Philadelphia: The Faithful Church

This was not a perfect church. This was not a sinless church. But it was a church that knew what it meant to walk with God and honor God. That's the church. We're going to study this evening. And I trust that as we look through these verses, like always, you would match your life to what the Word of the Lord has to say. Because as the Spirit of God writes to these churches, They are representative of individuals who make up those churches. And as one lady said to me last week, she said that every time we go through one of the seven churches, I am matching my life against what the Spirit of the Lord has to say to that church.

In order that God's Spirit might speak to me and point out to me something in my life, some flaw in my life, some sin in my life that I might be able to be what God wants me to be. And so as we study, These churches, we trust that God's Spirit would open up your heart and mind to examine your life in light of what He has to say. So let's look at the church at Philadelphia and the letter that was sent.

Revelation chapter 3, beginning with verse number 7. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this. I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door, which no one can shut, because you have a little p. And have kept my word, and have not denied my name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan. Who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie, behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet and to know that I have loved you.

Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole earth. To test those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore. And I will write upon 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 who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Let's begin by looking at point number one.

Hopefully, you have your outline, the same outline that we have been using through the previous churches. We'll look first of all at the analyzation as we analyze both the correspondent.

The city and the church. First of all, the correspondent. Christ never introduces him as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He introduces him by describing different character qualities about his life. This church would reflect the true character of God. And as we understand what Christ says at the introduction, we can begin to understand how this church would reflect his character.

Listen to what he says. He who is holy. That's how he begins. He who is holy. That is a phrase used over and over again in the Old Testament as the name for God. Just go through the book of Isaiah. You all know the story in Isaiah chapter 6. About holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And then, of course, in Revelation chapter 4, verse number 8, again the refrain is given: holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He has no criticism of this church. He only has praise and admiration for these people.

Which leads us to point number two, the city. Where was this city? What was this city about? The city of Philadelphia. Pretty much we know what the word Philadelphia means. It comes from two Greek words, one meaning to love, the other brother. We even have a city in a in America named Philadelphia. But of course, if you've been to a sporting event in Pennsylvania, You know that they know nothing about what it means to have brotherly love in Philadelphia. But the city of brotherly love was located some 25 miles southeast of Sardis.

Founded in 140 B. C. by a man by the name of Att Philadelphius, the king of Pergamum. It was the youngest of all the cities. The people there lived in fear of earthquakes. Imagine that. Just like us. It was built in an area where there was much volcanic disruption, and the people would have to continually flee the city in order to avoid being crushed by falling debris. It was a land rich in agriculture, and grapes were the primary crop. The Greek god Dionysus, the god of wine, became the city's main god.

This was the city. How about the church? We know hardly anything at all about the church of Philadelphia except what this letter states. We don't know who founded it. We don't know when it began. We know nothing about the church at Philadelphia. But we do know this: the church had an open door. And God had opened the door for this church. It had opened doors of service, to outreach, to missions, to opportunities to be used in a great way. It had remained faithful to God in all of its work, and God would come and commend the church at Philadelphia.

If you want God to commend your life, if you want God to say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, if you want God to look down upon your church and say, I'm pleased. Then you need to understand what he commends them for. Because that will help you understand what this church is like. It's a great model for us as a church to follow, that we might be a faithful church. Main point number two: the affirmation.

Let's look what it says. Four things I want you to notice. The first is in verse number eight: I know your deeds.

We'll stop right there. Christ says, I know your deeds. Now you can imagine, here is the Holy One of Israel, the true God, knowing all about their deeds. He doesn't say, I heard about your deeds because I saw it on the news the other day, or I read about it in the latest newspaper article. Your church had a picture in there, and your pastor was in there, and I read about it. And so I just want to say that I appreciate all that you have done. No, Christ says, I know.

I know all about you, I know your deed. And he says this, behold, be astonished. Can you believe this? I have put before you an open door, which no one can shut. Because you have little power. I have given you an open door of service, an open door of opportunity. Here's the first thing that he affirms them: he affirms them because they were determined in their service.

