Revelation 3:7-13

This one trick will cut your mortgage payment in half.

Six easy exercises for burning off that belly.

Twelve tips for looking great for bikini season this summer.

If you are an astute cultural observer, you will recognize that sentences like this come from that great and sophisticated genre of magazines that hang out by the checkout aisle in the grocery store.

And they make these strange promises.

And perhaps you, like me, are confused that anyone actually buys these documents.

But if we stop for a moment to consider why people might actually buy these things, I think we might notice that what's being sold is a solution to some perceived problem.

You see, we think we have a problem.

We're not quite sure what the problem is.

But we have this nagging intuition that something is wrong.

And here is an almanac, a solution for whatever problem ails us.

Usually it's too large a stomach or too boring a sex life or too empty a bank account.

When was the last time you walked up to one such rack of magazines and saw there in all caps blazing in front of you,

do the same thing you're doing now?

That would be strange.

It would be counterintuitive.

You would have very little desire to buy this document in front of you.

After all, all you have to do is keep doing what you're doing.

In fact, that might sit strangely with us, we Americans, who think that to be an American is to take yourself into your own hands

and to create yourself however you desire yourself, always improving, taking more classes, taking more exercises, learning more things.

But the message of Jesus tonight to the Church of the Philadelphians is precisely this strange one.

Keep doing what you're doing.

And to help us make sense of that claim, that desire Jesus has for His church,

let's look there in Revelation chapter 3.

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

Revelation chapter 3, verses 7 through 13.

Revelation 3:7–13

If you remember in context, this is Jesus, having appeared after His resurrection, many decades after His resurrection,

to John, the beloved apostle who is in exile on the island of Patmos.

John has this vision, and in this vision, Christ comes and says to him this,

Revelation 3, verse 7.

Revelation 3:7

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,

The words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David,

who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

I know your works.

Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.

I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie.

Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world,

to try those who dwell on the earth.

I am coming soon.

Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.

Never shall he go out of it.

And I will write on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem,

which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

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

Let's pray briefly.

Lord, your desire that you spoke to John is that your people would have ears, that they would hear.

I pray that we would have ears and would hear tonight, Lord.

Speak to us from this passage.

Encourage our weary souls.

Cause us to love you more.

And allow the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart to be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

If you've been joining us here in the evening service at Trinity over the last few weeks,

you'll know that this is our current sermon series.

There are seven brief letters, the beginning of Revelation,

to seven different churches in the continent, the subcontinent of Asia Minor, which is now Turkey.

This is the sixth one.

Of those seven, Jesus says a mix of good and bad things to four different churches.

He says only good things to two churches, of which Philadelphia is one.

He says only bad things to one church, which is Laodicea, which is next week.

So if this sermon doesn't have enough fire and brimstone for you, come back next week for Laodicea.

From this text tonight, I hope we can learn and be encouraged by three things.

First, the situation of the Philadelphians.

The situation of the Philadelphians.

Second, the beautiful reasons and rewards for patient endurance.

Third, the application to Trinity Baptist Church.

So first, the situation of the Philadelphians.

Philadelphia was a relatively small city that received its name, which means brotherly love,

just like the city in Pennsylvania does.

There are some stories that go back and forth.

Essentially, one is that the older brother, the more powerful one, was rumored to be assassinated.

And many people pressured the younger brother to take his place, to steal a throne from him.

And the younger brother said, no, I'm far too loyal to my brother.

And once the older brother was seen to be alive, the younger brother was vindicated and given this city named the city of brotherly love.

It was probably the youngest of all the seven cities mentioned in this section of Revelation.

Its church was probably the newest.

And it was one of the smaller churches to which this book of Revelation is addressed.

In AD 17, about 70 years before this letter was written, a large earthquake destroyed most of this city.

And from this text, we learn that there was likely an important and influential synagogue in the city of Philadelphia

that was strongly opposing the work of the Christians there.

Perhaps some of the Christians were former members of the synagogue who had converted to Christianity

and subsequently been excommunicated from the synagogue.

