Are You Listening?

Revelation stresses the importance of listening.  All seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3 are told, “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”  How do you know if you are listening to the Spirit well? Revelation 1:3 says if we “hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it we are blessed.” 

The message to the seven churches is clear: “Listen and repent.” 

To the church at Sardis the Lord says, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent!” What does He say to them? You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.” How sad!

What are you doing in your church to evaluate your present reality and face any individual or corporate sin in your congregation?  

To the church at Laodicea the Lord says, “If anyone hears my voice.” Once again, the question must be asked, “Are you listening to what the Spirit is saying to your church? What did the Lord say to Laodicea? You say you are rich and need nothing, but you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked! Talk about a total lack of self-awareness. They were not listening at all and believed they were fine.  

What might the Spirit be saying to you through His Word and the Holy Spirit?

The problem is, can you even hear His voice? Is His voice the loudest voice in your life? Are you learning from what the Lord said to these seven churches? In his commentary on Revelation, John Phillips refers to them as  . . . 

the fallen church (Ephesus) 

the fearful church (Smyrna) 

the faltering church (Pergamos)

the false church (Thyatira) 

the fruitless church (Sardis)

the feeble church (Philadelphia)

the fashionable church (Laodicea). 

Whenever you are willing to listen to what the Lord is saying, it can be quite painful, but godly sorrow is necessary to bring about godly repentance.

Healthy Church Solutions has the Church Lifecycle Tool to help you hear the Spirit’s voice on exactly what your church’s present reality is. What do you need to celebrate and what do you need to repent of? This tool will help you discover if your church is in a state of incline, recline, or decline. Every church falls into one of those positions. You can clearly see the evidence of these three positions in the book of Revelation, and Jesus had a report card for each one of these churches. Even to the church at Laodicea the Lord says, “If you will hear my voice . . . ” and then tells the church He will respond. 

The church at Sardis was actually a declining church, but it’s interesting that they didn’t even realize it. They thought they were alive, but Jesus said, “Look! You’re actually a declining church and there are some things here that need to be worked on.” He said to them, “You need to strengthen what remains.”  

The church at Laodicea was a reclining church. Here’s a church saying, “We’re fine, we don’t need anything!” They were a church that had plateaued. They were not moving forward, but in their minds, they thought they had arrived. They probably had a lot going on and were very busy with structures and programs. 

Jesus quickly pointed out that they had some blind spots. Unfortunately, churches who plateau or begin to recline will eventually decline. When a church begins to relax and let their guard down it is very easy to get comfortable and begin accepting the status quo. One pastor remarked that one of the most difficult things in his ministry was to watch on-fire, committed members to sit down in their pews to never get back up. So a church that is reclining is in a dangerous position. Bob Roberts, Jr. says, “There is only one thing worse than God’s judgment on the church, and that is His absence from it!”  

To the church at Philadelphia, an inclining church, Jesus says many complimentary things in Revelation 3:7-13 and encouraged them to “hold on to what they have.” He said they were one of two churches out of the seven that received a favorable report card. They had momentum and were living out their calling and purpose in the community where they were placed. 

This is what every church should desire and want to see. God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, for the right purposes.

Are you willing to listen to what the Spirit says about your church? Are you an inclining church, a reclining church, or a declining church? It’s very important for you to discover this in order to be able to listen, repent (if needed), and move forward. You must have an awareness of where you are and be willing to own your present reality. You must be able to say, “This is where we are, these are our strengths, these are our weaknesses, and these are the things we need to be focused on that God has revealed to us.” Revelation 3:19 says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent.” May all of us be willing to listen to what the Spirit is saying and be willing to repent. May we take Psalm 139:23-24 to heart and openly ask the Lord to do the following: 

1. Search me.  

2. Test me. 

3. Point out to me. 

4. Lead me!”  Contact us at larry@bmaam.com or heidi@bmaam.com if you want to know more about how to implement the Church Lifecycle Tool at your church.