Revelation 3 vs 7-13

Revelation Chapter 3 Verses 7 – 8

·     This is the only “in” church out of our stack of seven. Every other church is “of.” To the angel of the church of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, of Thyatira, of Sardis, of Laodicea…, but with this one, its’ to the angel of the church IN Philadelphia. This one is different than all the others… This is not folks going to a church. This is the church. The church, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, its not walls, buildings, places, denominations or movements…, its Christians. Is this the church you’re a part of? True, born-again children of God!

·     A perfect description of this church was given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The true church, this is how they think and feel… Do you think that God owns you? That you are not your own? That you’ve been saved by grace alone, redeemed by the personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone, and now your life, (although not perfect and still a daily mess), but your single under-current of all life is to walk with God in worship? Pretty good chance you’re a bond servant! Pretty good chance you’re a true Christian!! The church IN you!

·     Philadelphia was an interesting city geographically and historically. It was located 28 miles southeast of Sardis, situated on the border of three countries; Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia which made it quite convenient (even strategic) because at each turn of the compass there was opportunity for influence, for trade, for outreach…kinda like an open door…a gateway of sorts.

·     It’s said that the city was founded with a special mission in mind…to expand the Greek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia. And they were quite successful because in just 200 years after its founding, the Lydians had forgotten their own language and had fully adopted Greek culture! Quite amazing. (And relevant as we continue)

·     The city was established in 189 BC by King Eumenes II of Pergamos at which time he named the city for the love of his brother who would be his successor, Attalus II…therefore the name Philadelphia, which literally means “brotherly love.”

·     It was situated in an extremely volcanic area which made the soil rich and fertile and so this city was world famous for its wines and also its hot springs. People would come here to enjoy life, to get away and rest a bit…a refreshing, refueling place!

·     Quite relevant indeed as this church is known as the faithful church. The church that receives encouragement and approval from its Leader. A place where people can come to rest. A place where people can come to be recharged, find hope and restore the joy of life.

·     This church is still on the scene today but not so much a building or a denomination or a movement or a name. This is the church comprised of people from all sides, corners and angles of Christianity that desire to love and to know the Lord. Be a person of faith in Jesus not only in church services but in easy and difficult moments…this is the church pure…the people that make God’s commands to love Him and love others their heart beat’s rhythms…no one to impress, no agenda to push…ferocious against their own flesh and sin and prayerfully passionate about grace upon the flesh and sin of others…the cross of Christ is their meaning of life…they love like He loves…the faithful church…

·     Historically, it represents a period of time beginning around 1800 with who is called the originator of the modern missional movement of the church, a man named William Carey. A Baptist parishioner and cobbler in England whose heart was stirred by the Lord while reading Isaiah 54:2-3 in front of his church, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities alive!”

·     He packed up, closed his shop and traveled to India for the sake of sharing the love and hope of salvation through Jesus! Something that hadn’t happened since Paul in his day! What was happening? Revival, the crusted over heart of the church was beating again and just like a bride in love with her groom, the church awoke to a desire to be close to the Lord; to return to simplicity of relationship and to do what God had asked them to do…take responsibility for the Great Commission!

·     I’ve heard the quote, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” I like that. God has given us a great calling in this world, each and every one of us, but it is as the great prophet Vidal Sassoon once said, “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary!” Where is the church that takes responsibility for God’s commands? That is the faithful church!! Albert Einstein once said, "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

·     Carey set the example! He showed them and us that you don’t have to be skilled, gifted or special to be used in the Kingdom! God is simply looking for simple men and simple women faithful enough to simply walk closely with Him. Truly, The greatest ability is availability. 

·     The church in Philadelphia speaks of this age of church history that begun through powerful and selfless faithfulness! (Is there any other?) It was through men and women like Carey in India and Hudson Taylor in China, D.L. Moody in America and C.H. Spurgeon in London that evangelism and mission-life Christianity was taking place! Sent out to reach the lost and lonely and hurting and failing family of God…

·     This church…a place where people sense family and love and strength because the Holy Spirit is the One in charge. Where all things take a back seat to sound doctrine, fervent prayer, simple worship, simple love, simple truth and sacrificial service because that is to simply model Jesus. A place that is hospitable…in other words, a hospital for the weak and the sick and the hurting…where if they want to be made well, they can be… If they don’t want to be made well, they will experience love from healthy, strong, confident and warm success addicts. The faithful church. The church that is happily married to Jesus as His bride with unrelenting and unashamed commitment! 