It seems that this Jewish opposition is the greatest trial faced by the church in Philadelphia.

Given how vehement John's language is about them.

Look, he calls them in verse 9, the synagogue of Satan.

The strong words.

And given how much time John spends urging the Christians in Philadelphia to endure and stand fast in the face of that opposition.

This was a beleaguered church.

They were under opposition.

Still, as I mentioned, in spite of all this opposition, Jesus has only good things to say about this church.

Small, relatively weak, and oppressed though it was.

This church was no Antioch or Rome.

In fact, I think many of them were probably quite surprised to receive this letter from Jesus himself.

In terms of strategy, this might not be the city, the church that you're most interested in appealing to.

But from that point, I think we should take great encouragement.

From this brief message to the Philadelphians,

I think we can learn that God does not overlook even the smallest faithfulnesses of his people.

Notice, the Philadelphians are not commended for taking the gospel to all of Asia.

For having many teachers in their midst.

For taking up huge collection of offerings.

Or any such accomplishment like that.

No.

The Philadelphians are commended because they have kept Jesus' word and not denied his name.

They have kept on.

They have endured.

They have stood in the day of opposition.

And for this, they were commended.

We are right, I think, to have high and lofty ambitions for God to use our own lives powerfully.

That's a good ambition that we ought to have.

But perhaps your life situation does not look promising for the conversion of entire nations.

Taking the gospel to some unreached people.

The writing of great books about God.

The sacrifice of incredible things for his glory.

Perhaps your life looks like a fairly normal Christian life.

Don't be discouraged.

Let the letter to Philadelphia remind you

that every diaper change in the middle of the night for a screaming baby

performed with a whispered prayer for that child is noticed by the Lord.

Every Sunday school lesson taught to children and then forgotten almost immediately

is remembered by the Lord.

Every time of prayer of raising up your children or your friends or your neighbors

or sharing the gospel with them that seem to bear no fruit whatsoever

is noticed by God.

He notices the smallest things of our lives.

Every small act of kindness and mercy done without any audience

is known to God himself.

He sees your work.

He knows your works, he says to the Philadelphians.

He says this also to us.

I know your works.

Though you are small, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

This is encouragement for us.

The Proverbs say that the eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good,

observing, not missing anything.

Remember how Jesus was the only one in the temple courts

who noticed the widow offering her two small mites.

It was Jesus alone who saw that.

And Jesus praised her.

So it is with Philadelphia.

So it is with us.

Jesus casts his eye upon the otherwise unimportant church of Philadelphia

and encourages them to stand.

This is the situation of the Philadelphians.

Secondly, we see from this text the beautiful reasons and rewards of patient endurance.

Quite simply, the reason and reward of patient endurance under opposition

is nothing other than the person and the work of Jesus.

He is introduced here, speaking of himself, as the Holy One, the True One,

as one who is trustworthy because he cannot deceive.

And because he is trustworthy, his promises can be believed.

He has, it says, the key of David,

who opens and no one shuts,

who shuts and no one opens.

You see, this introduction of Jesus is the foundation

for all that follows in the rest of this passage.

He is holy and true.

He is trustworthy and faithful.

And he has power to open and shut.

And no one can stand against him.

Christ is the True One,

not the opponents of the church

who say they are Jews but lie.

Jesus is the true obedient One of God,

the true Jew,

the true Lamb of God that follows the law of God in every detail.

Because he is this holy and true One,

it is to him whom the Philadelphians must cling

with all of their energy,

no matter the opposition.

The reward for standing fast in the face of opposition

is Jesus himself.

The reason for standing fast in the face of opposition

is Jesus himself.

And notice that the opposition against the Philadelphians

is precisely because they are being obedient to Christ.

It is not in the way of disobedience

that they have encountered hardship, no,

but in the way of obedience.

Like Job in the Old Testament,

their trial cannot be attributed to their own specific sins.

Rather, hostility is the price of following Christ

in a fallen world.

