The Letter to the Church at Philadelphia

Series: Preacher: Date: June 7, 2009 Scripture Reference: Revelation 3:7-11

This morning I want to begin with a little trivia quiz—VERY little—just three questions! You can write your answers on the sermon notes page of the bulletin. Now—don’t look around. Don’t look at your neighbor’s paper…eyes on your page. Ready? Here goes:

Question #1 – “How many doors or doorways are in this sanctuary?” Write your answer down.

Question #2 – “How many doors are in this entire building?”

Question #3 – “How many doors—TOTAL—are there on our 14 acre campus?”

Okay—exchange papers with a neighbor and we’ll grade each other’s tests—just kidding. Here are the answers. The answer to question #1 is NINE. There are NINE doors in this sanctuary. How many got that one right? Good—so far your grade on this test is 33.3%! The answer to question #2 is 131. Did any one get that one right? The answer to question #3 is 226. Did any one get close to that one?

In any case, we have a lot of doors here don’t we?!

Now—don’t worry about your test grade so far because, since this is a grace-driven test I have one more question. It’s worth 90% of the entire test grade so if you get it right you’re good to go. Here it is: How many of you know that there are a lot of DOORS in the Bible? If you raised your hands you are right—and no matter how you did on the other questions, you get an “A” on this test. You can go home now! Just kidding! The fact is—the word DOOR or DOORS is found 123 times in the Bible—and if you looked them all up you’d see that they could be grouped into THREE basic CATEGORIES.

An example of the FIRST category is found in Revelation 3:20—which is part of our text for NEXT week. In this popular verse Jesus says, “Behold! I stand at the DOOR and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the DOOR. I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” This particular DOOR category is what I would call “a door of INTIMACY with Christ.” This text from Revelation 3 is USUALLY used for evangelism, but, remember this is part of a letter written to a CHURCH which means this DOOR illustrates the willingness of Jesus to pursue CHRISTIANS—BELIEVERS who have draw away from Him and have become LUKEWARM in their commitment. Revelation 3:20 is an image of Jesus knocking at the door of a life like yours or mine and waiting for us to open that door so that our walk with Him—a walk that was ONCE close can become close AGAIN. So this is a door to INTIMACY.

A SECOND type of door mentioned in Scripture is “the door of SALVATION…” and a great example is found in John 10:29 where Jesus said, “I am the GATE—the DOOR; whoever enters through Me will be saved.” In this verse Jesus was proclaiming the truth that He is the only way into relationship with God—the only way for our sins to be forgiven. Jesus is the only DOOR to eternal life. It’s like the lyric our children’s choir sang earlier. Do you remember its words? “Jesus is the door. His arms are open wide, and I am drawn by His love to come inside.”

There is one FINAL type of door mentioned in the Bible and it is “the door of OPPORTUNITY.” An example of it is found in Colossians 4:3 where Paul says, “…pray for us…that God may open a DOOR for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” This kind of DOOR is mentioned many times in Scripture and it refers to the way that God invites us to join Him in His work. In fact, a PRIME example of this kind of door—the door of opportunity—is found in the letter that Jesus wrote to the sixth church in the book of Revelation—the church in Philadelphia. Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation 3:7-11.

7 – 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.

8 – 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.

9 – 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.

10 – 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.

11 – I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

12 – 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.

13 – He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Okay—as has been our practice, before we get into the letter itself, let’s get the CONTEXT of its writing fixed in our minds. And let’s begin by looking at the map of these seven cities in Asia. As you can see, Philadelphia was located 28 miles southeast of Sardis and it would have been the SIXTH stop on this 1st century postal route. Let’s review the route again: “From Patmos to Ephesus, Ephesus to Smyrna, Smyrna to Pergamum, Purgamum to Thyatira, Thyatira to Sardis, and from Sardis to Philadelphia.” Only one more stop to go!

This sixth city—a city with a very familiar name—by the way, I wonder if they had cheese-steaks in THIS Philadelphia—well, it was the YOUNGEST of the seven cities—having been founded by a guy named Attalus II in 140 B.C.—less than two centuries prior to the writing of this letter—VERY young for a city of that day! Now—I doubt if any of you have ever heard of Attalus II but you have “met” his brother—a king by the name of Eumenes—the one time king of Pergamum. Remember? As we learned a few weeks back, he was the ruler who tried to steal the librarian from Alexandria. Well his big brother Attalus was also called “Philadelphos.” Perhaps that was his middle name—but it is a Greek word meaning, “…one who loves his brother…” and that is how Attalus felt about his brother Eumenes. I guess they were like Wally and the Beav because a city was named to celebrate their close relationship!

