The church for whom Jesus opened a door
Revelation 3:7-13

Intro:
Good morning.
Have you ever tried to pull open a door which was supposed to be pushed open? Or you’ve tried to push a door open which was supposed to be pulled? Normally when that happens you kind of walk into the door. It can be embarrassing and perhaps painful. Or maybe you’ve been walking out of a building or store and the window was so clear that you walked right into it. It happens, just do a Google search about people walking into doors, and you’ll spend a few minutes laughing at someone else’s misfortune.

We are now looking at the last of the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 the letter to the church in Philadelphia. Just as an FYI, we know this city to be called the city of brotherly love. Why?

Because Philadelphia is made up of 2 Greek words – PHILOS meaning “loving” and ADELPHOS meaning “brother.” Combine them and you get the city of brotherly love. There’s your Greek lesson of the month.

I. A bit on Philadelphia then. Philadelphia was the youngest of all the seven cities. It was founded under the reign of Attalus <at-a-lus> the Second, who ruled in Pergamum from 159 to 138 B.C. Philadelphos is the Greek for one who loves his brother. Such was the love of Attalus for his older brother Eumenes that he was called Philadelphos, and it was after him that Philadelphia was named.
a. Attalus loved his older brother and was his right hand man for many years. In about 172 BC Eumenes, returning from a visit to Rome, is attacked near Cirrha, <sear-ah> and believed to be dead. Attalus II became king and married queen Stratonice <stra-to-ne-che>. When Eumenes returns alive, Attalus cedes power immediately.
i. Attalus became a military commander who was greatly esteemed in Rome. The Romans offered to help him overthrow his brother but Attalus declined without causing rancor and when he did rightfully become king of Pergamum, Rome helped him in his struggles with his neighbors.
ii. Philadelphia was founded for a special purpose. It was situated where the borders of Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia <frij-ee-uh> met. But it was not founded as a garrison town. It was founded with the deliberate intention that it might be a missionary of Greek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia; and so well did it do its work that by A.D.19 the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greeks. It was said of Philadelphia that it was "the center for the diffusion of Greek language and Greek letters in a peaceful land and by peaceful means."
b. You might rightly think then that this was a peaceful place for the church but it was not so. The church in Philadelphia did not have an easy time of it. Philadelphia had a nickname of "Little Athens" because of its many temples and festivals to pagan gods. In addition Christians had to deal with the usual persecution from the Jews.
c. Philadelphia was on the edge of a great volcanic plain called the Burned Land. I won’t try to pronounce the Greek name. <Katakekaumene (GSN2618)> This great volcanic plain bore the marks of the lava and the ashes of volcanoes then extinct. Such land is fertile; and Philadelphia was the center of a great grape-growing area and a famous producer of wines. But that situation there had its perils, and these perils had left their mark more deeply on Philadelphia than on any other city. In A.D. 17 there came a great earthquake which destroyed Sardis and ten other cities. In Philadelphia the tremors went on for years. It became a "city full of earthquakes."
i. When a great disaster comes, people may meet it with courage and self-possession, but ever recurring minor shocks can drive them to sheer panic. That is what happened in Philadelphia. A written description of the scene goes like this: Shocks were an everyday occurrence. Gaping cracks appeared in the walls of the houses. Now one part of the city was in ruins, now another. Most of the population lived outside the city in huts and feared even to go on the city streets lest they should be killed by failing masonry.
ii. Those who still dared to live in the city were reckoned mad; they spent their time shoring up the shaking buildings and every now and then fleeing to the open spaces for safety. These terrible days in Philadelphia were never wholly forgotten, and people in it ever waited subconsciously for the ominous tremors of the ground, ready to flee for their lives to the open spaces. People in Philadelphia well knew what security lay in a promise that "they would go out no more."
iii. When the earthquake devastated it, Tiberius was as generous to Philadelphia as he had been to Sardis. In gratitude it changed its name to Neocaesarea--the New City of Caesar. Later in the time of Vespasian, Philadelphia was again in gratitude and changed its name again to Flavia, for Flavius was the Emperor's family name. It is true that neither of these new names lasted and "Philadelphia" was restored. But the people of Philadelphia well knew what it was to receive "a new name."
d. Today Philadelphia is known as Alasehir in Turkey.
