Stand & Read - Rev. 3:7-13
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: [8] ’I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. [9] ’Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie-- behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you. [10] ’Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. [11] ’I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. [12] ’He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. [13] ’He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
“Open Up And Say Ah!”
INTRODUCTION:
I want to share a message of faith and future in Christ this morning with you folks…
I want to bring a glimmer of hope to you and your situation…regardless of what the physical world may say…
After all, isn’t that what God does desire to give you for your life?
He IS true to his word…
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ’plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
As we look at the church in Philadelphia we get a picture of a good, solid church…
A church, which was commended by God…NOT condemned like the many other ones…except Smyrna, which was also praised for their hard labors…
And from the picture of this church I want to turn our attention onto one phrase, which God says to them in verse 8…”Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut…”
In all of our own struggles, striving, and searching…there is a humbling fact brought to our attention here…GOD IS THE ONE WHO OPENS AND/OR CLOSES DOORS!!!
-While we may strive to be the best…
-We give our all to be assertive, and go far in what we do…
-We expend all of our resources, time and energy…AND YET!
-We find that we are just spinning our wheels in the mud…
You know what I am talking about…If you do say…”That’s Right!”
1 Samuel 2:7
“The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.”
Job 5:11
“So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.”
You see, it is God that still has the whole world in His hands…
-Not us…not our financial status…not our abilities or talents…not even our charisma…
We cannot trust in these things, or others, to get us where we want to go…
-Therefore, it is in Him whom we must trust, seek and obey…then we will see that God will be faithful and meet our needs, blessing, exalting, and lifting up…
Now, don’t misunderstand me and think that we have nothing to do with where we go and what we do become…
I do believe that we are a HUGE factor in that outcome…however; it ultimately rests upon the Lord…
-Remember…Faith, without works…
-And it is God who makes those choices, not us…
Psalm 75:7
“But God is the Judge; He puts down one, and exalts another.”
We must be busy about doing the Father’s work…not OUR work!!!
You see, concern yourself for God and He will concern Himself for you!!!
God told this Church in Philly…”I know your deeds.” Vs. 8
Let this sink deep within you…
HE KNOWS YOUR DEEDS…
-However insignificant you may feel they are…HE SEES THEM!
-No matter what others may say about them, OR NOT say…HE STILL NOTICES THEM!
-Even regardless of what you feel about your own efforts…GOD STILL KNOWS YOUR HEART and SEES THOSE THINGS YOU DO FOR HIM!
My friends, no matter what we feel about ourselves…we must be busy about the Lord’s business anyhow…and He will bless you for it!
While we know that IT IS only God who exalts and brings low…then why do we still strive with our own strength to make things “happen” for us???
-Again, God will open a door for you!
The Bible says…in verse8
“Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut…”
And I believe that if this is a door that no one can shut…then, it is a door that no one can open either!
Nor is it a door that you, me, or any other person could open…ONLY GOD CAN DO IT!
-So humble yourselves before the Lord…Be faithful in serving HIM, and He will bless you!
James 4:10
“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
However, we still TRY to do it ourselves, don’t we???
-But that is not God’s design for us…
God has opened many doors for others…and He will do the same for you too!!!
Instead of struggling for an open door, and screaming ARGH!!!!
If you are patient, and wait upon the Lord, you can see a door open up to you and say…AHHH! J
-You see the difference…
-One is an expression of frustration, irritation, and anxiety…
-The other is a release of all those other things…resting in the accomplishments of God…trust in Him and the power of HIS might!!!
Which do you prefer??? I like…AHHH! Say….AHHH!
This is what God wants to do for you and I!
He desires to open doors for you that no man can shut because of your faithfulness in good deeds for God!
However, there are a few deterrents that would like to sidetrack us from being able to rest in the OPEN DOORS that God would give us…wanting to rob us of being able to say…AHHH!
-I want to share those for a brief moment with you…
First, our SITUATION would like to keep us from the open doors that the Lord would provide for us…
God desires to open many doors for us, but unfortunately, when we look around and see our SITUATION, it distracts the destroys what the Lord would have for us…
We have been there haven’t we? We have seen just where we are, and then we get all stressed out and think that it will never work out…
-God couldn’t….wouldn’t …and shouldn’t…
-But yet, it is there…
There is overwhelming evidence throughout the Word that would tell us that we are not to let our circumstances dictate to us our attitude…
-But we still struggle with this…
Our situations discourage us…
They get us side-tracked from our real purposes and the important things…
They ruin our zeal, energy and desire for anything better…
It hurts the Church, doesn’t it???
We think that if we are not a HUGE church, we are not able to do what others can…
IT’S NOT TRUE!!!
Most churches in the A/G are smaller and rural churches…
83% of the churches are under 200 people…
We have the misconception that only the BIG churches can do BIG things…
When 83% of ministry is being done within a smaller church…
For the Church in Philly…they too were facing situations that were not in their favor…
-Just by reading these few verse we get a feeling that things were not at their best…except for the fact that they had been true to the Word of God!
-Yet, God has opened a door for them which no man can shut…but they could miss it if they were to focus on their situation.
They can miss what God DOES HAVE for them, by not seeing what He DOES HAVE for them…
Proverbs 29:18
“Where there is no vision (revelation), the people perish…”
Dear folks…
Forget what lies behind, as Paul said in Phil. 3:13, and press on to what lies ahead!!!
