If the shoe fits, Wear it

We think this is a fairly modern term, however; it is as old as the book of Revelation. Jesus used it on several different occasions as He taught the people of His day. Howbeit, He did communicate it in a phrase they could better understand like Mark 4:9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Jesus made this statement eight times in the book of Revelation. I believe He was trying to get His point across—“If the shoe fits, wear it.” The apostle Paul wrote seven letters to seven different churches while Jesus had the apostle John write one letter to seven different churches. In most of the comments to the seven churches Jesus included a rebuke, “let him that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” however, that reprimand was always sandwiched between a praise and a promise. It is those similarities in our lives when Scripture speaks to our heart and asks us the same question, “Do you have ears to hear? Does the shoe fit?” Those are the times when we must according to 1 Corinthians 11:28 let a man examine himself… and see if we are choking on a rebuke sandwich. If we are—there is a simple solution, just repent. The Jesus we serve is just, merciful and forgiving that He even gave Jezebel in the church of Thyatira a chance to repent. Through the years, I’ve sat through sermons that pierced my soul and all the while I was thinking, “Man, I wish old brother John was in this service to hear this message because he could really benefit from everything that’s being said here today.” I failed to realize that the shoe being preached was my exact size and it would fit me perfect. I would leave that meeting wondering why I was not maturing and drawing closer to God–not comprehending that I had left a perfect pair of spiritual shoes on the altar. Had I stopped and considered that Jesus was speaking to me through His Word, I would have had ears to hear and realized that the shoe fit—put it on and allowed it to help me walk worthy on the vocation wherewith I am called. Nonetheless, it’s foolish of us to think that everyone that hears the Word of God is going to believe in, adhere to and rely on what It is saying. The proof is in the parable of the sower who sows his seed on four different types of ground and observes four different results. The seed is the Word of God and It was the same seed sown but sown on diverse types of ground. Even the good ground that received the Word produced dissimilar amounts of fruit from the same seed, which was the Word of God. Therefore, it is safe to say that some thought the shoe of the Word fit them better than others did. Could it be that the ones that produced thirty fold recognized only their need for the shoe? Could it be the ones that produced sixty fold may have actually spiritually tried it on to see if it fit? On the other hand, could it be the ones that were walking in the one-hundred-fold ministry were walking around in Word of God shoes because they fit and they had ears to hear what was being said? The Bible says the Word of God is like a two-edge sword, sometimes It cuts off ungodly and undesirable attributes and characteristics that hurts our body, soul and spirit, but it may be Jesus saying, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear or If the shoe fits, wear it.”

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By Pastor Hal Steenson.  Original post is found at 3ABN’s website.