The Obedient Church (Rev. 3:7-13)

Introduction

· Thank you Pastor Guillermo for the opportunity to be with you today and open up God’s Word. I bring greetings from your brothers and sisters in Highland, and am glad we can join our hearts together today in worship.

· Please open your Bibles to the Book of Revelation.

· Revelation is probably best known for images of judgment that will fall on the earth, and Christ’s victory when he returns in glory. But chapters two and three do not describe the future. Instead, they provide a conversation that Jesus has with seven churches in Asia Minor. This is described for us in chapter one...

· Revelation 1:9–11 I…was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

· These were seven literal churches scattered across Asia Minor.

· As kids, we usually ended each semester in school with a Report Card. It was a way to measure what classes we were doing well in, and which subjects needed more work. I was blessed to be a pretty good student, but still, I would get a little nervous when it would be time for my parents to see my report card.

· I heard a story of one boy who brought home his report card and handed it to his father. Unfortunately, his grades were very low, all C’s and D’s. His Dad looked at him and asked, “What happened? What do you have to say for yourself?” The son replied, “Dad, you should be proud of me. At least you know I haven’t been cheating!”

· Revelation chapters 2-3 are a kind of “Report Card” to seven ancient churches. To a few, Jesus gave high words of praise. But many of them received a sharp rebuke. We are going to focus in on the sixth church, located in the ancient city of Philadelphia. Jesus’ words appear for us in chapter 3:7-18 (read the passage).

· What a beautiful commendation. One of only churches to receive only praise. THREE COMFORTING STATEMENTS Jesus makes to the church. If you remain faithful, he speaks these words to you as well. I know you (vv. 7-8), I will keep you (vv. 9-10), and I am coming for you (vv. 11-13).

I Know You (vv. 7-8)

· He says something like this to each of the churches. For example in Revelation 2:2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance... (cf. 2:9, 13, 19; 3:1, 15).

· Jesus revealed himself earlier as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (1:8). He stands in the midst of the lampstands (1:13). Here, he is described as holy and true.

· John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.

· There is nothing we can hide from Jesus. When we sin, he knows. When we suffer, he sympathizes. When we pray, he listens. When we are tempted, he intercedes. When we obey, he rejoices. How good it is to know that Jesus knows us! We are the bride of Christ, and the groom is never far away, but always watching, always caring, always comforting, always helping. As he said in the Great Commission, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

· Our Savior is all knowing, and all powerful. It says in verse 7 that Jesus has “the key of David.” This language is borrowed from Isaiah 22. We do not have time to look at that passage in detail, but in it, a high ranking Israelite official named Shebna is cursed because of his pride. Instead, God says he will raise up a godly leader named Eliakim in his place. Eliakim was not the actual king, but he became a key leader in the royal court.

· Isaiah 22:20–23 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, … 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.

· You can hear echoes of that passage to our text here in Revelation 3. Borrowing the language of Isaiah 22, Jesus as the Son of David says that he is the one who has the key to the kingdom. Jesus is the one who can unlock and give access to all the spiritual blessings. There is an already/not-yet element to Christ’s rule. Jesus is already ruling. And yet the full expression of his rule awaits his second coming.

· I only recently became a pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church. Before that, I was pastor of Crossview Bible Church in Yucca Valley. The week before I became pastor down here, I met with Gary Pounds. Some of you know him. He is our minister of church administration. I met with him to sign some employment papers, and he also handed me these… a set of keys. Keys bring with them access, authority, privileges, and responsibility. In that moment, I gained access to the church building, even though I had not officially begun my new assignment yet. A similarity with the keys of David. Jesus has authority, and yet he has not yet set up his kingdom yet. But he already has authority.

· >>There is a second statement that brings comfort…

I Will Keep You (vv. 9-10)

· Read vv. 9-10.

