Revelation 3:21 — The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
I came across a news story a couple of weeks ago of a 14-year-old boy, Cody, who lived in Goose Creek Lake, Missouri. Gotta love that name. Cody crashed his skateboard near his home and tumbled 240 feet into a forested ravine. Unconscious, and no one knew where he had been skating.
Family, volunteers, and first responders searched with no success. On the third day, Daryl was brought in to help. Who is Daryl? He’s a six-year-old bloodhound K-9 rescue dog. Daryl was given a pair of Cody’s shoes for scent. Darly tracked a 3-day-old scent and in 20 minutes found Daryl lying in a foot of water, severely injured, but alive. A three-day-old scent. The sensitivity of that bloodhound’s nose. Truly amazing.
As humans, we have five physical senses. We will read in our scripture text about another type of hearing that is not one of our five physical senses, but something of a spiritual sense.
Revelation 3:22 — He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ” Jesus put this at the end of each of the letters to the seven churches. We read this again in Revelation 13:9, “If anyone has an ear, let him hear.”
Jesus is known for this phrase. Talking to his disciples in Mark 4:9, after telling them the parable of the Sower and the Seed. Again, in Mark 4:23 and in Mark 11:15, Luke and Matthew record that Jesus uses this phrase.
What does it mean? “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” I’m going to let Jesus answer this in His own words.
Matthew 13:13–17 (ESV) — 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
There is a lot in these words of Jesus. Let’s notice a couple of things. First, notice the number of times Jesus uses “see” and “hear” in those sentences. That should get your attention.
Another point is that not everyone will see and hear, even if they have eyes and ears. They will “hear” what Jesus is saying but not “hear it.” They will “see” Jesus and yet not “see” Him as He is. Jesus tells us in verse 14 that they will not understand and never perceive. This “seeing” and “hearing” is understanding/comprehending/perceiving the truth of God. This is having a mind that grasps spiritual truth and principles. A mind that comprehends the Kingdom of God. Not everyone will. Physical hearing and physical sight are not what you need to hear and see, that is, understand, spiritual truth. This is a different sense, not physical but spiritual.
Vs. 15 is the good news to us who follow Jesus. “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” The disciples were given spiritual senses to hear and see. How? What makes the Difference? The Spirit of Christ Jesus. If you have Christ, you have His Spirit in you. From the Gospel of John, chapter 16, Jesus says the Spirit of God is sent to us to teach us.
John 16:12–15 (ESV) — 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Only disciples of Jesus have His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
John 14:15–17 (ESV) — 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
John 14:26 (ESV) — 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jesus was saying to the disciples that many people only hear words. They won’t understand the meaning of what I’m saying. But to you—who believe in Me and follow Me, you have my Spirit, and He will reveal these truths to you.
The Apostle Paul provides us with a deeper insight into this truth. In 1 Corinthians 2:9–10, it says, “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit …”
Jump down to Vs.12-14. “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
In a nutshell, the Holy Spirit of God is the one who gives spiritual understanding to the words of the Bible. Without Him, you will see and hear with your physical senses, but you will not understand.
So, “What does 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says mean? There is something more than what your physical senses can grasp. Lean in and listen to what the Spirit of God wants to say to you. Seek to understand and comprehend spiritual truths and principles.
Why does Jesus say in each of the seven letters to the local churches, “… hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” I think He is saying at least these two things. (1) What Jesus is saying to these seven Churches, He is saying to all the churches, including us. (2) Jesus is speaking to local churches, the body of Christ that has come together in faith. Why does He say these truths to the local churches? Because we, individual Christians, learn best together. Because we grow best together. Because we discern truth and error together. Because we hold each other accountable best in a church community. Because we seek the truth best together. Because this is what Jesus built for us to be a part of in order to best represent Him to the lost world. Pretty good reasons, right?
