Philadelphia

Revelation 3:7-13

The Faithful Church

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. 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 I will write on him My new name. 13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

The Lord addresses Himself to the Church in Philadelphia as Holy and True. He is Holy and therefore He can require us to be Holy. He is true. He is Genuine. He further says, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.”  Jesus has the key and the power to open the doors for us. He says to this church that I have placed before you an open door and no one can shut it. What does the bible mean when it says open door? 1 Corinthians 16:8-9, But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. A great door has been open to us as well. This door is a door of ministry. We must understand there are many adversaries. The scripture also talks of an open door in 2 Corinthians 2:12, Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord. We must understand that the doors of ministry are opened unto us by the Lord. Are we seeking Him and asking Him what are these doors? Colossians 4:3, 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. The ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ is revealed to us as we continue in prayer, seeking the open doors that God has prepared for us to witness and to speak the gospel.

Philadelphia was a city founded and located where three countries came together, Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia. It was planted there intentionally by the King of Persia, Philadelphos, to spread the Greek way of life to all of the surrounding areas. The city was strategically located as a means to influence the people in the surrounding areas. Jesus says to this church, ‘you have this gateway open to you to influence those around you.’ We have a doorway opened to us, are we influencing those around us?

Jesus Compliments the Church in Philadelphia in four ways:

1) You have an open door that no one can shut. They were obviously going through the door. They were ministering as God directed.

2) They had little strength. You may wonder how this was a positive. It is very simple, they had little strength; consequently, they had to depend on Jesus for everything. They had to have the power of God to accomplish their ministry.

3) They kept the Word. They preached, taught and kept the Word of God. There was no compromise regarding the Scripture.

4) They did not deny the name of Jesus. In a time where many were denying the deity of Jesus Christ, they did not.

Philadelphia is the second church in which there was no condemnation. There were some protective guarantees that I think are awesome. He said He would protect them from their enemies. I believe this is from within and from the outside. You see there will always be attacks from the synagogue of satan, that we will need protection from. Please look at the scripture here and realize that Jesus is saying they call themselves Jews but are of the synagogue of satan. The application to us today is that we must be real careful with those who claim to be children of God but if we listen to their words and watch their actions we will certainly see that their words and deeds are not pointing us to Christ. If an individuals words and deeds are not pointing us to Christ we must understand that we have to steer clear of these teachings and know what we are up against.

Jesus says to the Church in Philadelphia and to us today that He will make those enemies worship before our feet and to know that Jesus Christ loves us. Be strong and confident in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. These promises of protection and offer of security seem to have no real effect on our enemies, after all they must appear to have no real fear of Jesus Christ. This act will soon dissolve into a total brokenness when Jesus decides enough is enough. Jesus commands us to hold fast, He says to overcome so trust Him and Hold fast. He will protect and He will provide.

Tomorrow we will talk about the hour of temptation, and the strength that we must depend on. Be strong and of good courage.

RAK CHAZAK,

Brother Big Daddy

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