II. The letter begins: Revelation 3:7 – “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;”
a. What a great image of Jesus. He gives a quick description which could easily be the source of a number of messages, Jesus is holy and true!! Yup, that’s right! Jesus is holy, which literally means He is “set apart” in the fact that He is different. God is holy because he is different from men; he has that quality of being which belongs to him alone. To say that Jesus Christ is holy is to say that he shares the being of God.
b. Jesus is true, which literally means He is real and genuine. There are two words in Greek for true. The first means "true" in the sense that a true statement is different from a false statement. The second which is used here, means "real" as opposed to that which is "unreal." In Jesus is reality. When we are confronted with Him, we are confronted with no shadowy outline of the truth but with the truth itself. So with that in mind when Jesus says He has the keys. It’s like He is the guard of the door. He’s only going to open it and keep it open when He needs to; and He will shut it and keep it shut when He needs to. A key is a symbol of control, authority. The reference of this wording we can find in Isaiah 22:22 - And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
i. In life, so many times we make or hear comments like, “I’m praying God opens a door for me — — or “if God closes a door, He’ll open another one for me. ”
ii. Even though we make those comments have you ever wondered, how do I know if that door is really being opened by God or being closed by God?
c. There are probably different ways to answer that question. Maybe the easiest, or simplest answer is, “You won’t know until you go through the door.” It’s been my experience that sometimes the door is obvious and we just walk right through. Sometimes we run towards it, and sometimes away from it. And sometimes we need a little shove. Now, let me be very clear here . . . if the message is something which is obviously against God’s word, then you know that door was not opened by God. So, we have to use wisdom before we walk through the open door. An open door does not relieve us of our responsibilities as Christians to use the wisdom God’s word has given us.
i. The same is true about closed doors. We can easily use the closed door as an excuse about not making an effort. We can say, “well the door is closed” so I’ll just give up. Maybe God wanted to see how much you wanted something, to see where your commitment to something was.
ii. The open door is sometimes a door which is slightly open. We still have to summon up the courage and faith to go through the door and see what’s on the other side. Remembering and trusting that God will never abandon us.
d. Jesus has all authority to open doors for His people. It’s His job to open the doors. He’s very good at it, and he doesn’t need our help. Our job is to go through the doors He opens, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other, going wherever He may lead us. One door may open, and then it may close. That’s okay. Another door may open. That’s okay too. We may have to sit still for a while waiting for a door to open. That’s also okay.
e. Jesus is sovereign over the doors of life, because He has the plan, we don’t, we trust in Him.
III. Jesus recognizes the situation in the church at Philadelphia. Revelation 3:8 - “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”
a. What a great statement by Jesus for the church. Firstly, and we’ve talked about it before, nothing is hidden before the eyes of Jesus . . . nothing! That’s really, really scary when we’re not doing good things in life. He knows what’s going on, nothing, absolutely nothing surprises Him.
b. Now Jesus refers to a door again. An open door that He has set before them. He is comforting and encouraging the church; and the encouragement is kind of like giving the people a push towards the door. You see, they’re a small church, they don’t have much influence and power in Philadelphia. The environment they are in is hostile with both the Jews and the Greeks. Effectively the odds are stacked against them, but Jesus is encouraging them, ‘HEY, I’VE GOT YOUR BACK! I’ve got the door, and when I hold the door open for you, nobody, absolutely nobody can make me close the door before it’s time.’ Isn’t that a great statement from Jesus. Isn’t that one we need to hold onto when we feel we are being persecuted? When people are against us, we need to believe and trust Jesus has our back. He’ll hold the door open for us, we need to believe that and then walk right through on the door.
c. A small church yet but great in faith. We may not have the influence or the power or the money or the speaking ability as others, BUT, we can trust the Lord as well as anyone else.
d. God honors . . . faith! And God rewards . . . faith! And how much faith does He require? Not much. Faith like a mustard seed. Just a tiny amount of faith. A simple faith.
e. Notice the two positive things Jesus says about this church: “You kept my word.” "You have not denied my name.”
