Church: Philadelphia
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
This first thing we notice in this letter is that everything is positive - there are no words of condemnation - Jesus only had good things to say about this church
The City
The City
The name it self means brotherly love - and as Christians we are called to have brotherly love
The city of Philadelphia outlasted all of the other churches - despite the frequent earthquakes they experienced
very fitting seeing how the church stoop strong even thought the word around them was colapsing in on them
this church was also in a very strategic places - the city was a major doorway into the other parts of the kingdom - in order to access the other parts of the kingdom you hd to go through Philadelphia - the church had a major opportunity in front of them and they capitilized on it
The Description of Jesus
The Description of Jesus
“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:
Holy and True
Holy and True
these 2 characteristics are arguably the most important attributes of Jesus
We server a God who is Holy and true
to be Holy means to be set apart - it carries that idea that you are in a league of your own - no one can come close to measuring up to you and of course that is who are God is - that is who Jesus is - there is none like Him
for some one to declare themselves to be Holy is a very bold statement - some one who claims to be holy - someone who claims to do all that Jesus did is either a liar - crazy or is telling the truth
As Christians we know that Jesus is who He says He is
That is why we see the word True here
Jesus is who he claims to be
He is the Holy one - He is our Savior and he is the one who will judge all things accordingly
and because all of this is true - he is the only one qualified to call up into a life of obedience - into a life of holiness
He wants us to be real and holy - Just like Him
but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
but not only is he Holy and true - scripture tells us that he is the one who holds the key of david
The Key of David
The Key of David
to understand this passage we have to go all the way back to Isaiah 22:22
“Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
When he opens no one will shut,
When he shuts no one will open.
in these days of Isaiah Eliakim was the steward over the kings household
- Now to us that might not sound all that important but back then this carried great significance because Eliakim wasn't just any old servant - he was the highest official in the royal household - he had great power - if you wanted an audience with the King, you had to get through Eliakim.
Now what's that got to do with Jesus? Jesus is the way the truth and the life - and if you want an audience with the one true God - the king of kings
Jesus opens and closes doors - we will dive more into this in a few minutes but for now lets move onto the diagnosis of the church
The Diagnosis of the Church
The Diagnosis of the Church
This church is one we should pay very close attention to - If we were to ask ourselves what a church should look like - this would be it
The are Several character traits listed out here that we should apply not only on a church level but on an individual level as well
The Characteristic Traits of a Healthy Church
The Characteristic Traits of a Healthy Church
They have an Open Door
They have an Open Door
Revelation 3:8 (NASB95)
‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut
This is a church who has an open door in front of them - what is this open door - We do not want to miss what the lord has for us here
To better understand what is being said here we can look back over the letter's of Paul on three different occasions Paul uses this phrase
In
But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost;
for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
he also uses it in
Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,
And then we also see it in the letter to the Colossians in
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
Church the point here in all of this is that Jesus is the one who opens doors for us to carry out our ministry
and we must pray for those doors of opportunity and seek those doors out
but what we can not do is try and open our own doors - when we try and act like we are the ones who holds the key to the doors - what we do is create a mess and then we have the nerve to go to God and say why is this not working? I am doing it in the name of Christ
but in reality we are not - we did not seek his will - we are trying to do it on our own
so what is our part in all of this door business - we have to look for the doors that Jesus opens and when we find it we have to go to work - In other words we have to look for where God is at work in our church and in our community and go to work along side Him
We have to trust that He will open doors
we also should be praying for doors of opportunity - we should be asking for God to open doors in our church and in our community - we should be praying that we would see those doors clearly and have the boldness to walk though them - so that we can reach the community for Jesus
When is the last time that you prayed for open doors - or do you just blast throght the closed ones and then ask God to bless it
The next Character trait that this church displays seem strange but it is the reason that Jesus has opened the door for them in the first place
The Have Little Power
The Have Little Power
Revelation 3:8 (NASB95)
because you have a little power
