Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation chapter 3 as we finish up our study looking at this letter that Jesus wrote to the church in Philadelphia. This was a real church as we have seen, that existed in John’s day. The main purpose of this city was to spread the Greek culture, the Greek language, but then the light of the Gospel pierced the darkness of this city and lives were transformed. It is as Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Now, instead of spreading the Greek culture they were commissioned by God to spread the Gospel or the Good News of Jesus Christ! The Lord has also commissioned us to bring the Gospel or the Good News of Jesus Christ to our families, our friends, our co-workers, our communities’ and-so-on. You see, as we look at the signs of the times, the Lord’s return is getting close. Thus, that should cause our hearts to be stirred and to go out into the highways and by ways and compel people to come into the kingdom of God. We are told that:
During the American Civil War, General William T. Sherman was driving his troops on his decisive march to the sea. He had left behind in a fort on Kennesaw Mountain a small contingent of men to guard the rations. General John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army attacked the fort, and a fierce battle followed. One-third of the men were killed or wounded, and J. M. Corse, the general in command, was severely wounded in the fighting. Just as he was about to hoist up the white flag and surrender, a message came through the signal corps set up on a chain of mountains. General Sherman was within 15 miles of the fort and had sent the message: “Hold fast. We are coming.” Those few words so encouraged the defenders that they held on and kept the fort from falling into the hands of their attackers.
Our Heavenly Commander has also sent us the assurance that He is coming. The Lord Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2,3). The fact that our Savior is coming again gives us a special incentive in our service for Christ. It makes us want to stand our ground. It encourages us to continue fighting the good fight of faith. It assures us of victory. Fierce as the battle may rage and difficult as the conflict may be as we serve Him, let’s never give up! Christ is coming again – perhaps today. Let’s hold the fort!
- Our Daily Bread, January 24
That was our first point that we looked at last week in our study of this letter: MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES, that Jesus has set an open door before us to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The problem for many is they are all talk and no action. Let me explain:
While D. L. Moody was attending a convention in Indianapolis on mass evangelism, he asked his song leader Ira Sankey to meet him at 6 o’clock one evening at a certain street corner. When Sankey arrived, Mr. Moody asked him to stand on a box and sing. Once a crowd had gathered, Moody spoke briefly and then invited the people to follow him to the nearby convention hall. Soon the auditorium was filled with spiritually hungry people, and the great evangelist preached the gospel to them.
Then the convention delegates began to arrive. Moody stopped preaching and said, “Now we must close, as the brethren of the convention wish to come and discuss the topic, ‘How to reach the masses.’”
Moody graphically illustrated the difference between talking about doing something and going out and doing it.
- Source Unknown
As we saw last week, God has placed this open door before us and all we must do is walk by faith. No one can shut that door but we can miss the opportunity by not walking. God not only provides the doors of opportunity for us but He also prepares us for the work.
Now this morning we are going to look at the last 2 characteristics of this church in Philadelphia and what should be seen in our own lives. We will be looking at:
With that said, let’s begin reading in Revelation chapter 3, starting in verse 7 and see what the Lord has for us this morning as we read this letter to the faithful church.
As we saw last week, Jesus wrote this letter as the one who is holy, there is no darkness in Him at all. This kind of holiness or separation from evil is an attribute of God and thus, Jesus, the holy one is claiming to be God. Secondly, Jesus writes this letter as the one who is true, He is genuine, there is no falseness in Him at all and thus, what He writes, these words he says we can trust, they are truth!
And so, the holy and true God, Jesus Christ can open the doors of heaven to those who have received Him as Lord and Savior, those who have been cleansed by Him; and He can shut the doors of heaven to those who have rejected Him and remain lost in their sin. You see, apart from Christ you will be cast into the Lake of Fire eternally separated from God. Thus, the holy and true God opens the doors both of the kingdom of God and to Hades!
