WEBVTT

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Day 359, or December the 25th. Be sure to listen

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and hear. Our thoughts today come from Revelation

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chapter 2, verse 7. Whoever has ears, let them

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hear what the Spirit says to the churches. First,

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the big picture surrounding this verse. The book

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of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus to John.

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and is a unified writing about the end times,

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and not simply a collection of separate visions.

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It is the only book in the New Testament dedicated

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to prophetic events. Unlike most books in the

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Bible, it tells us who wrote it, where he was,

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and when it was written. It was John who was

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on the island of Patmos on the Lord's Day. This

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Greek island is beautiful and lies just off the

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coast of Turkey. I remember visiting it and reading

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the book of Revelation as I sat on the beach

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near our hotel that was called Paradise. I am

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transported there again every time I read it.

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The first three chapters of this book are filled

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with seven messages to seven churches in Asia

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Minor, which is today's Western Turkey, where

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many of us go on holiday these days to get almost

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guaranteed sunshine. Sadly, the sunshine of those

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early church fellowships has long since dimmed,

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and there is little physical evidence of their

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existence today, although we know their locations.

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And now, our action step for today. If you started

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listening to this on January 1st, and you've

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faithfully followed each day, let me wish you

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a happy Christmas. At first glance, Revelation

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and Christ's Nativity may not be linked, but

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think again. At Christmas, we remember the first

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coming of Jesus, and in Revelation, we anticipate

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his second coming. All seven churches mentioned

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in Revelation are given the same postscript,

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and this is our verse for today. We are all encouraged

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to listen and hear. For Jews, listening and hearing

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are different things. Listening is taking in

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information that results in no action. Hearing

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is taking in information that leads to life change

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as you practice what you hear. Let's be people

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who not only listen to God, but also hear what

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he says and act on it.