Revelation

So this morning we're in the book of Revelation, chapter 3.

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

We're going to be taking a look at this letter to the church of Philadelphia.

For the last five weeks, we've been making our way through these seven letters

that Jesus commanded the Apostle John to send out in this circuit

around the territory of Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey,

so a little bit northwest of the country of Israel.

And John, of course, we know is on the island of Patmos,

not because he likes vacationing, but because of his faithful witness to the word.

He's been exiled there.

The testimony he has made about Jesus has not gone over well,

and he has been sent away.

And yet, his work is not over.

In fact, he is to continue bearing witness to the faithful witness, Jesus Christ.

So John has been writing these letters,

dictating the words of Jesus to these seven churches.

And as we've seen in the last five weeks, it's a mixed bag with these churches.

So far, all but one have been rebuked in some way,

chastised in some way by Jesus for their lack of faithfulness to him.

Some churches are tolerating false teaching,

the teaching of the Nicolaitans or the false prophetess Jezebel.

Others are compromising their holiness and befriending the world.

Ephesus, the first church we looked at, has lost its first love.

They've been doing all the right things,

but there's no love and affection for the risen King Jesus.

Smyrna is the only church so far that has been praised by Jesus without any sort of correction.

And Jesus says that they can expect in the near future imprisonment and death as a reward for their faithfulness.

Each letter concludes with Jesus' promise to each and every person who overcomes,

who remains faithful to him.

And these promises are incredible.

Eternal joy in the presence of God,

established as his people,

possessed by the Lord Jesus,

and on and on they go.

So all of these letters share this call by Jesus to overcome.

And they share the authoritative word of Jesus and his knowledge of the works of these churches.

And all of them come with a promise of some sort of conflict in this life.

For those churches being faithful to Jesus,

they can expect conflict with the world.

And for those churches who are compromising their loyalty to Jesus,

they can expect to be in conflict with him.

So today we look at the Church of Philadelphia.

Lucas, thank you, brother, for reading this for us today.

Because God's word is what's important,

I want to read it to us again,

not because of Lucas' poor job,

but because the word is sufficient for us.

I'd rather you hear it than me.

So follow along as I read for us again

the letter to the Church of Philadelphia.

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.

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 the word

about my 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

and 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,

let him hear what the Spirit says

to the churches.

In this letter,

we see Jesus

commending the church of Philadelphia

for their faithfulness to him.

It is this commendation

that leads us to the main point

of what Jesus is getting at

for us today.

Hear this, church.

Jesus is calling us

to exalt him

in word

and in deed

until the end.

Jesus is calling us

to exalt him,

to lift him high,

to glorify his name

here and now

in both our word

and in our deeds

until the end.

We're going to see this

worked out

by just walking

through this letter

like we would

any other letter.

Any good letter,

of course,

has a dear so-and-so,

I'm writing to you

and then

sort of the body

of the letter

with the main content.

So we're going to take a look

at the introduction

found in verse 7

and then we're going to walk

through the body

of the letter

found in verses 8 to 12.

So first the introduction.

The recipient of this letter

we read in verse 7

is to the angel

of the church

in Philadelphia.

So this is

a church

in the city of Philadelphia,

not Pennsylvania,

the one over

in the Middle East region.

A city that,

by God's grace,

has a local body

of believers.

People have heard

of the good news

of the life,

death,

and resurrection

of Jesus Christ

and have forsaken

the world

and allied themselves

with Him.

And it's a church

that Jesus loves

very much

and wants to speak to

for their benefit.

So a bit of background

about this city.

A couple things

to keep in mind

and we'll see them

worked out a little bit

in how Jesus

speaks to this church.

First,

there was a,

the region

was on a fault line

and there were

earthquakes

that regularly

unsettled this region

of the world.

In fact,

the last church

we looked at,

Sardis,

in AD 17,

there was an earthquake

that kind of hit

about right on top

of that city,

but it had this

lasting,

devastating effect

for the people

of Philadelphia.