They were determined in their service. God had given them an open door. Now, that phrase is very significant. Paul would use that phrase over and over again. Turn back with me, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. 1 Corinthians 16, verse number 8, Paul says, But I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective service has opened to me. When the scriptures speak of an open door, it speaks of the fact that there's an opportunity for you to serve God. There's an opportunity for you to be used as an instrument in the hand of God to bring people to Christ and to bring them closer to Christ.

And Paul says, I'm going to remain in Ephesus. Because there is a wide door for effective service that has been open to me. I 'm afraid there are many Christians today. Who are so preoccupied with other things in their life that they miss the open door to be used of God. That's the first affirmation.

God says, I know your works. And behold, I have put before you an open door which no man can shut. That's good news. Because when God opens a door, nobody can shut it. When God shuts the door, nobody can open it because he holds the keys. They say this, because you have a little power, a little power. Point number two is that they were dependent on the spirits.

They were dependent on the Spirit. This is not a condemnation of them. You're just a weak little church. That's not what it's saying. He's saying, You are small in number. And because you are small in number, you have a little power. But because you have that power, I have opened to you a great door for effective ministry. Because you are dependent upon my spirit. You understand the real power in ministry. You see, so many times in today's day and age, we think that our power belongs to the strong people.

We think that we are strong because of our budget or because of our building or because of our body, not because of God's Spirit. It all wraps around God and who He is. Paul would say it well over in 2 Corinthians 12:9: My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Christ is not criticizing them. He's making a statement of fact. Because you are of little power, I've opened to you a door. Oh, you're small in number. You're just a small church. There's just a little bit of you, but you have the power needed to accomplish all that need to happen.

And then number three, they were dedicated to the scriptures. Dedicated to the scriptures. He says, and have kept my wor. Oh, that's good, man. You've kept my word. You've treasured my word. You guarded my word. You've been faithful. Oh, you're small. But you are faithful to the word of God. I'm afraid that can't be said of many churches today. In fact, you'll notice that there are only two of the seven churches that God says anything about faithfulness to.

If that's any indication of percentages. Today, then you can begin to understand that there are more and more churches that are less faithful to the word than we like to admit. We have churches today who are committed to philosophy, who are committed to psychology, who are committed to social issues, but very few that are committed to the Word of God. And that's what established the church at Philadelphia. They were true and faithful to the Word of God. So they were a church that was determined in their service.

Dependent upon the Spirit, dedicated to the Scriptures, and fourthly, devoted to the Savior. He says in verse number eight: and have not denied my name. You stood firm through persecution. You did not deny my character. You did not deny the name of God. And that was a church at Philadelphia. What say the point number three, the admonition?

He goes right from the affirmation to the admonition. No accusation, no condemnation, but strictly. Affirmation. He says this in verse number nine: Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan. Who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie, behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet and to know. That I have loved you because you have kept the word of my perseverance. I also will keep you from the hour of testing. Three things I want you to see. Number one is the covenant.

Number two, the command. And number three, the consequences. Listen very carefully. This is very, very important. The covenant involves three things. Christ says, I want to covenant with you three things.

One is vindication, two is affection, and three protection. This is so rich. Listen to what he says. Behold, stand in awe. Can you believe this? He said it twice, three times in the letter, twice in one verse. He says, Listen, I'm going to vindicate you. I'm going to vindicate you before the synagogue of Satan. He says, I'm going to cause those Jews who think they are Jews outwardly, which they are, but inwardly they are not. In reality, they are liars, as you recall in John chapter 8. Christ said to the Pharisees and to the scribes.

Who thought that they were of their father Abraham? He called them liars. He said, You are of your father the devil. They were Jews outwardly, but they were not Jews inwardly. They would reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah. And so they were of the synagogue of Satan because they would be used of Satan to promote Satan's purposes. Not being used of God to promote God's purposes. And Christ says, I'm going to cause these people to bow down before you.

