Well, it's always a blessing to be able to preach God's word. And each and every opportunity is always sort of a special thing and a blessing. It's always a blessing to be here as well at Ambassador Baptist College and to be able to open God's word. So if you, I know you have your Bibles here today. Let's turn to Revelation chapter three, Revelation chapter three. And as you're turning there, Just before the service started, Dr. Scoville asked if I wanted to borrow his Bible. But thankfully, I remembered mine. But because he's a music guy, I thought I'd just make reference to one of the songs that Brother Ream let us in. And the last phrase of the verse that we sang, you don't have to turn there, of course, but it was showers of blessing. It says, grant to us now a refreshing, come and now honor thy word. And so that's a great thought there, come and now honor thy word. And that's our desire here, is that God would honor his word as we open it. in this chapel session. And I know that throughout the day, you have lots of good Bible classes. And that's a wonderful privilege that we have, isn't it? To have God's word and have access to it, be able to study it and be in a Bible college like this. And many parts of the world, they don't have quite the opportunities we have for these kinds of Bible colleges. And all the resources like you find in the libraries and many of our electronic devices are loaded up with all kinds of resources. And so that's a blessing that God has given you and given me as well as I look back on my opportunity to come to Bible college here. and certainly very thankful for that. And so I trust that each one of us, as we think about the future and consider what the Lord would have for us, that we would stay faithful to him over the years. And it reminds me, you know, you think about how easy it is, or you look around and see other people who may get away from the Lord and just sort of make a mess of their life. And you realize that that could happen to any one of us. And so it's important for us day by day to just keep our hearts where the Lord wants them to be. The psalmist sort of seems to think about, he reminds us in Psalm 103, verse 14, that the Lord remembers we're but dust. And that's very true. And we have to, that's why we need to come to the Lord each day and let him fill us and control us so that we can do all that he wants us to do with our lives and not waste it. Well, here in Revelation 3, of course, Chapters two and three of Revelation are the famous seven messages that we have to these churches throughout Asia Minor there. And I'm sure if you've been in church for any length of time, you've heard messages about these different messages to the churches and so many great truths to think about. So many things there that are great challenge to us today and we need to stop and think about in our own lives. And basically I'm gonna try to focus as we come down to the end of the message on just one of those great blessings that we have to look forward to. And it's mainly the one that you find at the church in Philadelphia. This is one of the unusual churches that didn't have, the Lord didn't point out some flaw or error in their church. And so that's an amazing thing. But as you think about these different messages to the churches, there's three statements or three things that get repeated over and over again. And so if you've studied through those different messages to the churches, you realize that there's these things that keep getting repeated. And so, you know, anytime that something's repeated over and over again, that's something to really stop and think about, something to consider. It's a real emphasis that the Lord's trying to make, isn't it? And so you see that in each of these messages, all seven of them. Well, the first one that you come across is he always says to every church, I know thy works. I know thy works. And then he says to every one of them, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith to the churches. And then he makes a comment about him that overcometh, the one that overcomes. Every one of those messages, it has those three statements, those three ideas in it. And so I'd like us to think about just mainly folk, you could pick any one of those blessings or promises that he gives to the overcomer. But I'd like us to primarily notice there in Revelation chapter three, and look at verse 12 as he makes those statements. Then he comes to verse 12 where he gives this blessing. Look at what it says. 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 for my God, and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And so I'd like us just to mainly think about these different words or these phrases that are repeated, but then thinking about its relation to that concept of being a pillar, being a pillar in the temple of my God. And so, let's just think about that. Go back and think about those statements, those repeated statements. It's almost like in any, as you think about being a pillar, you think about the succession of those different thoughts. I know thy works. This is something that, We don't want to forget. We don't want to take lightly that each and every day, the Lord knows our works as well. We see him walking there in that vision John sees, walking amongst the churches. And so he could say that to every one of us, and you know, it's very true. He knows our works. And that's an important thing each and every day to think about as we go throughout our day. He knows where our mind wanders. He knows how we use our free time. He knows everything, why we do ministry things. He knows all about our Bible study and our social media, everything. Think about that. He could say right here, I know your works, my works. That's a very sobering thing to think about. And he repeats it seven times, doesn't he? So that's important to think about each and every day. Now, as he talks about to these churches, only two out of the seven have no problems that the Lord points out. No words of condemnation, you might say. Nothing that's a serious flaw. So two out of the seven. You wonder in our churches around the world today, if maybe that same ratio is still true. Probably very likely, isn't