Philadelphia

Tonight we come to the sixth of the seven letters to the Churches of Asia Minor that you find at the book of Revelation. And the church we are to look at is the church at Philadelphia. You will find the letter in Revelation 3.7-13. The last letter we looked at in this evening series was the letter to Sardis. That latter was full of criticism. The church there was marked by nominalism and spiritual unreality. But this letter is full of praise for the Christians in Philadelphia. The risen Jesus says in verse 8:

I know your deeds ... you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

And in verse 10:

you have kept my command to endure patiently.

This was a good and faithful church. But as we shall see life was not always easy in Philadelphia. Now, these Christians were not in some back-water; they were in a strategic and prosperous cultural centre that was sometimes called "the gateway to the East." So what did Jesus say to them? Let's look at this letter and see. And we shall look at it under three headings. First, OPPORTUNITIES; secondly, PROBLEMS; thirdly, ENCOURAGEMENTS. First, OPPORTUNITIES Look at verses 7-8:

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. {8} 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.

The church has before it, says Jesus, "an open door". What is an "open door"? The Apostles spoke about "open doors" - Paul certainly did. Acts 14.27:

On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

1 Cor 16.9:

a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

2 Cor 2.12

I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me.

So the word was used in one of two ways. Either it referred to an "open door of faith"; or it referred to an "open door of service." And both are essential. Both are fundamental to any and every Christian. The opportunity to become a Christian isn't any old opportunity. It is precise, definite and fixed. It is through the one door or gateway - to continue with the imagery - that is Christ. John 10.9: I am the gate (some translations have "door"); whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. It is fashionable to say that all paths lead to God or all doors open into heaven. Later this month there is to be an all faiths service at St Thomas, Haymarket. That gives the message that all religions are equally valid. That is emphatically not what Jesus taught. Only someone who has failed to study them can possibly think that all the religions are the same or that all the philosophies and ideologies are the same. Buddhists for a start don't really believe in God. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was crucified. Marx believed that the classless state on is utopia or heaven on earth. Freud believed that the problems of life are due to the frustration of our desire for sex, nutrition and power. And so you can go on. But Christians believe that the root problem is mankind's rebellion against God. And that is called sin and Jesus is the only answer to sin. How can all the religions and ideologies and philosophies of life be the same? The only person in the history of the world who has had a mission to save sinners, is Jesus of Nazareth. He came to die on the cross to bear the punishment you and I deserve for our sins. He says, (John 14.6):

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

What could be clearer? So telling the Philadelphians about this "open door" could be a statement of assurance. Christ is saying that he has opened the door to heaven for them. They have trusted in Christ now. Their faith has been proved by their deeds now. They can, therefore, be confident for all eternity. How important it is for Christians to have assurance. But an "open door" was not only used by the apostles to mean an "open door of faith". Paul could also use the term to mean an "open door of service". While there may be an allusion to an "open door of faith" here in Revelation 3, probably it is an "open door of service" that the Philadelphians should be most concerned with. And generally in the New Testament that "open door of service" is evangelism. That "great door for effective work" that was open for Paul when he was writing 1 Corinthians (16.9) was his work of preaching, teaching and evangelising in Ephesus. In Colossians 4.3-4 Paul writes, from Prison:

pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. {4} Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

So we may assume there was a great opportunity for evangelism in Asia Minor in Philadelphia for these Christians. Their city had been founded as centre for spreading the Greek language and Greek culture. It was a Hellenistic "missionary" city. And Jesus is saying, "if pagans can spread their ideas, so can you; there are great opportunities." Being in Philadelphia was very like being in the modern West. So much socially and materially was going for them - the Pax Romana, the Roman roads, the common Greek language (with the Greek version of the Old Testament - the Septuagint - now available), people being dissatisfied with the old traditions and so on. And Jesus says, "I have placed before you an open door." I believe he is saying that to us, here in this church as well, and indeed to Christians generally in the West today. There are so many opportunities we have, if we only have eyes to see. There are opportunities at work, at home, in school, in the university, in the hospital, in the clinic, in the office or wherever. So many people are wanting to talk about ultimate matters, about life and death, heaven and hell, right and wrong. And Jesus Christ is the answer. To recap: the "open door" can be one of faith and salvation, or one of evangelism and service. And everyone needs to go through both of those open doors. Who tonight has never gone through that narrow open door (or narrow gate, as it is called) that leads to life. Remember Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7.13-14): "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. {14} But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. And you go through that door (or gate) by admitting your sin and your need; by receiving Christ's forgiveness (by faith); and by asking for new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you need to do that, why not do that tonight? But if you do, you must then (sooner rather than later) go through the open door of service. Faith in Christ, if it is genuine, is to be proved by works, and that includes telling others about him. But there are problems. And that brings me to my second heading tonight. Secondly, PROBLEMS It is not always easy witnessing and working for Jesus Christ, even when the opportunities are evident. There were three problems the Philadelphians had to face, and these are the same problems many Christians have faced down the centuries; and they still have to face them on Tyneside in 1998. First, there is a sense of weakness and insignificance. Look at verse 8 again:

[See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.] I know that you have little strength.