Hostility is the price of following Christ in a fallen world.

This has always been the condition of God's church

to more or less degrees

in one place or another

since the resurrection and the ascension of Christ.

This is just what Christians do.

We bear witness in obedience to Christ

and we face opposition for it.

We cannot put our final hope

in any city,

in any nation,

in any government,

or any administration

to protect and care for the church,

for us individually or collectively.

No.

The book of Hebrews tells us that

here we have no lasting city.

Meaning that this world cannot hold

the weight of our hope.

We yearn for something

in the deepest parts of our soul

that this world is not equipped to give us.

Therefore,

let's place that hope in a more sure foundation.

Place it in the solid rock of Christ.

Again, there in Hebrews,

it says that the exiles,

the pilgrims,

the wanderers

looked for a city with foundations

whose builder and maker is God.

This foundation

is a theme that's used to describe Christ.

The stone that builders have rejected

has become the cornerstone,

the most important stone in the entire edifice.

He is the foundation

of the eternal city of God.

Do you notice from this passage

where the city of God comes from?

Look there in verse 12.

The new Jerusalem.

It comes down from God out of heaven.

It's not achieved by voting

the correct political party into office,

by writing the wisest constitution,

by having the best social welfare programs.

We should strive for all of those things.

All the while remembering

that here we have no lasting city.

And the new Jerusalem

comes down from God out of heaven.

This is where we should put

our deepest yearnings.

And it's toward that vision

that John points the Philadelphians.

You see, governments and armies

can rage and have raged

and will rage against the church.

And society and elites

can scorn and have scorned

and will scorn her

for her strange behavior

in the way of obedience.

But Christ remains still a solid rock.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

All other ground,

all other ground is sinking sand.

If all men therefore rise

in opposition to you,

but Christ takes up your cause,

you cannot fail,

but you will overcome.

And if throngs of men

rally around you

to sing your praise,

yet Christ takes his stand against you,

then heaven and earth

will pass away

before you make

one inch of progress

against the Lord's anointed one.

He is the one who opens

and no one shuts.

He is the one who shuts

and no one opens.

Christ, you see,

is the only indispensable ally

for the Christian

in all of the world.

May the shifting of society around us

give us ample occasion

to reflect on the steadfastness

of Christ.

Look also at the way

Jesus shows himself

to meet precisely the needs

of the Christians

there in Philadelphia.

Consider their circumstance.

As I said,

it's quite likely

that they have been

excommunicated from synagogues

for their faith in Christ.

If they were to go

to the homes,

businesses,

and synagogues

of those who were once

their friends,

perhaps even their family,

they would meet

nothing but closed doors.

bolted against their entrance.

You're no longer welcome here.

You cannot access this.

So Christ introduces himself

by saying that he is the one

who has the key of David,

who opens and no one will shut,

who shuts and no one opens.

Immediately after this,

he says that he has set

before the Philadelphians

an open door

which no one is able

to shut.

What a beautiful reversal.

In Christ,

all doors are open,

though on earth

they seem barred

and slammed in your face.

In Philadelphians, you see,

Christ says,

have not really been shut

out of any important assemblies.

For Christ has opened

to them every door.

This is the conviction

that allows the Philadelphians

in the words of Martin Luther

to let good and kindred go

this mortal life also.

In Christ, we lose nothing.

He is the one who opens

and no one can shut.

Consider the example

of David Livingston.

A missionary

who left the comforts

of England

to preach the gospel

in the interior of Africa

where he finally died.

It's an amazing story.

I commend you to read it.

When asked by several

Cambridge students

about the sacrifices

he was making

in going over to Africa

for the advance

of Christ's kingdom,

Livingston said this,

for my own part,

I have never ceased

to rejoice

that God has appointed me

to such an office.

People talk of the sacrifice

I have made

in spending so much

of my life in Africa.

But is that a sacrifice

which brings its own

blessed reward

in healthful activity,

the consciousness

of doing good,

peace of mind,

and a bright hope

of a glorious destiny

hereafter?

