Letters to 7 Churches 09 Phila.-Committed Heart — James Booker

The Church in Philadelphia: Revelation 3:7–13

Good morning. Can we turn, please, to the book of Revelation, Chapter 3, the Church of Philadelphia. Revelation, Chapter 3, verse 7,. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth.

I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not.

But do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Behold, I come quickly. O that fast which thou hast, but no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Just a brief word of prayer, please, our gracious Father. Again we would add our amen to the prayers that have been presented to thee, and we would seek thy blessing, we would seek thy control, and we long that thou would speak to our hearts in these few moments together.

As we have been reminded, the blessing or the strength of yesterday is not sufficient for today, and we pray for that renewed strength from thyself, an open heart to receive thy word. We just commit ourselves to thee now in our Savior's precious and worthy name.

Amen. Again I want to say that I've been encouraged very much with the fact that so many of you have been reading over these letters and entering into the study with me, sharing thoughts that you have been gleaning, and also working on a little outline with me for this study and for this morning.

I don't know what ideas you came up with. I heard a number which were very encouraging and very good, such as the crowned heart and the comforted heart and so on. However, what I want to consider with you, well let me just point out one or two things in this letter, and then we'll suggest to you the lesson we want to stress this morning.

A Committed and Consecrated Heart

We have looked at the cooling heart, the crushed heart, the compromising heart, the careless heart, and the cold heart of Sardis. Now notice what it says about this particular church, please. It says in verse 8, Thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Verse 10, Thou hast kept the word of my patience. Now one of the interesting things about this particular church is this. Unlike the other churches, this particular church is not condemned. You recall in the church of Sardis, it was the other way around.

In the church of Sardis, they were not commended. They were just condemned. And now in the very next church, they're commended, but they're not condemned. And the challenge that comes to my heart, and the heart condition I see in this little church, is that of a committed, consecrated heart.

A committed, consecrated heart. And that's the type of heart I believe all of us should long for. A heart that's committed to the work of the Lord. That's consecrated to Him. And truly, as we look at this church at Philadelphia, we see such a heart condition, I believe.

And the Lord is delighted with the church, and He seeks to encourage them. In fact, the thought of service just runs through the whole church. The open door, the key, and many other statements. Notice, for example, the word openeth is mentioned twice in this particular letter.

He that openeth, and no man shutteth, verse 7. He shutteth, and no man openeth. In verse 8, I have set before thee an open door. An open door. He speaks about going no more out. So the thought of service is very prominent throughout this particular church.

And it's with that in mind that I have my little outline to share with you. With this committed, consecrated group, the Lord says, You've got service before you, and I'm leaving an open door for you to get involved.

We might say it's the church which was given the golden opportunity. And I believe, beloved, that we have a golden opportunity today. It's the church with the open door. The church with the open door.

The Open Door for Service

As we travel around from place to place, frequently we find a building, I think of two or three in Ontario, for example, and the church is referred to, or the building is referred to as the church of the open door.

And I assume in their particular case, they always have an open door welcoming people in. That's not quite the same point that the Lord has in mind here. It's more of the open door out in serving and glorifying the Lord.

And that we'll see a little more in a few moments. After the Second World War, perhaps some of you will recall that General MacArthur, who claimed to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, was concerned about the need of missionaries going into Japan.

And he made the statement that there was now an open door for the work in Japan, and it was thrown wide open. And he appealed to North America to send missionaries, or for missionaries to go into Japan and preach the Word of God.

Well, when the door was wide open, unfortunately only less than a hundred responded. And so the impact that has been made in Japan has been very, very small. But there was an open door. Some responded, some were unable to, and some didn't want to.

But wherever we live, there's an open door. There's an open door here at Park of the Palm, in Keystone Heights, or wherever we might come from. And I want to challenge our hearts with that thought as we go along.

Philadelphia as a Gateway City

Now, let's have a look briefly at the background of the Church of Philadelphia, shall we? Thinking first of all of its name, Philadelphia. This was founded by Attalus II way back around 140 B .C. And he was the one that was instrumental in calling this place Philadelphia.

At least it came from him, because he had a brother, apparently, as the historians tell us. And he was tremendously devoted to this brother. He built the city on behalf of his brother, in the memory of his brother.

And his devotion was so well known toward his brother that the name became known as Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, because of the great love that he had for his brother. Now, this particular word, Philadelphia, meaning brotherly love, is used in the Scriptures some eight times.

Twice in the book of Revelation, chapter one, once, chapter three again, but six other times in the New Testament. Three times it's translated brotherly love. One other time it's translated love of the brethren.

