Church of Philadelphia

Good morning, Church of Cayuga. Since the writing of the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor, there have been well over a million, perhaps millions of churches. Jesus said, where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Whether it's three, whether it's a house church, whether it's an organized church as this, we're all part of God's family meeting in his name. This morning we come to the Church of Philadelphia. It's the sixth church that we have been looking at in the book of Revelation.

We've been studying the seven letters to the seven churches that were dictated by the Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostle John while he was on the Isle of Patmos imprisoned. And these letters were distributed around 95 or 96 AD. And though they were written to specific congregations, they apply to us as individuals today and in every church that claims to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

We quickly looked at the Church of Ephesus who had not lost but had left their first love. We looked at the Church of Smyrna and despite being a persecuted church, they remained faithful to the Lord. Pergamum was a compromised church.

They tolerated false teaching. Thyatira was a morally corrupt church. Sardis had a reputation of being alive but people in that congregation were as dead as doornails spiritually.

Philadelphia, well, this is a faithful obedient church we'll be looking at today. Philadelphia was located about 30 miles southeast of Sardis. It was founded by the king of Pergamum, Attalus II around 190 BC.

History tells us that Attalus was so devoted to his brother Eumenes who succeeded him as king that he was nicknamed Philadelphus which in the Greek means brother lover. And so this city of Philadelphia or the city of brotherly love was named after the nickname of Attalus. And if you say by the way that those two guys look alike, well it's because they're brothers and I also noticed they had the same hairdresser.

Look at that. Isn't that amazing? Both these churches were obedient to the Lord and how they lived and what they taught. You've probably heard the saying if you find the perfect church don't go there because it won't be perfect anymore.

Well if it is meant that you will never find a church with sinless people there then that is correct. But if it is meant that there are no churches that do not displease the Lord in some way then that is wrong. As we will learn in this message this morning, it's possible to live as Christians and as churches so as to be perfect.

Not perfection of action but perfection of intention. If the requirement of the Lord for us as a church and individually is perfection of actions then not one of us here today will make it to heaven because we're all sinners. The requirement of God for his people and his churches who are made up of sinners is that we have perfection of intention.

Now before we get into our passage in Revelation chapter 3 on the church in Philadelphia, I want us to look briefly at this teaching about perfection of intention because this is exactly what the apostle John wrote in his letter of 1st John. Now John wrote 1st John. He also wrote the book of Revelation that we're studying this morning and here's what John said regarding perfection of intention.

In 1st John 1 7 to 10 we read, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we claim we have not sinned we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. So what do we learn? The clear teaching of scripture is that we are all sinners but we can be forgiven by God through the shed blood of Jesus if we confess our sins to him. Is that what it says? It's rude just to stare at someone when they ask you a question.

Is that what it says? We continue. Chapter 2 the next verse. Chapter 2 verse 1. My dear children I write this to you so that you will not sin but if anyone does sin.

In other words someone slips on a banana peel unintentionally. We have one who speaks to the father in our defense. Jesus Christ the righteous one.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. How does this work? John just said that we're all sinners that we have to confess our sins and if we don't confess our sins we're liars because we've all sinned. And then he comes and he says this.

I write this to you so that you will not sin. What is he saying? He's saying this. Christians you have and had perfection of intention but you sinned in the heat of the moment and then convicted.

You came quickly to me for forgiveness and now you are cleansed and living a perfect life as best you can by the grace of God. What we can learn from this church of Philadelphia this morning is foundational and transformational. Every day we need to take spiritual vitamin E. That's E for excellence.

If I could offer you a pill today at the end of this service where upon taking it you would never sin again. Would you take it? I'm glad you responded. What do you mean no? Yes.

We should say yes. We got to take it. But why? Because that's perfection of intention.

If I could not sin again until the day I die I would choose not to. But we can't. But what we can have is perfection of intention.

That's the first step towards pleasing God. The second step towards perfection of intention is not committing willful or intentional sins. Psalm 19.

The psalmist said keep your servant also from willful sins. He's not talking about slipping on a banana peel here. Some sin we commit with no pre-planning.

That's not what he's talking about. May they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless.

Blameless. That's perfection of intention. Innocent of great transgression.

Second Timothy 2.9 we read. Nevertheless God's solid foundation stands firm. Sealed with this inscription.

The Lord knows those who are his. And everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. James says it this way.

Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sin. This is the way the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia acted. And in a real sense they were perfect churches.

They were perfect because they had perfection of intention. Now that's just background for the passages we're now going to look at in Revelation chapter 3. Beginning in verse 7. Jesus said to John. And John wrote to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

Write these are the words of him who is holy and true. Jesus starts off this letter by making a claim that no one else on earth has. Or ever will be able to claim.

