HANG IN THERE
Revelation 3.7-13
S: Perseverance
C: Mission
Th: God Speaks to the Church
Pr: Patiently endure the trials of life.
CV: We will passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus Christ.
I. THE CORRESPONDENT
II. THE CHURCH
III. THE COMMENDATION
IV. THE COMMAND
V. THE COUNSEL
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Find God’s sufficient grace in time of difficulty.
• Use the opportunity God is giving you.
• Let’s use the opportunities God is giving us.
Version: ESV
RMBC 1 March 09 AM
INTRODUCTION:
We have been studying what Jesus has to say to the seven churches.
This has been a heavy-duty study, because…
Jesus’ words to the churches are serious.
This has not been light and fluffy material, and it is not meant to be.
It is weighty.
It is meaty.
It is meant to make us introspective about where we are in our relationship with God.
Jesus commends each church on what they are doing right.
And they are doing some things right.
But Jesus has laser eyes.
He can see right through the façade of self-righteousness and rebuke the churches for what is not right.
One of the aspects we need to realize as we study the churches in Revelation 2-3 is that Jesus looks at churches differently than we typically do from our individualistic American perspective.
Jesus sees individual behaviors as corporate actions.
In other words, individual members recede and He sees a single body.
This means that what one does affects the whole.
There is never any such thing as individual sin.
There is always a greater impact.
So much so, God expects the church to deal with it.
This is why…
God speaks to the church.
The fact that God speaks to the church is really good news.
God loves the church.
He cares about the church.
So much so that He does not want us to be satisfied with the way things are.
He wants us to be better.
So we will do well as we consider each church to consider what God might say to us.
What would He say to us?
Would He be happy?
Or would He be sad?
Let’s consider what He says to the church in Philadelphia…
(7) And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. (8) I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. (9) Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. (10) Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. (11) I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (12) The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. (13) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Jesus is…
I. THE CORRESPONDENT
And we discover that…
Jesus is holy, true, and in control.
Jesus is holy.
He is uniquely set apart from everything else.
No one compares.
Nothing can compare.
For Jesus is holy in His character.
He is holy in His words.
He is holy in His actions.
He is holy in His purposes.
Also, Jesus is true.
The word here has the meaning of being genuine.
He is the only reality.
He is the authentic God.
He is not a manufactured one.
He is the original.
He is not a copy.
He is the way, the truth and the life.
And Jesus holds the keys.
The keys mean that He is in control.
He is the one that rightly rules.
He is the Davidic Messiah with absolute power to control entrance to the heavenly kingdom.
In other words, we don’t fool around with Jesus.
He is good and He is in charge.
So, we listen to Him.
II. THE CHURCH
Philadelphia is the original town of brotherly love.
It is located near the modern town of Alashehir.
Back in the time of this writing, it was a multi-temple town.
There were temples to Artemis, Helios, Zeus, Dionysus, and Aphrodite.
The town of Philadelphia sat on a geological fault, and it was the sight of many earthquakes.
In the year 17, a very large earthquake leveled twelve cities in the region, including both Sardis and Philadelphia.
What it was really known for is being an outpost.
Philadelphia was an outpost.
It was known as the Gateway to the east.
The citizens of the city of Philadelphia felt that they were on a mission.
It was their mission to spread Greek culture into the inner regions of Asia minor.
It was in an influential location geographically.
Note that, because if it was an influential location for those that were on a mission to speak about the greatness of the Greek gods, it was also an influential location for those that would speak the good news about Jesus!
I believe this was a sign to the church that they too were to be an outpost.
Are you a person that likes to have a sign?
ILL Sign (H)
There is the story of this man who prayed everyday on a bus, “Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is.”
One day he found himself on the bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty, but this guy sat next to our praying friend.
The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get too nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep.
He cried out with a loud voice, “I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?”
He turned to the Christian and pleaded, “Can you show me how to be saved?”
The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, “Lord, is this a sign?”
III. THE COMMENDATION
Which helps us with this principle that is connected to the commendation Jesus makes to the church in Philadelphia…
When Jesus opens the door, go through.
Jesus is the Head of the church.
Jesus is the Lord of the harvest.
So when He opens the door, there is only one thing to do.
We go through.
Jesus commends the Philadelphian church about their little strength.
This is not a criticism in any way.
It is not a comment on feebleness.
It is a praise regarding their strength.
They were a small church, but with what little strength they had, they were faithful.
This church had the same problem as Smyrna.
The Jewish population is acting as accusers against the Christians.
But Jesus communicates that they think they are true to God, but they are not.
They will come to the place where they will be in complete submission.
They will know the truth, and it will embarrass them.
So, Jesus commends them.
They were taking advantage of this open door, and they were to continue to do so.
This was a church faith.
They were not daunted by the obstacles.
They looked at the harvest and saw the opportunities.
IV. THE COMMAND
The Philadelphia church has endured special testing.
They have been unafraid to bear His name.
They have been faithful to the call and command of the Lord.
So Jesus tells them to…
Hang in there!
