The Faithful Church

Good morning!

Revelation 1:17-19

Prayer

You don’t have to raise your hand to answer this but has anyone ever opened social media (Facebook, IG, TikTok) to kill 5 minutes of time and then all of a sudden its been an hour?

(Been there, not proud of it)

If you’re not familiar with how social media works there’s this thing that all of these companies use call an algorithm

And what the algorithm does is it learns what you like based on what you watch, what ads you hover over for a half second longer than average….crazy sophisticated, made to be addicting, feeds you the stuff you like

(That is a conversation that we will have on another day - battle for our minds and our kids’ minds)

Usually my YouTube algorithm is farm stuff, tools, equipment, football highlights, those things

But on occasion I have found myself in the lock picking corner of the internet and that is absolutely fascinating

Guys can break into any lock, make it look incredibly easy

What is the purpose of a lock? Secures a doorway

When you have something to want to keep in, or something to keep out

And obviously if there are ways to circumvent that lock, it is not good

What does this have to do with anything?

There is a God, perfect and holy, and our sin separates us from Him

If our fleshy bodies were to stand in His presence like this we could immediately combust

We cannot be good enough to get back to Him so God made a way

There is a door we must go through and His name is Jesus(Listen to His words) John 10:1-3 –  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

John 10:7-9 – Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 

He is the door, and He has the keys

No way to get around the door, no other way to get through the door, no one is going to sneak their way into a relationship with Him, no one is picking that lock, 

You’ve gotta go thru the door

Jesus established His church to proclaim the gospel to the world

That Christ died so that we might live

To go and make disciples of all the nations

Will we be a church that holds fast to the command of our lord and savior?

Before we get into the text here are some things I want you to know about today’s church, Philadelphia:

Like the all the other churches, its on an important road

These 7 churches we’re discussing were located along a circular path so a courier could hit each one in order as he carried this letter around

Sardis, last week, was the end of the “Royal Road” that connected much of the Persian Empire to the capital cities

(Once the kingdom of Lydia, it was captured by Cyrus of Persia and made the terminus of that royal road)

Philadelphia was located along that road

Gateway city to Asia, located in a valley (what is a gateway? A door)

Volcanic activity, frequent earthquakes (important later)V.7

Quoting (paraphrasing, alluding to) Isaiah 22:22

Isaiah 22:22 – The key of the house of David, I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Prophecy looking forward to the messiah

If you just took that verse by itself, even in the context the rest of the chapter, it may not sound like a prophecy but here’s the thing: you can’t do that

You can’t look at any one verse unhitched from the rest of the Bible

The bible is not a collection of stories and life advice…..its one book

It continuously refers to itself back to front, front to back

And the OT is full of prophecies of God’s redeeming plan for His image bearers (that’s you and me)

If you try to look up exactly how many OT prophecies Jesus fulfilled you will get different answers (300, 456, 574)

Why no certain answer? B/c it’s a lot

Scholars will pore over the text and argue and they still can’t come up with a solid answer

B/c from beginning to end the plan was Jesus

He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end

God knew from the moment He formed Adam and Eve in the garden what would happen, He knew that they would turn their backs on Him 

and He knew that we would continue to do that too

There is no sin that you or I or anyone else has ever committed that has caught God off guard

and yet still God took off His glorious crown and His glorious robe and stepped into Creation with us

B/c of His great love

If God didn’t love you then why would He go through the trouble?

When Jesus does this, when He speaks an OT prophecy He is verbally reminding all the people who grew up going to Jewish scripture school and had to learn the words of the Law and Prophets 

that everything they learned about was about Him

They knew it…..meant a lot…..

It should mean a lot to us, toov.8

I know your works

He has eyes like a flame of fire, He sees all

He walks among the lamp stands, He is always near

There is no hiding, no misdirecting, no deflecting, Jesus just knows

Does that change how you go about your day to day life?

The God of the universe knows every thought that passes through your mind

How does that make you feel?

Does that scare you? You’re not hiding, nothing is done in secret before God

And even though He knew that He still chose to go to the cross for you

He lived for you

He died for you

And He rose again for you

(And) Romans 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For those who walk according to the spirit, who have submitted their life to the Lordship of Christ, when God looks at you He sees His son

He will not be disappointed in you and so we are free from condemnation and we are free to work for the kingdom, 

Not b/c we have to but b/c we get to

B/c God chooses to use us

If you are trying to gain righteousness before God on your own, Jesus knows your works personally

Not just the works of the church you attend; you, individually

You don’t get credit based on your partner’s work

And even on your best day your work doesn’t hold up to the perfect standard of a perfect God

That sin (missing the mark) is what leads to death

And to pay the penalty for your sin is why Jesus went to the cross

Not that you would continue in sin but to turn away from it and walk with Him

It’s repentance, it’s turning away from the sin, away from the death, and turning to Him as Lord 

He set you free from the bondage of sin and death

(Jesus says) I know your works……Door

Jesus is the door, and the door is open to anyone who would hear His call

There is not a sin that you’ve committed that will keep you from Him

“You say that, pastor, but you don’t know my sin.”

