Revelation – Letters to the Churches – 3

Revelation 1:3-4a – 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia

Revelation 2:7 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Revelation 2:11 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

Revelation 2:17 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Revelation 2:29 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:6 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:21-22 – 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.

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Do you like receiving letters? It always means a lot when you get a personal, handwritten letter from somebody. It means they took the time and purposefully thought of you. What would happen if you received a letter from Jesus? What would you do? I read this and thought it was fitting for what we are going to hear in these letters:[1]

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter:Dear Ruth, I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I would like to visit.Love Always, JesusHer hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. “Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer.” With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.“Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.”She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. “Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.”She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk…leaving Ruth with grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.“Hey lady, can you help us?”Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.“Look lady, I ain’t got a job, ‘ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, it’s getting cold and we’re getting ‘kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we’d really appreciate it.”Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.“Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.”“Yeah, well, okay. I understand. Thanks anyway.”The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and he headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.“Sir, wait!”The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. “Look, why d