This is why our Church Covenant includes a commitment to “Assembling together.” It says, “We will not neglect the assembling together to worship, learn, fellowship, pray, and partake of the sacraments of Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.” Why do we covenant together on this? Because we need to; because Jesus is speaking to us when we are together. We gather during Bible studies, in fellowship, in friendships, and in our homes, among other places.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says …” I think there is something else that this means. This suggests that we need to develop “spiritual perception.” What do I mean by “spiritual perception”? Being attuned to spiritual reality. Having a mind that sees life through the lens of spiritual truth. It means being God-minded. It means being able to see beyond the works of evil and attitudes and words of sinful hearts, and seeing the kingdom of Christ. It is seeing the kingdom of God from our hearts in this world.
This takes what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:2, to renew our minds. We have to train our minds to think spiritually. We have to train our minds to recognize spiritual truth and error.
Two Biblical Examples: You are familiar with the story of David and Goliath. The Israelite army and King Saul looked at Goliath, a giant soldier from the Philistine army, and shuddered in fear. David, who spends time with God, looked at God and saw an enemy of God who was offending the God of Israel. Many saw one thing; the boy of faith saw God.
Another example is when Moses led the Israelites to the Jordan River before they crossed over into the land that God had promised them. They stopped at the river. Moses sent out 12 spies to scope out the land (Numbers 13:30 – 14:4). Upon returning and giving Moses and the people a scouting report, ten of the men saw a land of giants and fortified cities and saw themselves to be grasshoppers in comparison to the other armies.
Caleb and Joshua, the other two spies, had spiritual perception. They kept their minds on God’s promise to give them that land. Their faith was firmly rooted in God’s faithfulness to keep His word. They said, “Let us go up at once and take it, for we are well able to overcome it.” The majority saw with a heart of doubt and fear. The minority saw God’s promise. Ten only looked with their physical senses. Two of them looked with their spiritual senses.
Let’s recap. Those who belong to Jesus Christ have the Spirit of Christ within them. The Spirit within us gives us spiritual senses to hear and see spiritual truths and principles, enabling us to perceive the Kingdom of God.
The logical question is, how do we develop our spiritual senses? Two words, training and practice. We find this in Hebrews 5:11–14 (NIV). I have underlined certain words and phrases to help.
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
NKJV (vs.14) “… those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
We are to train our minds to think spiritually. We are to train our emotions to be subject to truth. As opposed to doing whatever they want. We train them with the tools the Holy Spirit has given us, which are the word of God and Prayer.
The great theologian and archbishop of Canterbury, Temple, wrote, “The spiritually minded person does not differ from the materially minded person chiefly [mainly] in thinking about different things, but in thinking about the same things differently. It is possible to think materially about God, and spiritually about food.”
Spiritual senses think about the same things as everyone else, but differently, with a spiritual perspective. We have work, diapers to change, yards to mow, families, etc., you get the point, like the unbeliever has. We all live in the same broken world. But we are to see/think differently about these things in life, including life itself.
Here is some practical advice: 20 minutes a day. You should carve out 20 minutes a day for Desert Time. Earlier this year, Fletcher preached on our need for Desert Time. That is alone time with God to pray, meditate on His Word, and be quiet. We need desert time. To do this, put away or turn off all worldly distractions, such as TV and phones. Be quiet. Read the Scriptures. Read the scriptures as the Word of God. Use the “Guidelines to Bible Study” bookmark. They are in the Mission Room. Make a part of that 20 minutes a time of contemplation, meditation, and pondering on what you have read and prayed. Give your mind an opportunity to “hear what the Spirit of God is saying from His word.” Pray about what you are getting from the scriptures you are reading and pondering. Pray it for yourself, for the church, for others. I recommend having a notebook or journal with you. Write down thoughts and truths that the Spirit of God highlights in His word.
This is how you train your mind to be spiritually perceptive. This is exercising your mind (Heb.5:14) to hear God’s Word. The Word of God is spiritual. Prayer is spiritual. Utilize these tools to cultivate a spiritual perspective.