IV. When Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica in Acts 17, their opponents tried to have them arrested. Look at what their charges were against them in Acts 17:6 - … unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; How cool is that?!
a. Would anyone ever say that about us? They meant it as an accusation, but it’s really a compliment. It really was the gospel that turned their world upside down but it was Paul and Silas that brought the gospel so they got the blame or credit. What a great thing to have said about you, that you managed to turn the world upside down. I can’t think of a greater compliment for a Christ follower.
b. We live in the day of instant gratification, where waiting and pain are not supposed to be part of our lives. While in many respects life should be simple, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Simple and easy have two different meanings to me. Most people want the easy life, a life which is comfortable, meaning there are no discomforts, where life just sails along. We want that in church, during worship, at work, at school, in fact wherever we are and wherever we go.
c. Yet, the people in the church of Philadelphia never denied the name of God. They didn’t go for the easy life. They believed they were called to make a difference in the world, and whatever risk they had to endure, that’s what they were going to do, even if it would mean death. They held onto God’s Word, which is what led them to proclaim, not deny, the name of God.
d. How many people at our workplace or in school, know us as a follower of Christ? Do they know that because we tell them, or because we have shown them? It’s one thing to say I go to church, it’s a totally different thing to live the life, with all of the risks involved as to what others will say and how they will react. Are we more concerned with what the world sees and thinks or what God knows? Are we bringing the gospel and turning the world upside down?
V. Of course, there were problems in the church, but they weren’t caused by the true followers of Christ. Jesus said, Revelation 3:9 - Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
a. Jesus is telling the church He knows what’s going on. Notice Jesus calls certain Jews to be part of the synagogue of satan. He knows these are Jews who are persecuting the church. These are among those who have rejected Jesus, and now they are making life really difficult for His followers. He also says that these say they are Jews but are not. Jews in name only, and self proclaimed at that.
b. Jesus says, they are liars, if they were true / authentic Jews, they would be embracing Him, not against Him. The good news is that some day they will come to see who Jesus really is, and they will bow down at His feet and admit Jesus is the Messiah. Remember the passage from Philippians 2: 10-11 - , where Paul tells us; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. What a day that will be!!
VI. Jesus continues with good news for the church, saying in verse 10; Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, “I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” [ASV]
a. The command from Jesus is to be patient as the church endured the storm. Sometimes, in the midst of working through the storm, all we can do is wait, as patiently as possible, even though that is difficult, but to wait with what I will call a patient endurance, knowing that somehow, if we don’t throw in the towel and give in, we will make it to the other side.
b. Are we tried by things that happen in the world…? Certainly. Christians must live with the consequences of sin in the world and with the consequences of the activities of the sinful. Throughout history, the children of God have suffered because of the sinful activities of the Godless. The danger of this is that we can act like Satan holds the key. By that I mean we are reactive to the world not proactive in our relationship knowing and behaving like Jesus is in control.
c. Our God is truly just and fair and every accountable living person on earth has the same opportunity that followers of Christ took advantage of. God desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The Godless will wreak persecution on the God-fearing and it is the duty of the saved to shine the way to the door of opportunity in the face of it all, even unto death.
d. Take a look at what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 – “But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective {service} has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Paul is being opposed; satan is trying to shut him down. What does Paul reason in his mind? This is an open door for service.
VII. Jesus tells the church more good news for them and us in verse 11: Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Now that holds two points. First instead of last, realize that someone can take your crown. Contrary to the belief of so many today you can lose it. But it is within their power and our power, to prevent that by holding fast. We can do something to prevent losing our crown. Something within our power.
a. Hold fast to what? What did Jesus say? Thou… hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. And again… thou hast kept the word of my patience. What did they do? They kept His word, held fast to His commands. They are faithful.
b. The early church was fully convinced Jesus was coming back at any moment. This is what made their preaching and teaching so passionate. It was a matter of life and death, so they had to be quick and proclaim the message of Christ to the world. If they didn’t, they were taking the risk that someone would spend eternity without Christ . . . and that was unacceptable.