Aftershock

after aftershock

after aftershock,

year after year

after year

to where a lot

of the city

crumbled.

And in fact,

the citizens

of Philadelphia

had to appeal

to the Roman Empire

for government

assistance to come

and rebuild

their land.

Fortunately for them,

Rome agreed to this.

In part,

probably because

of the nickname

this city was given.

Philadelphia was called

the Gateway

to the East.

It was a strategic city

in the eyes

of the Roman Empire

that would spread

their culture

and their philosophy

and their way of life

deep into the reaches

of Asia Minor.

It was a strategic city.

So that's who

is receiving the letter

and that's kind of

the city they live in.

And now we turn

and see who's writing

this letter.

In fact,

who's speaking this letter

that John records.

Of course,

it's Jesus himself

and we see in verse 7

how he describes himself.

And as with all

of these letters,

the way that Jesus

describes himself

matters to this

particular church

at this particular time.

He picks up

on the vision

that John sees

of him in chapter 1

and he's picking out

specific things

about that vision

to reveal about himself

to these individual churches.

Here Jesus leads out

the words of the Holy One.

This is a term

we instantly recognize

from the Old Testament

to be reserved

exclusively for God.

Jesus pulls no punches.

He self-identifies

as God.

He is the Holy One.

And he continues,

the true one

springs to our mind

things of faithfulness

and reliability

that Jesus

is claiming

to be trustworthy.

John calls him

the faithful witness

in chapter 1,

verse 5

and we know

that his faithful witness

to his father

cost him his life.

Jesus is telling

the truth

every single time

he opens his mouth.

This Jesus has,

we keep reading,

the key of David.

David.

Well we've seen

this key language

in the vision

of chapter 1

where Jesus says

in verse 18

I have the keys

of death

and Hades.

And here it's

the key of David.

Key is always

significant

speaking of authority.

So it says

essentially

that Jesus says

I have the key

of David

just like I have

the key

of death

and Hades.

I have authority

over life

and death.

I have authority

over eternity.

And David

specifically

is speaking

of the eternal

kingdom of God.

Jesus rules over it

as its exclusive

king.

He says

this authority

allows him

to open doors

that no one

can shut

and shut doors

that no one opens.

Jesus holds

exclusive rights

over matters

of life and death.

Friend,

if you want

into the kingdom

of heaven

Jesus alone

grants access.

In fact,

he himself

is the access

into the kingdom

of heaven.

He shed his blood

and died

for all who would

enter

by faith in him.

Even this introduction

it just continues

to speak

of his call

to us

to exalt

him

to the end.

So,

we know now

who this letter

is written to

and who is

writing the letter,

who is speaking

the letter.

Now,

we turn to the body

starting in verse 8

and what's he want

this church

to know.

Look at verse 8.

The first words

Jesus makes

is a claim.

Like every single letter,

all seven of them,

the first thing

he leads in

after the introduction

is I know

your works.

It's still true today.

Jesus is still

in the midst

of all of his churches

and he still knows

the works

of all of his churches.

So,

for us,

if before God

our conscience

is clear

and we

know

that we are

seeking to be faithful,

this brings joy

and gratitude

and a peace

that surpasses

understanding.

but if we are

compromising

in any way,

this should bring

terror

if we understand it,

that Jesus still

today knows

our works.

He's not far off.

He's not aloof.

He hasn't taken a nap.

He knows.

But his knowledge

is not here

intended to just

keep us in the dark.

It's intended

for us to come

in repentance

and bow before him

confessing

and finding the grace

of forgiveness.

He knows

our works

too,

church.

And we'll

jump over

this next

sentence

in verse 8

for a minute,

the behold,

to pick back up

on how Jesus

is going to

describe the works

of this church.

I know your works

and then he picks

back up,

I know,

and he gives

three little pieces

of knowledge

about this church

and their works.

first,

I know that you

have but little

power,

and yet you

have kept my word

and have not

denied my name.