This leads me to something else—Philadelphia wasn’t an “accidental” city. I mean, it didn’t just spring up haphazardly. No—it was founded for a very special purpose. It was a PLANNED city—intentionally built where the borders of Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia met. And the reason this “border town” was set up on those specific borders was in the hope that it might be a “missionary” of Greek culture and Greek language…to the frontiers of Lydia and Phrygia. The idea was that under the influence of this city and its residents, the barbaric tribes of this region would become civilized as they adopted the Greek way of life. And, the plan worked—because by 19AD the Lydians had forgotten their own language and for all intents and purposes had been absorbed by the Greek culture. But, remember this—from the first day it was open—the CITY of Philadelphia had an open door of opportunity. It’s residents had the chance to impact surrounding nations with their belief system and way of life.

Here’s something else you need to understand about the people of Philadelphia if you are to fully understand the content of the letter Jesus wrote to them. Philadelphia was built on the edge of a plain called “The Catakekaumene” which means, “The Burned Land” and it was given this name because the area had several extinct volcanoes—volcanoes that had at one time spewed their lava all over this plain.

Now—this had advantages and disadvantages.

On the PLUS SIDE—all that volcanic ash made for very fertile soil—soil that was perfect for growing grapes—which meant wine. I think the fact that this was WINE COUNTRY is why Philadelphia was a center of the worship of the god of wine—Dionysius. And he wasn’t the only false god worshiped there. There were so many pagan temples in Philadelphia that people called it “Little Athens.” I mean, you could close your eyes and throw a rock in any direction and be guaranteed of hitting a pagan temple…which is one reason it was a tough place to be a follower of Jesus. In any case—the POSITIVE side of volcanic activity was fertile soil. That was the GOOD news for the residents of this planned city.

The BAD news was the fact that all those extinct volcanoes meant that Philadelphia was in an area that was prone for earthquakes. In fact, the same earthquake that leveled Sardis in 17AD nearly destroyed Philadelphia and other cities as well—but with Philadelphia it was worse because the tremors and after-shocks went on for years. It got so bad that most of the population moved outside the city walls—and would “commute” inside to go to work. They didn’t spend any more time in the city than they had to because they were afraid that if an aftershock hit a wall might fall on them. I mean, these people were used to running out of the city when the trembling started. This is another important contextual fact for us to understand.

Now—the emperor Tiberius was just as generous with the residents of Philadelphia as he was with those of Sardis—sending them massive amounts of money to rebuild. And in gratitude the people changed the NAME of their town to “Neocaesarea” which means “New Caesar” but that name didn’t stick and eventually it became known as Philadelphia again. Decades later, in gratitude to another emperor they changed the name of their town to FLAVIA but that name didn’t last either and a few years later the name was changed back to Philadelphia. So—like the rapper PUFF DADDY who can’t seem to settle on his name—this was a town with an identity crisis. Their name was always CHANGING—remember that as well.

Now in this strategically-placed, earthquake-ridden, name-changing city, there was a small church—a church made up of believers who were faithful to the Great Commission. And, in spite of it’s size it was indeed a GREAT church. I mean, it’s members had right doctrine—and right living to boot. They talked the walk and walked the talk. The fact that this was a solid church is reflected in this letter. It is the only church other than Smyrna that Jesus did not rebuke. Our Lord only had praise for this congregation! Can you imagine how the pastor of this church felt when he read those words—no condemnation—only compliments from Jesus! And hearing this letter read would have felt good to these people as well because they were having a hard time. They were facing persecution and physical hardship—which may be why Jesus only complimented them. I mean, no church is perfect—so I’m sure this one had its faults—but Godly criticism is always constructive. It’s goal is to BUILD up—not tear down—and so maybe Jesus decided to forego any criticism because He knew it wasn’t the right time.

One thing that makes me think this is because in addition to His COMPLIMENTS, our Lord lovingly COMFORTS this hurting congregation…He comforts them with four promises that were obviously tailor made for their situation.

(1) First, He says, “I will humble your ENEMIES.”

Look at verse 9. “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.”