Isn't that amazing? I'm going to cause these people to be humbly defeated because I'm going to vindicate you. And those in Philadelphia, they'd be vindicated. They'd be vindicated. Those people who came to persecute you, don't worry about them anymore. Behold, be astonished. They're going to bow down to you, not to worship you. It's a phrase that indicates the humble posture of a defeated enemy. They're going to realize that Jesus Christ is the true. Messiah. And then he says, he goes from vindication to affection.

He says, and to know that I have loved you. Wow. Why doesn't Christ do that for Smyrna? Why doesn't Christ let the people there who are the synagogue of Satan in Smyrna know that Christ loves them by vindicating them? Yet at the Church of Philadelphia, he wants those hostile Jews to know that he loves them, that he loves the Gentile people. The Jews have a hard time with that. Jonah had a tremendous difficulty with the fact that God would love the pagan people and not Jewish people. But yet God says, I want people to know that I have a strong affection for you, that I love you, and therefore I'm going to vindicate you.

And then, thirdly, there is protection. There is protection. He says, Because you have kept the word of my perseverance. Because you have endured faithfully, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth. God says, not only are you going to be vindicated, and not only am I going to show everybody else around you how much I love you, but I am going to protect you.

I am going to keep you from the most difficult trial known to man. The trial that's about to come upon the whole world. Now, this one verse. Is one of the most popular debated verses when it comes to end-time events. But this one verse, more so than any other verse in the New Testament. tell you exactly why Christians will not experience the tribulation. And I will go into greater detail in a few weeks. When I address the specific topic, when we get at the end of Revelation chapter 3, before we embark on Revelation chapter 4, explain to you in detail.

Why the church will not go through the tribulation. And why I believe that, why I believe the scriptures teach that. Remember 1 Thessalonians 1. 10? About those who turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait expectantly. For the one who would deliver them from the wrath to come. They would be delivered from the wrath that was about to come upon the whole world. They would be delivered from that one aspect, that one magnanimous trial that would engulf the whole world. I'm going to keep you out of that hour.

That's going to come upon the whole world to test them. And God gives that promise of protection to Philadelphia and gives that promise of protection to every person who has given their life to Christ. That he will keep them from that hour. Your test is now.

Your test is now. This is your test, not tomorrow. What leads to point number two, the command. He says, What? I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have. Now, I want you to know something really good. This is so good. As I was reading through my Bible today, remember Christ said to three of the churches, I'm coming to you. He said it to Ephesus in verse number 3, I'm coming to you. He said it to Pergamon in chapter 2, verse number 16, I'm coming to you. He said it to Sardis, he says, I'm coming to you as a thief in the night.

But here he doesn't say that. He says, I'm coming quickly. To Ephesus, to Pergamum, and to Sardis. He says, I'm coming to you, and I'm going to remove your influence. I'm going to remove your testimony if you don't repent. I'm going to remove it. But to Philadelphia, he just says, I'm coming quickly. It's a reference to the second coming.

I'm coming soon. Read Revelation 22, verse number 7, verse number 16, verse number 20. I am coming quickly. And because I'm coming quickly, remain steadfast. Hold fast until I come. Remain strong until I come, when pressured to deny me, or when pressured to remain silent because of me. Keep strong. Be faithful. Keep doing what you have been doing. Hold fast what you have. This is what is commonly called the perseverance of the saints. The perseverance of the saints persevere until the end. Why? Because God in His sovereignty has given them the strength to persevere.

And Christ says, I want you to hold fast to what you have. Hold on till I come. And I'm coming quickly. Just hold on. Hang in there. And that would give them the hope. Jesus Christ is coming again. And when Jesus Christ comes again, all Israel will see him. All Israel will be saved. They will bow down. They will worship God. Therefore, I can remain steadfast. No matter how hostile the Jew is toward me, I can remain steadfast. I can hold on to what he. Has given me until he comes again. And Christ would give them a command: you hold fast.