He is holy. That means he is perfect. He has never sinned.

He cannot sin. He cannot even be tempted by sin. And because he is sinless he can only tell us the truth.

This week I spoke with a Christian from out of town. Who had almost lost their faith because an atheist had sent them a YouTube video. And they sent me the video to watch.

I'm telling you I have never heard more distortions of the truth. And bold-faced lies about Jesus, history and the Bible in all my life. That video was absolutely an abomination.

Anyone that had any half a wit about them that had read the Bible. Would realize this guy was just spouting off lies left right and center. And by the grace of God I was able to expose this man's lies.

And quote scriptures and recount historical facts. That the Lord used to renew this person's faith. Even while we were talking on the phone.

Today it's possible for supposed Christians to post on social media. How they're deconstructing from their Christian faith. In other words how they are unbecoming Christians.

But deconstructing is just another newfangled word for old-fashioned apostasy. Jesus said it this way. At that time many will turn away from the faith.

And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. And in verse 12. And the love of most will grow cold.

But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. So to be forewarned is to be forearm. Let us all say as Paul said in Romans 3 verse 4. Let God be true and every man a liar.

We continue in verse 7. Who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut. And what he shuts no one can open.

Jesus says here that he holds the key of David. That's a reference to the story of Eliakim. In the Old Testament who was steward over King Hezekiah's palace.

In Isaiah chapter 22 verse 22. We read and this is speaking of Eliakim. God says I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David.

What he opens no one can shut. And what he shuts no one can open. As steward Eliakim had the authority to allow whomever he wanted into the palace.

And keep whoever he didn't want out. If someone came to Eliakim and said you know I'd like an audience with the king. He could say come on in and he'd open the door.

But if someone came and wanted to see the king and Eliakim didn't want it. He could say no you can't come out. Come in and he would shut the door on their face.

Verse 22 here says of Eliakim. What Revelation 3 7 just said about the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus holds the key that opens the door of heaven or locks it.

He can open or close people's eyes. He can open and close your hearts to believe in him. Is this not what Jesus meant in John 6 44.

No one can come to me Jesus said unless the father who sent me draws him. We continue in verse 8 of our passage. 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.

In every one of these seven letters Jesus says about his people. I know it's quite sobering to realize that the eyes of the Lord are on his children. And he knows every minuscule detail about us.

But Jesus also knows something else about us. And we need to come to grips with this. And that is that we have little strength.

John 15 5 Jesus said apart from me you can do nothing. It's a wonderful thing to come to that place in our lives where we realize. That just as we had no strength to save ourselves from eternal damnation.

In the same way that a drowning man cannot save himself. So we have no strength to open doors for ourselves. That will ultimately bless us and glorify the Lord.

Oh we can use a crowbar and jimmy doors open. We can pick the locks here and there and make things happen through fleshly effort. But only the Lord knows what lies behind each door we come to in our lives.

Whether good or evil. Whether blessing or curse. Whether joy or sorrow.

Whether success or failure. Every one of us here this morning is standing in front of some kind of door. It may be the door of schooling or career.

It may be the door of marriage. It may be the door of where to live. It may be the door of which door do I go through to solve this difficult situation or this relationship.

It may be a door of ministry or next steps in serving the Lord. Or how we're to manage our health. Manage our investments.

Or the door of retirement. When and how and where to go through that door. We may think we know which doors to go through.

But unless we are willing to humble ourselves and acknowledge how little strength and wisdom we have. Then we're on our own. This is why the church of Philadelphia was the perfect church so to speak.

They were humble. They knew God alone could open the doors for them. They had little strength and they knew it.

And that is the starting point of God's helping and blessing us in our churches. In our families. In our jobs.

In our schooling. Are you facing an impossible situation? The Lord can either open or shut that door for you. If you will but acknowledge your weakness.

Humble yourself before him. And he will then act as the divine doorman for your dilemma. The church of Philadelphia faced an impossible situation.

Verse 9 says this. 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.

And so just as we read about how the Jews were persecuting the church of Smyrna. Back in Revelation chapter 2. Where John refers to them also as a synagogue of Satan. So the Jews in this city of Philadelphia were making life miserable for these humble Christians.

This was a wonderful church. They were telling the truth by saying that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Born to die on a cross.

The perfect lamb of God. Who would take away the sins of the world. And that he proved his power over death by rising from the dead on the third day.

And these Jews according to this passage were lying and saying that none of that was true. And somehow they were making life miserable for these obedient Christians. So how did the church members of Philadelphia.

How did they stop these members of the Jewish synagogue from persecuting them? They didn't. Jesus said I will make them. It's a real relief when we come to that place in our struggles.

