March 25, 2012
Revelation 3:7-13
The Church at Philadelphia
Have you ever tried to pull open a door which was supposed to be pushed open? Or you’ve tried to push a door open which was supposed to be pulled? Normally when that happens you kind of walk into the door and its embarrassing. Or maybe you’ve been walking out of a building or store and the window was so clear that you walked right into it. It happens, just do a google search about people walking into doors, and you’ll spend a few minutes laughing at someone else’s misfortune.
We are now looking at the 6th of the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3. Today we’re looking at the church in Philadelphia. Just as an FYI, we know this city to be called the city of brotherly love. Why?
Because Philadelphia is made up of 2 Greek words – PHILOS meaning “loving” and ADELPHOS meaning “brother.” Combine them and you get the city of brotherly love. There’s your Greek lesson of the month.
This week and next week, we’re going to talk a little about doors opening, closing, being shut and being knocked on.
Philadelphia was about 35 miles southeast of Sardis; and was founded about 150 years before Jesus. The city was famous for its wines and hot springs. The purpose for the city was to spread the Greek culture, language and manner of life to the east. So, in a sense it was a missionary city. This is why the city was known as the “Gateway to the East.” The one problem was the fast that Philadelphia was located near a fault line, and earthquakes were a reality and a constant threat.
Out of the 7 letters only the letters to the church in Sardis and this one, to the church in Philadelphia contained no points of condemnation. Let’s see what we can learn from this church.
Beginning in verse 7 of Revelation 3, Jesus said, 7 These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.
What a great image of Jesus. He gives a quick description which could easily be the source of a number of messages, Jesus is holy and true!! Yup, that’s right! Jesus is holy, which literally means He is “set apart” in the fact that He is different. And He’s different because He was the only one who was sinless and pure, the One who could forgive us of our sinfulness.
And Jesus is true, which literally means He is real and genuine. Its deeper meaning is He is who He says He is, He is Lord. So with that in mind, Jesus says He has the keys to the house. It’s like He is the guard of the door. He’s only going to open it and keep it open when He needs to; and He will shut it and keep it shut when He needs to.
In life, so many times we make comments like, “I’m praying God opens a door for me — — or “if God closes a door, He’ll open another one for me.”
We make those comments, and at times we wonder, so, how do I know if that door is really being opened by God or being closed by God.
And there are many different ways to answer that question. Maybe the easiest, or simplest answer is, “You won’t know until you go through the door.” It’s been my experience that sometimes the door is obvious and we just walk right through. Sometimes we run towards it, and sometimes away from it. And sometimes we need a little shove. Now, let me be very clear here . . . if the message is something which is obviously against God’s word, then you know that door was not opened by God. So, we have to use wisdom before we walk through the open door.
The same is true about closed doors. We can easily use the closed door as an excuse about not making an effort. We can say, “well the door is closed” so I’ll just give up. Maybe God was wanting to see how much you wanted something, to see where your committment to something was.
The open door is usually a door which is slightly open. We still have to summon up the courage and faith to go through the door and see what’s on the other side. Remembering and trusting that God will never abandon us.
Jesus himself has all authority to open doors for His people. It’s His job to open the doors. He’s very good at it, and he doesn’t need our help. Our job is to go through the doors He opens, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other, going wherever He may lead us. One door may open, and then it may close. That’s okay. Another door may open. That’s okay too. We may have to sit still for a while waiting for a door to open. That’s also okay.
Jesus is sovereign over the doors of life, because He has the plan, we don’t, so we can trust Him.
Jesus recognizes the situation in the church, saying, 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.
What a great statement by Jesus for the church. Firstly, and we’ve talked about it before, nothing is hidden before the eyes of Jesus . . . nothing! That’s really, really scary when we’re not doing good things in life. He knows what’s going on, nothing, absolutely nothing surprises Him.
Now Jesus refers to that door again. He is comforting and encouraging the church; and the encouragement is kind of like giving the people a push towards the door. You see, they’re a small church, they don’t have much influence and power in Philadelphia. They don’t have people in powerful political positions, they don’t have a large base of money. The building might not have been the best. So, the odds are stacked against them, but Jesus is encouraging them, ‘HEY, I’VE GOT YOUR BACK! I’ve got the door, and when I hold the door open for you, nobody, absolutely nobody can make me close the door before it’s time.’ Isn’t that a great statement from Jesus. Isn’t that one we need to hold onto when we feel we are being persecuted. When people are against us, we need to believe and trust Jesus has our back. He’ll hold the door open for us, we need to believe that and then walk right through the door.
They were small, but they were great in faith. We may not have the influence or the power or the money or the speaking ability as others, BUT, we can trust the Lord as well as anyone else.
God honors . . . faith! And God rewards . . . faith! And how much faith does He require? Not much. Faith like a mustard seed. Just a tiny amount of faith. A simple faith.
Notice the two positive things Jesus says about this church:
“You kept my word.”
"You have not denied my name.”
When Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica in Acts 17, their opponents tried to have them arrested. Look at what their charges were against them in Acts 17:6, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too. How’s that for an insult? They had “turned the world upside down.” How cool is that?!
Would anyone ever say that about us?
They meant it as an accusation, but it’s really a compliment. What a great thing to have said about you, that you managed to turn the world upside down. I can’t think of a greater compliment for a Christ follower.
We live in the day of instant gratification, where waiting and pain are not supposed to be part of our lives. While in many respects life should be simple, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Simple and easy have two different meanings to me. Most people want the easy life, a life which is comfortable, meaning there are no discomforts, where life just sails along. We want that in church, during worship, at work, at school, in fact wherever we are and wherever we go.
