Highlights from two messages spoken by Lance Lambert in Asheville, NC, July 3-4, 2010
Message #1. Scriptures read: John 10:27-29; Rev. 3:14-22.
This has been a matter very much on my heart the last week or two. I have felt clearly that I should speak on this matter in Asheville. What is the most important reality in these days? This is something that everyone of us needs in the gathering darkness. The most essential necessity in these days is “a hearing ear.” Oh, yes, we need devotion. Yes, we need zeal. But, if we are going to serve and to overcome, a “hearing ear” is the great essential necessity.
It is interesting that in Revelation the Lord speaks to seven churches (the number seven speaks of fullness, completeness). The Lord is speaking not only to those seven churches, but also to the whole church. The message to each church ends with the same refrain: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” But, do we hear? There are those who say they hear the Lord. Yet, they say things that are weird. This brings the whole matter of hearing the Lord into disrepute. What is the Lord saying to the church in these last days?
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Here we have absolute security. No matter what happens, whether the Antichrist comes, whether we miss the first rapture or face death, we have this security.
The point is hearing “my voice.” Sheep are incredibly stupid creatures. God’s people are called sheep for a reason. They are very easily led in the wrong way. There is a correlation between following the Lord and hearing His voice. If you do not hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, then you are a candidate for deception or diversion.
I know this matter is really “Sunday School stuff,” but the trouble is that we have been too sophisticated. This is especially true in this time of gathering darkness. Today there is more spiritual life in Africa and Asia than in England. Even Pope John Paul II pleaded with the European Union leaders that in their documents on the European Union they should state that the Bible and the gospel were the source of their civilization, but they ignored it. The source, according to the European Union, is humanism (Hellenism). Yet, two thousand years ago men paid for seats to watch people killed by beasts, and for people to kill one another. But all of that was nullified by the gospel. When the Bible came in, people changed.
We are in an amazing period of world history. We are living in the shadow of the Antichrist. There are many conspiracy theories out there, about the Illuminati and so forth. Maybe there is some truth in it, but Satan is the real conspirator. He is bringing this one and that one into a chance meeting with one another. Unless you and I “hear” we have no security. Now, at this time, it is paramount that we hear Him!
I don’t need to say anything about the economic downturn. We are facing disaster. In Britain – I know something about this – the men behind the scenes, the top financiers, are all confused. So, they are looking for a man to solve the problems. All we need is a massive earthquake to tip the whole thing over the edge. Or, a Middle East blow-up – this will tip the whole economy over the edge. I am not saying this to depress you, but to encourage you to hear the Lord.
We see the apostate church. There is an openly gay bishop. Another bishop prayed an invocation saying, “Our Mother.” Even in the evangelical church there is no mention of judgment, tribulation, the fellowship of His sufferings, etc. How can we be kept by the power of God? It is only by hearing the voice of the Lord.
The church in Laodicea consisted of born-again believers, who were not that far removed from Pentecost. They thought that they were rich and had need of nothing. Yet, the Lord said that they were poor, blind, naked and miserable. These were two totally different descriptions of this church! Why didn’t they know that they know their condition? It is because they had ceased to hear. Why did the Lord say that they must “buy?” Because it will cost believers something to really experience gaining the gold, to be clothed in white raiment and to have their eyes anointed. He who hears my voice and opens the door – to him the Lord will come in and will sup with him. The meal signifies fellowship. If we hear, we shall be saved from a lot of delusion, deception and diversion.
This word to Laodicea is a passage for the last days. We are in this day, an incredibly dangerous era, yet a marvelous era. It is a time when Joel tells us that “whosover shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is a time when the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached.
There is a spiritual hearing device in your spirit. Your spirit is the same substance as God. He is Spirit. Your spirit has a receiving capacity for the hearing of God’s word. So, why don’t we hear the Lord? For one thing, we don’t think that He will speak to us. When we ignore that possibility the receiving device does not do what it should.
How do we hear the voice of the Lord? Often it is through the written word. Very normally it is in the Word of God. There are times when it seems to leap off the page. At other times it is an impression in the spirit. Sometimes it is almost a voice. One time I was at the bottom of my Christian life as a very young believer. I was so disappointed over the lives being lived by some Christians in my church. There was gossip, jealousy and all kinds of wrong things in their lives. I was in my room and was so disappointed. So, I stood up and declared, “Lord, I could give all your people up.” Then almost a voice came from behind me, “But can you give me up?” It was so real I turned around to see where the voice came from. I said, “No, Lord, I can never give you up.”
Today, some believers don’t hear the Lord on Israel. They don’t hear the Lord on the church. They don’t hear the Lord on all these signs we see around us.
If you are honest, you can pray, “Lord, I don’t understand You. I want to hear You.”
In the times leading up to Christ’s birth a few had a revelation from God. They heard from God concerning the coming Messiah. Yet, the majority of the Jews who had the priesthood and the temple, did not hear. It is amazing. Only a tiny few heard, such as Simeon and Anna. Why were there so few? The others had their own agenda. They would look at only certain passages in the Scriptures. They would not see the Messiah in Isaiah 53. But those few, they were ready for the coming of the Lord.
Message # 2: Scriptures read: John 10:27-28; Rev. 3:21-22; 1 Kings 3:6-13; Deut. 15:15-17
In the passage in First Kings, the phrase an “understanding” heart is used in verse 9. In Hebrew this word is actually “hearing.” Solomon asked God for a hearing heart. The translators did not know what this was, so they used the word “understanding.”
We are moving into a period of great turmoil and darkness of the last days. All that is happening is for the coming – yes, certainly for the coming of the Messiah – but also for the coming of the Antichrist. I have felt strongly that the most essential thing we need at this time is to have a hearing ear. We need to hear the Lord in the Word and have it applied to our assembly, our fellowship and to the work of the Lord.
