Revelation 3:3:7-13 “And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia, write: These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no man will shut, and shuts and no man opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you a door which stands open and which no man shuts, because you have a little strength and because you have kept my word, and have not denied my name. Behold, I will give you those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who call themselves Jews and who are not, but who lie. Behold, I will make them come and kneel before your feet, and they will know that I have loved you. Because you have kept my command to endure, I, too, will keep you safe from the hour of testing, which is to come upon the whole inhabited world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, that no one may take your crown.
I will make him who overcomes a pillar in the temple of my God and he will go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, of the new Jerusalem, which is coming down from heaven from my God, and my new name. Let him who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.“
Here in Ghana, people are fond of saying, “God is wonderful!” And the story of the Church in Philadelphia really underscores that fact. The Greeks founded Philadelphia at a critical location to peacefully spread the Greek language and culture into two non – Greek areas. Three hundred years later, Philadelphia now had an open opportunity to spread the Gospel to these same areas. God had all His plans in place and these plans were now coming to fulfillment.
“These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no man will shut, and shuts and no man opens.” Jesus is speaking, reminding the Christians of Philadelphia that He has ultimate authority and control over times and seasons. Jesus is holy; His holiness is beyond dispute. There are two words used to indicate “true” in Greek. The first merely indicates something is not false, but the second word, alethinos, means to be real. Jesus is proclaiming His reality. “The key of David” refers to the keys to the city of New Jerusalem. Jesus has defeated hell, death, and the grave, and He controls entrance to the heavenly city.
Sometimes Christians wonder if God is really guiding them and leading in a particular direction, particularly when they encounter lots of obstacles. Nearly twenty – eight years ago, my husband and I came to a small village in northeastern Ghana to run the mission clinic there. At the time, it seemed totally crazy because I was and am a fully – trained general and pediatric surgeon and this was a tiny facility with eleven workers, no laboratory, no operating theater, and no electricity. When we had been in that location for a little over one year, a tribal conflict broke out and suddenly I became the only doctor for more than 100,000 people who had nowhere else to go. We started a small theater (OR), and I became the first laboratory technician. We also started transfusing blood from walk – in donors. As the only non – tribal workers in the hospital, we had to travel out to do all the purchasing for the clinic. We squeezed 37 inpatient beds, a pharmacy, a laboratory, an OR, and a consulting room into a health center – sized structure. We sterilized items in a big pressure cooker over a coal pot on the verandah. Today that town is a district capital and that small clinic is now a 112 – bed district hospital.
“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you a door which stands open and which no man shuts, because you have a little strength and because you have kept my word, and have not denied my name.” God knows us better than we know ourselves. Frankly, it was a good thing that we had no idea how many obstacles we were going to encounter; we might have given up before we had even started! And God knows our strength. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says “Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.” If we will make ourselves available, God will work through us. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” Notice, it does NOT say “successful!”
“Behold, I will give you those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who call themselves Jews and who are not, but who lie. Behold, I will make them come and kneel before your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.” Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” John 5:45-47 Throughout history, there have always been sincere Jewish believers who have sought after God and who have longed for fellowship with Him. On the other hand, there have also been those who have used religion as a pretext for all kinds of evil. It is possible that the synagogue at Philadelphia had degenerated into a kind of cult with a Jewish overlay. Christians must constantly be on guard that our churches do not devolve into similar degenerate conditions!
There is a lot to learn from the Church at Philadelphia:
1. He Who calls us is Holy, True (Real), and has ultimate authority.
2. God controls the times and the seasons. God’s timing is perfect.
3. God is not nearly so interested in our ability as in our availability. While that sounds like something that might show up on a meme, nonetheless, it is perfectly true. Many times, God has to wound us so that we will back off and allow Him to work.
4. No matter how severe the hardships that we encounter, we must continue to bear the Name of Jesus Christ at all times.
5. If we are faithful, at some point, God will even cause those who have troubled us to come under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. The worse the persecution, the more we must pray for those who persecute us. (Matthew 5:44) Persecution demonstrates that those attacking us desperately need salvation. If we are unwilling to pray for them, who else will do so?
PRAYER: Father God, we thank you for the example of the believers in ancient Philadelphia! Lord, help us to be faithful. Help us to be true. Help us to watch for open doors and to go through them despite our fears! In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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