It is emphatically

no sacrifice.

Say rather

that it is

a privilege.

Anxiety,

sickness,

suffering,

or danger

now and then

with the foregoing

of the common conveniences

and charities

of this life

may make us pause

and cause the spirit

to waver

and the soul

to sink.

But let this be

but for a moment.

All these

are nothing

when compared

with the glory

which shall be revealed

in and for us.

I never made

a sacrifice.

Doesn't that stir you?

A man who dies

in the interior

of Africa

for the advance

of the gospel

says,

I never

made a sacrifice.

Have you known

Christ

to be sweet

in this way?

To be valuable

and precious

in this way?

So that the giving up

of all the world

for him

would be for you

an easy choice?

If not,

meditate

upon the way

that Christ here

suits the needs

of the Philadelphians.

he introduces

himself

in ways

that precisely

target their needs.

Which of Christ's

names and titles

targets the need

in your heart?

Perhaps

it's for one

who will be to you

a father

as God

introduces himself

in the Lord's prayer

our father.

perhaps

yours

has been a life

of loneliness

and so

he says

to you

no longer

do I call you

slaves

I call you

friends.

Perhaps

the world

around you

seems

to lack

any steadfastness

to be at every

moment

full of anxiety

and Christ

says that he is

a rock

he is one

who provides

for his people

even in the

wilderness.

For Christ

to be sweet

to us

I think we

must meditate

on the nature

of our needs

and the names

he gives

to himself

to meet

those needs.

it seems

the Philadelphians

saw Christ

in this way.

The Philadelphians

knew it seems

that to be a Christian

is to gain

the whole world

as an enemy

temporarily

and to gain

the whole world

as a trophy

eternally.

To be a Christian

is to trade

two widow's mites

for a pearl

of great price.

There is

you see

no good thing

that Christ

will withhold

from those

who love him

from those

who patiently

endure in their

faithfulness

no matter how

small or great

it may be.

These are the

promises of Christ

that he makes

here and I

remind you

that they are

not for

grand displays

of faithfulness

they are for

the daily

endurance

under difficulty.

the promises

Christ makes

here are not

only of himself

but they are

promises of

access

access to his

very presence

which no one

will take

from him.

Consider this

promise in

verse 12

the one who

conquers I will

make him a

pillar in the

temple of my

God never

shall he go

out of it.

By the writing

of this text

the temple in

Jerusalem had

already been

destroyed and

that produced a

serious theological

problem for how

the Jews were

going to meet

with and

experience God.

In response to

this theological

problem Jesus

says that the

access of the

Philadelphians to

the inner sanctuary

of God is as

permanent as the

very pillars of

the temple

themselves.

The Jews attempt

to kick you out

of their synagogues

no one can kick

out the pillars

from the temple

and you shall be

as a pillar in

the temple of my

God.

Not only permanence

and presence but

God also makes

promises of

possession.

Look here in

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

comes down from

my God out of

heaven and of my

own new name.

Jesus desires to

claim those for

his own who

endure faithfully.

He gives us the

reasons and the

rationale and he

says on top of it

all I desire for

you to be my

own.

I desire for you

to bear my name.

And for those who

bear the name of

Christ that name is

like a passport into

the very inner courts

of intimacy with God

himself.

This is the promise

of possession, of

presence, of

permanence.

how do we know this

promise shall appeal

to us?

Because the

Philadelphians stand

firm in heeding the

words of Jesus.

Which I think is what

is meant by verse 10.

You have kept my word

about patient endurance.

They have heard the

voice of Jesus, the

word of the Lord,

endure, and they have

obeyed it.

They have done it.

And this is the

grounds for thinking

that they will

access and they

will benefit from

all of these glories

of Christ.

Because Christ is the

one who opens doors

and no one can shut

them, who shuts doors

and no one can open

them, then it follows

that Christ alone is

the one whose word we

must heed.

He is our only ally.

His is the voice we

must hear.

