A Successful Church

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Welcome!

We are going to begin moving today right after service. We may even be able to get it all if we pitch in.

Next Sunday, we will have our first service in our new home.

INTRODUCTION:

INTRODUCTION

This is the final sermon I will preach from this pulpit, and that makes me SO very happy. So as I thought and prayed about what to preach this week, this letter from the book of Revelation came to mind because it is so very fitting to us as a church.

This is one of two churches out of all seven letters that Jesus had nothing to say negative about. And if you think about a church that Jesus would have nothing bad to say, what do you think that church looks like? Or maybe there is a church that comes to mind right now that would be it.

I think most of us would say, well it must be a loving church. Or you might say it would be a church that is full of people. Or you might say it would be a church that helps others. Surprisingly, you’ll see none of those characteristics in this church. Even more surprisingly, the church in Philadelphia is probably one that we would consider LEAST LOVED by Jesus looking at them from the outside. That is because we judge by appearance, and the Lord judges what’s on the inside.

Lets look together at what’s on the inside of the church in Philadelphia:

Revelation 3:7 NASB95

“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:

Jesus is the keeper of the keys

The ONE “who has the key of David”

Every letter in Revelation begins with a unique description of Jesus. In this letter, we are reminded that it is Jesus who has absolute authority to open what no one can shut, and what He shuts, no man can open.

He owns this world. Many people foolishly think they have some kind of power over the things of this world, but all worldly power is under the power of Jesus. And all spiritual power is under the power of Jesus.

Colossians chapter 1 says, “all things have been created through Him and for Him, visible and invisible, thrones or dominions”

That was true for the church in Philadelphia in the first century and it is true for us today in the 21 century.

God is in absolute control of every circumstances, over every opportunity, and over every kingdom.

There is nothing we could do with all our effort, prayer, money, persuading, that could open the door that God had closed.

Churches cannot manufacture ministry success. Anything that happens in ministry that is real is from the Lord Jesus Christ.

None of us can save people…only God can open that door into someone’s heart.

Only God can bring real growth!

Only God can truly deliver someone from sin’s power

Only God can truly make a church thrive supernaturally.

Churches all the time are trying to manufacture what ONLY God can do. We cannot add numbers to the Kingdom of God! We cannot make a church grow by power, might, or anything else. It is God who adds to the church!But the truth is, Jesus is the keeper of the keys.

Acts 2:47 NASB95

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 NASB95

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

If we want to be a successful church, we must do it His way. And His way is always exactly in line with His Word!

Revelation 3:8“‘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.

“I have put before you an open door which no one can shut”

What door is Jesus talking about here?

First it is the door to the Kingdom of God. We se that in verse 7, “He has the key of David” referring to the house of David. Jesus is the one who opens that door or closes that door.

Most Scholars agree that this little church was excommunicated by the Jews in the synagogue, who claimed to be Jews but they were not, and had the door closed to the church in Philadelphia.

And Jesus reminds them, that regardless of doors opening or closing, the door to heaven hinges upon His authority and not man’s. Only Jesus opens or closes that door.

Secondly, it is the door to all kingdom resources

This church had been given everything it needed to continue on in faithfulness to Jesus.

This was not a letter saying that they had finished the race, they had reached the end, it was a letter calling them to press on despite their persecution, despite their size, despite their influence, and everything they needed to do that would be supplied to them.

(v 11) “Hold fast what you have”. That’s what the Lord is saying to this church today. That is what the Lord is making clear to us as we move into a new season of ministry, into a new place of ministry, hold fast what you have!

It’s not a time to relax and coast. It’s not a time to throw up our feet and expect Jesus do all the work. Its not a time to say now we will sit in the pew and let others do the work! NO

It is an open door to continue doing what we have done from the beginning! It is Jesus saying to us, “I will supply everything you need, just like I have from the beginning, now press on!”

What we are receiving today is a tremendous blessing! And I am so excited to see all that the Lord is going to do there. But it is going to take us all fully commited to this ministry!

The commitment to be faithful in coming, serving, and giving

The commitment to evangelism and the great commission

The commitment to one another and Jesus

I want us to notice some characteristics of this church that Jesus points out:

First, He says, “He knows their deeds”

We are talking about a faithful church, not a perfect church. There are no perfect churches. And we should not think that this church will ever be perfect. You will not find perfection in imperfect people….we will never find it on this side of heaven. Every church has its issues.

BUT what is good to know is that there are churches with which Jesus was pleased with. And that was the church in Philadelphia. Jesus had nothing negative to say about it. Unlike the other 5 churches in this letter, there is nothing nothing that Jesus called them to repent of.

HE KNOWS THEIR DEEDS

They did not have to send in a monthly report to report what they had one, nor did they have to pray and inform Jesus of all the good things they had done each week. Jesus sees it all.

He saw the perseverance

He saw the faithfulness

He saw the commitment to His Word

He saw the persecution

He saw the ridicule

He saw it all!

And the same that was true for the church in Philadelphia is true for us!

