Being a faithful church

Being a faithful Church

, 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. “‘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. 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. 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. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

“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.

“‘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. 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. 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. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 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. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

There is a war for the soul of the UMC. People on both sides feel strongly about their positions, and I don’t see how they can live together as church any longer. Many who look to the Scriptures for answers see a clear solution in the words of , “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Progressive and traditionalist churches are pledging to leave the church if the outcome does not go the way they want. The “One Church Plan” that the denomination is proposing feels like a shotgun wedding when what really needs to happen here is for both sides to just walk away.

Yes can clearly see in the recent history of the Episcopal Church, ELCA, and the PCUSA when they dealt with this same question about same-sex marriage and clergy and it suggests that the best way to avoid either a scorched-earth campaign or a slow death with a steady stream of churches departing is to agree to separate amicably.

The real challenges for the Methodist Church are that their divisions run much deeper than gay marriage and the ordination of practicing homosexuals. There are divisions are over (1) the interpretation and authority of Scripture, (2) the status of the Book of Discipline and (3) the authority of the General Conference, and (4) the very mission of the church. I want you to really think about what I just said! When you cannot even agree on these fundamentals, it’s time to part ways. (a) How could the General Conference continue to define doctrine for a church that no longer agrees on core theological principles? (b) How can you maintain connectionism when some believe the General Conference’s pronouncements need no longer be considered binding?

(c) How could there be a consistent theology of marriage and sexuality one-way or the other when there is no standard?

Come on guys, game over, either you believe God is sovereign, sacred, and sufficient or you do not.

The issue of Gay marriage signifies the final triumph of the Sexual Revolution and the dethroning of Christianity because it denies the core concept of Christian anthropology. In classical Christian teaching, the divinely sanctioned union of male and female is an icon of the relationship of Christ to His church and ultimately of God to His creation. This is why gay marriage negates Christian cosmology, because it denies the origin and general structure of God’s universe.

It is from God’s universe and God’s plan that we derive our modern concept of human rights and other fundamental goods of modernity. Whether we can keep them in the post-Christian era remains to be seen.

There is no question that the Church has lost this battle in the culture. The only question now is whether or not; the church will lose its culture within itself. If a church flips on the gay marriage question (and on sexual morality more broadly), then the church will surrendered more than it can afford to. For same-sex relationships to be rightly ordered in the eyes of the God of the Bible, too many things about Christianity would have to become untrue.

So, it’s not at all merely a matter of sexual ethics, or just Scriptural authority (as important as that is). This issue is at the level of anthropology — that is, of what a human being is, as a bearer of the divine image of God. If we are to be the church of Jesus Christ, faithful and true then we must stand up for what the Bible stands for, regardless of the cost to our reputations and the concerns of those who want to rebuke the truth of Scripture. We must be a faithful church; God has given certain commands to the faithful church. God has given certain credentials to the faithful church and God will give a crown to the faithful church. We must be about the business of being a faithful church.

Let us pray…

(1) God has given commands to the faithful church

As most people know, Philadelphia means, “love of the brethren.” Certainly, brotherly love is an important mark of the Christianity.

We are “taught of God to love one another” ,

We are taught by God the Father that, “We love because He first loved us ().

We are taught by God the Son, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another ().

And we are taught by God the Spirit, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”().

But it is not enough to love God and our fellow believers; we must also love a lost world and seek to reach unbelievers with the Good News of the Cross. This church had a vision to reach a lost world, and God set before them an open door.

Philadelphia was situated in a strategic place on the main route of the Imperial Post from Rome to the East, and thus was called “the gateway to the East.” It was also called “little Athens” because of the many temples in the city. The church was certainly located in a place of tremendous opportunity.

The only major problem with the location was that the area was prone to earthquakes. Philadelphia sat on a geological fault, and in 17 B.C. a severe earthquake that also destroyed Sardis and ten other cities destroyed it. Afterward, some of the citizens refused to move back into the city and remained in the surrounding countryside, which they called “the burnt land.” There did not seem to be much security in the city of brotherly love!

Our text tells us this, , “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia writes”, who is the angel of the church in Philadelphia? The word here is “Angelos”, means angel, which is a supernatural being created by God to serve the church and to function as a messenger. However, sometimes this word is applied to human messengers of God’s Word: John the Baptist is called an “angelos” in , This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Some scholars interpret the angels of as heavenly beings. But most view them as the human messengers who bore John’s letter. Most scholars identify them as those who actually read the message to the congregations, that is, church leaders such as pastors, elders, or bishops. Because a pastor of a church functions as a “messenger” for God, delivering God’s Word to the congregation.