Do you feel that in the modern world you have little strength? There you are in a minority of one or two among a group of colleagues or friends. And you feel weak and with "little strength". You say to yourself, "I'll speak up when there are some more Christians around. I must be cautious now. People will think I'm a bit of a fanatic." Well, obviously be sensible. But don't wait until you think things are easier. They never will be. The devil will always be trying to prevent you witnessing and living for Christ. Secondly, there was opposition from religious groups. Look at verse 9:

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

These are Jews who were attacking the Christians in Philadelphia. And the risen Jesus reminds the Philadelphians that respectable religious people can attack the true people of God. And those religious people who attack the true believers are said, by none other than Jesus Christ himself, to be belong to Satan. These Jews in Philadelphia he called "the synagogue of Satan". The bible says, (James 4.7)

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The third problem was (and is) persecution. Look at verse 10:

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.

This looks like serious persecution soon to come. These are attacks from outside the religious establishment. This is opposition from the world. And in New Testament times and in sub-apostolic times that could be a matter of life and death - in fact, martyrdom. It has been so throughout the Christian centuries. It is so in parts of the world today. We are very fortunate in this country for the freedom we have. But don't presume on it. That is one reason why the task of evangelism is so vital. So to recap. There is a great opportunity in Philadelphia for witness and evangelism. But there are three negatives. First, the Christians seem weak and insignificant compared with the task. Secondly, there is (or will be) opposition from religious people and this can be nasty and quite evil. And thirdly, there will be opposition from the world. In such a situation the temptation is to keep your head down. Some in Philadelphia may have said: "we have been faithful, we have not drifted away from Christ, we haven't sold the pass like some. So let's stay quiet and just remain faithful." Yes, faithfulness is important. But true faithfulness goes through open doors. It takes action. It faces conflict head on, when that is necessary. Christ wants you to go through the door, not just to wait around on the door step, or changing the metaphor "hiding your treasure in the ground. But Jesus Christ knew of all the problems facing the Philadelphians - that is what the letter is about; and he undoubtedly knew about the possible temptation to do nothing. So he gives them some encouragements. That brings me to my final heading tonight. Finally, ENCOURAGEMENTS. Look at verse 7 again:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

Notice four things. First, these words that are being addressed to the Philadelphians are not just any old words. They are not like the sorts of self-opinionated nonsense you sometimes read in the papers or hear on the Radio or from the TV; or hear from some school teachers or University teachers; or even from people in the therapeutic services. No! These are Jesus' words. And Jesus is none other than "he who is holy". That is a staggering claim to deity. It would have been understood as that. The "holy one" is a title for Yahweh/Jehovah in the Old Testament. But Jesus is not only holy and divine. He is also true. It is too easy to forget that the gospel is simply true. Its doctrinal claims about sin and forgiveness and the giving of the Holy Spirit are true. And it's ethical demands are true. The tomb was empty on that first Easter Sunday. There is a God. He did send Christ into the world. The denial of that is simply false and not true and a denial of reality. That is why you don't have to apologize for the gospel. And ethically, on this question of the age of consent - it is simply true that more people will suffer if the amendment goes through Parliament than if it doesn't (do read the Christian Institute leaflet and then write - there's one open door of service). Secondly, Jesus encourages the Philadelphians by reminding him that he "holds the key of David". Again this is a reference to the Old Testament and one of the famous stewards in the time of Hezekiah, Eliakim. He, we are told, had "the key to the house of David". He had great authority in the government. And Christ has supreme and irresistible authority. "What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, " he tells us. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28.18-19). So the first encouragement is a reminder that Jesus' word is a divine word that is true. And the second encouragement is a reminder that his purposes and his promises have authority and are irresistible. Thirdly, he encourages the Philadelphians by telling them that they will be victorious, verse 9:

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 fourthly, he makes them focus on the fact that he is coming again and on the fact of heaven, verses 11 and 12:

I am coming soon ... [verse 12] Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. 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.

Faithful service is going to be rewarded in heaven. So when you think: "Is it worth it? The struggle is hard. The opposition is growing," remember heaven! Christ is going to return. But remember also you will then have to give an account of your stewardship. If you have gone through that "open door of faith" you will be safe and secure. But God also wants you to go through that "open door of service". I must conclude Notice that Jesus says to the Philadelphians in verse 11:

Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

Jesus is not wanting the Philadelphians, now they are getting on in the Christian life, to drift back and lose their cutting edge. It is possible for Christian people to drift. Paul talks of those who are "saved". Oh yes! they are secure and kept; they don't fall away. But their work is like a shabby building of wood, hay or straw rather than a building of gold, silver or costly stones. Jesus is saying, "don't be like that," or to use the imagery here, "keep your crown". And what is the best way of "holding on"? Answer, going through the open door of service and witness - not in our own strength (we are weak), but in his strength. 2 Corinthians 12.9, Jesus says:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

So we can say with Paul (2 Cor 12.10):

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So, verse 13:

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