-Forget the others things that would distract and discourage and look to what God has for you, and the door that He has made open on your behalf!!!
Say, “OPEN IT UP LORD!” Now, say…”AHH!”
GOD HAS opened a door for you! Now forget those situations that would take away from it…and begin to walk in the ways that the Lord has for you!!!
Another deterrent from the open doors that God has made for you is your STRENGTH…
Again…we have all been there!
God recognized this in the Church in Philly…
He said, that “He knew that they had little strength, and YET they had kept His word.”
-Another confirmation that our feelings cannot dictate to us our actions…
-For Philly, they WERE of little strength, and yet they were able to hold to the Word!
And for us…we may be of little strength, patience, energy, zeal, and any other resource and yet we must hold to God!
-Our strength cannot be an excuse for us to lag behind or be lax…
-Holding to God and upholding His word is a none-negotiable…
The standard MUST be raised and the cause of the Cross must move forward regardless of how we feel!
Haw your strength left you weary and weak???
Do you feel like saying…”ARGH”!!!
Isaiah 40:29
“He gives strength to the weary; And to him who lacks might, He increases power.”
When you are of little strength, come to God…He is your source and your help in time of need.
For those who are weary and heavy-laiden…Jesus says “Come unto ME!”
-Remember, it is for those that WAIT upon the Lord, that He will renew their strength!!! Isa. 40:31 tells us…
When it comes to doing the work of the Lord…we cannot do it in our own strength anyhow…
-We must do it in the Lord’s strength and in his power…
The flag-ship scripture of the Assemblies of God confirms this to us and says…
Zech. 4:6
“’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
-What is this trying to say…?
With all the talents, money, zeal, and results that any human efforts could ever conjure up…they will not work…
The work of God that He would open up to you is only accomplished in the POWER of a Mighty God!!!
Running out of strength…
Paul can identify…
2 Cor. 12:7-9
“And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me-- to keep me from exalting myself! [8] Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. [9] And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
-Here is what it all comes down to…
-We must see that the Lord’s strength in us is more important than us simply being free of all things that could deter us from the Open Doors…
-In some strange way, these struggles, or thorns in the flesh, keep us leaning on God’s strength!
We need Him in us…so pray, “Lord, may I decrease, so that you may increase…”
Say…”I trust in Your Strength Lord!”…Now say, “AHH!”
Lastly, our own STABILITY can create an obstacle for us in following through in an Open Door that God has prepared for us…
What I mean by this is that we are so concern about our own future…financial and retirement planning…job securities…family enrichment…kid’s activities…and so on…
So much so, that we can be distracted and disillusioned about what OPEN DOORS God has made for each of us…
Have we missed out on God’s best for us because we have been more consumed with OUR OWN best interest??? So much so, that we have missed God’s best interest and His will for our lives…and quite possibly His will for another?
-I don’t want to bring a guilt trip upon anyone this morning, but I do want to bring us back to our senses because I believe that we often get side-tracked from the Lord’s Open Doors!
While we strive to make the best for our families and ourselves on this earth…and that is important…but we are to never go over-board!
Matthew 6 tells us that we should be busy about storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, and not on the earth where moth and rust can steal it away.
And in this day we know that the treasure can be lost in a moment. That is not were our hope and trust should be placed in…
-It must be placed in the Lord!
-That is why we are to store it up in Heaven!
In the Church of Philly, they are told by God that they would be kept from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the earth.
And that they too would be made pillars…
-An interesting picture, which would come to a group of people who are in a city that is always having earth quakes…
-In this city, which was constantly having earthquakes, they found that there were many things being brought down by these “acts of nature”…
And one particular earthquake hit in 17 AD…
And to much surprise…the only things that were left standing after this terrible and horrific earthquake were the pillars of some temples and buildings!
What were the symbols of stability and durability?
These pillars! And these people who remain in the day of terrible SITUATIONS…low STRENGTH…and little STABILITY…will find themselves well taken care of!!!
Can you say…”Lord, You are my Stability!”…Now say, “AHH!”
IN CLOSING:
God has never intended for us to work against Him, but with Him...
And He has, and will open doors for us that could not otherwise be open…
But we must be aware of the pitfalls, or deterrents that would like to keep us from what God would do in and with us…
-Guarding against allowing excuses that would come our way from keeping us busy about those most important things…THE THINGS OF GOD!
At what expense are you willing to walk away from the Doors that God would open for you???
God has desires for you, and a plan for your life!
ILLUSTRATION:
Read the poem about the leaders…
Don’t allow for these, and other excuses to get in your way!
Maybe for some of you…you are struggling to get doors open…
Take this advice…sit back and allow God to open them! Stay busy about the Father’s work, but do it for Him, and not for a position or recognition…
-With the right attitude, God will bless you and lead you…
So where are you today?
Do you need a door open?
Are you trying to make it happen?
I want to let you know that you can sit back…open up and say…AHH!
God will take care of you!!!
ALTAR CALL:
If it is your desire to serve the Lord without distraction…COME DOWN
If it is your desire to give your all to the Lord, when He chooses to lift you up…COME DOWN
If it is your desire to just find strength in God, or to forget about your situations, and to trust in Him for your future…COME DOWN
SING: This is my Desire…
In all that we are and do!