it? That's something important to think about, even just amongst our group here today. You know, the Lord sees right down in the very depths of our heart. Imagine that Hebrews 4.12, where it's, the word of God is like a, can discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And dividing asunder of soul and spirit, the power of the word of God, the ability that it has to really know exactly where we're at. That's the God who's talking to these churches, and he wants to speak to each and every one of us. He wants us to think about that same thing as well. Well, you think about that phrase, I know thy works. Then the other phrase that's repeated seven times, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. You know, this is also a very important thought. Again, he repeats it seven times. You know, this concept of having an ear that really wants to hear, that really wants to hear. That's something we have to be real careful to work to maintain. Our ear, we can become dull of hearing. The Bible talks about those being dull of hearing and we can become that same way. Think about in that same chapter, if you look at verse 17, Think about the church in Laodicea. Do you think they have an ear to hear? Notice they say, they say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. Do you think their ear is open to hear with that kind of, if they're saying those kinds of things, I don't need anything? I hope none of us ever think that way. We should always think each and every day, I need to hear from God. This kind of mentality is saying, you know what, I don't need anything, and I really don't even need the Lord, basically. That's why they were the lukewarm church, isn't it? But see, any one of us could get to that point where maybe the things become sort of habitual, sort of a ritual, and become mundane. Anything, we have the tendency as humans, that anything we do over and over can become sort of boring or mundane to us. But we have to really let God work in our heart and keep that passion for the things of God and for hearing from his voice. So that's a phrase that he emphasizes over and over again. And we'll look at that a little bit more as we go throughout. But throughout the message, I just want us to think about those phrases. I know thy works, then he that hath an ear, The one that really wants to hear, obviously that's the person that's gonna have the works the Lord will commend. And that's really what an overcomer is. So I'd like us to think a little bit about what is an overcomer? You know, you see that seven times, every time, he that overcometh. The conclusion of every one of those messages states that. So it's important to think about what is an overcomer? What does it look like? You know, he that overcomes. I think certainly fundamentally, in its basic sense, we could say that it's anybody who's saved, right? If you think about just a few verses before that, 1 John 5, 1 John 5, verses four and five, it says, 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? So believing that Jesus is the Son of God. A few pages beyond Revelation 3, we have that great verse in Revelation 12, where it says, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. So I think certainly, Every one of these messages speaks about somebody who overcomes. He that overcometh. Certainly, in its basic sense, you have to be saved to be an overcomer, right? Nobody who is unsaved, the lost, are not overcomers that will partake of these different blessings and promises. So that's certainly true. But you know, also another thing when you think about this term, an overcomer, Another interesting thing that I was thinking about was how long does a person have to be saved to be an overcomer? How long does a person have to be saved? You think about all these great rewards. One we read about having, I'll make you a pillar Another one, it says, I will not blot out his name out of the book of life. And you can just go through, and these are wonderful promises to those that overcome. So it's basically somebody who's, first of all, saved. How long do you have to be saved to get all these things? Well, you know, I was thinking about in Matthew 20, we have an interesting parable that Jesus tells. You don't have to turn there, but in verses, Matthew 20, we have this parable that talks about Jesus, or Jesus tells a story of the master paying the workers in the vineyard. Some of them worked all day. Others basically worked one hour. But what happened? They all got paid equally, didn't they? The one who, some started at six in the morning, some nine and on throughout the day, all the way up until the 11th hour. And when they all came to be rewarded or paid, they got the same thing. So in essence, even somebody who gets saved, you might say on their deathbed, right before they die, for example, the thief on the cross, somebody like that, they, amazingly, would get all of these blessings. as well as somebody who had served the Lord for 70, 80 years throughout a long life of faithful service to the Lord. They'll get to that day before the Lord and they'll be paid equally as the person who started working the 11th hour. That's an amazing thing to think about. You know, who is an overcomer? Well, it's basically somebody who's saved, but it's somebody during that saved period of their life is faithful to the Lord. And that might be just a short time. It might be a long time. But that's really the challenge, I think, for us, is if God lets us live a long time on this earth, we face a lot of temptations and trials. And so I think that when you think about this term, an overcomer, he that overcometh, yes, it's fundamentally somebody who's born again and saved, and they could be saved for a very short time and receive all these wonderful blessings and promises. They could claim them just as well as a faithful servant of God for 70, 80 years of their life, a long life on earth. But you think about, if you've been saved any length of time, you know how the devil really tempts, and we go through trials and difficulties, and we sometimes can't figure out what God is doing, and the devil can really get us and try us, and we can fall easily. So the real challenge of being an overcomer is