonderful than a world bathed in the rays of sunshine and love without the least trace of suffering, of hatred, of prejudices, of disease or of death?
In the mind of poor, lonely John, there on that little rocky island all by himself, came the question, “Who is going to inherit all of this?” The answer came back, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Revelation 21:7. A beautiful promise was given to each of the seven churches if they would overcome.
To the church in Smyrna, was given the promise of a crown of life. To the church in Pergamus, He says, “And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17. I like this promise because I do not think there is anything on this earth more devastating than to have your name destroyed. I know what that experience is like. I am looking forward to the day when I get a new name. The same promise was also given to the church in Philadelphia, as well as the promise to make them a pillar in the temple and to write upon them the name of God.
To the church in Thyatira He will give power over the nations and give them the Morning Star if they would be overcomers. To the church in Sardis He will give white robes. Finally, to the church in Laodicea, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21.
It is not easy to overcome. There are many things that get in the way. One of the powerful things that impede us is the power of appetite. “The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character . . . And as we near the close of time, Satan’s temptations to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 491, 492.
” ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ If you ‘hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches’ and meditate upon the instruction given to them, your ears will be closed to the folly and nonsense which surround you. You will neither hear and repeat these things, nor will you ever hanker after them. When Christ satisfies the soul hunger, these trivialities are to you distasteful and disgusting. You have no desire to feast on them, but choose instead the bread of heaven.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 957.
May God give us the strength to reach the point in our experience as overcomers, when the things of the world appear to us distasteful and disgusting. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7. Soon the time of trial will be over. Soon our problems, our difficulties, will all be past. Jesus is coming to take His faithful home. Before that day, terrible scenes will come upon the world and before God’s people, a time of trial that will try our faith without parallel.
My invitation to you today is to open your ears to the message of the Holy Spirit and surrender your heart and lives to His power. Let us lift up our heads, our redemption draws nigh.