Now this,

of course,

is not the kind

of church

that is going

to be praised

by man's wisdom.

They're weak.

They don't have

much ability.

Maybe it's because

there weren't

very many Christians

in Philadelphia.

Maybe it's an

intelligence thing

or a social

status thing,

but for whatever

reason,

this church is weak.

And Jesus just

moves right past it.

He doesn't bring

a hammer down.

He doesn't say,

how dare you,

you weaklings.

He commends them.

He praises them

because they've

kept his word

and not denied

his name.

They're being praised

for faithfulness

to Jesus

in spite of

their weakness.

In fact,

it probably

even contributed

to their being

able to praise

him and honor

him with their

lives.

Second Corinthians,

Jesus tells Paul,

my power is made

perfect in weakness.

It's not something

to be ashamed of.

Jesus does not

harass them over it.

He commends them

for their faithfulness.

And notice that

it's a specific

faithfulness.

Right?

There's this,

you've kept my word

and you have not

denied my name.

They've been lifting

high the name of

Jesus.

They've been exalting

their first love,

refusing to compromise

or tolerate any sort

of outside influences

other than the voice

and name and person

of Jesus,

their Lord.

There's no hint

of false teaching

that they are

welcoming into

their church.

Jesus commends

them,

well done.

In saying that

they've kept

his word,

he intends to say

that you've been

living for me,

you're living your

life for my

namesake.

And you've aligned

your life such

with my word.

You're obeying

my word.

And that second

half of their

faithfulness is,

you have not

denied my name.

They've been

identifying verbally

and audibly

to identifying

with Jesus.

us.

We should not

see in this

simply avoiding

denying him

as if,

if faced with

death or denial,

they choose

death.

But they're

active in this.

They're proclaiming

Jesus' name because

Jesus hasn't

mentioned anything

about death

in our letter,

and yet we see

in verse 9

that there's

opposition.

This is an

advancing of

Jesus' name,

friends,

not just avoiding

denying it.

Though they're

being opposed

by this group

from the synagogue

of Satan,

though they are

exalting Jesus'

name and trouble

is coming upon

them,

Jesus praises

their faithfulness.

And that's

pretty much all

he says about

their works.

It's so

interesting.

There's no

correction,

there's no

criticism,

there's no,

you're doing

pretty good,

but if you

just add

this thing,

you'll be

really good.

It's just,

good job,

you're being

faithful.

That's why in

verse 11 he

simply just says,

hold fast,

hold fast,

stay the course.

Church of

Philadelphia was

on the right

track.

They were doing

what they were

supposed to be

doing,

and Jesus

praises them

for their

faithfulness.

But obviously

we haven't

finished the

letter,

there's much

more text

in front of

us,

so what we

need to see

is that

after Jesus

says,

I know your

works,

the rest of

this letter

really brings

Jesus to

center stage.

And he says,

I know your

works,

and now I

want you to

know my

works.

What I've

already done,

and what I'm

about to do,

and what I

will do at

the end.

So that's how

we're going to

proceed through

the rest.

We're going to

focus on

Jesus and

his activity

that he

reveals to

this church,

and all of

it,

friends,

all of it

is meant to

encourage and

motivate all

of God's

people to

faithfulness to

Jesus, to

continue exalting

him in word and

deed with our

whole lives until

the very end.

So first,

back in verse

8, that behold

that we jumped

over earlier,

we go back

there to see

that Jesus has

done something

for this

church that's

quite remarkable.

He says,

Behold,

look,

see,

I've set

before you an

open door which

no one is able

to shut.

This immediately

should start

triggering the

introduction,

the person of

Jesus who has

the key of

David and

opens doors no

one can shut,

shuts doors no

one can open.

remember he's

the true one

so he's

trustworthy at

this word and

so we need to

ask, what's

this door?

