Do we only have to believe to inherit eternal life? What about those people who believe but do not repent of their sinful life? Will they get to heaven? What does God say? You first must believe and accept forgiveness for your sins, but God’s instructions are clear; we need to seek Him and do what He commands with our whole heart (Ps. 119:10, 34, 69)? Many distractions keep us from seeking God and obeying Him with our whole hearts. So, we first must ask God to show us what they are and then repent. In my life, resentments kept me from obeying God with my whole heart. Other people may be distracted by worldly enticements that draw them away from complete devotion to God. Often we do not make it a priority to please God and bring Him glory. Jesus addresses all these and more in His final word to the seven churches.
Jesus’s final words to the seven churches give us a glimpse of what will be ours if we overcome our sin and Satan’s temptations. The reoccurring theme is to conquer. According to Webster’s dictionary, conquer means getting possession or control of by winning a war. What did the churches need to conquer? What do we need to conquer? For one thing, never forget we are in a perpetual war with the devil who wants to steal, kill, and destroy us. Too often, we forget or ignore this fact to our peril. The following scriptures should put the fear of God in our lives and encourage us to stay in the battle to conquer our spiritual enemy.
To the Church in Ephesus
Rev 2:4, 7, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 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.”
To the Church in Smyrna
Rev 2:10-11, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days, you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 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.”
To the Church in Pergamum
Rev 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.”
To the Church in Thyatira
Rev 2:26-28, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.”
To the Church in Sardis
Rev 3:5, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”
To the Church in Philadelphia
Rev 3:10-12, “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”
To the Church in Laodicea
Rev 3:15-16,21,” ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 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.”
Conclusion
Are you aware of the spiritual warfare all around you and the need to conquer it? I wrote a series of posts on spiritual warfare that are found in SPIRITUAL WARFARE POSTS. I hope you are as encourage as I am to continue to fight because once we conquer one battle, we will have another. Jesus will help us. Heb 12:1-4 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” NEVER GIVE UP; KEEP LOOKING UP.
All verses are from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. No part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.
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