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Revelation 3:7-13 – The Church in Philadelphia

Philadelphia was a city known in modern times as Alaşehir and it was located in Lydia, 28 miles southeast of Sardis. Dionysus was the chief object of pagan worship here. Like Sardis it was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 17 and rebuilt but not on the same grand scale. At that time the name was changed in honor of Tiberius to Neocaesarea and during the reign of Nero (54-68 AD) the original name was restored.

The message to this church, like Smyrna was one of nearly all praise and commendation. A sharp contrast between Sardis and Laodicea. Its name meant brotherly love. They had fulfilled the command of our Lord to love one another. We are exhorted through out scripture to be the same.

Watch the Message

1 Peter 1:22 – “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”

Ephesians 1:15-16 – “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.”

1 Thessalonians 4:9 – “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”

Romans 12:10 – “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”

Hebrews 13:1 – “Let brotherly love continue.”

Jesus description of Himself

Revelation 3:7 – “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.”

1. The angel of the church. As with all the other churches, the angel of the church is in reference to the pastor and messinger of the church. Jesus speaks to and through those He has called. We who are called to shepherd His people have a grave responsibility. We must faithfully position ourselves to hear His voice clearly and give only what He gives to His church. It must never be our own personal agenda but His alone. We must faithfully declare His Word and teachings.

   2 Timothy 4:2 – “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”

   Hebrews 13:9 – “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.”

   Titus 2:1 – “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.”

2. He that is holy. “These things saith He that is holy.” Our Lord is holy. There was never any sin in Him. He never once yielded to sin or temptation. We must endeavor to walk even as He walked. Though we all continually fall short (Romans 3:23) holiness must be our goal. We must set our sights on mimicing Him.

   Hebrews 4:15 – “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

   1 Peter 1:15-16 – “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

   Matthew 5:48 – “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

   1 John 2:6 – “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”

   Ephesians 5:1 – “Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children.”

3. He that is true. “These things saith… He that is true.” Jesus was and is the embodiment of truth. He always spoke the truth, lived the truth, and is Himself the truth. Truth is imperative. We, likewise, must seek always to speak and present His truth with all purity.

   John 1:14 – “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

   John 14:6 – “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

   Ephesians 4:15 – “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”

   Ephesians 4:25 – “Wherefore putting away lying (falsehood), speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”

4. He has the key of David. “He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.” This is referring to Eliakim, son of Helkiah. “The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open” (Isaiah 22:22). Eliakim had the key to all the treasures of the king. When he opened the door it was opened and when he shut the door it was shut.

   Jesus is the antitype of Eliakim. Jesus has the key to truth, holiness, opportunity, and service. The church in Philadelphia was surrounded by heathenism and wickedness. Jesus assures them He has power to open and shut according to His sovereign will. He gives the same power and authority to His church that is in sink with Him and His purposes. He has power to open the treasures of heaven and to close them up.

   1. Keys of hell and of death. Setting captives free. This was the power of this church to see people set free from the bondage of sin and of death. This deals with those held captive in Hades. There were two compartments, one of torment and the other paradise. Paradise or Abraham’s boosom was where those who by faith in the coming sacrifice of Christ were kept (Luke 16). After Jesus’ sacrifice these were set free and taken up to the third heaven, the very presence of God. He is even now setting captives free through the preaching of the gospel.

      1 Peter 3:18-19 – “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison.”

      Ephesians 4:8-10 – “Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.”

      Revelation 1:18 – “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

      Luke 4:18-19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

   2. The keys of binding and loosing given to His church. Jesus gave authority to His church to bind and loose. Keys are given to unlock and to lock. We have keys for our homes to unlock in order to get in our house and to lock to keep intruders out for safety. This power is given believers over the powers of darkness to see people bound in darkness set free. This authority is given to those with the revelation and confession of Christ and who He is. Both places where Jesus declares His authority to bind and loose is in the context of the church.