Where we let go and we let God. We don't have any written follow-up in scripture or extra biblical literature. About what happened after Jesus said these words.

But we know that because Jesus said it, it happened. At some point Jesus made these synagogue members come and fall down before that church. In Philadelphia and acknowledge that Jesus loved them.

Is this not what happened in the book of Acts? Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant but ruthless Jew. Was ruining churches by arresting and horribly persecuting Christians. They humbled themselves.

They prayed. They couldn't do anything. That's all they could do.

And so Jesus in answer to their prayer. He meets Saul on that road to Damascus. As he's going to throw some more Christians into prison.

And God shuts that door. Slams that door shut right on his face on the road to Damascus. And he opens another one.

Saves him and kicks him through. So that Paul becomes the greatest apologist and evangelist this world has ever seen. Jesus shut the door and Jesus opened the door.

And it's all through the power of prayer and humbling ourselves before him as his people. And as scripture says, only God can call things that are not as though they were. Only Jesus can open a door that no man can shut.

Or shut a door that no man can open. Now whenever you think of the Church of Philadelphia. I want you to think of those people as the church of the phone booth.

Now for those of you who are under 40, you young people. A phone booth that has nothing to do with like a charging station. A docking station.

A phone booth used to be this uncomfortable claustrophobic rectangular box with a telephone. And a door that opened in like a scissor lift. And if you went in and were skinny enough, you could even breathe.

And you could actually get two skinny people in there. At one time. Remember that old folks? And I want you to think of it this way.

You and I are in phone booths in our lives. There's two of us. There's us and there's that problem person.

There's us and that situation. And we're there fighting away and contending. And we say, hey Jesus, we need some help.

Come on over here. And Jesus looks at us and he says, no can do. There's only room for two, not three.

But here's what I'll do. I'm going to come and I'm going to open that door and you're going to get out. I'm going in and I'm closing that door.

And I'll deal with the problem for you. The psalmist understood this. And that's why he said in Psalm 35, Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me.

Fight against those who fight against me. The Lord has to contend for us in some of these situations. But until the Lord opens or shuts the door, we have one responsibility.

Look in verse 10. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently. Now, I can't say this better than scripture.

And in Psalm chapter 40, verses 1 to 3, we read, I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire.

He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see in fear and put their trust in the Lord.

So why do we need to wait patiently on the Lord? Not only so that he can help us and deliver us, but so that we can be a testimony to others and not a stumbling block to them, so that they can put their trust in the Lord also. Now, notice the blessing promised to us when by faith we choose to patiently endure. The rest of verse 10 at the bottom, you will see, 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.

One of the blessings of patiently enduring and waiting for the Lord's deliverance is that God will keep us from the hour of trial. Now, some people use this verse as a proof text of the rapture. And while the Bible does teach about the rapture, and we're going to see this in verse 11, this verse 10 is referring to events that would take place in their lifetime.

That's what they understood. They got this letter, and this was an event that was coming down the pipe. This hour of trial that was coming all over the world refers to the persecution of Christians that Trajan, the emperor of Rome, began in AD 98, just a few years after the Church of Philadelphia received this letter.

The persecution had already began. That's why John got sent and exiled to the Isle of Patmos. But it was going to get a lot worse.

The phrase, all the world, doesn't mean the entire globe. In the New Testament, the phrase, all the world, is only used twice. Once in Luke chapter 2, verse 1, where it says, in those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

In the Greek, if you look it up in a transliteration, a parallel translation, you will see the word Roman doesn't appear. That a census would be taken of the entire world, not the Roman world. Acts 11 28, speaking of Agabus, the prophets.

Agabus stood up, and through the spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. Again, the word Roman is not in the original Greek. So when the Lord says he's going to keep his people from the hour of trial, he does not mean that he's going to take us out of the hour of trial, just as he didn't take those Philadelphians out of that hour of trial that Trajan imposed on them.

It means that the Lord will keep us from falling away from him and backsliding during this hour of testing. And that's exactly what Jesus was referring to in John 17 15 in his prayer before he left this earth. He said, Father, my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.

Verse 11, we continue. I'm coming soon. So now we're put on notice as Christians, the Lord can come at any moment.

The rapture is imminent. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. In order to be ready for the Lord's soon return, we have to hold on to what we have.

So what does a person look like who is holding on to their faith? Verse 12 says, him who overcomes. Six times in as many letters, Jesus says that his promises only apply to the overcomer, not to a mere professor. These promises apply to someone whose actions match their words.

Jesus said, many on that day will come to me and say, Lord, Lord, and I will say, depart from me. I never knew you. I have a cousin, Doug, who at the age of 11 began taking drugs.

And for over 50 years until recently, he was never sober one day of his life. And surprisingly, he did exceptionally well in life as an entrepreneur. In his early 60s, he had some kind of spiritual experience.