There's some

reason to see it

as an opportunity

for ministry,

that Jesus is

opening this

door for the

Philadelphia

church, though

they're weak,

to advance the

gospel, to

somehow be on

mission and to

see that their

work is rewarded

in faithfulness.

The Apostle

Paul uses this

kind of language

at the end of

some of his

letters to

churches saying,

please pray for

us that God

would open a

door for the

advancement of

the gospel.

And Philadelphia

after all is the

gateway to the

east.

They're poised to

be a gospel

headquarters to

get this news

out throughout

Asia Minor,

not advancing

Greek culture but

advancing the good

news about Jesus.

So I think a

little bit of

what's going on

in this door

quite possibly is

this opportunity

that Jesus has

set before the

church.

We could point

to those kind of

opportunities in

our midst,

can't we church?

There are

faithful people of

our congregations

serving children,

both our own

children and those

of our communities.

Every Sunday,

a couple guys

make breakfast,

a couple more,

preach the word

of God to anyone

from the community

who comes in and

wants to be with

us.

These are doors that

God has opened for

us to advance his

name in the city.

And there are many

more, individual

after individual

after individual,

can testify to

this reality in our

lives because God

wants Jesus' name

exalted here in

Kenosha, in our

midst, and everywhere

in this city.

He wants this to

happen, church.

And he's entrusted

us with this good

news.

But there's also,

I think, an even

more significant

piece to this door

language that Jesus

uses here.

So, setting aside

the very real

reality that there

are doors of

opportunity in our

midst, let's

consider again

what he means.

In verse 7,

Jesus calls

himself the

true one.

And in verse 9,

he calls this,

the local Jews

in the city of

Philadelphia,

a synagogue of

Satan who are,

in fact,

liars.

the door language

is really

answering the

question, who

is it that

holds the key

to the kingdom

of God?

Is it the

ethnic Israelites

who have received

the law of God?

Or is it God's

son, Jesus

Christ?

Christ?

Imagine this news

from Jesus if you

were among the

Christians in

Philadelphia.

You're being

harassed,

slandered,

perhaps even

violently persecuted

by the local Jews

who are zealous

for God,

but misplaced.

And you hear

from Jesus,

fellowship with

God in his

kingdom is

mine to

give,

and I have

opened the

door to you.

That's the

door.

Entry into

the kingdom

of heaven where

we will

fellowship with

the risen King

Jesus forever.

Jesus alone

holds the key

to that place,

and he himself

accomplishes the

work needed for

all of God's

people to

enter.

God's

love.

So this

open door is

referencing the

access that the

people of God

have to his

eternal kingdom.

Jesus has

opened it,

and remember,

no one

will shut it.

Jesus continues

from,

I want you to

know about my

past work,

to I want you to

know about this

future work,

and he's going to

kind of move in

stages from

near to far,

or soon to

down the road.

Verse 9,

we've already

looked at who

these people are

that are

persecuting the

church of

Philadelphia,

but we need to

see what Jesus

promises will

happen, what

will come of

them.

Notice the

repetition of

behold, I will

make, in

verse 9.

Second, behold,

I will make,

we see that I

will make them

come and bow

down before

your feet, and

they will learn

that I have

loved you.

Isn't that

remarkable?

The very enemies

of God's people

in this city will

come and bow

down at their

feet.

That's an

incredible promise

for people facing

such opposition.

confession.

I imagine that

Jesus is

particularly excited

about these

words, not

because of the

eventual end

times triumph of

God over all of

his enemies, but

because of what

he's been getting

at throughout this

letter that I want

us to see so

clearly.

He might be

speaking about the

last judgment,

when all of God's

enemies and God's

people will be

vindicated, when

God's people will

be shown to be

true and all of

God's enemies shown

to be false.

Maybe.

There's reason to

think that Jesus

has a much more

glorious image

on his mind.

Jesus is saying

that the fruit of

faithful witness

will be salvation

for the enemies

of God.