if God lets us live 80 years as a saved person. Because what does it mean to be an overcomer over 80 years? That's tough. That's a challenge, isn't it? Or however long the Lord lets us live here, even if it's a year or 10 years, 20 years, the devil, we face a great spiritual battle. And it's easy for any of us to be inconsistent or to be overcome by the world. So that's why when you think about this term, I think also think of it in this way. As you think about your life, however long God gives you, and I trust most of us here today are saved, what if we have another 50 years, 60 years? I think an overcomer, if you could graph their life, you ever seen like, maybe you look at your investments and you see it going up and down and maybe it's starting to slide down? If you could graph your life, hopefully over those 80, so whatever, however many years, 10, 20, 30 years of saved life, It's sort of graphing up. It's got an upward trend to it. That's also the way I sort of think of an overcomer. It's not somebody who's just going like this. That would be a terrible thing. Now, of course, in the end, the Lord is the final judge of who's truly saved. We don't really know all that. We sometimes look at people and wonder, and we're not real sure by the way they're living. But let's, I think an overcomer, somebody with that mentality is the kind of person that says, I want it to be clear to others that I love the Lord and I'm serving the Lord. And anybody who looks at that person knows that person's really on fire for the Lord. You know, these lukewarm people, you look at that kind of group of people and you wonder, I'm not sure. You know, I'm not real sure. Only the Lord really knows that. So I think fundamentally it's a saved person, obviously, but it's also somebody throughout the long period of time God gives us on this earth to serve him, our life is sort of trending upward in our devotion and consistency and passion for the Lord. That would certainly describe an overcomer. He that overcometh. It's not this person that says, well, I'm saved and I'm just going to keep living the same old way I always did. I know there's, I believe in eternal security, so I'm just going to keep living my worldly, inconsistent, unfaithful life. Oh, if somebody thinks like that, they're probably not saved, right? You know, he that has the hope of the Lord's return purifies himself, John says. And they're working and growing and being consistent and faithful. So think about that. We're sort of considering what does it mean to be an overcomer? You know, that's why I want us to think about those other phrases. The Lord knows our works. And he says, he that hath an ear, let him hear. An overcomer certainly is a person that would realize that truth. My ear is open to the Lord. I need the Lord to speak to me. I need to hear from him each and every day. Think about what Luke 8.21 says. Jesus is speaking. He said, my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it. All right, so that's why over and over all these churches said, he that hath an ear, because if you hear his word and do it, that's an overcomer. All right, so it's important to think about that term. Let's just notice, think about now a couple of key examples, a couple of practical examples from the scripture as you think about this. So we have these three phrases, the Lord says, I know thy works. He knows every one of ours. He knows where we're at right now, if we're on an upward trend or a downward trend. He knows where we'll be 50 years from now. But the key is, do we have a heart to hear his word? Do we have an ear to hear his word, a desire? That will ensure we'll be an overcomer. We will overcome in the end. If we're trusting the Lord, listening to his word, doing it, we can't fail. It's when we get away from his word and we start depending on ourself, isn't it? That we start being overcome by things. So let's just consider a couple of practical examples that we see. And again, we'll look at some other verses and then come back here to Revelation chapter three, thinking about this principle of having this ear that wants to hear and desires to hear. That will ensure that when the Lord analyzes our works, we'll be an overcomer, right? Think about, let's turn over to Luke chapter eight. Luke chapter eight. Now that revelation isn't the only place where we see that kind of a phrase, he that hath an ear to hear. Look at Luke chapter eight. And let's just think about some examples here. We all should desire to be overcomers. an overcomer, but it takes the right kind of an ear, the right kind of a heart, an open ear to the Lord. Now, if you notice in this parable here, as you start out in Luke chapter eight, we have this famous parable. Some people call it the parable of the sower, some the parable of the soils, but you could also call it the parable of hearing, the hearers. the parable of the hearers, because in every time it says, Jesus says, this type of soil represents those that hear the word, those that hear the word. And in my Bible, I circle it all those times it says here. And that's an important thing to note. So, as you think about the parable, there's four different soils, isn't there? Three-quarters of them don't produce any fruit. Three-quarters of them, you could say, were overcome, instead of overcomers, right? And you get that sense throughout the story. It illustrates it. Only the fourth group, that good soil, they hear the word and they produce fruit throughout their life. So just notice that. You know, we're familiar, there's all these different types of soil. And then Jesus talks about it and explains it a little bit. But notice in verse 15, well, let's just go back and look at starting in verse 10. Verse 12, those by the wayside are they that hear. Verse 13, they on the rock are they which when they hear, that is hear the word, They receive the word with joy, but in the time of temptation fall away. Verse 14, that which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with the cares and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. But notice verse 15, but that on the good ground are they which, in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. So imagine that, it's