· In these verses, we have a religious group called the “synagogue of Satan.” This refers to a Jewish group maybe similar to the Pharisees in Jesus’ Day, or the Judaizers in Paul’s time. They claimed to be Jewish, and from a physical standpoint, they probably were. But they were not “Jewish” in the full sense of the word.

· Romans 2:28–29 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.

· These self-righteous Jews were attacking the church, diminishing the work of Christ, and pulling people back into old habits of the Mosaic Law. They did not realize they were following Satan. They thought they were pleasing God. Yet they had denied Christ and were persecuting the true church. And in so doing they were being used by the devil to attack God’s people.

· These were the same kind of people that Jesus rebuked in John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

· In spite of these attacks, the church of Philadelphia kept God’s Word (v. 8, 10). Jesus says their enemies will one day bow down in homage, and he will “keep” them (v. 10).

· Perhaps some of you have been mocked or threatened because of your faith. Maybe you have lost a friendship, or your relationship with your family is broken. This is part of counting the cost of following Jesus. We should try to be friendly and respectful toward unbelievers, but when others ridicule or threaten us because of our Christian faith, we cannot back down. We must choose to obey God rather than man. One day, God’s enemies will be silenced, and they will bow the knee to King Jesus.

· The promise to “keep” them out of the hour of trial is probably a reference saying that Jesus will spare them from the Great Tribulation in chs. 6-18. This is one of several passages in the Bible that hints that Christians will be raptured before the beginning of the Tribulation. Other passages include Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:15-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-58; and examples in Scripture such as Noah, Enoch, and Lot who were rescued from the land prior to a time of great judgment and destruction.

· >>Christ’s return may be sooner than you think. This is a great comfort to believers, but should cause unbelievers to tremble. Notice with me a third word of comfort. I Know You, I Will Keep You, and…

I Am Coming For You (vv. 11-13)

· In the final verses of this message to the church, Jesus speaks of his coming return.

· He urges them to keep holding fast to the gospel. I have known people over the years who once claimed to be a Christian, and were even baptized, who later denied Jesus and walked away from their Christian faith.

· Why would anyone do this? Why would they walk away from the faith? There are many reasons. Jesus goes into some of them in his parable of the four soils. To find acceptance by the world. To justify a worldly lifestyle. To try to make God more understandable. To be part of a movement that is new, exciting, novel, cutting edge. To return to ancient spirituality. To try to be more relevant. Out of a craving for growth -- what sells, what grows, what works (pragmatism). To embrace some new clever interpretation or wind of doctrine.

· I had a college professor, one of my favorites, who years later denied the faith and rejected the deity of Jesus Christ. The faculty pleaded with him, reasoned with him, but eventually let him go and had to warn others to stay away from his ministry. But Jesus says, “Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”

· I believe in eternal security. If you have truly surrendered to Jesus Christ and confessed him as Lord, then you are God’s child, and no one can pluck you out of his hand. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ” (Rom. 8:38-39).

· But as surely as the Bible teaches eternal security, it also teaches perseverance of the saints. That is, that those who believe must stay in the faith. Any branch that has life will bear fruit. Otherwise, if it withers away, it proves that it was never saved to begin with.

· Jesus is coming soon! Revelation 22:7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Conclusion

· Are you ready for Christ’s return? Do you know him as Savior? Are you living for him today?

· The final promises in this passage would have had special meaning to the church of Philadelphia – a new name, and a strong pillar.

· I will make him “a pillar in the temple” of my God. New names, and a permanent possession. God had said to Eliakim in Isaiah 22, “I will fasten him like a peg.” God’s temple and city will be glorious. Beautiful beyond measure! And the one who conquers will be like a pillar, a permanent fixture who finds eternal victory.

· This church had only a little power. They were not particularly large, or strong, or wealthy. But they were precious in the eyes of God, and made a big impact. God gave them a wide door of opportunity. What would he do through Iglesia Comunidad Emanuel? If you keep God’s word, he will see your works. He will keep you from the hour of trial. And he will return for you soon. Come Lord Jesus!