No, I don’t, but Jesus does

And I know that Jesus is God, He is the door, and He has the keys, and when He says “anyone who enters by the door” he means “anyone”

There is not a force on earth or in Hell that can keep you from that door if you will just walk through it

There is no one who can pluck you out of God’s hand

Little strength, kept My word, not denied my name

Do we face persecution today?

It’s all too easy to fall into the trap that “it would be better for us if we kept our mouths shut”

We worry about our family and friends looking at us different

We worry about the possibility of losing our job

And sure, there may come a day in the US when we can save our own skins by shutting our mouths

But are we living for God or are we living for ourselves?

Guys, it’s not about us

It’s about what God has called us into, and He came to Earth and lived and bled and died for us so His plan for us must be greater than whatever plan we have for ourselves

Philadelphia faced extreme persecution and it’s hard to use stronger language that what Jesus is using here:

VIII.v. 9

Synagogue of Satan

Let me take a moment and touch on this

This phrase has come up twice (Rev. 2, Smyrna, & now)

There are groups in the US and around the world that will use this phrase to describe Jewish people today

They use it as an excuse for antisemitism 

(not gonna get into their reasoning, I don’t want to give it the time of day)

Let me be explicitly clear: the Bible leaves absolutely no room for racism, or any type of discrimination based on race or ethnicity

John 10:14-16 – I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Jesus came for everybody

We are all called to turn from sin and submit to the Lord Jesus

There have been people for centuries who abused this book to control people, to enslave people

It was Christians who fought to end the transatlantic slave trade 

and it was christians who fought to end race-based slavery in the US and across the world 

and its Christians today who must lead the fight to end the slavery of human trafficking, to end the genocide of unborn children, and fight for anyone who would be oppressed by the forces of evil

we share the gospel of Jesus b/c we are no longer slaves to sin but adopted children of the most high God!

So who is this synagogue of satan?

Could be antagonistic Jews, but the phrase

Who say they are Jews but are not

Would point to Gentiles who have perhaps been circumcised, attempt to gain righteousness by keeping the Law

And are persecuting the church of Jesus Christ

Is anything wrong with the Law? No

But you won’t be made righteous by keeping it b/c you can’t keep it

It’s not Jesus+ circumcision, any works, it’s just Jesus that saves you

Their exact identity is not known but the point is clear: they had not given their lives to Jesus

Worship before your feet….I have loved you

Those who believe in the finished work of christ on the cross are adopted kids of the king

You are royalty

God saves us b/c He loves us, b/c He likes saving people

He doesn’t owe it to us,

like when we pay enough penance or do enough works to make ourselves righteous enough He pins the merit badge of salvation on our chests

No, its His great love for us

That while we were still sinners Christ died for us

V.10

Complete and through protection behind the door

You can put your faith in this door, it will never fail

No lock pick, no enemy will breach it (Complete, perfect)

Are we promised an easy life? No (prosperity gospel)

Sounds great.  Problem? Evidence

Jesus commands us to persevere (patient endurance)

We get scared, uneasy, anxious, we

leave the perfect protection of the door and then bad stuff happens and we blame the door

It’s a life fully submitted, not just when it’s convenient or when things are going greatV.11

Coming quickly

He has promised to return, are you ready?

Hold fast….Crown

Do not let go of the hope you have in Jesus

You have royal status, you are child of the king

Do not fall for the lie of the enemy that when things get hard that’s the time to give up

B/c it is not (hold fast)

V.12

Earthquakes in this area are hard on the architecture

Seismic at work, codes, engineers in antiquity didn’t do all that

Pillars - still standing, monuments to us today

We will remain, we will stay strong in the face of adversity (it’s a promise)

Write on him

No one can pluck you out of God’s hand, you belong to Him

New Jerusalem

God’s gonna make all things new and He wants us to be there

He wants the people around us to be there

We’re gonna have a feast in just a few minutes downstairs

God has prepared an eternal banquet for us when all things are made new

New name 

When you give your life to Jesus you not who you used to be (old guy is dead)

New creation

v.13

What is the Spirit saying to you?

Is today the day He’s calling you to walk through the door of salvation?

Is today the day to be born anew in Christ?

Is He reminding you to hold on to your faith?

Some things in the news this week were dark

Keep sharing Jesus (our only hope)

<Invite, repent, pray, praise>

XIII.Prayer

XIV.Invitation