You will see

your enemies

come to faith,

not all of them,

but some of them,

because you're

remaining faithful

to the name

of Jesus.

The reward of

the church of

Philadelphia's

faithfulness to

Jesus is new

believers from

old enemies.

Jesus.

It's a church

not tolerating

falsehood.

It's a church

not befriending

the world.

And once again,

right, once again

we see that the

foolishness of

God triumphs over

the wisdom of

men at every

single turn.

This weak

church, this

unable church,

by their

faithfulness, is

winning converts

to Jesus.

It's glorious.

Does anybody

need that today?

Friends, it is

always, always

wholehearted,

fiery faithfulness

to Jesus that

bears fruit.

We ought to

praise God for

the fruit of the

faithful witness of

our brothers and

sisters in

Philadelphia.

But Jesus isn't

done.

He's just kind of

getting started

actually.

He's going to go

in verse 10 and

share his promise

for this church.

If you look there,

you'll notice this

connection.

It's because you

have kept, I will

keep you.

Jesus foretells an

hour of trial that

is coming upon the

whole world.

And just a quick

note that when

Revelation uses

those who dwell on

the earth,

thanks Billy,

he always is

referring to the

non-believers.

non-believers.

But Jesus here is

not focused primarily

on the non-believers.

He's focused on his

promise to the

church and he says,

because you have

kept my word,

I will guard you

in the hour of

trial.

Jesus protects,

keeps, guards

those who keep

his word.

period.

It's why he says in

verse 11,

hold fast,

that no one may

take your crown.

This is a matter of

life and death.

The victory crowned at

the end of this race is

eternal life in the

presence and glory of

God.

So hold fast.

Christ.

And then Jesus moves

us way out into the

end of all things

future in verse 12.

He arrives at the

time when future just

moves right into

eternity.

The time when the

need of endurance

ceases to exist.

The time when those

who have conquered

rest forever.

And it's because

Jesus has conquered

and there remain no

enemies for him to

defeat.

There's two elements

to the promise to the

one who conquers in

verse 12.

A permanent residence

in God's house and

being possessed by

Jesus forever.

forever.

This would be

particularly sweet

news for a city

being pummeled by

earthquakes.

This infrastructure

is shaken.

Requiring frequent

evacuation of the

very city that they

call home for safety

reasons.

And Jesus says,

I will make the one

who overcomes a

pillar in the temple

of my God.

Pillars do not

move.

They're unshakable.

And never shall he

go out of it again.

It's permanent.

A permanent fixture,

permanent place of

prominence in the

unshakable house of

God for the one who

overcomes.

And for a church

likely having been

shut out of the

city synagogues and

shut out of

family and friends

who've disowned

them, Jesus says,

you'll be mine

forever.

You belong to me.

The ultimate end for

all those who exalt

Jesus now will be

everlasting joy then.

Named by the Lord

Jesus and possessed

by him.

I hope you're seeing

that throughout this

letter, Jesus is

calling us,

Christ the King

Church in Kenosha,

Wisconsin in 2018,

Jesus is calling us

to exalt him in word

and in deed until the

end.

to lift his name

high, to speak with

affection for him, to

do good to others.

So how do we do

this?

In the last, in the

remaining time, I want

to try and answer this

question for us.

How do we do this?

The simple answer is we

open our mouths and we

live for him.

We speak with joy about

the testimonies of God's

grace that he has

gifted to us in Christ.

We share with others

that Jesus is the King

of Kings and the Lord

of Lords.

That he shed his blood

for sinners like us.

That he is risen and

radiant and reigning now

and forever.

forever.

And we live for him.

We follow his example.

We show compassion to

our neighbors.

We seek the well-being

and the interest of

others.

Those in life groups

studying 1 Peter, you'll

recognize this one.

We don't repay evil for

evil or reviling for

reviling.

But on the contrary, we

bless.

For to this we've been

called.

It's clear, right?

It's simple.

But it's nowhere near

easy.

