The Church at Philadelphia

Good morning church,

It is so good to see you all this morning.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation 3

Revelation 3:7–13 ESV

“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.’

I wanna start by talking about strength and weakness and this has everything to do with this church and the next church to come Laodecia.

The two churches that have no positive qualities mentioned are the two churches that from the outside looking in seem to be the most impressive.

Sardis and Laodecia are the two that seem to be the most impressive from the outside looking in. But the ones who are faithful seem to be the ones who are the most harassed and that is SMyrna and this church Philidelphia.

The strongest churches as they appear have the most weaknesses and the weakest churches as they appear seem to have the most strengths.

So many people today look at the size of the church, the programs they offer the way the building looks, and then they see a church like ours or one smaller and they say well there is nothing good happening there.

But their assumptions are based off appearance not off of substance.

All of us want strength, we wish we were skinnier or more attractive or beefed up or more muscular, we would all like to be more musical or have better kids or have better grades or make a little more money or have a little better house or car.

We would like more infulence more sway more followers each of us wants if were honest to be stronger than we are. But we know the Bible speaks more about weakness.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. If I must boast then I must boast of my weakness, for God says my strength is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

So it seems then as Christians we ought to prefer weakness

Thats true but that also can be confusing, while God’s power is made perfect in our weakness its not always true that ugly is better than being beautiful or poor is better than being rich, or unintelligent better than being unintelligent.

Just bc we know the Bible prefers weakness over strength we tend to think that if someone is strong then they are not as spiritually powerful as someone who is weaker

It only takes a few minutes of looking at the characters of the Bible to see that it is not always one or the other

Abraham was rich, David was a King, Moses was mighty in power, Solomon was wise Esther was beuatiful, Samson was strong, Paul seemed to be a pretty smart guy

So we dont wanna say if we were all just dumber, uglier and poorer then the church would reach its full glory and potential

So the quesiton to ask is this why does the Bible prefer weakness over strength and what does that mean?

The weakness that is mentioned in the Bible is primarily a spiritual weakness. It means a brokeness of heart it means a desperate reliant spirit upon the Lord.

It means to be emptied of self to be lowly to be meek to despise our own sinfulness so weakness in this regard is better then strength bc the temptation to forsake the Lord and rtely on ourselves is so much greater when we have more obvious strengths.

So to be rich is not to be evil there are all sorts of people in the Bible who have money it is possible to be rich and generous, if you have money it doesn’t somehow mean you are evil

The danger of money is seen in Laodecia, the danger of money is simply the danger of strength.

The temptation for anyone who is strong whether you are financially strong academically strong musically athletically strong is to rely on yourself and not God.

Strength itself is not the problem, looking for strength in the wrong places is the problem.

The Bible does not say we need to get rid of desires or wants The Bible does not say you have wants and desires shame on you. What Jesus is constantly doing is saying you know what you wanna live forever?

Ill tell you how you live forever, you live forever by dying to yourself. You wanna have authority and influence, you wanna be first!?

Well ill tell you how to be first be last

So the problem is not that we have desires for victory, or success but the problem is that we look for them in the wrong places and go about them in the wrong way.

Strength for the Christian comes through the weakness of not relying upon ourselves but on the Lord alone.

Hebrews 11:32 ESV

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—

Hebrews 11:33–34 ESV

who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

So the heroes of the faith are not heroes bc they were passive or soft no they conquered kingdoms, they shut the mouths of lions they routed armies!

But it was Gods work He turned their weakness into strength, just as he does for us and the church at Philadelphia.

Even though they were small and weak yet God will give them great power!

We dont know much about the church it seems as though Philadelphia was witnessing loving and keeping a close watch on thier beliefs bc these things were pointed out in the other churches when the other churches failed so we can assume that there was genuine faithfulness, all we know about the church is that it had little strength, but it was holding fast to the word of god and the name of JEsus.

They were a faithful patient little church, now we dont know how little but the language certainly seems to mean they were not impressive

The church in chapter 3 in Sardis had a reputation of being alive it is the church that people would drive by and say look at all the things going on its big its massive its growing!

THEIR ALIVE and JEUSS SAID YOUR DEAD

Here Jesus said you look to be very small, very insignificant but you are strong!

People didnt drive by and wanna take pictures of the church in Philadelphia its a humble looking tiny country church somewhere in rural america with a leaking roof....

Thats Philadelphia faithful patient without much to show for themselves except for that they have opposition and they have weakness.

Thats what we know

Maybe one reason we dont know alot is bc if you notice most of the letter to the church is taken over not with a description of the church… but rather the verses were taken over by comfort and encouragement of all the churches little philadelphia ets the biggest encouragement and hope.

The smaller you are the weaker you feel the more Jesus wants to come along side and give you promise after promise and blessing after blessing.

I count 6 strong promises for this weak church

Jesus promised an open door that no one can shut

Now at first we might think this open door is an opportunity for evangelism

Colossians 4:3 ESV

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—

So there the open door is a reference to an open door of ministry to speak the gospel. Now this may have been what Jesus was talking about but I think primarily this open door has to do with salvation itself.

I dont think it has as much to do with mission as it does to the access to the kingdom of God

You think about some of the parables Jesus tells where Gods return is described like those crying out open the door or let us come into the banquet will you let us in?

