Revelation 3:22 reads, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

We probably rejoice over the divine disclosure that the Lord Jesus knows all our works, and we’ll be rewarded someday according to our works.

However, we need to remind ourselves that this joyous thought also proclaims a solemn warning.  Especially to all worldly and hypocritical professors of Christian faith. Let all such read, mark, and digest these words.

Jesus says to them, “I know thy works.”

They may deceive themselves and others, and they may even think it is easy to deceive ministers of the Word. They themselves might be the teachers of the Word in Christian communities. They may receive the bread and the cup from the Lord’s table and yet be cleaving to iniquity in their hearts. They may sit under the pulpit of an evangelical preacher, week after week and hear his words with a serious face but believe them not. But all of them must know that they cannot deceive Christ.

He, who discovered the deadness of Sardis and the lukewarmness of Laodicea, sees them through and through and will expose them at the last day, unless they repent.

Whatever efforts we may put into a hypocritical profession of faith and way of life, hypocrisy is a losing game. It will never answer to seem one thing and be another, to have the name of Christian and not the reality.

 If our conscience smites us and condemns us in this matter, we must be sure that sin will find us out. The eye that saw Achan steal the golden wedge and hide it, is upon us. The book that recorded the deeds of Gehazi and Ananias and Sapphira is recording our ways.

The Lord Jesus says, “I know thy works.”

At the same time, we must not forget that the Lord’s knowledge of our works is a source of great encouragement to us.  

To every honest and true-hearted believer, Jesus says, “I know thy works.”

We may see no beauty in our actions. All seems imperfect, blemished, and defiled. We are often sick at heart of our own shortcomings. We often feel that our whole life is one great error and that every day is either a blank or blot. But Jesus sees the beauty in everything that we do from a conscientious desire to please Him. His eye can discern excellence in the least thing which is a fruit of His own Spirit. In all our doings, He can pick out the grains of fold from amidst the dross of our performances and sift the wheat from amidst the chaff. Our tears are all put into His bottle. Our endeavours to do good to others, however feeble, are written in His book of remembrance. The least cup of cold water given in His name shall not lose its reward. He does not forget our work and labour of love, however little the world may regard it.

Jesus loves to honour the work of His Spirit in His people and to pass over their frailties. He dwells on the faith of Rahab not on her weaknesses. He commends His apostles for continuing with Him in His temptations and passes over their ignorance and want of faith (Luke 22:28). As a father pities his own children, so the Lord pities them who fear Him. As a father finds pleasure in the least acts of his children, of which a stranger knows nothing, similarly, the Lord finds pleasure in our poor feeble efforts to serve Him. It is all very wonderful.

We can well understand the righteous in the day of judgment saying, “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?” (Matthew 25:37-39).

Let us take the comfort of it. The Lord says, “I know thy works.”

So far, we have considered two lessons from the Lord’s Words to churches:

(1) doctrines and

(2) the Lord’s knowledge of our works.

Now ….

Third, all seven epistles speak of the Lord’s promise to the man who overcomes. Each promise to seven churches is different, and each is full of strong consolation. Each is addressed to the overcoming Christian. It implies that every professing Christ is a soldier of Christ. He is bound to fight Christ’s battle against sin, the world, and the devil.

The man who does not do this breaks his own profession of faith in Christ. The very fact that he belongs to a church, attends a Christian place of worship, and calls himself a Christian, is a public declaration that he desires to be reckoned a soldier of Jesus Christ.

Armour is provided for the professing Christian, if he will only use it. Paul says to the Ephesian believers, “Take unto you the whole armour of God.” Read Ephesians 6:13-17,

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Besides this, the true believers of Christ have the best leader – Jesus the Captain of Salvation. Through Him, they will be more than conquerors.

What we must not forget is that we, true believers of Christ, are not only Christ’s soldiers but also, victorious. They not only profess to fight on Christ’s side against sin, the world, and the devil, but they do overcome. This is the one grand distinguishing mark of true Christians. If we would prove that we are born again and going to heaven, we must be victorious soldiers of Christ. If we would make it clear that we have any title to Christ’s precious promises, we must fight the good fight in Christ’s cause, and in that fight, we must be conquerors.

Victory is the only outcome from the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We like good sermons perhaps. We respect the Bible and read it occasionally. We say our prayers day and night. We have family altars for daily devotion to the Lord. They are all good. But how is the battle? How does the great conflict go on all this time? Are we overcoming the love of the world and the fear of man? Are we overcoming the passions, tempers, and lusts of our own heart? Are we resisting the devil and making him flee from us? We must either rule or serve sin, devil, and the world. There is no middle course. We must either conquer or be lost.

Of course, it is a hard battle that we must fight. We must fight a good fight of faith and endure hardships, if we would lay hold of eternal and heavenly treasures. There may be short roads to heaven invented by man, but our way is the old way – the way of the cross.

Lovingly,

Pastor Emeritus Ki

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