      Matthew 16:16-18 – “Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

      Matthew 18:18-20 – “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Church Age Represented – Four Great Awakenings

Historically this marks the great periods of revival in the church especially the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and very possibly periods of the twentieth century as well. All churches bearing a true witness for Christ even to this present age. The Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history.

Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late 20th century. Each of these “Great Awakenings” was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church membership, and the formation of new religious movements and denominations.

1. First Great Awakening. This is the church during the great awakening of the 18th Century. Clarence Larkin pegs the era of the Philadelphian Church to span the years 1750 A.D. to 1900 A.D. The focus of this era demonstrates how the evangelical revival of the 18th and 19th centuries faithfully fulfilled the Philadelphian period. Era of Revival and Great Awakening (A.D. 1750–1925).

   The Great Awakening, the most important event in American religion during the eighteenth century, was a series of revivals that spread across the American colonies in the late 1730s and 1740s. The mid-eighteenth century witnessed a wave of evangelism without precedent in America, England, Scotland, and Germany. In England, this wave would culminate in the Methodist revivals led by John Wesley (1703-1791), while in Germany, the revivals would give rise to a movement known as Pietism. In colonial America, in contrast to England and Germany, the revivals tended to cross class lines and to take place in urban as well as rural areas.

   In New England, in particular, the Great Awakening represented a reaction against the growing formality and the dampening of religious fervor in the Congregational churches. Elsewhere in the colonies, the Anglican church, indeed no single church, was able to satisfy the population’s spiritual and emotional needs.

   The periodical The Christian History reported the revivals in England, Scotland, and America as they took place. It published Jonathan Edwards’s account of the revivals he led in Northampton, Massachusetts, which helped ignite the Great Awakening. Edwards (1703-1758), one of this country’s most brilliant theologians, sought in his theological writings to reconcile Calvinist teachings and Enlightenment thought. In Northampton, Edwards deliberately directed his sermons at the young, and by 1734, the whole town was engaged in a religious revival. But by 1750 he had been ousted from his church and spent most of his remaining years evangelizing among New England’s Indians.

   The Great Awakening carried profound consequences for the future. It was the first experience shared by large numbers of people throughout all the American colonies, and therefore contributed to the growth of a common American identity. It also produced a deepened consciousness of sin within the existing social order and aroused a faith that Americans stood within reach of Christ’s Second Coming. Even though the Great Awakening contributed to a splintering of American Protestantism, as supporters of the revivalists known as New Lights and their opponents, known as Old Lights, established separate congregations, it also sent a powerful spiritual message: that God works directly through the people, rather than through churches or other public institutions.

2. Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that occurred in the United States beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century. While it occurred in all parts of the United States, it was especially strong in the Northeast and the Midwest. This awakening was unique in that it moved beyond the educated elite of New England to those who were less wealthy and less educated. The center of revivalism was the so-called Burned-over district in western New York. Named for its overabundance of hellfire-and-damnation preaching, the region produced dozens of new denominations, communal societies, and reform.

   Among these dozens of new denominations were free black churches, run independently of existing congregations that were predominantly of white attendance. During the period between the American revolution and the 1850s, black involvement in largely white churches declined in great numbers, with participation becoming almost non-existent by the 1840s–1850s; some scholars argue that this was largely due to racial discrimination within the church. This discrimination came in the form of segregated seating and the forbiddance of African Americans from voting in church matters or holding leadership positions in many white churches. Reverend Richard Allen, a central founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was quoted describing one such incident of racial discrimination in a predominantly white church in Philadelphia, in which fellow preacher and a former slave from Delaware Absalom Jones was forcefully told to leave and grabbed by a white church trustee in the midst of prayer.