Jesus was saying, “I know the Jews are giving you a hard time—but hang in there—a day will dawn when they will see that you are following the true Messiah.” And—you and I have seen this promise fulfilled as Jews have put their faith in Christ. We’ve heard powerful testimonies like this through the ministry of organizations like Jews for Jesus….Jews who do indeed acknowledge the love of God expressed in sending His only Son, JESUS—a love that is not just for the Jews but for all mankind. Well, think of how encouraging this must have been to this little church! They could cling to Jesus’ promise that their enemies would be humbled! The message of the gospel would get through even to them!

(2) Jesus’ second word of comfort was this: “You will not go through the TRIBULATION.”

Look at verse 10 “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…” In other words Jesus was saying, “I know you are having a hard time—but it is going to get worse. Not just Philadelphia—but the entire earth is going to suffer—be encouraged because you won’t have to endure that time of EXTREME suffering.”

This is a reference to the GREAT TRIBULATION—a time of trouble that Jesus says will be global in nature. Listen, the hard years you and I have lived through—years filled with wars and plagues and earthquakes and tsunamis—a time will come when these disasters will seem like nothing…in comparison to the bad things that happen during this truly GREAT worldwide tribulation.

Now—Christians fall into three camps when it comes to understanding exactly which will come first, the rapture of the church—the day of the Lord—or this time of intense global trouble. Some think Christians will go through the tribulation and that Jesus will come after it is over to take them to Heaven. These are the POST-TRIBS. Others think Jesus will come half-way through the tribulation to take believers home. These are the MID-TRIBS. Both POST and MID-TRIBS say this text does not mean Jesus will take believers to heaven but rather that He will protect them from the tribulation. A third group—and I am part of this group—a third group believes this text says that before the tribulation begins Jesus will rapture the church. He’ll take us to Heaven so we won’t face this time of world-wide trial. I embrace the PRE-TRIB view because Jesus does not say, ‘I will keep you THROUGH the hour of trial” but rather “FROM the hour of trial.”
Another thing, as Dr. David Jeremiah points out, in chapters one through three of Revelation the church is mentioned 19 times. And after chapter four the Tribulation is described, but the church is not mentioned. So it would seem that believers are gone from the earth when this time of global trouble begins.

Now, this is not an essential belief in my mind—I mean our salvation doesn’t hinge on our being in the right TRIB group. Besides….it doesn’t matter if you are pre, post, or mid—this is still a marvelous promise. It’s Christ’s WORD that He will protect His own because of their obedience to Him. And this would have been a precious promise to this little Philadelphian congregation.

(3) Here’s Jesus third word of comfort. He says, “I will STRENGTHEN you.”

Look at verse 12. “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.
Never again will he leave it.” Now—do you remember what I said about Philadelphia being a volcanic area subject to earthquakes? Often after one of these tremors and aftershocks all that would be left standing were these huge pillars. Even to this day when you visit the ruins of these 1st century cities the PILLARS are still there when everything else has fallen. Well, back then—and especially for the residents of this city, pillars were synonymous with strength and permanence—so their ears would have perked up when they heard this statement. You see, Jesus was saying to them, “A day will dawn when I’m going to give you an unshakable home—NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU LEAVE IT.” In that place there will be no more running out of town…to avoid crumbling walls.

(4) Finally, Jesus says, “I will give you a new NAME.”

Look at the last part of verse 12. “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. Remember, Philadelphia had been named and re-named many times.

So to summarize Jesus says, “I will change your name to an unchanging name, one that has and will stand forever; you will live in and be citizens of an eternal city that cannot be shaken. You’ll never have to move. You’ve never have to hide. You’ll never have to leave, board up, pack up, pick up, or rebuild again.” Once again, I’m reminded of the lyrics of the song our kids sang: “Open, open door, and through it I can see all the beauty of heav’n that waits for me.”

Well, can you imagine sitting in that little congregation hearing those words read to you from the Lord Jesus Christ? —to hear Him say, “I know your deeds. I know what you’ve been going through! I know how hard your ministry in this town has been. But hang in there!”