Jesus is so clear what

he's calling us to.

And yet this is really

hard work, church, isn't

it?

We know this.

And there are many ways

that we can talk ourselves

out of this and that we

can shrink back from this.

And our text gives us

three traps that we must

avoid.

Three traps that we must

avoid.

There's one in verse 8,

one in verse 9, and one

in verse 10.

When Jesus says in verse

8, I know your works, you

have but little power.

There's a trap that we all

face of focusing on our

own abilities or lack

thereof.

The risen Jesus

identifies this in the

church of Philadelphia that

you don't have much

strength and yet what does

he say?

He's not bothered by it.

Because the salvation of

sinners is not in human

ability.

It requires someone to

open a door that is

beyond us and our

human

abilities.

So we must not fall into

the trap of focusing on

ourselves as we seek to

exalt Jesus in word and

deed until the end.

We won't get very far if we

fall into that trap.

Second trap from verse 9 is

the trap of focusing on our

current opposition.

opposition.

There were Jewish citizens in

Philadelphia that were

opposing the church of God.

And it's easy to shrink back in

the midst of opposition.

We know this.

The devil who prowls around like a

roaring lion loves to knock the

church of Jesus off course.

He's well equipped.

He's seeking to harm and

unsettle God's people at every

turn.

He wants the opposition that we

face here in Kenosha and

wherever our relationships are

found.

He wants that opposition to

silence us.

Or to get us on the defensive.

Shrinking back from faithfulness

to Jesus.

He wants to quiet our witness

and perhaps produce compromise

and blending in with the world

that's against our Lord.

There are many enemies.

Many who oppose the kingdom of

God and his righteousness.

But we must not focus on the

opposition.

opposition.

It's a trap that will be our

undoing.

There's one more trap from verse

10 and it's the trap of focusing

out into the future.

The worry about what's ahead.

The opposition that maybe we

aren't facing right now but you

can see the storm clouds kind of

gathering and moving in on the

horizon.

Jesus knows about that too,

doesn't he?

Verse 10, we see that there's an

hour of trial that's coming upon

the whole world.

We cannot let future trials,

concerns about what might be,

become a trap to us.

We all know about how it is,

right, to fear the immediate

fallout from opening our mouth

to share Jesus with somebody.

We can go, oh, I just read

something from the Psalms this

morning that's so relevant to

what this person is sharing and I

just, God, help me remember it so

I can share it with my non-believing

co-worker.

And then it's like this default

switch that just flips in us,

isn't it?

It's like, but if you do that,

what will they say?

How will they respond to that?

How will that go over with your

boss and your employers and your

other friends in the office?

And now you're risking so much

here.

It's this immediate future we can

get scared off by but we also,

if we look out beyond, I mean,

what is to come of us in the next

five or ten or fifteen years?

Does any of us really know?

Maybe things will start looking

up, but it might be just as

reasonable to expect things are

getting worse.

And if we focus out there on the

potential dangers that await us,

we've been snared yet again.

Jesus helps us, friends, in this

text see where our focus must be,

on Him.

He opens doors that no one can

shut.

He grants salvation to enemies like

you and me and wants to grant it to

more and more and more.

He uses the faithful church to

glorify and exalt His name.

He always has and He always will.

Our eyes must be on Him if we are to

exalt Him.

We cannot focus on the traps of

inability or circumstances, present or

future, because they will always throw

us off course.

So let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

today and always.

Brothers and sisters serving in King's

place, you fix your eyes on Jesus.

You stand fast.

Stay the course.

Breakfast team,

same.

Stay the course.

Exalt Jesus.

For all of us,

Mike has invited us to pray for 10 new

believers this year,

that before the end of our ministry

year in June,

we would have 10 new people in this

room with arms raised,

praising God.

If we don't bear witness to Jesus,

how will that happen?

Teachers,

you who are in what seems like hopeless

situations,

do not focus on the circumstances.