3. Third Great Awakening. The Third Great Awakening in the 1850s–1900s was characterized by new denominations, active missionary work, Chautauquas, and the Social Gospel approach to social issues. The YMCA (founded in 1844) played a major role in fostering revivals in the cities in the 1858 Awakening and after. The revival of 1858 produced the leadership, such as that of Dwight L. Moody, out of which came religious work carried on in the armies during the civil war. The Salvation Army was also birthed during this time, founded in 1865 in London by one-time Methodist preacher William Booth.
4. Fourth Great Awakening. The Fourth Great Awakening is a debated concept that has not received the acceptance of the first three. Advocates such as economist Robert Fogel say it happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Jesus Movement is one evidence of this awakening, and it created a shift in church music styles. Mainline Protestant denominations weakened sharply in both membership and influence while the most conservative religious denominations grew rapidly in numbers, spread across the United States, had grave internal theological battles and schisms, and became politically powerful. The Charismatic Renewal Movement was also birthed during this time which scaled denominational barriers.

   I personally was saved and called into the ministry during the mid to later part of these movement. These were exciting times. There were two groups I personally know of that experienced great revival during this period. Calvary Chapel, pastored by Chuck Smith in Southern California and Calvary Temple (Calvary Ministries International) in Ft Wayne, Indiana. Pastor John Lloyd, who started the Adam’s Apple, which became the largest coffee house in the nation, in Ft. Wayne, IN, led over 600 people to the Lord in one summer. Many of those saved during this time entered full-time ministry either planting churches or some type of music ministry. Contemporary Christian Music and Christian Rock and Roll was birthed out of this movement.

5. The last Great Awakening (Joel 2:28-32).

Jesus’ Commendation, Encouragement, and Promise

1. Thy works.

   Revelation 3:8a – “I know thy works!”

   This is one of the things Jesus takes note of concerning each of the seven churches. He, likewise, does not overlook our work and labor for Him. It doesn’t escape His notice. He knows what all we do for Him.

   Galatians 6:9-10 – “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

   1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

   Hebrews 6:10 – “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

2. An open door.

   Revelation 3:8b – “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it!”

   Christ’s church that is in revival such as “The Great Awakening” is promised an open door. The church in the midst of revival has always experienced open doors and opportunities for expansion and fruitful ministry.

   I remember specifically during the fourth great wakening (The Jesus Movement) there were open doors of ministry in coffee houses, music ministries were thrust forth, and those saved during this time period planted untold churches around the United Sates and the world. Many of them became some of the great churches in America. Churches in revival always have a heart for evangelism.

   Isaiah 22:22 – “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”

   Matthew 7:7-8 – “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

   Acts 14:27 – “When they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.”

   1 Corinthians 16:9 – “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.”

   2 Corinthians 2:12 – “Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord.”

   Colossians 4:3 – “Praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.”

   Ephesians 6:18-19 – “Praying… for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

3. Their strength, endurance, and faithfulness.

   Revelation 3:8c – “For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My Word, and hast not denied My name.”

   1. A little strength. They were commended for the strength they had. However, we must never rest and be satisfied with a little strength but strive to grow in grace, faith, and to be strong in the Lord. We must never settle but press on in our God for more and more strength in Him. He has allotted us all the strength and power we will ever need but sadly most fail to tap into and utilize what He has provided.

      Ephesians 1:19-23 – “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of HIS MIGHTY POWER, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”

      Ephesians 3:16-19 – “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US.”

      2 Peter 1:3-4 – “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

   2. They kept His Word. This has to do with the embodiment of fundamental truth found in scripture. If we’re going to experience revival as this church did and see God open the doors of effectual ministry we must preach and teach the unadulterated Word of God like never before. It’s incumbent on us to study and be sure we are teaching sound doctrine. It greatly concerns me that the church of our day is failing miserably in this area. We want to preach that which is acceptable and doesn’t offend but God has called us to keep His Word without compromise. Our job isn’t to please the people but the One Who called us.

      2 Timothy 4:1-5 – “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

   3. They had not denied His name. We are saved by His finished work on the cross and our salvation is sealed by confessing His name. This confession is not a one-time thing but continual. We must continually hold fast our confession of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who refuse to confess Him as Lord in this life will do so at His appearing.

      Mark 8:38 – ” Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

      Matthew 10:32-33 – “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.”