But it was all head knowledge. The penny hadn't dropped. There was an 18-inch gap.

It hadn't gone from his head to his heart. He started going to church, claimed to be a Christian. He prayed the prayer.

He was an extremely talented bassist, a guitarist, bass guitarist. He had cut records with some rock groups in Canada. He was brilliant.

And so he played worship on the worship team on Sunday morning for a long time with that church. He says, Mark, I used to get up there, and in order to prepare myself, you know what I used to do? Pray? No, I used to get stoned. He'd walk up to the front, and he would just play his heart out.

And he did that year in, year out. And he said, Mark, one day, I was at a church. I was visiting a church.

And the preacher from the front said, I want you to remember back to the day you said you got saved, you became a Christian. I want you to look at your life now. Has anything changed since then? And if nothing has changed, you should be the most concerned person in this church this morning.

Doug said, Mark, I went home, and I realized nothing had changed in my life. I got down on my knees. I repented.

And scripture says, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. And Doug was freed a few years ago instantly. He's never gone back to his drugs.

Never gone back. Doug is an overcomer. Second Timothy 2.19 says, Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription.

The Lord knows those who are his. And everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. And when we are overcomers, Jesus promised us two things.

The first promise is, him who overcomes, I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. Here, a pillar refers to permanent stability, immovability.

John 6.37, Jesus said, All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. It seems strange to me that the same people who don't enjoy going to church and can't wait till the service is over, say they want to spend eternity in heaven. These people would be miserable there.

Heaven is going to be one big worship service with all the saints down through the ages made holy and happy, singing in perfect four-part harmony. Therefore, only those who love Jesus, love to worship him, and love his people will feel comfortable in heaven. Christ's second promise is, and we continue, 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.

Now, names are symbols of ownership and identification. Our names are written down on our vehicle registration that we keep in our glove box. It says, this car belongs to me.

The money in our bank accounts belong to us, and we prove it by showing the teller our bank card with our name and account number on it. My children have my name greening on their birth certificates. And one day when as overcomers we get to heaven, God will write his name and the name of the new Jerusalem and Jesus's new name on us as a symbol and declaration that we forever belong to him.

The devil can't have us. The grave can't have us. Not anyone who ever harmed us or tried to control us on this earth can ever have us.

We belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to us. Verse 13, he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. Has the Lord spoken to us this morning in any way? Has the Lord spoken to us and clarified about what it means to be a perfect Christian in a perfect church? Perfection of intention.

And when we slip, when we slip immediately, we have an advocate. We go to the Lord right away. We don't persist in that sin and say, it's okay, God is just going to keep forgiving me over and over and over and over again.

Yes, he forgives and he keeps forgiving, but we must have perfection of intention so that we're innocent of great transgression. I've been there. I used to confess my sins on the layaway plan.

Do you understand what that is? Lord, for what I'm about to do, please forgive me. Do you understand what a hypocrite I was? All I prayed three times to get saved. The fourth time stuck because that was the first time in my life I had perfection of intention.

I said, Lord, I would do anything. I will do anything. Just save me and free me.

Free me if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. And he did. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm. Don't listen to Satan's lies anymore. Oh, you're a chip off the old block.

Your father did it. Your mother did it. And you're going to just have to live like that.

That is a lie from the pit, as my mother used to say. That's a lie from the pit. Don't believe it.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. Has the Lord spoken to you about getting out of that phone booth? The Lord will contend with those who contend with you.

Has the Lord told you to stop trying to jimmy that door and pick those locks? You humble yourself. You trust in the Lord. He will tell you what to do.

You will know what to do. You do what he tells you to do. Until then, you trust in him to open or close that door.

Has the Lord spoken to any of us about being an overcomer and not just a professor? And if that has been our life today, to date, then may the Holy Spirit convict us, not only of our sins, but convince us of the love of God to rescue us from the pit that we have dug ourselves into. To open the door, show us the exit, and bring us out into the freedom that only Christ can bring. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, he who holds the keys, he who can open and shut doors. We acknowledge you as all-powerful, all-sovereign in our lives. Lord, we no longer have to live in the flesh.

We no longer have to live defeated, sinful lives. Lord, thank you for your promises. Let God be true in every man a liar.

We can live that intention, that perfection of intention, that life that pleases you from this day forward as we choose to listen to you. When you say, I've opened that door, walk through it. I'm slamming that door in your face.

Don't do it. Don't go there. Lord, may we listen to you.

Thank you so much, Heavenly Father, for all that you've done for us through Jesus Christ, who is greater in us than he that is in the world. Thank you for what you've done. In Jesus' name, we pray these things.

Amen.