Fix your eyes on Jesus and press on.

Press on.

Friends,

there's one last thing I want to share

with us.

It's found in verse 10.

I've been really excited about this

all week.

It's both

convicting

and so encouraging.

John calls Jesus

the faithful witness

back in chapter 1.

And this text

is telling us today,

our text from Philadelphia,

that we need to let Jesus

lead us.

We need to let Jesus

define faithfulness

for us.

If you look at verse 10,

this phrase,

my word about

patient endurance.

See that phrase there?

If you're one that marks up your Bible,

I'd invite you to circle the my

and draw an arrow

in front of the word

patient endurance.

The my that Jesus

is talking about here

is not

you've kept my word.

The my that Jesus

is speaking about here

is about

his own

patient endurance.

Church of Philadelphia,

Jesus says,

you have kept

the word

about

my

endurance.

That's how it should read.

Because you have kept

the word

about

my

patient endurance.

And in that,

we see the example

of our king,

don't we?

His patient

endurance

defines

how we

understand

our own

patient

endurance.

endurance.

Jesus'

patient

endurance,

perhaps,

we're,

we realize

this is unfortunate

because it's scary

as we start talking

about what

he's getting at,

but he was not

patiently enduring

like somebody

who prepares

to board up

their house

because the

hurricane's coming.

no one

would

think that

about Jesus

when we read

of his life.

This is not

an endurance

that says,

well,

let's hunker down,

just kind of

ride out

the storm.

Jesus'

patient

endurance

was a day

after day

after day

proclaiming

of the kingdom

of God.

See,

the

Philadelphian

church

keeping

the word

about his

faithful

endurance

is keeping

the gospel

of a suffering

crucified

Messiah.

You can't

keep that

to yourself

and be

faithfully

enduring

in light

of this

passage.

We can't.

The

faithful

endurance

of Jesus

is a

see,

we're

going up

to Jerusalem

kind of

patient

endurance.

We know

what happened

there.

Jesus says,

the Son of

Man will

be handed

over,

betrayed

into the

hands of

men,

mocked

and flogged

and crucified.

And then

three days

later,

he will

be raised.

His

patient

endurance

was a

life of

opposition

from the

world.

From the

synagogue

of Satan

on a

large

scale.

It's no

wonder,

right,

church,

that he

says to

his people

over and

over again

things like,

do not be

surprised if

the world

hates you,

hated me

first,

or a

servant is

not above

his master.

If they

persecute you,

it's only

because they've

persecuted me.

It's why the

Apostle Paul

understands suffering

so clearly

and can

say,

all who

desire to

live a

godly life

in Christ

Jesus will

be persecuted

because Jesus'

patient endurance

was to the

cross.

Friends,

we endure

patiently the

opposition of

the world by

exalting

Jesus in

spite of

inability,

opposition,

whether it's

current or

future.

not by

boarding

things up

and hunkering

down for

the storm.

This is not

a passive

patient

endurance.

This is an

advancing of

the kingdom

patient

endurance

met with

opposition at

every side.

Jesus

leaves us an

example and

then says,

if anyone

would come

after me,

let him

deny himself,

take up his

cross,

and follow

me.

That's our

example,

church.

The

faithful,

patient

endurance

of our

crucified

king.

And just

so we're

clear,

his example

is also

our

salvation.

salvation.

Jesus

patiently

endured the

cross,

despising

its shame

so that he

might win

sons and

daughters for

his father.

The innocent

dying for the

guilty so that

the guilty may

go free and

find the open

door into the

kingdom of

heaven forever

for them.

Sinners

deserving of

wrath,

welcomed into

the household

of God,

established as

pillars forever,

conquerors,

not because of

our merit,

but because of

Christ and

his grace

forever.

He is the

author and

perfecter of

our faith.

So church,

let us exalt

him in word

and deed until

the very,

very end.

let the one

who has an

ear hear what

the spirit

says to the

churches.

Amen.