      Philippians 2:9-11 – “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

      Romans 10:9-10 – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

4. The subjection of false professors.

   Revelation 3:9 – “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”

   Just because someone says they are Jews or Christians doesn’t mean that they are. Many go through the outward appearance of religion but have never had a change in heart through the new birth (John 3:1-16, 1 Peter 1:23, James 1:18).

   Romans 2:28-29 – “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”

   Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”

   False professors will one day have to acknowledge the Lord’s faithful church and remnant and that they are the ones loved by Christ. Worship at their feet has to do with them being convinced they are and have been wrong and that His faithful ones were right all along and that they are truly of God. At that day all false professors will have to bow and confess Jesus as the true Lord. These are those who have professed a false Jesus and a false gospel. They will be forced to admit His remnant are the true servants of Christ. This is a severe warning to all who propagate false gospels and also those with a weak watered down gospel.

   Galatians 1:6-9 – “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

   2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, this you tolerate very well!”

   Philippians 2:9-11 – “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

5. Kept from the hour of temptation and trial.

   Revelation 3:10 – “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

   This is most probably referring to seven year tribulation period. They are promised He will keep them from it. There are three to four different views as to when the rapture will take place. 1. Pre-tribulation. 2. Mid-tribulation. 3. Post-tribulation and 4. Pre-wrath. See When Will the Rapture Happen? However, this gives the indication that only the church that is ablaze for Christ will be kept from the great tribulation period and the lukewarm Laodicean church will be left or spewed out of His mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

6. Hold fast what you have.

   Revelation 3:11 – “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

   There are five crowns mentioned in scripture given as reward for faithful service to the Master at The Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ, This is a judgment for believers and believers only. This is to be distinguished from the White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15.

   The Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ is a judgment to determine reward (2 Corinthians 5:10-11 and 1 Corinthians 3:10-15), whereas, the White Throne Judgment is a judgment for all who have rejected Christ as Lord and Savior, where they will be judged for their sins and cast into the lake of fire. The believer’s sins have already been judged at the cross, cleansed, and forgiven. The Lord encourages this church to hold fast that we not our crown and reward.

   Five Crowns Mentioned in Scripture:

   1. The Incorruptible Crown for temperance, discipline, or self control – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
   2. The Crown of Rejoicing for soul winning – 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20.
   3. The Crown of Righteousness for those who long for and anxiously await His appearing – 2 Timothy 4:6-8.
   4. The Crown of Glory for elders faithful service – 1 Peter 5:1-4.
   5. The Crown of Life for enduring trials and testing – James 1:12.
7. Security promised this church.

   Revelation 3:12 – “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name.”

   1. The promise to overcomers. All born-again believer are overcomers. All we must do is continue believing in and trusting in Jesus and His love for us. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).

      Romans 8:37 – “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”

      1 John 4:4 – “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

      1 John 5:4-5 – “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

   2. A pillar in the temple of God. Their position in Christ is unshakable. A pillar is strong, steadfast, stable, and unmovable. Permanent like a pillar. They will stand when all else is fallen.
   3. Shall go out no more. This church need not be concerned with ever leaving its eternal abode. It will belong to them forever more. They will no longer be exposed to sin, temptation, or trials. It will have as its permanent residence the very presence of God.
   4. The name and city of God. He will write upon us the name of God and the name of His city the New Jerusalem. This speaks of our being God’s permanent possession. We belong to Him and Him alone. All blood bought believers have this claim. We are His possession.

      1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

A Call to Attentiveness

Revelation 3:13 – “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

This is repeated to each of the seven churches. Therefore, we must re-emphasize it where the Holy Spirit does. It’s incumbent on us to listen up and give heed to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches. This was true of this church, all the seven churches, the church throughout the ages, and churches today. We must have an attentive ear and obey all the Holy Spirit says.

Hebrews 3:7-8 – “Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts.”

Matthew 25:29 – “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

John 7:17 – “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself.”

John 10:27 – “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

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