Jesus doesn’t stop with compliments and comfort. He says another WONDERFUL thing to this congregation. As I told you earlier He says, “I have placed before you a DOOR—that no one can shut. As HE WHO HOLDS THE KEY OF DAVID. I have set before you a DOOR—a DOOR OF OPPORTUNITY that no one can close.” Here’s another time where CONTEXT is important because Jesus is referring to something that happened in the city of Jerusalem centuries earlier. We can read about it in Isaiah 22 where God’s prophet condemns the residents of Jerusalem—because in spite of the fact that God had just delivered them from their enemies camped outside their city, they had showed Him no gratitude. Instead they had been proud and self-sufficient trusting in their own weapons and resources. Well, after rebuking the city as a whole God turned his attention to an individual named Shebna, the chief steward of Jerusalem. You see, Shebna saw himself as indispensable. And because of his conceit and pride, he was replaced by Eliakim—who was given the MASTER KEY—not only to the city but to the palace itself. As the new chief steward, Eliakim was second only to the king. With these keys he controlled who could come and who could go—who had access to the king and who didn’t. In that sense, Eliakim was SOVEREIGN over Jerusalem and its people. Well, with this statement Jesus was saying He was sovereign—not just over Jerusalem but over everything. Christ was claiming to be the new Eliakim…the SOVEREIGN One Who opens and closes the doors of life—and He had opened a special door of opportunity for this little church.

Three centuries before Philadelphia had been given an open door to spread Greek ideas in the lands beyond…and now there had come to it another TRULY missionary opportunity, an open door for this Philadelphian church to carry the message of the love of Jesus to men who never heard it. And since it was a door that our SOVEREIGN Lord was opening—no one could close it. As our kids sang, “It’s the only door you’ll enter in no one can ever come and close again.”
Now—consider this with me—WHY did God give the church at Philadelphia this opportunity? Why would God open doors for this particular church? Well, as David Elery points out, in His letter Jesus refers to three characteristics—three qualities—that I believe combine to make this a church God can use. As we look at them I want you to think of them as the same qualities required for God to use YOU….characteristics that lead to OPEN DOORS.

(1) The first is WEAKNESS.

Look at verse 8 where Jesus says, “I know you have LITTLE strength…” so this was a small church. It wasn’t a mega-church with seemingly limitless resources. No—they were weak in many ways but when it comes to open doors that can be a VERY good thing. You see, to be an effective tool in God’s hands we have to realize how limited OUR strength really is so that we stay dependent on HIS unlimited strength. I mean, we don’t have to be strong or BIG or impressive or well-known to be effective for God. We just have to learn to rely on Him. That’s the kind of church—that’s the kind of Christian—that God opens doors for. As Martin Luther put it in his hymn text: “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.” God uses believers and churches that know they are weak without His indwelling strength. He empowers congregations and people that are small in man’s eyes. In 1st Corinthians 2:26-29 Paul writes, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.”

Do you see how this principle applies to you and me today? This means that there is no
one too small—no one too untalented—for God to use to accomplish GREAT tasks in His kingdom. In fact God prefers the humble—not the proud…the weak—not the strong. So as Henry Blackaby says, “If you feel weak, limited, or ordinary, then you are the best material through which God can work.” You know, in 2nd Corinthians 12:9, when the Apostle Paul asked God to take away his weakness—which he referred to as his “thorn in the flesh” God’s reply was, “My grace is sufficient for you….FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS.” I love Paul’s response to this teaching. He said, “…because I know this to be true—because I understand this principle—I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. I delight in weaknesses…for when I am weak….then I am strong.” (2nd Corinthians 12:8-10)

Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland mission and the modern missionary movement, understood what Paul was getting at because he once said: “When God sought me out and called me to do His work in China, He must have said: ‘This man is weak enough, he will do.’” And he was right. The secret of great, spiritual power is to be aware of our weakness and our need for God’s strength, for it is just at the moment that we confess our failings, that we are most fully conscious of both our NEED for God’s help and also of God’s willingness to give us the strength we need to do His will…strength we will need if we go through those doors of opportunity—doors that lead to tasks we simply cannot do on our own. Let me stop and ask, “Do you know how WEAK you really are? Have you ever learned how MUCH you need God’s strength?” Here’s another question, “Have you ever experienced the jaw-dropping JOY of God empowering you to do something you’d never be able to do on your own?” Well, remember the example of this church—remember that God prefers to use WEAK people to do His will.

(2) Okay this church was weak—and second they were WORDy—which is a way of saying they obeyed God’s written Word.