To help you, I'd like to share a personal example from my own desert time this week. I am reading through the Psalms. I read slowly, pondering what they are saying.
Psalm 57:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
Verse 2 grabbed my attention. “… to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” Those words captured my heart, drew me in, and held my attention. I pondered those words. Then I began to pray for this, and I prayed for my wife, children, family, church family, and my country. “God, fulfill your purpose for this country.”
Do you see it? The Spirit of God opened my heart to hear Him. I put myself in a place to hear and I heard. Hearing him, I acted.
I want to talk to Moms. I know it is hard to find 20 minutes of alone, quiet time. You may say it is impossible, and I believe you. But you have the God of the impossible to help you. You need to figure out how to carve out 20 minutes in every day. You need to find “desert time.” Do not take this as an option, or as something you can do when the kids are older and on their own. The reason you have to start when they are small is so they will learn by example that communion with God is a daily priority. Also, they need to learn how to give you time. Are they just warriors that pull and push and pull on you? Is that what you want them to believe they can do, that they rule you? Or do you begin teaching them manners, respect, and how to have some independent time? Desert time with God is not a dessert, a luxury; it is a necessity.
To everyone, I give you a warning. You should be aware of an effective lie from the devil’s playbook. He will tell some of you that you are not spiritually mature enough to develop such perception. The devil will tell you that you don’t know enough or that you are not religious enough. He will tell you that you are not capable of all of this spiritual understanding.
That is a lie! If the Holy Spirit is within you, which He is if you belong to Jesus, then you have the teacher of truth in you.
When you are pursuing by putting yourself in God’s Word, expect to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. When you put his word in you, listen to hear His Word speak to you. Learn to hear His word in the quiet times. Then learn how to hear His word in the chaos. Then learn to hear His word in the confusion. Learn to hear His word when He is speaking to you. Learn to hear Him when this world is loud. When your life is loud. When there are decisions to make.
When I am weak, down, inured, out of gas, I want to hear my Savior say, “Why are you down? I have chosen you and called you by name. You are mine. I am yours. You are the apple of my eye. I died for you so that you can run to me, find a hiding place, and be strengthened and healed.
“Sit with me and find peace. Sit with me and be restored. Sit with me and drink of my grace, for I know exactly what you need right now. Sit with me and think of how I have proved my endearing love for you. Think of my faithfulness. Think of my steadfast love. Hear me in my letters to you, in my songs and poetry for you, in the promises to you.
“And if it is difficult to hear me right now, I have that taken care of, too. I have already prepared a friend to encourage you and speak for Me. They are praying for you. I have a church family that loves you.”
When I am overconfident in myself, I want to hear Him say to me, “Do not think too highly of yourself, pride comes before the fall. I am the One who gives you strength, wisdom, and favor. You are the glove, I am the hand. You are the clay, I am the sculptor. Humble yourself that you may hear me. See me, and I will lead you to the next step.”
We want His words to build us up and tear pride out, and rip selfishness apart from us. We want the word of God to convict us as well as encourage us.
To the person who does not know Jesus Christ and is thinking, “I am not a Christian, but I want to belong to Jesus. I need God.” I say to you that the realization and desire you have for Jesus is the Spirit of God speaking to you. Listen to Him. Jesus is saying to you, “Come to me. Lower your defenses. Lay down your pride. Surrender your heart and your life, and come to trust me. See my nail-pierced hands and feet. I died for you, and I am alive for you.
“What your soul is searching for, I am it. I will give rest to your restlessness. I will cleanse you from your shame, guilt, and heaviness. I have the ointment for your brokenness. Come to me. I will give you eternal life with God.
“And if you are not sure how to come, I have a whole company around you right now who have come to me and know me. They love you. They will help you. They are my hands, feet, and mouth. Come.”
Jesus is calling you to lay down all your doubts, fears, and self-confidence. He will forgive you and bring you into His love.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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