I clearly believe this text refers to them. But let’s look at the evidence. If the angels of the seven churches are heavenly beings, then that would perhaps mean that each church had a “guardian angel” or some type of heavenly being associated with each congregation. This idea does not fit in the immediate context of the passage; it makes this a difficult interpretation. Think about it, John was writing the letters to them. Why should John write letters to angels—were the letters going to be read to the congregations by celestial beings? That is highly doubtful. A better view is that the “angels” here are envoys sent to John. During the time that the apostle was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, it is possible that local congregations sent delegates, pastors to him to inquire of his condition. These delegates could be the “angels” or “messengers” that were entrusted with the letters on their return trip. Probably the best interpretation, however, is that the seven angels of the seven churches are the human leaders—the bishops, elders, or pastors—in the churches. Jesus used the apostle John to write messages addressed to seven notable church leaders, and these leaders would then share the messages with the rest of the church. The fact that the “stars” are held in Jesus’ “right hand” is significant (; ) adds further evidence. For it is the Lord Himself protects, upholds, and guides the leaders of the church with His strength and wisdom. The text goes on to say,

“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.”

Jesus Christ here presents Himself to the church at Philadelphia as “He that is holy.” These words of the holy one and the true one, are tantamount to declaring that Jesus is God, which, of course, He is. Jesus Christ is holy in His character, His words, His actions, and all of His purposes.

As the Holy One, Jesus is uniquely set apart from everything else, and nothing can be compared to Him.

But He is also the One who is true—that is, for He is the truth and He is genuine. He is the original, not a copy; He is the authentic God and not a manufactured one.

In their day there were hundreds of false gods and goddesses. , says

“For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist (), but only Jesus Christ could rightfully claim to be the holy one and true God.

It is worth noting that when the martyrs in heaven addressed the Lord, they called Him “holy and true” (). Their argument was that, because He was holy, He had to judge sin, and because He was true, He had to vindicate His people who had been wickedly slain.

Not only is He holy and true, but also He has the authority to open and close doors. When it speaks of opening a door, it means when Jesus opens a door it remains unobstructed. Entry and exit can be made without fear, with total assurance, and with complete authority.

Now when Jesus closes a door no one, no thing, and no way it ever opens. The background of this imagery is found in

, “Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.” The Assyrians had invaded Judah (as Isaiah had warned), but the Jewish leaders were trusting Egypt, not God, to deliver the nation. One of the treacherous leaders was a man named Shebna who had used his office, not for the good of the people, but for his own private gain. God saw to it that Shebna was removed from office and that a faithful man, [El/ Lie/ Uh/ Kim] Eliakim, was put in his place and given the keys of authority, the key of David.

Eliakim is seen here as a picture of Jesus Christ, a dependable administrator of the affairs of God’s people. Jesus Christ also has the keys of hades and of death. “… Who opens the door and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”

In the New Testament, an “open door” speaks of opportunity for ministry , “And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

, “But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison.”

Christ is the Lord of the harvest and the Head of the church, and it is He who determines where and when His people shall serve as it says in

, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Jesus gave the church at Philadelphia a great opportunity for ministry; Jesus gave them an open door and the command to go through it.

(2) God has given credentials to the faithful church

What was their credentials pastor? Well they were the faithful works of keeping God’s word and not denying His name before the world.

The text tells us in verse 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.”

So, there were at least two obstacles to overcome, the first being their own lack of power (). Apparently, this was not a large or a strong church; however, it was a faithful one. And faithfulness always supersedes congregational strength in numbers.

They were faithful and they were true to God’s Word and unafraid to bear His name. suggest that they had endured some special testing and had proved themselves faithful time and time again. New Life over the last 13 years you have been tried, you have endured trials, you have be tested and your faithfulness has proved its self to be sure. You have always held up the truth of what the Scripture teaches even when others have come against us, disagreed with us, and tried to shame us for holding to God’s truth.

Never forget, it is not the size or strength of a church that determines its ministry, but its faithfulness to the call and command of the Lord.

Remember, God always enables what God commands to be accomplished.

If Jesus Christ gave them an open door, then He would see to it that they had the power and were able to walk through it!

Martin Luther put it perfectly in his well-known hymn: Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing. Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing.

Verse 9, Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie…” Stop right there, here was the second obstacle, the opposition of the Jews in the city.

This opposition from the Jews was really the opposition of Satan, for we do not battle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places ().

Jesus is telling us here, that these people may have been Jews in the flesh, but they were not part of “true Israel,” not in a New Testament sense. , “For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”

Jewish people certainly have a great heritage, but it is no guarantee of salvation unless they come to Jesus. For at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confesses that He is Lord!

How were these Jews opposing the church at Philadelphia? For one thing, by excluding Jewish Christian believers from the synagogue. Another weapon was probably false accusations; for this is the way the unbelieving Jews often attacked Paul. Satan is the accuser and he uses even religious people to assist him , “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” It is not easy to witness for Christ when the leading people in the community are spreading lies about you. The church at Smyrna faced the same kind of opposition ().

The believers in Philadelphia were in a similar situation to that of Paul when he wrote —there were both opportunities and obstacles! Unbelief sees the obstacles, but faith sees opportunities!