Jesus sees you faithfulness!

He sees your perseverance

He sees your commitment

He sees your fasting and prayers!

He sees the ridicule we receive from other people!

He sees the sweat and tears that have been shed in this place and over these people.

He sees the continued steadfast proclamation of the gospel!

He sees the unwavering faithfulness to God’s Word!

And as long as He sees it, nothing else matters. That is the kind of church we must be!

Do not go looking for a pat on the back, live to please Jesus! Live your life here in such a way that you will have great peace in knowing Jesus sees it all.

Look at what else He says about this church:

“you have little power”

This doesn’t mean that they were weak, but that they were small and didn’t have a large influence in their community. This was a tiny congregation, just a small group of people who had come together and formed a church, and called themselves the church in Philadelphia

And they were probably not very successful in the world’s eyes. This was the church that the whole region said, they were a joke! And they looked down upon them, even persecuted them.

But size doesn’t matter at all to Jesus.

Numbers impress men not God. Outward appearances make no difference to God. The Lord can be far more happy with a church of 25 faithful people than a huge building with 10,000 people who are unfaithful. And the Lord could be happy with a group of 10,000 who were faithful and very unhappy with a group of 25 whop are unfaithful. NUMBERS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!

That is because God doesn’t look at the outside, He looks at the inside. It’s the inside qualities that matter. It’s the heart and its allegiance to Christ that matters! It’s the heart of a church and their commitment to Jesus! It’s their desire to please God no matter what that looks like.

And thats the church that God will bless.

What was so great about this church?

“and have kept My Word, and have not denied My name” [They were faithful].

They may have been small, they may have been insignificant in the eyes of others, but the one thing that mattered most and that they were FAITHFULNESS TO JESUS! In other words, they did what he wanted them to do!

They functioned the way God had commanded them to!

They lived their personal lives the way God told them to live!

They were unwilling to allow the culture around them to influence them or compromise their convictions!

They were faithful to Jesus!

They were faithful in evangelism “and have not denied My name”

Even though they were a church of little influence, of little power, they made sure they practiced the Great Commission!

This church was faithful in sharing the gospel!

They proclaimed the name of Jesus all of their community.

And that will be our continued calling as well even though it will look different there

We must make a practice of sharing the gospel in our day to day life.

We must also reach our community

That brings us to this important principle and the point of the whole sermon: What is a successful church?

I see nothing here about numbers

I see nothing here about baptisms

I see nothing here about money

I see nothing here about having a nice building

I see nothing here about a big worship team

I see nothing here about a large influence in their community

What I see here IS A GENUINE DESIRE TO BE FAITHFUL TO JESUS IS REAL SUCCESS!

Its not about all the stuff that we see with our eyes! Its not about this building that we are moving into! That’s not success! We will only be successful if we continue to be faithful….that all that really matters!

And that is absolutely possible by us all! If Jesus has opened the door to the Kingdom of Heaven to us then the door to be faithful has been opened as well!

And church if we hold onto to that, we will die and Jesus will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

The church will have opposition

Revelation 3:9 NASB95

‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

I want you to notice the reference to the enemy here.

Most likely this church was experiencing some serious persecution by those who “say they are Jews and are not”. This is just another way of saying these were false converts. Religious people who have not submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Don’t you know its always the religious who are the churches worst enemy. That was true for Jesus, it wasn’t the pagans who wanted him on the cross, but the Pharisees. The elite of the religious. The ones who wore the Word of God on their bodies, fasted three times a week, knew the Word of God but did not obey it.

But who was behind all of this? SATAN

Behind every spiritual attack is the great enemy of the church: Satan himself.

Ephesians 6:12 NASB95

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

And we must not think that our future is not going to be free from spiritual opposition.

That means means that the fight is not over. There is an adversary who will be doing everything he can to put a stop to everything we do.

There are not going to be people who show up as wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing just waiting for the right opportunity to cause chaos!

There are going to be people who slander us and say all kinds of false things against us.

Paul said,

1 Corinthians 16:9 “for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

I want us to be prepared. I want us to be wise as serpents, yet innocent as doves.

As we move into this, we must be prepared!

Ephesians 6:11 NASB95

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

The word schemes means methods.

Satan does not work in simple ways, but carefully calculated methods, schemes that he has perfected over thousands of years.

Methods that he has used over and over to cause church splits, divisions, fights, and apathy in the church.

Slander in the community to try to keep anyone and all people from ever stepping foot in a gospel preaching church.

Discouragement to any and all people in the church to try over and over to get them all to quit and walk away.

When the Lord opens a door, you can bet the devil will be there.

CONCLUSION:

What is a successful church?

It is as a church that has steadfast faithfulness.

This does not depend upon the size of the church

Nor does it depend upon the resources of the church

Nor does it depend upon the influence of the church

It is about how faithful will we be to Jesus in this next season?

I am asking you today to make that full commitment to be faithful to Christ today.

To hold fast what you have, or press in even more and give more of yourself to Him.

~PRAYER~