The Church of Philadelphia

Introduction

Quick series recap

letters to the churches that are found in Asia Minor, modern day turkey

given to the Apostle John to write, Jesus sends a message that is left for us as well

he is exiled to the island of Patmos, for not denying Jesus

Each of the messages has a kind of flow to them

we see in most of them the same kind of things

a commendation

a condemnation

a warning

a promise

the last few, we have seen more condemnation, and some even without commendation

not so today...

this church received no condemnation, only a commendation

The Church of Philadelphia

A small church, group of believers that Jesus gives no condemnation in his letter

instead commends them and leaves them with a great promise of a time yet to come

Revelation 3:7–13 (CSB)

7 “Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus says the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens:

8 I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

9 Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

10 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.

12 “The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. 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 out of heaven from my God—and my new name.

13 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Intro of the Letters from Jesus each showing a different side of Jesus

The one with authority… the key of David, Son of David, the heir to the Kingly throne of David

The one who can open or close, and nobody can change that

what he says is… there is not review board, overturning his decision

Small church who is staying true to Jesus

there are other gods being worshipped in the city

Dionysus - the wine God

one of the biggest things in this area was agriculture, and grapes were the biggest crop

They would worship by drinking wine to drunkeness, sexual immorality

The church stayed clear of this and stayed true to the Lord through all of it

There was a small synagogue in the city, Jewish people that would have been scattered after the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD.

but the Jews hated the Christians by this point and besides trying to turn the Romans against them, also would not allow them in their synagogue, a place to be to be a part of the community

the people of this church loved God, loved people and just set out to live their lives

The trials and temptations that we face here are temporary. We will dwell with our God for all of eternity. Where he will be our God, we will be his people. There will be no more pain and no more death, every tear will be wiped away from our eye.

God Will Exalt His People

Deep down, many of us want to be exalted

we wont to be important, at least to somebody

maybe we do not want to be famous, or a king or queen, but we are constantly elevating ourselves

that is what selfishness is, thinking of ourselves, that we are more important in time and space than other people

I say all this because I almost feel like we have to guard our hearts when we hear that we will be exalted

no cheering, or excitement, “Yeah! One day that so and so will bow down to me!”

Revelation 3:9 (CSB)

9 Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

Enemies of God’s people are enemies of God

Our enemies are not flesh and blood , they are not political

so we allow God to fight for us

we fight on our knees

Those in this world who are against us, are actually against God, we are just reflecting him

as long as we are living for him, there will be those against us

Bonhoeffer - Lasserre (lass say ree)

Understood the difference between earthly political enemies and those who are against us in spiritual battle

we must see this difference also,

One day, every knee will bow and tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

and as we rule and reign with Jesus, those who are against us will bow before us

Who is against them?

most likely because of synagogue of satan, it is the Jewish people, those who were to be God’s people, who have kept them out of the synagogue

Please note, they will not be excepted by them in this life, they are not suddenly liked by those of the world

we must spend less time worried about what the world thinks of us

I am not saying we should not love them, we should love and pray for our enemies

we cannot look more like the world so that we will be accepted by the world

this church, these believers stood strong in that

one day, those against them would come to bow down, they would in turn be exalted

It is easy for this to discourage us, as we are living through pain, hard times, to know that in the future this will happen, but what about now

God Will Guard His People

Revelation 3:10 (CSB)

10 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

We know that God does not keep bad things from happening

we live in a broken world

trials grow our faith in God

James 1:2–4 (CSB)

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,

3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Keep = guard

it does not mean that we will be removed

some believe that this verse shows that the people of God will be raptured up before the seven years of the great tribulation,

a terrible time that will be over all of the earth and those on it

I believe that David Jeremiah has stated this belief, Tony Evens in his commentary, and numerous other commentaries

I will note that others, R.C. Sproul, John Piper do not believe this to be the case

they believe that the people of God will be here for the tribulation and that God will “keep” or guard his people through the tribulation

if you are waiting for me to tell you what you should believe, you are going to keep waiting

I have not settled this in my own mind as of yet

I will let those who are much smarter than I battle it out, I will just focus on making sure that when the Lord raptures his church, I am a part of it.

that is my prayer for you, that you are focused less on when the Lord returns, but more on making sure when he does, you and everyone in your life will be with him

Who are those that will be with him?

those with authentic faith… those who keep his commands

that is the commendation of this church, “you have kept my commands.”

meaning they have loved God and loved people

We should be known for our love for God and people, not our eschatology or our view on Calvinism. These are the people that are firmly established in the Kingdom of God.

God Will Establish His People

Establish is a word that is intentional

think of a tree, you can tell when you plant a tree when that root has been established

we have planted trees in our yard, some have taken, some have not

but when that main root gets established, the tree really starts to grow

Jesus tells a parable about a guy who plants seed

some of the seed gets eaten by birds, some on the path and never takes root

some takes root but is cut out by weeds

some of that seed gets established, and grows (these are the believers)

Revelation 3:11–12 (CSB)

11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.

12 “The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. 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 out of heaven from my God—and my new name.

He is coming soon

Peter tells us that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day

understanding that in heaven, it has only been a couple days since Jesus ascended into Heaven

2 Peter 3:8–9 (CSB)

8 Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

Knowing every last one who will come to know him as Lord and Savior he is waiting patiently, so that none will be lost

the text goes on to say that then the Lord will come like a thief in the night, when we least expect to and will come get his church

He tells the church in Philadelphia that they will be established, set as pillars in his temple

You understand this, you have seen this in our own communities

one of the things that we wanted to do when we became senior pastor was to buy our own house

to be here, our home… to be established

I had an elder tell me that nobody moves here and stays… I said, “What about me?” He said, “You don’t count, you’re one of us.”

I love it, I take that as being established, one of us mentality

One day.... we will be established in his temple, a pillar of the community

we will bear his name

Revelation 21:1–7 (CSB)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.

5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”

6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.

7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.