The Church with an open door

Revelation 3:7-13

Out of all the seven churches.

five of them were rebuked and told to repent

Ephessus: the loveless church

Pergamus: the compromising Church

Thyatira: the Corrupt Church

Sardis: the dead Church

Laodecians: the lukewarm Church

One of them was warned of the persecution to come and to remain faithful through it all.

Smyrna: the soon to be persecuted church

The Philadephis Church ( the Church with the open door)

This was the church with the open door.

The pecuilarity of this church

It was keeping the word of God with little stregngth.

It did not have many sterngth of the others church that can be attributed to it.

stregngth in numbers

Stregth in gifts

stregnth in experience

Having more strength does not mean more of God’s word will be kept.

In fact the contrary seems to be the case.

The church of Corinthians and Galatians.

Corinthians : we’re enriched in everything by him( wealthy) come short in no gift, it had 10,000 instructors in Christ.

Yet Keep so little, even the faith that was once delivered to them, they had almost lost it and allowed false teaching about Christ to develope in their midst.

The church of Galatians.

Had Paul, Peter, John, James as their ministers.

They had seen the lord Jesus Crucified before there very eye. “o foolish Galatians who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, Beofe whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearyl Potrayed among you Crucified”.

They had turned away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ.

Why was Jesus setting an open door for them

Notice that it is “he set an open door before them” and that no one can shut it.

This door is a door that only my strength can open.

Prayer.

Colossians 4:3 “3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,”

Luke 11,:10, Jesus spoke of that doors will open to those that who knock.

The Prayer was accompanied by perserverance.

Ephesians 6:18 “18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance ...” “

This prayer was being done, together with the word being kept in the midst of opposition and pushback from what was around, specifically from what Jesus Called the Church of synogogue.

The key thing is perserverance.

Though there was something that was pushing them back, there perservered in their prayers,

Prayer without perserverance is meaningless, because perserverance gets you to point of where your prayers will be answered.

Keeping God’s word without perserverance is meaningless.

The opposition of the enenmy,

“ i have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it”

The enemy knows that once the door is opened it can’t be shut,

His first thing aim is to keep that door shut,

What gets that door opened is the prayer of God’s people, so he will oppose and disco

Daniel was man who would persistantly pray three time a day, and he would pray about Jerusalem, about the city of God and his promise

As he prayed the door was slowly opening, eventually the enemy to keep that door closed he raised up three adversaries to keep him from praying, it did not work. He persevered.

Daniel 9, and 10, When daniel knew by the books of the 70 year desolation has almost concluded, he bagn to pray for the restoration of israel.

While he was fasting and weeping in sackloth and ashes, there was war in heaven.

The war was to keep the announcement of the door that has now been opened, from reaching the ears of those who have been praying for it.

He lost that battle too.

Church, there are door that have been opened to us.

Let us perservere in our prayers and there will be more doors.

The enemy second aim is to keep God’s people from going through that open door and exploiting it.

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

Suddenly this poor peasants, jews have now found favor in the eyes of the King of Persia and medes.

Ezra under the Kings Cyrus:- Cyrus makes a decree that the lord God of heaven has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, and gives. Cyrus gave back all the articel of the temple to Ezra and the people who were ready to go back and buld the temple

The adveraries bagan sending letters to the King to to cause the work to cease, but the king said no let the work continue and let the cost be paid from my treasuries, and let not tax be laid on the levites that minister and do the work. If anyone does not obey this command let judgement be executed upon him speedily.

You cannot close an open door

Nehemiah under King Artexerxes :- The king sent him with captans and armies and letters commanding the governes of the surrounding cities to give him timber to build.

The adversaries tobaiah, Sanballat and Hornite, since they could not close the door they began to redicule, to raise conspiracy within hiring one of Nehemiah men as false prophets and all these was

Nehemiah 6:9 “9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”

They had to persevere to accomplish the work and use the open door God has given them

Church the enemy has tried to weaken our hand to keep us from exploiting and oding what we have to do, for the open door God has given us.

God want’s to do something great in this revival.

The work was completed

Nehemiah 6:16 “16 And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.”

Ephesians 3:20 “20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”

Conclusion

Let us persevere, God has given us an open and he will continue to give us an open,

THis church is a church with an open door.