really a matter of everybody's hearing the word, but the key thing is about what do we do with it? Look at verse 10. Think about this in that same parable. Look back at verse 10. This is an interesting thing. He's quoting from Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6, but notice he says, unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables, why? That seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand. You see, Jesus understands this, and so he begins to teach in parables because he knows that some people don't have an ear to, they don't really want it. They don't want to receive it. Some people will, but others won't. And in a sense, whenever the word goes out, there's some that it's doing a hardening work on, and others, it's softening and developing, and they're growing by it. And that's almost always happening, even in our church ministries, wherever we go, There's always some that are like that. God knows their heart, and they hear the word, and it's like it doesn't have any effect on their life. They keep growing harder and more resistant to it. And then pretty soon, you know, they'll be out of church, or they'll be completely away from the Lord, or even abandon everything to do with the Lord. And you imagine, they used to be maybe right where you are, or right in your church at one point some time ago. Why is it? Well, it's the same thing that was going on there. They're hearing the same messages. Others are growing from it. Others are resisting it and they're being hardened by it. And so that was going on in Isaiah's day, it's still going on today. And that's a sobering thing to think about as we preach the word of God, that some people are actually being hardened and turned away because of their heart. And so it's a challenge to us. Think about what kind of ears do we have? What kind of heart do we have? So I'd like us to just think about something very interesting that we see in order to develop the right kind of ears. As this parable goes on, he goes on then to talk about the candle, verse 16, and don't cover it. The idea that our works, the manifestation of what's going on in our heart should be evident to others around it. We don't try to hide our love and devotion and passion for Christ. Our works for Christ, it should be obvious. Everybody should see that. Look at verse 18. Take heed, he's sort of concluding now. Take heed therefore, and what's the next word? How you hear, how ye hear. Take heed therefore. As you think about some people hear the word and it actually causes them to become harder and resistant and no fruit being produced. Others, they take it in and it produces a lot. and it goes on for the rest of their life producing fruit. What's the key? Therefore take heed how you hear. How you hear. You know, look over, hold your place there, but look over at Mark chapter four. Mark chapter four, the same parable, we have it in Matthew, Mark. We're only gonna look at Mark and Luke's example. But in thinking about this principle, seven times to the churches, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said. That will help you when he analyzes your works. He says, I know your works to actually be the one that overcomes. And so we all have this great opportunity to be hearing the word and reading the word and studying it. Some over time fall away, drift away, and they abandon the things that they once heard, things that we all have heard. Others grow by it and they're enriched by it and their life is more productive. What's the key? Well, one of them is take heed how you hear. But notice here in Mark chapter four, the same parable is being told And then it talks about not hiding the candlestick, hiding your works and your life under a candlestick, let it be seen, let it be obvious. Now look in verse 24. What does he warn us here? Take heed, what's the next word? What ye hear. In Luke he says, take heed how you hear. Here it says, take heed what you hear. Now if you look at that Greek word, Brother Hankey here, he can check all this too. I'm not a Greek expert by any means, but that word also in other places is translated with the word who. But it's the same idea, take heed who you hear, or take heed what you hear. That same word other places is translated with the word who. but it would fit there as well. Take heed who you're listening to. Take heed what you're listening to. Take heed how you're listening. All of those are really the key if you want to maintain the right kind of ear throughout your lifetime, which obviously affects our heart. He's talking about having a heart to hear, a heart to receive, knowing that you need to hear this stuff. Don't be like the Laodiceans who say, I have need of nothing. We need to hear. And so the key is how you're hearing, who you're hearing, and what you're hearing. That's what he concludes the parables on hearing about. If you want your life to be like a bright and shining candlestick, you pay attention to what you're taking in, your ears, and how you prepare to hear. That's really what he's getting at. So you think about that. How do you prepare to listen? It is important, isn't it, to prepare to preach. We all understand that. But I think what he's saying is equally important to prepare how you hear. That's what he's saying. And think about who you're hearing from. And that's a real problem, isn't it? That over the years we begin to hear these different voices and messages and we begin to let it affect our life. The Bible says evil communications corrupt good manners. