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.”
The beginning chapters of the book of Revelation contain letters to the seven churches in Asia. Jesus does an evaluation of each church, commending them for the things they are doing right and rebuking them for the things that are not right. At the conclusion of each church’s summation are the words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…”
This begs the question, “What is the Spirit saying to the churches?” Is the Spirit speaking only to the ancient churches or is there a present day application that should be considered? I believe heaven is active in the present day. I believe the Spirit has something to say to us. I am not here to pretend to know exactly what He’s saying to the “churches.” I have my thoughts. What I am saying is that we listen to what the Spirit is speaking. How can we determine what the Spirit is saying to us?
First, we need to cultivate our sensitivity to spiritual hearing. In Matthew 13:15 Jesus characterizes the people of His day as having hearts that have grown dull and ears that are hard of hearing. Spiritual devotion and practice of the spiritual disciplines is certainly a remedy for spiritual deafness.
But there is also another way to hear what the Spirit is saying. In today’s Old Testament One Year Bible reading Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” The church needs to value the ministry of the prophet. God has chosen to reveal His plan to the prophets. Throughout scripture this is seen as God’s way to communicate to His people. I know the book of Hebrews chapter one declares that God has spoken this way in times past and in the present day has chosen to speak to us through His Son. However, this does not eliminate the gift of the prophet, which is recognized and validated throughout the New Testament.
May God give us prophets who hear God’s word and can speak authentically to us. May God give us ears to hear…and once we’ve heard may we have hearts to obey. What do you think God is speaking to the churches today? Let’s hear the prophetic gift speak!