Now, in Revelation 3:8 there are three features or characteristics
of this church in Philadelphia that I believe should be seen in
our own lives, our own walk. And keep in mind we covered the first
point last week. But just to give them to you again, they are
as follows:
With the remainder of our time this morning, let’s finish up this portion of Scripture by looking at those last 2 points or characteristics that we should have in our life.
2. RELIANCE ON GOD – YOU HAVE A
LITTLE STRENGTH
God calls it as he sees it and He is right. Looking at the big picture, how much strength, how much power do we really have? Very little, but that does not stop us from trying to gain power, trying to gain strength, trying to be somebody. If you think you are qualified, if you think you can do it, if you think you have the talent, you are too big for God to use you!
Why can’t God use people like that? Because they would get the glory, it would be all about their achievements. I was listening to some of the studies from the pastor’s conference out in California this past spring and Pastor Sandy Adams was teaching at one of the sessions. And Pastor Sandy made a very interesting point from a lesson God showed him.
He spoke of how he wrote this new believers packet and he gave it to Pastor Chuck, telling him to use it any way that he wanted. Keep in mind this was several years back. A short time later Pastor Chuck had this booklet in print. Sandy was excited, his name on a book, sold in Calvary bookstores, in Calvary Distribution and-so-on. So as he got a copy of this book, what do you think he did? He went looking for his name on the front cover, but it wasn’t there. Maybe it was on the back, but no, not there either. So he tried inside, but again, no “Sandy Adams” to be found. His name was not in this book at all, no recognition of what he had done!
He was a little frustrated at this point and then the Lord spoke to him and said, “Sandy, didn’t you tell Chuck to use it any way he wanted?” You see, Sandy was looking for the recognition when it was the Lord who was to get the glory. We need to be careful because this can sneak up on us and rear its ugly head from time-to-time. Remember what the Lord said in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”
Hudson Taylor, who was the founder of the China Inland Mission, was a man who knew the secret of strength through weakness. One day a friend complimented him on the impact of the mission and Hudson answered back, “It seemed to me that God looked over the whole world to find a man who was weak enough to do His work, and then He at last found me, He said, ‘He is weak enough – he’ll do.’ All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Him being with them.” How important that is for us to understand and apply to our lives. It is not about us, but it is about Him!
You see, when the Lord said that these believers in Philadelphia had a “little strength” it was not a failure or weakness on their part. In fact, it was their strength! You see, these believers knew they had absolutely nothing and thus, they needed to rely totally on the Lord to see them through.
Please listen carefully to what I am saying here, this is very important. Calvary Chapel of Manitowoc is not here because I am such a great pastor, I am such a talented teacher, it is not because of me at all or any of the leaders. God sought people who were nobody’s and said, “They’ll do!” It is all because of the grace of God to use people like you and me who have a little strength and are willing to trust in Him.
If you doubt that, that means that you don’t know me. Once you spend time with me you will come to that conclusion – “It has to be God because it is not him!” Now, do you want to know my qualifications and the people that God uses? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. In I Corinthians 1:26-28 we are told, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.”
You see, not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble but He calls those that are fools according to the worlds standards, the insignificant according to the world’s point of view and this blows the world away because they just don’t get it! Look at the Calvary pastor’s and you will see, God chooses the foolish things to confuse the wise! And the reason is simple, it all boils down to this as Paul continues on in I Corinthians chapter 1, picking up in verse 29, “that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.’” I Corinthians 1:29-31.
It is as Oswald Chambers wrote, “God can achieve his purpose either through the absence of human power and resources, or the abandonment of reliance on them. All through history God has chosen and used nobodies, because their unusual dependence on him made possible the unique display of his power and grace. He chose and used somebodies only when they renounced dependence on their natural abilities and resources.” (Oswald Chambers, in Liberating Ministry From the Success Syndrome, K. Hughes, p. 134).
Paul, this brilliant teacher of the Law, this scholar continues on in I Corinthians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1 and he tells us, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” I Corinthians 2:1-5.