The fact is that the majority of believers do not hear the voice of the Lord. They read the Bible but don’t hear His voice. Some of these believers prepare charts with details about the Lord’s coming, but don’t hear the voice of the Lord. In Jesus’ time the Jews were looking for Jesus to come on a horse as a conqueror over Rome, but they missed the point. Just a few people, like Simeon and Anna heard the Lord. Somehow they had an impression in the Spirit the time was at hand for the coming of the Lord. Anna, in her godliness, heard the Spirit of the Lord and talked to everyone about the coming of the Lord. Likewise, Zechariah and Elizabeth knew He was coming.
In these days which we are in we should have a hearing ear. The presence of the Lord was there before Solomon, and God essentially said to him, “Ask Me what you really want.” Solomon went right to the point. “Give me a hearing heart that I may be able to judge and discern.” And God also gave him wisdom. Wisdom is to be taught of the Lord. It is when the Holy Spirit takes the word of God and teaches us. Solomon was very conscious of his age and his huge responsibility. He could have asked for riches or the defeat of his enemies. But, he asked for a hearing heart. The Lord was pleased beyond measure at this request.
There will be nothing else to take us through these coming days more safely than a hearing heart. Some of the things that have been “sealed up” will be revealed.
The Bible first speaks of heart, then mind (soul). In the Old Testament the heart corresponds to the spirit. It has to do with our spirit. A hearing heart equals a hearing spirit. There is a receiving apparatus in our spirit that can hear God’s voice. This matter is of tremendous importance. So in the seven churches, whether as real churches, or as representing the church across the ages, the call to overcome is heard by “those who have an ear to hear.” Many believers today claim to have heard the Lord, but it is a funny thing they hear. This is not the voice of God, but the voice of the soul, or of evil spirits, or of the world. The promise to the overcomer in Laodicea is for the Lord come in and dine with him. This is a tremendous promise. You can have a water-tight organization, rolling on without the Lord. How come you could have such a organization and no one would hear?
In Lev. 14 there is a leper, who represents the sinner. The way that the leper is cleansed is by blood being placed first upon the ear, then the thumb and then the big toe. Surely, he needs to be a worker, doesn’t he? Then he needs the blood placed upon the thumb first. Then, he needs to walk by faith, so blood is needed upon the toe. But what the Lord is saying here is this: “If I do not have the ear, I do not have the man.” Otherwise, he will do his own thing and call it Mine. He will work and call it My work. Then the oil is placed upon the cleansed one in the same order: first the ear, then the thumb, then the toe. The Lord is saying: “I have to have a hearing ear.” The Bible says, “They have eyes, but see not. And they have ears, but hear not.” Believers are saved, but somehow don’t hear. We can get very busy with out hands and feet, but we don’t hear. This matter is of paramount importance, especially in days of deception and delusion.
Deut. 15 says the same thing. It is all about the year of Jubilee – the 50th year. At that time all the slaves could go out free. But suppose one wants to stay within the house of his master. Then, take him to the door and pierce his ear with an awl and he shall be your bond-slave forever. The Bible ends with this picture – where the bond-slaves shall see His face and they shall reign forever and ever.
In the Old Testament there were three possibilities for the Jew. In the first case, you could be a child of God and give nothing. The tabernacle was made from freewill offerings. The Jew only had to take care of the required sacrifices and he could receive all the benefits. So, the people were in it for what they could get out of it. In England there is a saying that “they are in it for the beer.” Today, many are in the Christian life just for what they can get. They have the attitude that the Lord is there to just to clean up their messes and to get them out of their problems. Then the next possibility for the Jew was to be a hired servant. These had ranks and worked only designated hours. After the work hours were over they were free to do as they wanted. The final possibility was to be a bond-slave. The bond-slave was on duty twenty-four hours a day. He had no rights. The bond-slave is the one who has his ear pierced and goes out no more. The most important thing, it seems to us, are the hands to work or the feet to go on errands. But, the most important thing is the ears.
What is the point of having a bond-slave who does not hear? I have had some young men as assistants over the years to serve me. One time I called for one of them but got no answer. I finally went and found him. He had his ears covered with headphones and was listening to “gospel” music. When he did not hear me, how was he of use to me? Another time the same thing happened with another assistant. I called for him but there was no response. I finally went upstairs and found him with a headset on. When I tapped him on the shoulder he said, “Oh, I was listening to a message by Stephen Kuang.” We can be doing good things and not hear the voice of the Lord. The most important thing is to hear.
Finally, there is Samuel. “Then the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel! Then Samuel answered, Speak for thy servant heareth.” (1 Sam. 15:10) When Samuel’s mother prayed Eli thought she was drunk. But, she had a problem. She was in fact in great pain. Eli said she would have a son, and Samuel means “heard of the Lord.” When the Lord stood there and called him, twice he went to Eli. If any one of us has a problem in hearing, just take this example and speak to the Lord, “Here am I.”
Samuel was a great turning point in the history of Israel. Abraham and Moses were great turning points also. Samuel was the one who brought in the kingdom. Samuel had an enormous effect upon Israel. He was called one of the great examples of intercessors, along with Moses and Daniel (Jer. 15:1).
Why don’t you simply say to the Lord, “Here am I.” This implies you are surrendering to Him. We don’t always hear the Lord because of the dullness of our ears. We don’t hear well when lots of other noise is going on around us. Actually, we often only hear what we want to hear. We may be frightened of what the Lord will say. It is a question of the will. Only when you are surrendered and say “Here am I,” can the Lord take up the business of schooling you