the world looks at this phrase and thinks we are all crazy - how can you do anything if you are weak - the world preys on the weak and only the strong survive
but you and I do not operate - or at least we should not operate on wordly characteristics
you and I are to operate in weakness
look at 2 Corinthians 12:0 Paul let’s us in on a secret - it is in our weakness that we gain strength
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
see it is all a matter of perspective - As Christians we serve a risen Savior - The battle has already been one - so for us to be a our strongest what we have to do i humble ourselves before the one who holds the Keys to the kingdom
Our victory rest in Him - He is our fortress - He is where our power comes from - when we depend on our stuff we are in trouble
when our strength depends on us - we do not have much
this brings us to the next Character trait of a healthy church - becasue a lot of times when the Lord opens the doors - we start to become prideful and we start to think it is about us
and that is why ww must
A HealthyChurch keeps His Word
They Keep His Word
They Keep His Word
Revelation 3:8 (NASB95)
and have kept My word
This is a church that understood this is the infallible Word of God and we must follow it
DR David Jeremiah says he is often asked what is the most significant cause of Church decline and they are expecting a long drawn out explanation but he says the answer is simple
A Church that is in decline has abandoned the Word of God
This was a church who not only read the Word of God but they obeyed it
In their personal life and in the life of the church - they did not compromise
that is what we must do - we have to get in the Word - study the Word - Memorize the Word and then we have to draw the line in the sand at the Word
“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
We have to serve the Lord with all our heart with all our mind and with all our soul that is what a healthy church does
and that leads us to the last trait that Jesus points out here
A healthy Church does not deny the name of Jesus
They Do not deny the Name of Jesus
They Do not deny the Name of Jesus
Revelation 3:8 (NASB95)
and have not denied My name.
the Diety of Christ was being challenged in this era but this church would not deny his name
If you want want to be a church that can be used by God in a mighty was we have to put ourselves in a position to be used by God
and we do that by aligning our selves with the work of God - allowing him to open and close the doors - we have to remain humble - we have to keep his Word and not deny the name of Jesus
and when we do this look at what Jesus has to say
The Results of Living like we should
The Results of Living like we should
‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.
He will go to Battle For Us
He will go to Battle For Us
Do not worry about those that come against you - I will take care of them
When you are living for the Lord he fights your battles - the battle belongs to Him
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
He will Keep us form the Hour of Trial
He will Keep us form the Hour of Trial
and he will keep you form the hour of trial
‘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 world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
We will not have to go though the tribulation
you know I am a pre-tribulationist
hour of trail is the hour of testing
and he will deliver us from the tribulation period - this is not a promise to protect us in the hour of trial - he says he will keep us from it
we will not even be near it - we do not have to go through it
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
If we are christians - once you have accepted Christ - Jesus will come back and call us home
and we will be in Heaven with the Lord during the tribulation
He has made a provision to keep us from the hour of testing
‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
quickly does not mean - right now
it mens when he comes we will be called home in the twinkling of an eye
Don’t You see Church our hope is in Jesus
He is the one who is Holy and True
God’s word transforms life
Jesus is the one who holds the key
God is still in the life changing business - and his word is powerful
if we stay true to God and hold fast to these characteristics we will see God do amazing things
How is your realtionship with Jesus
Is he your Lord and Savior - he is the way the truth and the life
He is is the only way into Heaven
Are you relying on and walking in a realtionship with the who opens doors
What are we to do with all of this?
What are we to do with all of this?
First of all make him your Lord and Savior
evaluate you walk and your ministry - are you humbling yourself before the work of God allowing him to open and close doors are are you trying to operate in your own power
Are you a hearer and doer of the Word - is the word of God alive in your life
do you draw a line in the sand at the word of God
And how do you say Jesus is - when you go out form here today who is Jesus to you - how do you communicate Jesus to others
We are going to have a time of worship and surrender
maybe you need to just worship the king of kings and the lord of lords - do that during this time
maybe you need to surrender your life and ask Jesus to be your savior and your lord
maybe you need to ask for forgivness becasue you have not been surrendering to the work of God in your life
maybe you need to come and pray for open doors
What is the HS saying to you right now
if you are not hearing form him at all - them maybe you need to come to the altar - not saying a word - and simply seeking the voice of the Lord