And the next time it's translated, or twice, brotherly kindness. Brotherly love, love of the brethren, and brotherly kindness. And it's rather interesting and challenging to look at those six occasions in the New Testament where this word from the Greek language is used.

Brotherly Love as the Mark of Christian Fellowship

For example, when you go back, and we're not going to turn to these various verses, but back in 1 Thessalonians, chapter four, perhaps we should turn to one or two of them. Let's go back, please, to chapter four of 1 Thessalonians.

Then I say that a committed heart, a heart that's consecrated to God, will be a heart that is filled with love for the brethren, for the brethren and sisters in Christ. It's part of the committed heart.

Now, in 1 Thessalonians, chapter four, and verse nine, But as touching brotherly love, there's the word, as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I run unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

Therefore, may I suggest that that verse tells us that the badge of the Christian life is brotherly love. The badge of this local church ought to be, or the mark of this local church, is that spirit of love one toward another.

So that when others come in, that they sense that here in this place is not simply a group of Christians meeting together, it's not just simply a local church seeking to carry out certain principles, but a group of saints who have a great love one for the other.

It's a badge, or a mark, of our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, or ought to be. Isn't it a sad thing that so often that mark is missing? The very thing that's so vital is missing. Brotherly love.

I think even in the church at Ephesus, it was missing. They had left their first love. The principles were there, the strictness was there, the truth was there, but the spirit of brotherly love seemed to have got misplaced along the way somewhere.

Now notice what it says, please, in Romans chapter twelve. Romans chapter twelve, and here the word is used again in verse ten. Be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love in honor preferring one another.

That idea of in honor preferring one another is to be devoted to each other. How do I show brotherly love? How do I show sisterly love? By talking about it? By greeting one another with a smile? It goes far beyond that.

It's the thought of being devoted to each other in honor preferring one another. Seeking to have a concern for the other. Like our Lord, who was constantly thinking of others, not of himself. And that's the love that he desires to see among God's people.

Now, without turning to the other verses, over in Hebrews chapter thirteen, we have the word again over there, and there it says, Let brotherly love, what? Continue. Let brotherly love continue. You know, it can begin, it can start when a church begins, the local church begins.

There's a great atmosphere of brotherly love, but sometimes it seems to be difficult to allow that to continue. Let brotherly love continue. Then you remember over in first Peter chapter one, we are to show love for the brethren, fervently, sincerely, with a pure heart.

There should be a fervency to that love for the brethren. And then finally, over in second Peter chapter one, twice over the expression brotherly kindness is brought before us. And you remember that little passage in second Peter chapter one is dealing with add to your faith virtue to virtue knowledge, and it's the building up of a Christian character.

And when he gets to the top stone and says unto brotherly kindness, brotherly kindness, that's one of the marks of growth in the Christian life. So beloved, it seems that this church had it. They were committed, they were consecrated to their Lord, and they were showing brotherly love.

Philadelphia's Mission to the East

Now, what was the purpose of this particular city? Why did this man build the city where he did? Well, apparently historians tell us that the reason why he did fits in with the background or fits in with the purpose of this letter.

He longed that the Roman language, the Greek language, should be spread throughout the areas of the barbaric nations in the east. And this was strategically positioned as the gateway to the east. Now, one of the other letters to the churches, there was the harbor, which was the gateway of the harbor to the east.

This was the gateway of the road to the east. And the challenge given to the people who settled here was to promote and present and to be missionaries for the Roman powers to spread the Greek language.

And apparently by about 19 A .D., that whole known area and all those areas that had other languages, those languages fast faded away, and the main known language throughout that whole area was the Greek language.

They did their work. There was an open door to spread the Greek language and the Greek culture, and they got in there and they spread it. Now, the Lord says, I've set you, the church, in the midst, and I've got an open door before you.

There's a gateway to spread the message of the gospel. And he said, no man can try. So we're here, beloved, to spread the message of the things of God, the truth of our Lord. One other thing about the background.

Philadelphia as the Unshaken City

They had many problems throughout their history. In around 17 A .D., they entered into a period of tremendous earthquakes. And I understand that the earthquakes there in the Philadelphia area just were constant, a constant rumbling week after week after week.

So the dear people would be running in and out. Eventually, they pitched tents on the outskirts of the area, and they went in day by day. They refused to leave the city, but they went in cultivating their vineyards and their fields and so on, and never knowing when the next earthquake would take place.

And no doubt, there's a thought in connection with this about, you shall go no more out. These people were constantly going out of the city for protection. The Lord was saying to the church here at Philadelphia, there's coming a point when you will go no more out.

