There is a common thread through the things we've been studying the last three weeks, from the passages in Proverbs to today's passage out of Revelation. And I didn't see it until I looked again at this passage.
- It does come down to trusting God and His infinite wisdom, and not our own imperfect limited knowledge.
- It does come down to knowing Him, of having a relationship with Him through His Word and through prayer.
- It does come down to discipline - of being in constant training to live a life obedient to Him.
- It does come down to honoring Him with everything He's given us, to put Him first in line in everything we do.
- And when we do trust and honor Him, even when it doesn't make sense, and live a disciplined life, what He has for us in the end is greater than anything we can imagine.
Remember:
Trust in the LORD with all your heartand lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight.Do not be wise in your own eyes;fear the LORD and shun evil.This will bring health to your bodyand nourishment to your bones.Honor the LORD with your wealth,with the firstfruits of all your crops;then your barns will be filled to overflowing,and your vats will brim over with new wine.My son, do not despise the LORD's disciplineand do not resent his rebuke,because the LORD disciplines those he loves,as a father the son he delights in.
Today: Revelation 3:7-13
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars - I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Of the seven letters in the opening of Revelation, only the church in Philadelphia and the church in Smyrna have no rebuke from Jesus. The church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) was badly persecuted and poor. The church in Philadelphia was weak and also persecuted. In both cases, the Lord sees their humbleness, their weakness, their knowledge that they are so small and wonder how they could be used by God in such overwhelming opposition to the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Both Smyrna and Philadelphia have attributes that we should strive toward as people and as the people who make up the church. But here, we'll focus on Philadelphia.
We pretty much know the word Philadelphia means "brotherly love." And certainly the church must have lived that - as they loved the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, the loved each other, too … and not only that, they loved the lost, the outcasts, the sick, the broken, the hurting, the unlovable - the very people with whom Jesus spent much time.
Quick thing about Philadelphia (in what is modern-day Turkey) in its day ... and Southern California in our day…
- Philadephia was a city on a major route from Rome to the east, and was known as a gateway to the east.
- The Port of Los Angeles is an trade arrival point for goods from the Asia, and a gateway for shipping those goods to the east.
Where we live, the Greater Los Angeles area, aren't we a gateway to not just the east - the port of San Pedro is an entry point for a lot of goods that make their way east from here - but also to the rest of the world? And go a few miles north on I-15 and along the 60 Freeway and I-10, and what do you see? A lot of warehouses where stuff is stored until it's moved to where its eventually sold.
- It was also called “little Athens” because of the many temples located there.
- Southern California has temples all over the place. After all, what do most people worship these days? Hint: Look at the tallest buildings and what names do they bear? And …
- … it was a place prone to earthquakes.
So the Philadelphia church lived and served in an area of opportunity to share the Gospel - just like us. And Jesus opened many doors of opportunity for them to do so - just like us.
Teaching Point No. 1
There is an open door before us (verse 8, second sentence).
Jesus, who holds the key of David, the royal line of Israel, has the power to open and shut doors … and what He opens, no one can shut, and what He has shut, no one can open.We most often think of such doors as personal opportunity - a job or a relationship, for example.
While that may be true, that's also kind of "me centered."
The bigger picture is that these are doors represent areas where the Lord wants us to serve as a church and as individuals who make up the church.
The idea of a doors as an opportunity to serve the Lord to share His Gospel comes from these passages:
(After Paul and Barnabas returned from their first mission trip recorded in Acts 13 and 14)
On arriving there [Antioch in Syria], they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
(Paul talks about upcoming ministries to which the Lord is calling him)
But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
(Paul talks about his ministry from the Lord)
Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me …
(Paul seeks prayer from the Colossian church regarding his calling; and each of our prayers for one another as well)
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Application of Teaching Point No. 1
- Walk through the door.
- Once on the other side, live, breathe, speak the Gospel in gentleness, respect and love (1 Peter 3:15)
In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul wrote of how he entered and passed through the door, he worked to understand and know those he was called to shared the Gospel with.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Basically, he sought to understand and know those he was called to shared the Gospel with. He didn't just stand on a street corner - at least he didn't make that his main method of telling people about Jesus - nor did he do it with a tract. He did the risky and frustrating thing: he wanted to make friends with people.
And when you read about the ministry of Paul in Acts and in his letters, you come to know that he was not selective about who he made friends with, about who he shared the Gospel with. He didn't go and do market research to find where the likeliest believers lived and plant a church there.