c. We have lost that passion haven’t we? We would be out everyday looking to help people come to know Jesus. Instead we worry and squabble over the small mundane things which don’t matter in the whole scheme of life. So, forget about all the other stuff out there, and hold onto what you have, and you have the crown of life, which only comes through Christ. When we hold onto Christ, and don’t waver in faith and commitment to Him, we will never lose what we’ve gained . . . the only hope of the world ~ Jesus.
d. Jesus had only praise for the works of the Christians at Philadelphia. By the way all of the churches of Asia started out on the right path but none of the other six were told they had a crown.
e. The final promise from Jesus in verse 12 is: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
f. There’s a lot in that one verse. So, let me quickly un pack it.
g. Jesus is giving the church an image of victory like you would receive in going to court. When you go to court and win your case, you gain victory. You’ve overcome the other side, you’ve conquered them and have victory. That’s what Jesus is offering.
h. We are not called to be a group of super-Christians. We may think those people back then were super-Christians, that they were better than we are, but that’s not true. It was and is the same God.
i. We are called to be victorious every single day because we have a lot to overcome:
i. Temptations galore.
ii. Frustrations on every hand.
iii. Disagreeable people.
iv. Difficult situations.
v. Unexpected setbacks.
vi. Angry critics.
vii. Internal discouragement.
viii. Chronic pain, sickness and death.
ix. Friends who aren’t very friendly.
x. Personal failures known only to us.
j. There are always reasons to give up, reasons to quit, always plenty of excuses if we want them. But to those who persevere, who will not give up even when they feel like it; even when everything in them says, “Walk away from this mess,” to those brave souls who keep on keeping on, Christ makes two incredible promises — —
i. Jesus promises his people that they will be pillars in God’s temple, and they will never leave God’s presence. These words meant a great deal because Philadelphia had been destroyed by a terrible earthquake and the citizens were used to evacuating the city. Even now, when you visit the ruins of these 1st century cities the PILLARS are still there when everything else was destroyed. Pillars were synonymous with strength and permanence — so the people would have understood the picture Jesus was drawing for them. Those who trust in Jesus will be safe and secure forever.
ii. Jesus is saying, “They may not like you in Philadelphia, but you’ve got a home with me in heaven. I’ll make you a pillar in my temple so that you will be close to me forever.”
k. Then Jesus adds, I will write on them the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, will be their new home; and I will also write on them My new name.
i. The power to name is the power of ownership. Those whom God has redeemed will be named and claimed by him. All the old names won’t matter anymore:
(1) Doctor. Lawyer. Professor. Politician. Influential person.
(2) Coach. Banker. Teacher. Famous athlete. Richest person.
ii. But there are other names that won’t matter either:
(1) Felon. Failure. Hated. Abandoned. Humiliated.
(2) Unappreciated. Liar. Adulterer. Lonely.
iii. In that great day, the blood of Jesus will wash away all the “tags” by which we know each other. Our “good” names won’t matter, and our “bad” names won’t be remembered. We will all stand on the same ground, saved, redeemed, renewed, and renamed by our Lord.
l. We will be given the name of the new Jerusalem because that’s where we will spend eternity. When we go to the airport we need to pass through security. They check our tickets and our ID’s, they sometimes check us. We get passports to tell where we came from and where we can go.
i. But all believers in Jesus have a passport stamped “Citizen of heaven” and a visa guaranteeing them permanent entrance. No one can stop us, no one can hinder us, no one can say, “You have no right to be here.” We enter by the blood of Jesus, and in His name we find our place in the heavenly city.
ii. We may have no security down here. We lock our doors because thieves may enter, and we know that the stock market may collapse tomorrow and gas prices may go up, and there may be a terrorist attack, and . . . . . .
m. If you want eternal security, you can find it only in Jesus Christ. One day we will have a new name, and we will live in a city that cannot be shaken or taken. We long to be there, and as Jesus said, in Revelation 3:13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

# 603

Reference Sermon
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