·     “These things says He who is holy, He who is true.” Holy and true are inseparable, I just want you to know that. These are essential characteristics of God to consider and understand. God is true, and God is love, but God is also holy…and if He is not holy, He would be neither true nor love. Holy is to be totally set apart from sin, the opposite of evil…and it is synonymous with truth and also with love.

·     Now, this applies to you and to I as well as we read in 1 Peter 1:16, “It is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”” Is your love without holiness (set apart from sin)? Then it’s not true…

·     I love that Jesus identifies Himself this way to this church. It’s a great compliment. An awesome accolade. Why? Because if that’s not who He is, they aren’t listening. I wonder if you got a letter and it was written, “This says he that is not holy and is not true” if you would read any further…? I certainly wouldn’t! But sometimes we do, don’t we? We listen to a voice over the voice of God, sometimes our own, sometimes our hearts and we do err…Not this church and Jesus knows it, and with them He is well pleased.

·     He who has the keys of David, He who opens and not can shut, and shuts and no one can open. This is a direct reference to Isaiah 22 a hidden truth that speaks of the freedom and life-alive-life that is only found in Jesus! This world is dependant upon discontentment. It’s how it gains its wealth. And it’s an easy sell. But in Jesus there is a contentness of heart that is able to be grasped. That once you align who you are with who God wants you to be then you are free! Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Doors open and shut and YOU KNOW that God does it all and it’s just grand! The self-focused assess the worldly cost and worldly result as a measure of success while the humble, the free know that whatever the cost or result we HAVE success because it is the Lord leading us!

·     Back to Isaiah 22… This is a direct, almost word for word reference to Isaiah 22 verse 22 and it’s so cool because that chapter is speaking of an unwise and unrighteous man who was the treasurer of Judah by the name of Shebna. Shebna was stealing the money and spending it on himself and so the Key to the Treasury of God was taken from him and given to one that was righteous, Eliakim.

·     But here’s where it gets good. Isaiah there in verse 21 of Chapter 22 begins to describe the responsibility, the position, the power of the key holder…he says, “He is clothed with a robe and He is a Father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to Judah…I will fasten him a peg (or a nail) and He will be a glorious throne to His Father’s house!”

·     Now, who is a Father that has a Father? Who was fastened with a nail? Who is clothed in a robe? This so clearly speaks of Jesus. And so, the Key of David…the key to the treasury of God, opened by Jesus and only by Jesus!

·     Jesus is the One who opened the doors for William Carey in India, Hudson Taylor in China, for us here in Colorado…and He is also the One who shuts doors that cannot be kicked through with comparison, logic, reason…what do I mean by that? All these excuses people give for not following Jesus…one I’ve heard…well why be Christian? They’re just a bunch of hypocrites…that’s an excuse!! We follow Jesus, we’re not Him! Another one, “Well, I just can’t understand or accept this sentence, this verse in the Bible…” Well, what about the other 31,101 verses! They get tossed out!!!??? Excuses…

·     And look, if a man or a woman or a kid continually continually continually says “No” to the Lord…the treasury of God unlocked through Jesus…if anyone uses that treasury for selfish gain…saying “no” to Jesus, and yes to self, making it their heart’s anthem, there will come a time when he or she of they will be unable to say, “Yes” at which point they’re locked in to his or her eternal decision. 

·     Jesus is the door, Jesus has the key, He’s the way…He proved it when He rose from the dead…heart stopped…blood poured out…yet He stood, commanded life back into His body and walked out of His own coffin…only One is able to do that! One who is above this life! He’s done all that He can do and the treasury of God is available to anyone through Him!

·     Someone once said, “Do something that is so big that it will definitely FAIL if Jesus is not in it!” Talk about a risk! And that is this statement by Jesus. It’s a promise. It’s an offering. That He will do exceedingly abundantly more than we can even ask or think when we trust in Him and say “Yes” when we have opportunity! T.I. in 2007, “Big things poopin’, and little things stopping!” HA! This is the Jesus the Doorman!

·     And the accolade given to this church, is that they had a little strength…they kept His Word…, they did not deny His name. The faithful church says “YES” to Jesus…no matter what He is asking, not matter where He is directing, why? They are His, and He is theirs.

·      This is ultra-encouraging, why? Because there are no perfect churches! Why? Because there are no perfect Christians! But here, Jesus offers nothing but approval and commendation, no rebuke…He is pleased with them, God is with them, why? Because they have a little strength, have kept His word, and have not denied His name. Entirely unspectacular by today’s popular standards of church success…but that is success to the Lord.