And since the Lord holds the keys, He is in control of the outcome! So what do we have to fear? Nobody can close the doors as long as He keeps them open. Fear, unbelief, and delay have caused the church to miss many God-given opportunities.

We are dealing with the same problem today in the Churches of Christ Jesus, for all who call themselves are not Christians at all.

They gather in spaces call Churches of Christ but only Christ is not a member of their gathering. In our text, Jesus calls them synagogues of Satan; in our day we call then repositories for hell. Pastor, what are you talking about?

Listen to me what is a repository? It is a receptacle or a place where things are deposited, storied, or offered for sale. It can also be a burial place or sepulcher. What did Jesus called people like these,

, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Because many of these large churches are not preaching or teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is not Jesus there, and where there is no gospel, there is no Christ and there is no church.

So, then these great gathering place full of people, serving a god of their on making, are just being collected until, Satan can delivered them formally to hell, there final resting place. They are only repositories for hell; they do not believe that the day of the Lord will come.

, This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

We are in the last days where scoffers mock God according to their own sinful desires. Their desire to live in sin with impunity drives them to deride biblical truth and those who believe it. Scoffers will call into question the biblical promises of the Lord’s coming (Gk. parousia).

They scoff at the promise of the Lord’s return, arguing that because everything has remained the same since creation, God will not intervene in the world. But these scoffers as they did then they are doing now deliberately overlook (consciously, willfully ignore) the fact that God did intervene when he created the heavens and the earth with the word of his mouth, and also when he judged the earth with water and it perished. God in fact intervenes in his creation whenever he desires, as is evidenced numerous times in both the OT and NT. By the same word, the powerful word of God that creates and sends judgment, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, when the ungodly will also be judged. The day of reckoning is coming for scoffers, and their place is reserved for them. History will not go on forever; the end is coming.

The Saviour gave to His true Church three wonderful and encouraging promises. First, He would take care of their enemies ().

One day, these people would have to acknowledge that the Christians were right! Look at verse 9b, “…Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.

, “The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you, and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet;

they shall call you the City of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”

, So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If we take care of God’s work, He will take care of our battles.

Second, He would keep them from Tribulation.

Look at verse 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.” Pastor what is the patient endurance? This is the power to withstand hardship and stress. This is having the internal fortitude to hold on to Jesus unchanging hand in the midst of a storm.

This is surely a reference to the time of Tribulation that John described in , “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” This is not speaking about some local trial, because it involves “them that dwell on the earth” (see ; ; ; ; , , ; ; , ).

The immediate reference would be to the official Roman persecutions that would come, but the ultimate reference is to the Tribulation that will encompass the earth before Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom. Some believe that, is a promise that the church will not go through the Tribulation, but there is no biblical promise that all Christians we escape the Tribulation but we will be shielded from its severity. It is comforting to know that the Day of the Christ’s return and the Rapture are the same day.

, But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

(3) God has given a crown to His faithful church

The third promise to the Philadelphians is that God would honor them, look at verse 11-12, “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 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.”

The symbolism in this verse would be especially meaningful to people who lived in constant danger of earthquakes: the stability of the pillar, no need to go out or to flee, and a heavenly city that nothing could destroy. Ancient cities often honored great leaders by erecting pillars with their names inscribed on them. Pillars provide strengthens and bare the weight of the structure. But God’s pillars are not made of stone, but of sacred faith because there is no temple in the heavenly city.

, And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

His pillars are faithful people who bear His name for His glory ().

As a witness to how true that is, let me tell you what became of that little church in Philadelphia. They were a small church. They actually were the smallest of all the seven churches named in Revelation. After they received this letter, they decided to go through that open door God had given them, and they went on to become the largest of all the seven churches. In fact, in the generations to come, they became a church so vibrant and strong that the people in Philadelphia began to turn to that church to lead them. Over the next 1,200 years, led by that church, that city of Philadelphia survived marauders, invaders and barbarian tribes. While all of the other fortified cities fell, Philadelphia survived as that local church led it. Finally, in the year 1,300 AD, Philadelphia fell. When it did, though, the church still survived.

If you go to Aleshir, Turkey, today you will find the church there still fully functioning, still on fire for Christ, still making disciples for the Kingdom, still supporting ministries all over that part of God’s earth.

It is the oldest surviving Christian congregation on earth – because that little-bitty group of scared believers walked through the door God had opened. In a very real sense, our church today is like the Philadelphian church, for God has set before us many open doors of opportunity. If He opens the doors, we must work; if He shuts the doors, we must wait. Above all, we must be faithful to Him and see the opportunities, to heed God’s commands, to trust His credentials and to receive His crown.

John ends this passage with words that recognize that everyone who hears this command with not act, verse 13, “ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” To hear is to obey and respond, we hear you O’ Lord and we will obey and respond.