It is a metaphor for salvation the open door of 8 must be connected with the opening and the shutting of verse 7

Revelation 3:7 ESV

“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.

Revelation 3:8 ESV

“ ‘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.

Now that open door has to be connected to the opening and the shutting in verse 7

Jesus is described as the one who has the key of David

Isaiah 22 talks about a man named Shebna he is an unfaithful steward and we find out there that he is going to be booted and in his place will come a man named Eliakim who will be dressed in a robe fashioned with a shash given authority and this authority that he will have is like the authority of the Messiah

So Jesus in Revelation is described with the language of Isaiah 22

Isaiah 22:22 ESV

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.

Thats the same language that is used here in Revelation now you notice that He says he will put the key to Davids house on His shoulder

You think this is wierd

This would have been not a key entering a keyhole but a big wooden lever that would have been used to lift the bars off the gates.

You think about it how are you gonna get this big bar off the gates of the palace not with a small little key but with some sort of mechanism that lifts the latch.

its a big honking thing he has to carry on his back, in the same way Jesus has the authority to open and shut the door which provides entrance into eternal life.

So in Isaiah it means entrance into the kings palace, but here it means entrance into the kingdom of Heaven

That is the open door in Phil. which no one can shut

THEY HAVE ENTRANCE INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE WITH HIS SON

No matter how weak, how insignificant, NO ONE IS ABLE TO CLOSE THE DOOR OF SALVATION THAT JESUS OPENS

No one is strong enough to close the door of salvation that Jesus opens

That means your not even strong enough to close that door, you think you have sin that God cannot forgive?

You can hear Jesus saying to this church in Phil. cheer up! you serve a strong Savior!

Maybe they were facing opposition maybe the governement will wanna shut our churches someday maybe mobs will gather outside our dors, maybe we will be evicted from our homes.

Jesus says no matter what they do, no matter what dors they try to close, no matter what lawsuits that come your waythey cannot close the door of your salvation that I have opened

Your enemies cannot close your doors when I have opened it

2. Jesus promises that the false Jews will fall at thier feet

Revelation 3:9 ESV

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.

Now Jesus is not anti Jew He is anti sin, and in this case many of the Jews may have been persecuting the church.

Jesus calls them jews who are not really Jews

He says they will fall at thier feet

Isaiah 45:14 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’ ”

That is the prophecy that was made to Israel some 700 years earlier That the Egyptians and their enemies will one day come and bow down before their feet.

Jesus is now applying this promise to the church in Phil.

He says these people who say they are doing the work of God under the name of being a Jew are actually doing the work of the devil.

The followers of Jesus are the new Jerusalem!

What does he mean they will fall at thier feet?

They will see we serve the true God

ONe day there will be a final vindication where people will see that this whole time they thought we were playing church but we know God and He knows us and on that day they will fall at or feet not to worship us but to say you KNOW THE TRUE GOD!!

So here he sees a day when even though they had been harassed as those who were doing the work of the devil! How dare Christians think they know the only true God what biggots they are!

One day they will say no God loves those people

Look at the way the world views us Christians!

Used to we were those who were uneducated and we just didnt know how the modern world works and now its simply we are the enemies we are the haters in the worlds eyes.

we are biggots to them

WE HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISIONS NOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO STAND UPON THE WORD OF GOD NO MATTER WHAT THE WORLD THROWS AT US!!

You are not prepared to be a Christian in this world until you are preapred to be thought strange backward biggoted and a wierdo

(Ethan Mcniel)

YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO BE STRANGE TO BE DIFFERENT AND BE COUNTER CULTURAL!

Live not for the applause of people but for an audience of one!

Keep the word of God and confess the name of Jesus no matter what

Jesus promises to keep them from hour of trial

Revelation 3:10 ESV

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.

We dont know what this hour of trial is, maybe this is the intense final hour before the Lord returns or this is amomentary of testing that weill come upon them and the rest of the Roman world.

JESUS WILL PROTECT US!

Some people take this to mean that the church wont suffer or that we will be raptured before the final tribulation but this is not the sense here.

TAREO ECK= to keep from

this does not mean we will be taken out fo trials but we will be kept whole through trial

In our suffering Jesus promises to protect us from the devil and from the eternal dfamnation

Jesus promises to keep them until the end

Revelation 3:11 ESV

I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Sometimes people will get all wrapped up in some sort of crown system and they focus on the types of crown they recieve for what action.

I think the crowns whether they be the crown of life or the crown of triumph they all refer to the same thing the crown we get comes from salvation the crown is not in addition to salvation

te crown is salvation itslef

Jesus promises to make them a pillar in the temple of God

Now remember Jesus is the doorkeeper he is the one with the key of david

Now we the church are described as the pillars of this temple

Revelation 3:12 ESV

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.

Those who are rejected will have the privelaged placed in the holy of holies in the temple of God you have to love the promises that come and meet Gods people where they are.

they feel small and little

Some of you feel this way

This is not the life I thought I would have 5 years ago but you feel like you live with hurts and damage and you feel weak and then the promise comes to you He says you will be pillars in the temple of my God

Sturdy living forever in God house

Over and over God is reminding us who we are in Christ you know in our culture the world reminds us of our identity who am I????

What is my identity?

GOD DEFINES WHO YOU ARE!!

God promises a threefold name

Revelation 3:12 ESV

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.

PEople say your unimpressive but God says I will tell you your mine mine mine mine