You'll remain permanently with me. So that the church became known, or at least the city became known throughout the empire as the pillar city, the city that would not be moved. Hence, the Lord speaks later on about them being a pillar, the saints of God being a pillar for Him in the kingdom.

Christ as Pattern, Power, Provider, and Prize

Well, let's just give a little outline concerning that. And what thrills me, beloved, about this letter, when we think of it from the light of service for the Lord, how the Lord presents Himself. It's just a thrilling thing.

Notice, for example, in verse 7, under the thought of serving the Lord, Christ is my pattern in service. Christ is my pattern in service. And what a pattern He is. Verses 8 to 10, Christ is my power in service.

And scattered in through those verses, you'll find that Christ is our portion. He's my portion or provider in service. He provides all that I need. That's from verse 9, reading through to verse 11. And then verses 12 and 13, Christ is my prize at the end of the service.

He's my pattern. He's my power. He's my provider for all that I need. And He's my prize. Now, you will notice as you go through here, I don't know whether you noticed this as you were reading through, but more than any other of the letters, you'll find that through this particular letter, He emphasizes, He brings Himself in all the way through.

The little word, He, for example, is connected with the pattern. Notice verse 7, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth.

Four times He says in that verse, He. He's the pattern. Here I am, He says, and four times, He. When you go farther down in the next section from verse 8 on down, you find the little word, I, is mentioned ten times.

And the Lord says, I know, I have said. He says, I will, I will, I will, I have, I'm coming. And so on. He keeps emphasizing that He must be constantly before them. And then the little word, my, when He speaks about Himself, my is mentioned seven times through the passage.

He's the one that provides. Notice what He provides here. In verse 8, there's my word. There's my name. In verse 10, there's my patience. And then in verse 4, over and over again, He says, my God, my God, my God, my God.

Four times, my God. There's His, my word, He says, my name, my patience, and my God. That's all that He gives to us as a provision in serving our Lord. And of course, He mentions five times in this little section, I will, I will, I will, I will.

He's the power. He's the provider. He's the goal. He's the prize. He is all things in this little church at Philadelphia, truly a committed heart, a concentrated heart, consecrated heart. Well, let's just look a little quick, a little closer, shall we, at the pattern here for service.

Christ's Character: Holiness in Service

How should I serve the Lord? What are the earmarks of true service for the Lord? I believe it's suggested by the Lord as our pattern in verse 7. And there are three basic things that He mentions here.

May I put it this way, just to keep it in our minds? He presents to us, it seems to me, His character, and then His conduct, and His control. Character in service is very important. If you're living a lie, your testimony for the Lord will count for little.

We must back up those things that we say, beloved, with a life that presents the truth of our message. Now, what about our Lord's character? Well, He says here, These things say of He that is holy, He's the Holy One.

And that word character, or at least the word holy, rather, comes from a Greek word that means consecrated. In fact, W .E. Vine translates it, consecrated to God. Completely separated from sin. Committed to the Lord.

Our Lord, when He was here upon earth, our Savior, He was committed to His Father. I do always those things that please the Father. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. And His path of service was full.

Wishing not, I must be about my Father's business, even as a young lad. He set His face upon to go to Jerusalem, and nothing would deter Him from that path. Holy, completely committed over to His Father's will.

Now, if I'm going to serve the Lord, He's my pattern. My first step in serving Him is to commit my life to the Lord, or take my hands, take my life, let it be consecrated to Thee. Present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Commitment. Our Lord is the pattern, as the perfect man down here. But then notice something else. Well, you remember, in Romans chapter 6 and verse 19, it's concerning service. We're told there that we are to present our members in holiness, in righteousness unto God.

The Apostle Paul was deeply concerned about that as he served the Lord. You remember how over in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, is it verse 27? He's deeply concerned there. He keeps under his body, keeps it down, beats it up, as it were.

Lest you become a castaway. Lest the Lord should say, Paul, I can't use you anymore. You've disqualified yourself in serving me. You've become a stained vessel. And Paul said, I don't want to be set aside.

I want to carry on with this race. I want to carry on in my service to the Lord. I don't want the Lord to disqualify me in this work. And we can easily be disqualified, beloved. We can go on for years in serving the Lord and suddenly become careless.

And the Lord says, I'm sorry, you've ceased to be useful for me. Holiness. The character of holiness. So then notice the next. His conduct, he is true. He that is holy, he that is true. And the word true here is an interesting word.

It's used some 27 times in the Word of God, variously translated. And it means real. It means genuine. Genuine. Whenever anyone met our Savior, they knew that he was genuine. There was no falseness there.