Folks, when you look at what is happening in the church today it is not about our reliance on God but this program and that program so that we can grow a church, so we can do this or do that and it is not about God and His might, working through us by His Spirit. And what we are saying to God is, “Don’t worry about us, we will use your name but we can do it on our own!” That is where we will fail, in our strength. You see, it is in our weakness that we are strong, not depending on self, on our abilities, our talents, our strength, our resources, and-so-on. We just rely on God, as Paul said in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And in Philippians 4:13 Paul tells us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
When you look at our church from a business perspective, from a worldly point of view, we should not be around. We should have gone bankrupt long ago and yet, each year new ministry doors open up for us and we are doing more – not because of our strength or abilities or resources or plans but because God is gracious and He will accomplish what He desires as we surrender our lives to Him.
And folks, let me say this, I would rather have God in control than me, wouldn’t you! Of course you would and because what I can do in my strength is not much but Paul tells us what God can do in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] — To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).” God can do exceedingly abundantly, beyond anything we can imagine if we would learn to wait upon Him and see the salvation that He will bring to a situation!
A great example of someone who was weak in the flesh but strong in the Lord was the apostle Paul. In II Corinthians 12:7-10 he tells us of some of the weakness he encountered in the flesh. He says, “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Whatever this infirmity was, it was debilitating to Paul and there must have been times when he just couldn’t go on and yet the Lord gave him the strength. There was no room to boast in what he did, but in what the Lord had done through him. That is so important for us to remember and we must also remember that instead of murmuring and complaining of the situation we face, just forge ahead in the Lord, take those steps of faith as God leads, trusting in Him to see you through. And folks, He will!
You may remember the story in I Samuel chapter 14 as the children of Israel were once again in battle against the Philistines. King Saul and his army of 600 men were cowering on the outskirts of Gibeah. But Saul’s son, Jonathan and his armorbearer were ready to move out in faith, not their own strength, but the Lord’s. Now to get to the army of the Philistines they would have to scale this mountain with 2 jagged cliffs on either side. It would be a suicide mission from a human perspective, a foolish move because they enemy looking down upon them would just pick them off. And in I Samuel 14:6 we are told, “Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.’”
Please understand that Jonathan was not thinking, “I wonder if God could do it?” That was not the issue because God could do it! It was, “I wonder if God wants to do it?” And thus, he stepped out in faith. In I Samuel 14:8-15 we are told of what took place, “Then Jonathan said, ‘Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, “Wait until we come to you,” then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, “Come up to us,” then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.’ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, ‘Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.’ Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, ‘Come up to us, and we will show you something.’
. . . Jonathan said to his armorbearer, ‘Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.’ And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.”
Look at what God did through this venture in faith made by Jonathan and his armorbearer. Folks, God still works like that today, we just need to humble ourselves and realize we have a little strength but God can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! He gets the glory, he gets the praise because He not only has enabled us to do these things, prepared us for this work, but He has also prepared the work for us and all we must do is venture out in faith and see what God can do with a person who is surrendered to Him!
Let me close this section with this story. We are told:
The Hope College Women’s basketball team had made it to the national playoffs. The final game saw Hope 20 points behind with 10 minutes left to play. The team remained calm and began to narrow the gap. Then with just 5 seconds remaining, a 3-point basket tied the game. The final score was decided by Dina Disney. With no time left on the clock, she sank two free throws to win the game.
When television and press interviewers asked her how she stayed calm under so much pressure, Dina said she recited to herself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
- Our Daily Bread
May we not forget that truth, that we are weak and we need to rely on the Lord to see us through all we do!
3.
FAITHFULNESS TO JESUS – HAVE KEPT MY WORD,
HAVE NOT DENIED MY NAME
Why does Jesus link keeping His Word with not denying His name? Do we really have to believe God’s Word? Here’s the thing, in John chapter 1 we are told, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-2, 14.