In Acts 20:21, he says that he has "declared to both Jews and Gentiles (meaning EVERYONE) that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus."
On the back of your handout is a list of some really simple ideas that you can do to open doors, make friends and share the Gospel in deed and in word. (You can see that list at "Ten Ideas for Everyday Outreach," "Ten Ideas for Outreach in the Workplace" and "Ten Ideas for Summer Outreach.")
Go through the open door … see what's on the other side, and other side, live, breathe, speak the Gospel in gentleness, respect and love because Jesus IS your Lord. (1 Peter 3:15)
Teaching Point No. 2:
Our perception of our strength, and perhaps our size, should NOT be an obstacle that we make it out to be, because the reward is so much bigger than those obstacles put together.
In commending the Philadelphia church, the Lord notes verse 8 that it has "little strength." Yet, despite that, and despite being in an area where the church was being attacked, looked down upon, outnumbered, Jesus said, "yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."
And here are the great reward for following and obeying and standing firm in the truth despite all the opposition and despite their own weakness:
In verse 9, Jesus says that those who oppose His people, He will personally vanquish them and make them fall at our feet at MAKE THEM ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS LOVES US …
in verses 10-11, Jesus tells them:
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
And in Revelation 3:3
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
Believers and non-believers alike will often say the idea of the rapture is not in Revelation. (Review the rapture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:50-52.)
Is the rapture mentioned in Revelation? The answer, not specifically, but there is evidence sprinkled throughout … and this, verse 10, is the strongest among them that Jesus will not have His believers going through the great tribulation written about in Revelation. And if you are familiar with those passages, THAT is a huge blessing, and a HUGE reason to faithfully follow the Lord and patently endure whatever the world throws at us as we live and share the Gospel.
And not only that, believers - I pray that is all of us here, too - who patiently endure are honored by the Lord as pillars in His temple, and God will not leave them, and the name of God and Jesus "new name" will be written upon them as well.
But here's the reality, which the Bible also teaches. We don't know when that's going to happen (Revelation 3:3). We don't know when the Lord is going to give those who overcome for His namesake the reward of heaven.
What we do know is this: we need to endure patiently, we need to meet the challenges of what it means to be a true follower of Christ in this world by picking up the cross of the Gospel.
Application of Teaching Point No. 2
Forget our size, and overcome our weakness. Jesus says we should hold on to what we have - His Word - and - I don't know that I can say this enough -- to go through those doors (maybe tear down a wall or two) to share His good news, not just in word, but by the very way we live our lives that reflects His great love.
Yes, this is also the application from the first teaching point. I think the Lord in His Word is wanting us to realize that we really have no excuses in
- trusting Him,
- living a disciplined life by
- honoring Him with everything that we have and
- going through the door He's opened to share His love with others, especially the lost.
Jesus said in John 14:23-24:
"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
Simple in word, but not in deed. As I said a couple weeks ago, maybe we have trust issues. We say we trust in the Lord with all our heart, but the evidence seems to be lacking. Maybe because the things that Jesus asks us to do, like love our enemies, or to give out of our poverty, just don't make sense.
But Jesus said to trust Him, and He gave us numerous reason why we should, including the night before he went to die a criminal's death on a cross when He had never committed a crime deserving of that.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
When you do take the time to reflect on the total Gospel message instead of focusing on a verse or two, following Jesus, doing what the Lord asks us to do in His Word does make sense. And the fact that He is God, the creator of creation, as we get to know Him, trusting Him, even in the bleakest of times, in our weakest of times, makes sense as well.
Remember this verse, and remember it in the proper context. That as we are called to do His work - when we are called to walk through the door to the other side -- in the face of physical, emotional, spiritual, mental weakness:
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The Lord knows that we have little strength on our own to endure, let alone to endure with patience. Think of the times of challenges in your life when you went out to meet that challenge, but you did so without prayer, without being in God's Word, without falling back on Him for strength. It probably didn't work out so well … if the problem seemed to be solved initially, you probably also learned that solution was only temporary.
It goes back to the last two messages in Proverbs 3:5-12, of trusting - fully trusting - in the Lord's wisdom, and not so much our human understanding. It comes down to trust, to honoring the Lord by living a disciplined life according to His Word. And you know what the payoff is: a straightened path that we can see the eternal city on our journey heavenward, and that God does bless us along the way as we overcome the challenges on the path.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one):
What doors is the Lord opening for you to serve and share His Gospel? Are you going through them, or are you paralyzed because of your own weaknesses?
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