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. And so obviously if you're taking in all kinds of sort of questionable material or listening to questionable people, guess what's gonna happen over time? Your ear to hear the Lord is gonna grow dim and dull. And if you're not taking time each and every day, each and every week as you go to church or come here to chapels like this to prepare your heart how to hear, then you see you can become dull of hearing and you can start to think, I don't need anything, I'm okay the way I am. That's the devil's message, isn't it? He says, you're okay as you are. Jesus is always trying to challenge us and change us and mold us. And we should keep on that process all throughout our life. So those are the key things, how we hear, who we're hearing or what we're hearing. That's what he says, pay attention to those three key things. And every one of us, if we'll keep that in mind, It'll help us over the years to remain faithful, to be an overcomer. Let's just go back as we sort of conclude this back to Revelation chapter three. All right, the three key phrases, I know your works. So he knows who we're listening to, how we're listening, how we're preparing our hearts, what kind of things we're reading and taking in to our hearts. That will obviously affect how we respond to Christ. That'll affect our works throughout our lifetime. And like I said, our life as an overcomer should be sort of a graph charting upward over the years in our devotion and our consistency to Christ. Not looking at it and saying, wow, he's drifting or he's going down, I think. There's something wrong. No, we want to be the kind of person that's trending upward. That should be our goal. That's the mindset of an overcomer, I think. And so as we come back here to the passage we read, that verse we read in Revelation 3.12, like I said, you could look at any of these great blessings of overcomers and focus on them, but I just wanna mainly conclude thinking about this. It says, him that overcometh, the one that pays attention to how they hear and who they hear and what they hear so that they produce the right kind of works throughout their life. So that when they stand before the Lord, he can say, I know your works, well done thou good and faithful servant. That should be our desire. Think about this, I will make him a pillar. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God. Again, I said this section is just sort of some practical examples. We've looked at that parable and that hopefully can be some practical things to think about in your own life. But think about that phrase, an overcomer, he'll make a pillar in the temple of his God. You know how critical a pillar is, isn't it? You know, pillars. And that phrase, they talk about even there in Philadelphia, there was some temple, these historians, and they would oftentimes recognize people by making a pillar in some building there with a name on it. And for years to come, people would commemorate that person or this person. In Solomon's temple, he made those pillars there at the front and had names up on the top. Now you think about this. It's just sort of a practical thing. As you think about, as you live your life now and throughout the rest of your life. And this is something that my pastor Roberts has mentioned and referred to years ago, and it's always stuck in my mind. He said, how could someone be a pillar in God's heavenly temple when they're not a pillar in their own church? Now you think about that, that's very true. So I said, when you think about an overcomer, fundamentally, yeah, somebody who's saved, but really it's also how they're living their entire life. What is the mindset of their entire life? You think God would want to make somebody a pillar in his heavenly temple and their pastor knows, hey, that person, you can't depend on him in the church. Is that really an overcomer? So I think practically it means, You serve the Lord right where he puts you. And I hope other people would look at us and say, you know what, that's a pillar in our church. That person, we can trust them. They're faithful. They're dependable. They're like a pillar in our church. That's really what it comes down to is that in our local churches where we serve the Lord, where we're members, people should look at us as pillars in our church. Those are the kind of people I think God will make pillars in his temple. Somebody who's inconsistent and unfaithful and undependable, almost worthless in church ministry, unusable, it's hard to imagine them being a pillar in God's temple someday. Think about what Paul, so I hope that somebody can look at us, especially our church leaders and other godly people like here in this place and say, you know, they're like a pillar in God's work. Think about what Paul thought of some of the others in Galatians 2.9. Paul thought of them as pillars of the church, didn't he? In Galatians 2.9, he made that comment that these seem to be pillars in the church. And I do hope that each one of us will pay attention to how we're hearing, that is prepare our hearts to come before the Lord in our devotions. And as we go to church on Sunday, as we come to chapel, that's part of how we hear, preparing our heart to hear. We expect the preacher to prepare to preach. And I think the preacher can expect the hearers to prepare to hear. But also think about who we're hearing or what we're hearing based on Mark 4.24. And that will help us in the end to be an overcomer and a pillar in God's temple. That'd be a real blessing. Imagine that, that's a wonderful thing to sort of dream of and imagine. Hey, God's gonna make me a pillar in his temple. Well, you work at being right now a pillar in your church. In 1 Timothy, it says, the church is the pillar and ground of the truth. And churches are made up of people. And so you think of yourself as trying to be, working to be through God's help, a pillar in God's work here. And that's really what an overcomer and the promise that we have there in Revelation 3.12. And I trust that each one of us here today will think about those things. and pay attention to take heed to how, what, and who we're listening to. That'll help us to be productive soil, not just now, but for the rest of our life. And I trust that God will just use every one of us and that we'll be faithful to him. Let's conclude in a word of prayer. Fathers, we thank you for your word. We thank you for sending your son to die in the great song that we heard before the message. We pray, Lord, that you would just help each one of us to be faithful over the years and to pay attention, to have the ear to hear, so that when you look at our works, you'll say he's an overcomer, she's an overcomer. And I pray, God, that you would help each one of us to stay faithful to you for years to come throughout the rest of our life. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.