The security we possess in Christ is an undying faith. Eternal security is an undying faith. The true believer, listen very carefully, will always hold fast till the end. And some of you say, well, I know people who no longer hold fast. I know people who have def the faith, walked away from God and the church and everything else. All I got to say is that the Bible will clearly tell you that those people were never saved to begin with. They didn't lose their salvation. They were just never saved. They never made a true commitment to God.

Because a true believer always holds fast to the end. Always. Because God enables them to hold fast. And then the consequences. Then the consequences. Listen very carefully. He says this. In order that no one take your cr. Now, I've got all these commentaries in my office, and I'm reading through the book of Revelation, and I'm reading all these guys. And everybody refers to the fact: if you remain steadfast, If you hold on, you're not going to lose your reward in heaven. In fact, almost every one of them said that.

But that's not what it says. That's not what it says at all. What's the crown? What's the crown he's referring to? Go back over to chapter 2, verse number 10. It says what? Be faithful unto death, and I will give you what? The crown of life. What's the crown? Literal trans: the crown which is life. Christ says the reward for the overcomer is the crown of life.

The crown which is life. Paul would say in 2 Timothy 4:8, it's the crown of righteousness. That's the one who endures to the end, he receives the crown of righteousness. 1 Peter 5:4 talks about the crown of glory or the crown which is glory. What does a true believer receive? He receives the glorious righteous crown, which is life. He is saying that those who hold fast to the end evidence themselves as true Christians, and those true Christians can never be robbed of eternal life. They can never lose the crown.

No one can take that crown from you because you have endured to the end. And then the application. The application. He says this: verse number 12: He overcomes. The overcomer, as you know, 1 John 5 is a true believer. Makes it very clear there. He who is a true believer, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it any. The first thing you receive is indestructible security.

Indestructible security. I'm going to make you a pillar. Now, this is very significant. Because they lived in a city, as you recall at the beginning of our sermon, that was full of what? Earthquakes. And they would always be running from debris. Always living in fear of their lives of the earth shaking and buildings come crumbling down. And Christ comes back and says, I'm going to make you a pillar in the temple of my God. Now that's not literal because there is no temple. In the eternal city. It's figurative.

You know that because you read Revelation 21, 22. But Christ says, I'm going to make you a pillar. You're going to stand strong. You are not going to be moved. I guarantee you indestructible sec in my presence. Number two, he says, indescribable eternity.

It'll be in the presence of me in the temple of my God. You're going to be with me ind eternity. I wish that I could somehow give you a picture of eternity. The best I can do is, as we go through the book of Revelation, is try to explain to you and get to Revelation chapter 4 and 5 and on down to the end of Revelation. To what the new city is all about, the city of Jerusalem, and give you as best as I possibly can what John received from God. But it's indescribable eternity. Why? Because it's in the presence of God, it's in His dwelling place.

Psalm 16:11 says, That in thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures forever. Psalm 23, verse number 6 says that we will dwell in the house of our Lord forever, and we will never be separated from the actual bodily presence of God Almighty. I'm not sure words could ever describe that. But Christ says, that's what you get.

An indestructible security, an indescribable eternity, and thirdly, an indisputable id. An indisputable id. He says, And I will write upon 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. Indisputable identity that deals with number one, ownership, number two, citizenship, and number three, relationship.

He says, I'm going to give you the name of my God. I'm going to write the name of my God on you. You're mine. You ever had something you really like, and when you were a kid growing up, and you wrote your name on it, so no one would steal it? You wrote it on your lunchbox when you went to school. You wrote on your thermos your lunchbox when you went there. You wrote on your notebook because you didn't want anybody to take your stuff. So that when you saw all your stuff in that thing, you said, That's mine, it's got my name on it.

God says, You're mine. And I'm going to put my name on you. An indisputable identity. Satan's going to have his name on people, isn't he? Read Revelation 13, verses 16 to 18. They're going to be marked with his name. Christ says, I want to make sure that everybody knows not only to whom you belong, but to where you belong.