Christ's Conduct: Truth and Genuine Faithfulness

There was sincerity, no insincerity. Remember how Paul says that he might be sincere and without offense to the day of Jesus Christ. It's the word that is used when it speaks about, the Lord says, I am the true light.

I am the real light. There are many false lights, but I am the real light, the true light. It's the same word when he says in John chapter 6, I am the true bread. There are false bread, false food being handed out to people.

I'm the true bread. He said in John chapter 15, I am the true vine, the true vine. In contrast to the false vine of the apostate Israel and so on. So he is real. He is genuine. His conduct then in his life was such that all respect of what he said indeed was truth.

Was truth. And what a difference it makes, beloved, when we are seeking to serve the Lord if our life backs up what we say. As I mentioned the other night, if we speak about the peace of knowing Christ, that that peace is seen in our life.

If we speak about the joy in the things of Christ, that joy is manifested within us. Are we living the epistles known and read of all men in that sense? First of all, then a right heart and then a right life for the Lord.

Christ's Control and the Key of David

But that's not all because notice we have his control. He controls all service. It's well for us when we serve the Lord, whether it's in the home or whatever area of service we have for the Lord, that he is the controller.

We are simply the channels. He's the one that's to be in charge. And so his control is suggested when it says he's holy. He is true. He has the key of David and he opened it for no man shut up. He shut up and no man opened it.

The idea of having the key suggests that he's in control. The key suggests the symbol of authority. Back in chapter one, he had the keys of hell and of death. You remember when it came to Peter, he spoke about giving him the key, the kingdom.

And the Lord used Peter and he gave him the key to unlock the door to the gospel in Acts chapter two to the Jews. Unlock the door of the gospel in Acts chapter 10 to the Gentiles. Lord had the key and he opened up the door for Peter.

He was in control. He decided who was going to go where and how they were going to go. Turn with me please to Isaiah chapter 20, because it's from Isaiah chapter 20 that this verse seems to have its setting.

This is probably in the days of Hezekiah, the king. Hezekiah had a man by the name of Shebna in verse 15, who was the treasurer and he had the key to the treasury. Now, this is a very, very honored position.

The treasurer was the key and apparently it was a great key. It was a big key. Don't know how large, but they claim the key was a key that was fastened to the shoulder. And as the treasurer went around the city, he would have this big key on his shoulder, a mark of the symbol of his authority.

And he had the right to go in and open up all the treasures of the king. Hence, he was second to the king of the land. He had the right to open up the doors to allow people to have access into the king.

Access into any room of the palace of the king. The king had just committed all into the hand of the treasurer, of this particular one who was given the authority of the key. But Shebna was a man who failed miserably and he abused his authority.

And as a result, he was set aside. And he was, what he did was use the key for his own ends. And he was feeding his own pockets and feeding his own life. And he was condemned at all, as explained in this passage, which we have in time to look into.

But notice what it says, please, in verse 20. I'm sorry, Isaiah 22. Thank you for correcting me. Isaiah 22. Isaiah 22, verse 15. Thus sayeth the Lord God of hosts. Go get thee unto the treasurer, even to Shebna, which is over the house.

That was the first man, but he was disqualified and set aside. And notice what he says in verse 20. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle.

I will commit by government unto his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to the house of Judah, and the key of the house of David. You remember the key of the house of the key of David is what the Lord spoke about.

The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder. See, the key was put upon his shoulder. So he shall open and none shall shut. He shall shut and none shall open. I will fast him as a nail is a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house, and so on in the passage.

Now, you see, Shebna comes on the scene, and the word, at least, Eliakim, I should say. Eliakim means raised up of God, and the picture is rather challenging and beautiful because our father, Adam, the Lord, however, gave to him the key to open up the treasures for all the generations to enter into the blessings of God, but he failed so miserably, and he's been set aside, and the last man, Adam, Christ, has stepped in, raised up of God, and to him has been given the key, and the father has committed all unto the hand of the son, and as the son now opens up the doors, just like Eliakim did for Hezekiah, he opens up the doors of the treasures of all the father's glory, of all the father's blessings, and it's through the son and by the key of the son that we enter into the presence of the father.

We have access through the son, and as Eliakim had access and could bring his friends along with him, so our Lord Jesus Christ has been given this place of authority. I've been given this key, and that seems to be the thought of verse 7, when the Lord says, I have the key of David.

I've been given this authority of my father, and he said, he openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth. Now, let's just think for a moment about the door, shall we? There are many doors in the Word of God, but there are four I just want to quickly refer to, or three anyway, there's the door of salvation, there's the door of service, and there's the door of satisfaction, and the Lord opens up those doors in order for us to enter into them.