I believe this is what Jesus is referring to in verse 8 when He says, “You have kept My WORD.”
The members of this WEAK church clung to God’s written Word for strength and guidance. They studied it together with a passion. They could say with the Psalmist “Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Your precepts. How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:97ff) The fact is—God opens doors for believers who respect the authority of Scripture…people who live according the teachings of this Book of books—GOD’S BOOK….even though that means standing out in an ungodly world—which leads me ask, “Are you WORDy—or WORLDly—in your approach to life? Do you KEEP God’s Word?”

Let me put it this way, there will be doors closed to you—if you keep this book closed! So this church was WEAK, and WORDY…and these characteristics opened doors for them.

(3) Finally…they Wavered not.

Look at verse 8 again where Jesus says, “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My Word—AND HAVE NOT DENIED MY NAME.” Here was a church whose members refused to give up on their faith in Jesus Christ—no matter what: the ridicule from the Jews, the peer pressure from a city filled with idol worshipers, the opposition or even the possible persecution they faced—none of that could not make them waver in their belief. They WAVERED not…they were faithful to the end. Nothing could make them stop STANDING up for Jesus!

You know centuries later when the Muslims flooded across Asia Minor—when every other town had fallen—Philadelphia stood erect. For centuries it was a free Greek Christian city amidst a pagan people. To this day there is a Christian bishop serving the Christians in Philadelphia.
I mean, with the single exception of Smyrna, the other churches of Revelation are in ruins, but Philadelphia still stands holding aloft the banner of the Christian faith. They still waver not.

During the 1996 Summer Olympics, the battle for the gold medal in gymnastics came down to one event: the vault. The Russians had the edge. Nothing less than a near-perfect performance could win the gold for the U.S. The first two attempts were made by U.S. gymnast Dominique Dawes. On each of her two tries, she fell. With the gold medal in the balance, the U.S. sent their final contender, a young gymnast with her left ankle already wrapped from an earlier injury. She walked up to the 82-foot runway, and gave it all she had. She hit the vault, flipped over, and landed badly, grimacing in pain. She limped back for her second try with pain shooting up her leg with every step. Her coach asked her if she could make the second attempt, and she nodded. Wracked with pain, she made one final run down the runway. She did a cartwheel off the vault, landed on the springboard, sprang onto the horse, did a twist, and landed full force on both feet. The pain of two additional torn ligaments in her ankle caused her to momentarily falter. Then she straightened up, balanced on her right foot, lifted both hands in triumph, and with tears coursing down her face, won the gold. Then she fell to the floor, rocking with pain. When asked why she did it, young Kerri Strug, the hero of the 1996 Summer Olympics, said, “I knew if I didn’t do the vault, we weren’t going to win the gold and all the hard work the whole team had put in would be for nothing.” Well, that kind of determination is what Jesus was talking about here in verse 11, when He said, “Hold on to what you have. Stand fast so that no one will take your crown….I know you have not WAVERED. You have not denied My Name. Well, keep on doing that. Keep holding on!” He was telling us that there is no place for quitting in His kingdom. We must stand fast until He comes…and that’s what this little church was doing.

So this congregation in Philadelphia shows us three qualities that combine to make us the kind of church—the kind of Christian—that God uses—the kind of believer God opens doors for.

Let me just ask—has God opened a door of opportunity open for you? You know, the sad truth is that so often God opens these kinds of doors but we don’t go through them. We let God-given opportunities slip by. This week I read the story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: “Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is.” One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, “I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?” He turned to the Christian and pleaded, “Can you show me how to be saved?” The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, “Lord, is this a sign?” Have you ever been that dense? Has God ever put an open door like that right in front of your face and you refused to go through it? And if you are saying, “Well, no…I don’t have any opportunities. No doors have been opened for me.” Well, then my question to you is “Why not? Which ‘W’ are you lacking? Is it Weakness? Are you trying to do it all on your own instead of waiting for God’s power? Maybe its Worldliness. You’re letting our culture call the shots in your life. Your standards of work and marriage and parenting and spending are more reflective of the world than the WORD. Or—maybe it is just that you are Wavering instead of Wavering-Not. Listen, how can we expect God to give us opportunities if we don’t rely on Him, His Word and His Name?

You know 17 of our 226 doors are in the ROC. When it is finally done—when that building is complete—we’ll have God-given keys to an amazing DOOR of OPPORTUNITY. Please let that fact sink in. GOD has opened this door for us here at Redland! GOD!!!!

LET US PRAY

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