Christ's Last Word To The Churches

by Vance Havner

     We need to face the Christ of the Candlesticks, the Lord of the Lampstands, calling the church to repentance. Too many Christians have an incomplete and inadequate vision of our Lord. You will remember that Rip Van Winkle awoke from his long sleep to find that times had changed. When he went to sleep, King George III was the ruler of the American colonies. When he woke up, George Washington was President of the United States. Unaware of all that, Rip began to whoop it up for the King and got himself into trouble. He was yelling for the wrong George!

    Some today are trying to follow a Galilean Teacher but a lot has happened since Jesus walked on earth in the days of His flesh. Calvary has taken place and the resurrection and Pentecost. We are not dealing now with only a meek and lowly Jesus going about doing good, with nowhere to lay His head, and upon whose breast John laid his head. That chapter is past. We are dealing now with a crucified, risen, ascended, glorified and coming Lord with His countenance as the sun, His eyes like fire and His voice like the sound of many waters, and before whom John fell as dead. In the Gospels we have Christ, the Example (and that is important for if we are to walk as He walked, we must know how He walked). In the Acts we have the Christ of Evangelism, the complete gospel message. In the Epistles, we have the Christ of Christian and church experience. But in the Revelation we have the Christ of Revival and the Coming King who will return to destroy the powers of evil, put the devil out of business and reign forever. And while He still says, "Come unto me and I will give you rest," and while He still says, "Go ye into all the world," His last word to us is a call to repentance.  

    A lot of Sunday-morning Christians, who want to sit with folded hands and listen to a mild discourse on the Teacher of Galilee, need to be aroused from their stupor by a vision of the flaming Christ of the Candlesticks. Eight times in these messages to the churches He says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear." Eight times in the Gospels He says, "He that hat ears to hear, let him hear." Some of us have ears...period. "Hearing we hear not." We sit at church looking but not listening. God grant us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches! And eyes to behold the Lord of the Lampstands bidding us "Repent...or else!"

Vance Havner, REPENT OR ELSE, Fleming H Revell Company, 1958, pages 16-18.