Yet, the people in the church of Philadelphia never denied the name of God. They didn’t go for the easy life. They believed they were called to make a difference in the world, and whatever risk they had to endure, that’s what they were going to do, even if it would mean death. They held onto God’s Word, which is what led them to proclaim, not deny the name of God.
How many people at your workplace or in school, know you are a follower of Christ? Do they know that because you tell them, or because you have shown them? It’s one thing to say I go to church, it’s a totally different thing to live the life, with all of the risks involved as to what others will say and how they will react. Are we more concerned with what the world sees and thinks or what God knows? Are we turning the world upside down?
Of course, there were problems in the church, but they weren’t caused by the true followers of Christ. Jesus said, 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
Jesus is telling the church He knows what’s going on. Notice Jesus calls the Jews to be part of the synagogue of satan. He knows these are Jews who are persecuting the church. These are the people whom Jesus initially came for, and they rejected Jesus, and now they are making life really difficult for His followers.
But, Jesus says, they are liars, if they were true / authentic Jews, they would be embracing Him, not against Him. The good news is that some day they will come to see who Jesus really is, and they will bow down at His feet and admit Jesus is the Messiah. Remember the passage from Philippians 2, where Paul gives the Christ hymn telling us 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. What a day that will be!!
Jesus continues with good news for the church, saying, 10 Since you have kept My command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
The command from Jesus is to be patient as the church endured the storm. Sometimes, in the midst of working through the storm, all we can do is wait, as patiently as possible, even though that is difficult, but to wait with what I will call a patient endurance, knowing that somehow, if we don’t throw in the towel and give in, we will make it to the other side.
So, in this situation, when the time of trial comes, what Jesus returns to establish His kingdom on earth, those will be terrible days. There will be tremendous suffering in the world, but Jesus encourages the church by telling them He will guard them so that they will not have to face and endure that trial. They’ve proven themselves by enduring these trials.
Jesus tells the church more good news for them and us ~ 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
The early church was fully convinced Jesus was coming back at any moment. This is what made their preaching and teaching so passionate. It was a matter of life and death, so they had to be quick and proclaim the message of Christ to the world. If they didn’t, they were taking the risk that someone would spend eternity without Christ . . . and that was unacceptable.
Can you imagine if we returned to living with that thought in heart and mind. We would be out everyday looking to help people come to know Jesus. Instead we worry and squabble over the small mundane things which don’t matter in the whole scheme of life. So, forget about all the other stuff out there, and hold onto what you have, and you have the crown of life, which only comes through Christ. When we hold onto Christ, and don’t waver in faith and commitment to Him, we will never lose what we’ve gained . . . the only hope of the world ~ Jesus.
The final promise from Jesus is ~ 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it.
There’s a lot in that one verse. So, let me quickly un pack it.
Jesus is giving the church an image of victory like you would receive in going to court. When you go to court and win your case, you gain victory. You’ve overcome the other side, you’ve conquered them and have victory. That’s what Jesus is offering.
We are not called to be a group of super-Christians. We may think those people back then were super-Christians, that they were better than we are, but that’s not true. It was and is the same God.
We are called to be victorious every single day because we have a lot to overcome:
Temptations galore.
Frustrations on every hand.
Disagreeable people.
Difficult situations.
Unexpected setbacks.
Angry critics.
Internal discouragement.
Chronic pain, sickness and death.
Friends who aren’t very friendly.
Personal failures known only to us.
There are always reasons to give up, reasons to quit, always plenty of excuses if we want them. But to those who persevere, who will not give up even when they feel like it; even when everything in them says, “Walk away from this mess,” to those brave souls who keep on keeping on, Christ makes two incredible promises — —
Jesus promises his people that they will be pillars in God’s temple, and they will never leave God’s presence. These words meant a great deal because Philadelphia had been destroyed by a terrible earthquake and the citizens were used to evacuating the city. Even now, when you visit the ruins of these 1st century cities the PILLARS are still there when everything else was destroyed. Pillars were synonymous with strength and permanence — so the people would have understood the picture Jesus was drawing for them. Those who trust in Jesus will be safe and secure forever.
Jesus is saying, “They may not like you in Philadelphia, but you’ve got a home with me in heaven. I’ll make you a pillar in my temple so that you will be close to me forever. Because I reside in my temple.”
Then Jesus adds, I will write on them the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God; and I will also write on them My new name.
The power to name is the power of ownership. Those whom God has redeemed will be named and claimed by him. All the old names won’t matter anymore:
Doctor. Lawyer. Professor. Politician. Influential person.
Coach. Banker. Teacher. Famous athlete. Richest person.
But there are other names that won’t matter either:
Felon. Failure. Hated. Abandoned. Humiliated.
Unappreciated. Liar. Adulterer. Lonely.
In that great day, the blood of Jesus will wash away all the “tags” by which we know each other. Our “good” names won’t matter, and our “bad” names won’t be remembered. We will all stand on the same ground, saved, redeemed, renewed, and renamed by our Lord.
We will be given the name of the new Jerusalem because that’s where we will spend eternity. When we go to the airport we need to pass through security. They check our tickets and our ID’s, they sometimes check us. We get passports to tell where we came from and where we can go.
But all believers in Jesus have a passport stamped “Citizen of heaven” and a visa guaranteeing them permanent entrance. No one can stop us, no one can hinder us, no one can say, “You have no right to be here.” We enter by the blood of Jesus, and in His name we find our place in the heavenly city.
We may have no security down here. We lock our doors because thieves may enter, and we know that the stock market may collapse tomorrow and gas prices may go up, and there may be a terrorist attack, and . . . . . .
If you want eternal security, you can find it only in Jesus Christ. One day we will have a new name, and we will live in a city that cannot be shaken or taken. We long to be there, and as Jesus said, 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