·      The Lord says that this church has not denied His name. Jesus, Joshua, literally means “God is the Salvation!” God is the Way! God is the answer! And to not deny His name means that is the code of your character. That you trust Him…even over your own way…

·      I have seen people make the worst decisions…take the wide and easy path, the path that doesn’t involve facing, dealing with, and overcoming iniquity and go directions that I know are not the heart of the Lord. And they say, “I have prayed and prayed and prayed about this…” But what if it denies His name…? You can’t stop them, no use in trying, but I know what is ahead…closed doors. You know what a closed door is? A WALL!

·      That’s another thing that I want to point here… In verse 7 Jesus is the one that opens and no man can shut and closes and no man can open but when He speaks of the works of this church, the commendation to the faithful church, its only open doors… Could it be, I think it could…that the closed doors aren’t necessarily the leading of the Lord…that it’s just an eventuation of somewhere along the way you lost His trail? (Closed doors aren’t the same as shut doors; closed implies someone’s action!)

·      2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” I’m not sure that God will lead me to a closed door. The closed door may mean something else entirely. That if I do choose to deny His name, not trust Him, not grow up in maturity and strength, not learn the patience and power of endurance in my subjugation to His will for my life and day and path…then I’ll miss the open doors. Miss what could have been, and what is available to me but I cannot have…because my immaturity would turn that blessing into a great curse…

·      I love this illustration; I’ve used it often. My dog Kylo is an interesting creature. His entire goal in life, every day, is to get as obese as possible. From waking to sleeping (which happens for him countless times each day) he is scavenging…hunting for food and persecuting me every time I have a plate! He has free reign in the backyard…its fully fenced…but if I am in the front yard or in the garage or in the street with the kids or sitting on the front porch, he has to watch from behind the front door. Why? Because we have tried to give him that additional freedom but what does he do…? Chases rabbits! And God forbid a neighbor walk by with their dog…it is ON! So, what does his loving master do? Locks him behind a closed door…because he is irresponsible and a curse to himself with the freedom that is his…but he cannot have.

·      I believe we have a clue here that the closed doors that no man can open from the Lord…perhaps aren’t His perfect will for me or for you but His perfect protection because we just won’t breakthrough and trust Him. Again, because when the Lord gets to speaking to this church, it’s all open doors. All of the bonuses, all of the privileges, all of the depths of wisdom, all of the freedoms, all of the riches of God through Jesus available to them because they are simply obedient to Him, follow Him, and trust His word even over their own urges to go after every rabbit that hops by or no matter what the neighbor dog is doing!

·      Notice additional commendation from the Lord. You have a little strength! That’s awesome! I mean consider the source! Infinite strength! So, Jesus isn’t saying here that Phili has little tiny triceps, no! He’s saying YOU ARE MIGHTY! And I love to say, when people tell me how they’re just not gonna make it, the situation is too hard…I love to say, hey, you have a little strength! How encouraging. All is not lost…get up, you can make it…

·      And then He says, “You have kept My word!” Yes, I love this! This church had turned not to the fashionable fad of the day, not to political points, not to connect with the sin of the culture” nonsense, but they had held to the Word of God! A desire for the Word, an emphasis of authority and centrality on the Word and even today when someone tells me they are looking for a church, I tell them, “Find one that teaches the Bible verse by verse.” THAT is a must. So important.

·      And finally, Jesus says, “You have not denied My name!” Jesus is the Answer! “You look to Me,” He says! You’re in a bind, you turn to Me. You have a decision to make, you turn to Me. Folks come to you, you send them to Me! Because you have not denied that I am. You have not denied that salvation is by Me and none other!

·      Not practical counsel, no forbearance of sin, no opinion or human perspective…what does the Word say and send them to Jesus! I love it! That’s faithful! Because people don’t always want that! They want the 12-step plan, they want to be told it’s ok to live contrary to God’s word…why? Because their conscience has already condemned them and they’re aching…make it better, ya know. Give me the Tylenol of tolerance. Can’t do it…all out of drugs…let me tell you about Jesus, let me take you to Him, let me show you in the Word…, point to the hard and narrow path where you will grow up, overcome and overwhelm darkness…and Jesus says, “Right on!”

·      That’s disappearing today. And the Bible said it would. But this church, although only a little strength…it’s probably not going to be the church in the news, on the TV, featured on Conan…but it’s going tobe the one turning people to eternal life and a real joyful freedom filled earthly life! It will be turning people to worship God and not themselves… Because the church is not where they go…, the church is them!