You see, Jesus is the Word of God and thus, what we have in our hands this morning speaks of God to us, they are words from the lips of God to us! Thus, if we deny the Scriptures, we are denying Jesus because the scroll of the book is written of Him. What is tragic today is that we see people and churches deny the Scriptures and in a sense, they are denying the Lord!
How can you know God apart from His Word? You really can’t, for the most part. Yes, the heavens declare the glory of God but to really know God personally you have to have God speak to you through His Word. But today, many people come up with various ideas about God based on their experiences, how they feel. And folks, they may be very sincere in what they believe and yet, we are told in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” You see, it is not my way, nor is it your way, but it is YAHWEH!
Others know what the Bible says and yet they live in such a way that denies what they say they believe. By their actions they are denying their allegiance or commitment to Jesus, what He has said, what He calls us to do. You see, our actions don’t save us but they are the evidence of the fruit that is born in our lives showing we are saved.
Remember Job’s words as he cried out, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.” Again, it is the proof of the genuineness of our love for Jesus by our obedience to His Word. It is as we are told in John 14:23-24, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.’” I think Jesus is very clear on this, our love is seen in our obedience to Him. And thus, they did not deny His name, all that Jesus is but stood strong in the face of persecution!
Now, as you step through those doors of ministry opportunities that God has opened for you, do you think the Devil will be happy in seeing people come into the kingdom of God? Of course he won’t and he will try to get you to think that the door is closed or to get you to not go through it, to turn back! As your reliance is upon God and His strength working through you to do great things, do you think the Devil will ignore you and allow you to forge ahead building up the kingdom of God or try to get you to rely on your own strength, you own resources? Of course he wants you to take your eyes off of God and look to self! When you are faithful to Jesus by keeping His Word, by not denying His name, do you really think the Devil will be rejoicing over that or do you think he will try to get you away from the truths of God found in the Word of God and begin to doubt God? Of course he wants you to doubt God’s Word and to doubt God!
And folks, the Lord shows us what was going on in Philadelphia as these believers were in love with Jesus. In Revelation 3:9 we are told, “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.” There were those unbelieving Jews fighting against these believers, probably Jewish believers, trying to get them to renounce their faith! And Jesus tells this church not to be distracted by what they were doing to them. Why? Because this was a ministry opportunity for these believers and some of these unbelieving Jews were going to get saved as they heard the love of Christ and really saw the love of Christ in these believers! And the idea here is that these Christians in Philadelphia persevered faithfully through all the trials and difficulties they faced, they did not give up!
It is not always easy, but where else are you going to go, back to the world? Of course not, we must not give up as this story illustrates for us, no matter how difficult it may be. We are told:
One of the most tragic events during the Reagan Presidency was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, in which hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. Many of us can still recall the terrible scenes as the dazed survivors worked to dig out their trapped brothers from beneath the rubble.
A few days after the tragedy, I recall coming across an extraordinary story. Marine Corps Commandant Paul X Kelly, visited some of the wounded survivors then in a Frankfurt, Germany, hospital. Among them was Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, severely wounded in the incident. Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that a witness said he looked more like a machine than a man; yet he survived.
As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a brief note and passed it back to the Commandant. On the slip of paper were but two words – “Semper Fi” the Latin motto of the Marines meaning “forever faithful.”
With those two simple words Nashton spoke for the millions of Americans who have sacrificed body and limb and their lives for their country – those who have remained faithful.
- J. Dobson & Gary Bauer, Children at Risk, pp. 187-188
Do not become discouraged, do not be surprised at the attacks of the enemy to try and stop us from what God has called us to do. Just be aware and forge ahead, forever faithful! It is as Paul said in II Timothy 3:12-13, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” That is the warning and then Paul exhorts Timothy and us by saying, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:14-17.
Remember what this church was all about and what God desires of us, what He wants us to be all about:
As I close this morning folks, remember Peter’s words to us in I Peter 4:10-11 as he said, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” May we do that and never forget what Paul said to us in I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Remember, “Semper Fi” or “forever faithful” to the Lord as we walk with Him!