ILL Green family
I was reminded of this principle when observing Sharon Green give testimony of her faith on TV, as she talked about Brad’s death on Flight 3407.
I was reminded of this principle when I listened to Jenni Green Quimby give testimony in song at her father’s memorial service.
I was reminded of this principle when Dalton and Connie Green gave testimony of God’s goodness to them as they grieved the loss of their son.
God will reward such enduring faithfulness.
God will bless such perseverance in time of trial.
Jesus makes a big picture promise here.
According to the prophecies of Scripture, there is coming a time of Great Tribulation.
It is my understanding of Scripture that Jesus will come and remove the faithful from the earth before that special time of trial comes.
The coming, though, will be sudden and without announcement, and the events of the end times will rapidly explode in prophetic fulfillment.
The promise to the church of Philadelphia and those that follow her example is that they will not suffer through that particular trial.
V. THE COUNSEL
So Jesus gives his final counsel to the church.
I think it sums up well with this statement…
When we overcome, we belong.
You may remember from the background we did on Philadelphia that it was a place of constant danger because of the earthquakes.
When you live with that kind of threat, you dream of stability.
This is why Jesus refers to the pillar.
It is a symbol of stability.
All else might come down, but the pillar stays.
When we overcome, we are like the pillar.
We stay.
Our name goes on the pillar, and we belong.
CHALLENGE:
No matter what we face, I believe we can…
Find God’s sufficient grace in time of difficulty (II Corinthians 12.9).
The apostle Paul puts it this way…
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
What do you depend on?
When we depend on grace, we get it right.
When we depend on the Spirit of God, we get it right.
We do not operate under our own power and succeed.
This is true as individuals.
This is true for us as a church.
We do not depend on buildings.
We do not depend on money (though it does seem to be helpful).
We do not depend on a business plan.
No, we listen to the Word of God.
We listen to the Spirit of God.
And when He opens the door, we go through.
So…
Use the opportunity God is giving you.
God has given each of us a purpose.
God has given each of us a mission.
God has given each of us the responsibility to make disciples.
And we have opportunities all around us.
Let’s use the opportunities God is giving us!
There has been an excitement in the air, and it is good.
We are getting it.
God has been using this time in the life of our church to refine us, to redirect us, to make us better.
We are getting it.
The world will not know the joy of what is in here, until we go out and show it to them.
God is blessing us as we live out our 2009 theme: Our Time, Our Turn, Our All.
It is our time to make the turn that is needed – renouncing our inward focus.
It is time to turn toward those who need a relationship with Jesus.
It is time to give our all to see it happen.
Ill Faithfulness
During the 1996 Summer Olympics, the battle for the gold medal in gymnastics came down to one event – the vault. The Russians had the edge. Nothing less than a near-perfect performance could win the gold for the U.S.
The first two attempts were made by U.S. gymnast Dominique Dawes. On each of her two tries, she fell.
With the gold medal in the balance, the U.S. sent their final contender, a young gymnast with her left ankle already wrapped from an earlier injury.
She walked up to the 82-foot runway, and gave it all she had. She hit the vault, flipped over, and landed badly, grimacing in pain. She limped back for her second try with pain shooting up her leg with every step. Her coach asked her if she could make the second attempt, and she nodded.
Wracked with pain, she made one final run down the runway. She did a cartwheel off the vault, landed on the spring-board, sprang onto the horse, did a 1½ twist, and landed full force on both feet. The pain of two additional torn ligaments in her ankle caused her to momentarily falter. Then she straightened up, balanced on her right foot, lifted both hands in triumph, and with tears coursing down her face won the gold. Then she fell to the floor, rocking with pain.
When asked why she did it, young Kerri Strug, the hero of the 1996 Summer Olympics, said, “I knew if I didn’t do the vault, we weren’t going to win the gold and all the hard work the whole team had put in would be for nothing.”
That is what Jesus was talking about here, when he said to hang in there.
He was telling us that there is no place for quitting until Jesus comes.
And we are not going to quit, are we?
We are going to fight for the life of this church.
We will be an outpost, for we are a people on a mission to see more people have a relationship with Jesus.
For Further Study: Isaiah 6.3, 22.20-22, 31.1; Zechariah 4.6; Matthew 10.22; Mark 1.24; John 8.44, 14.6; Romans 2.17-29, 8.31; I Corinthians 16.9; Ephesians 6.12; I Thessalonians 4.13-18, 5.9; I Peter 2.5; Revelation 6.10
BENEDICTION:
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Anselmi, Jeffery The Faithful Church
Davidson Dennis The Faithful Church
Elvery, David The Revelation to Philadelphia – The Open Door of Opportunity
Patrick, Leland The Forgotten Winner
Strite, Jeff Jesus Diaries – Making an Open Door
Zimmerman, David God’s Vision for a Church
Biblio:
Jeremiah, David, and Carole C. Carlson. Escape the Coming Night. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990.
Keener, Craig S. The Ivp Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
MacArthur, John, Jr. Revelation 1-11. The Macarthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999.
Mounce, Robert H. The Book of Revelation. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977.
Stern, David H. The Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., 1992.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1989.