The church as the

bride of Christ and

we as individual

members of it all

have the single

great need of

listening to and

obeying the one

voice of Christ.

It is the greatest

need of our lives.

The church at its

best has done

precisely this.

It was Luther's

conviction and

dogmatic desire to

hear the very voice

of Jesus and to

heed that voice

alone which

enacted a recovery

and a recentering

on scriptural

doctrines that had

been confused.

And hundreds of

years later when

Hitler attempted to

take over the

German church to

support his

political agenda,

Karl Barth and

the German

confessing church

opposed his

attempts.

In the Barman

Declaration, their

manifesto against

Hitler's church, his

claim to have

control over the

church, they wrote

that, quote,

Jesus Christ, as he

is attested to us

in holy scripture, is

the one word of God

whom we have to

hear and whom we

have to trust and

obey in life and

death.

So it was for the

Philadelphians in

90 AD, so it

was for the

Germans in

1930, so it

was for us in

New Haven in

2015.

We need to hear

the very word of

God.

And this then is

the conclusion of

the second point,

the rationale and

the rewards for

patient endurance.

it takes us to our

final third point for

the evening, briefly,

the application of

this text to

Trinity Baptist.

I've already made

plenty of

applications, and I

hope you see that

this text has

something for us

now.

I want to hearken

back to this point

about the church

not being chastised,

not being warned

against its evils,

but of being

commended for its

strengths.

If God were to

write such a

letter of

commendation to

the church at

New Haven called

Trinity Baptist, what

good things would

he find in us?

I think there are

many.

I think there are

many ways in which

I see daily

faithfulness, both

from the elders of

this church and

for the people who

sit in the pews

like myself.

I said here that

it is the one

great need of us

to hear the very

words of God, to

understand the

word of God, and

that is what the

elders of this

church desire to

do for us.

I said that God

does not think it

too small a thing

to look at the

small deeds of

faithfulness that

the Philadelphians

do.

I think we should

cultivate that same

sense.

So, consider

where have you

seen faithful

endurance in this

church, in the

people around you,

in the people in

the pews, in the

elders.

The word is

preached faithfully

from this pulpit

week after week.

This morning we

commissioned our

first church plant.

The church is

making disciples.

Who do you see in

this church who's

doing that good

work?

Find them and

encourage them.

Commend them the

way Jesus does with

the Philadelphians

here.

Do you know

that those who

labor for the

ministry of the

word can often

get discouraged?

Do you know that

those who are most

encouraging toward

others often fall

through the cracks

because there's no

one to encourage

them?

Find the people

around you who

you see to be

faithful in the

work of the Lord

and encourage them

this week.

Start small this

week.

I'd say do it

once a day.

An email, a text

message, a slap

on the back even

before we leave the

church tonight.

Encourage people,

encourage your

fellow congregant in

this church, your

brother and sister in

the Lord to hear the

words of God, to

heed them, to keep

the name of Christ

for himself, to

stand in the day of

trial.

I think this will

cultivate both a

spirit of Christ

likeness and also a

spirit of gratefulness,

to look at just how

graced and blessed we

are to be in a place

surrounded by brothers

and sisters who love

the Lord and who

desire with everything

in us to stand.

I pray that this text

to the Philadelphians

tonight encourages us

on that journey.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you

that you have seen fit

to speak to the

Philadelphians in this

way, that you preserve

this letter for us.

They were small and

weak, yet they were

faithful and they

form an example for

us to be faithful,

Lord.

I pray that we would

be encouraging to those

around us.

I pray that we would

strive for greater and

greater faithfulness, to

endure in the midst of

trial and tribulation,

and to see every small

work as one day to be

written down in the book

of the annals of your

people and your history,

Lord.

Lord.

Now give us a heart of

worship as we conclude

this service with singing.

In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Brothers and sisters, as we

think about the word that

Justin just encouraged us

with, we want to use this

final worship time as a

means to focus our hearts

back on Christ.

And this is what these last

two songs are about.

So please stand and

worship with us.

Amen.