The Doors of Salvation, Service, and Satisfaction

Now, the door of salvation is not here primarily, but the suggestion is there in the Word of God, the Lord says, I am the door, by me, if any men enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pastures.

He's the key to the door of salvation, and thank God for every one of us who have, by the grace of God, had the door open to us, and we've entered into this salvation, the door of salvation. But then there's the door of service, and Paul speaks about a door, an effectual, it's open unto me, it's open unto me, but there are many adversaries, and again and again throughout the New Testament, we have doors opened up, there's doors for evangelism, there's doors opened up for teaching in the book of Colossians.

The Apostle Paul went to Europe, you remember, in Acts chapter 16, and you recall in the early stages before going to Philippi, the door closed on him, and he speaks about the door of Acts closing. Now, there are many scriptures along this line we could turn to, but we haven't the time to turn to them, and we're just making reference to them, but the scripture makes reference frequently about doors that are closing, doors that are opening.

Now, who was opening the doors, and who was closing them? The Lord was. He said, I open, and no man can shut. I shut, and no man can open. Take, for example, Philippi. The Lord says, I've opened up the door for you, Paul, in you go.

And man tried to close it. Satan tried to close it. They threw Paul into prison, Paul and Silas, and they tried their best to close that door, but that only widened the door, and a church was formed basically upon Paul being in prison.

The jailer was saved there, his whole household was saved. When God opened up a door, no one can shut it. So he said, I open, no man can shut. And then, beloved, there's the door of satisfaction. I put it that way simply because we have access through our Savior.

We're blessed with all, Ephesians chapter one, we're blessed with all spiritual blessings in my heaven, he's in Christ. The Lord says, through me, I'll open up the doors of spiritual treasures that'll just satisfy and delight your heart.

And if you have the experience, beloved, of the Lord just opening up these treasures to you and just enjoying the things of the Lord, he's the one that opens those doors to satisfy the heart, as well as opening the doors for service.

Christ as the Power for Service

But we must hurry along because our time is almost gone. Notice Christ is our power for service. It says here in verse eight, I know thy works, behold, I have set before thee. Notice his power, I have set before thee an open door, no man can shut it, for thou has a little strength, has kept my word, has not denied my name.

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but lie. I'll make them to come and worship before thy feet. Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation.

So there are three things he says here about his power. He says, I've got power to open the door. I'll give you a power to overcome the enemy. I'll make them of the synagogue of Satan to come and bow at your feet.

I've got power to overcome the enemy. And he says, I've got power to oversee the whole picture because he says, I will keep thee from the hour of temptation that's going to come upon the whole world. That's our power.

Lord says, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth, go ye, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end. He said, I'm your pattern of service. I'm your power in service. The power to open up opportunities for you.

And I have the power to deal with the enemy who might try to hinder you. You know, the open door, sometimes an unusual door, isn't it? Sometimes the open door is not what we expect. We hear someone speak about maybe a new country or country, and they say, well, the government has now just opened up the door in order for the gospel to go in.

And immediately we say, now there's an open door. And rightly so. That is an open door. But all doors are not open in that way. Joseph found an open door. Where did he find it? In prison. He never would have thought that was the open door, but that's where the Lord put him.

Daniel found an open door, but where did he find it? As a captive young man in Babylon. And there's a young man with three other companions. I'm sure he must have thought to himself, well, my, what can I do here?

The door's been shut. Well, the Lord said, no, this is an open door for you, Daniel. This is an open door for you. And he took advantage of it. The captive maid of Naaman the leper. He must have thought, well, here I am captive away from my family and just a captive here.

There's no door of service for me here. The Lord said, you're just where I want you. I've got an open door for you right in this home. Right in this home. John Munyon preaching the word of God and having open doors and suddenly he's taken and thrown into prison.

I wonder if he thought, well, there goes the door. It's shut. It's shut. The Lord said, I'm putting you there, John. You've got an open door there. And he wrote The Immortal Pilgrim's Progress. Open door.

An open door. I think of a dear woman up in Ontario who was confined to bed. The men to her dismayed. She found that she was never to get out of bed again. Never to get out of bed again. And she looked forward to years of confinement.

And she thought to herself, no opportunity to serve the Lord compared to the young woman at the time. But I remember years ago, years later, going to visit her. Someone mentioned her name to me and I made a point to go to see her.

And what a delight it was. What a thrill. She'd been there in bed for over 20 years and she found an open door. She had a book there with a list of names and a list of articles of items rather in that was almost unbelievable.

She knew my name right away. I'd never met her before. She said, I've been praying for you for years. And she had stacks of letters there beside her bed of people who had written thanking her for her prayers and how the Lord had answered prayer.