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The Time Is Near For Our Church – Philadelphia
The Revelation of Jesus Christ

John to the seven churches

Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, … to Philadelphia…

“Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Christ, our risen Lord and Savior holds in His right hand the angels of the churches. Christ, our returning Lord and Savior stands in the presence of His golden churches – the believers to be taken-up along with those who have gone before us.

Yet each letter to the churches is specific to a group of believers: praise for faithfulness and call to continued faith. For not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will be taken-up. Not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will stand as a light of witness as a lampstand on His right. For some will be separated to the King’s left and He will say of those who did not glimmer with the light of Jesus, “I never knew you.”

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – Matthew 25:46 KJV

Therefore: The warnings for the seven churches are addressed to the saints of every generation until the last.

You with ears to hear, let the scripture of Revelation speak to your eternal soul.

City of Brotherly Love

NO, not this Philadelphia.

Yet what defines this city in Revelation?

The Light and tone of the Lord’s exhortation (encouragement) for Philadelphia differs from the letters to the previous five churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

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.

8 “‘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.9 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. 10 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. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 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. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

NO condemnation; only encouragement to patient endurance.

Perhaps the ‘key of the city’ is handed to us as a reference to the City of David. It was said of David that he was ‘a man after God’s own heart.’

Only Jesus holds the key. Jesus protects His sheep within the walls of the Holy City.

Only Jesus is the door. He IS the key.

Jesus IS the Key and the Gate and the Door.

Jesus IS the Temple of the Living God!

His love for the sheep will keep them from the wolves and separate them from the goats.

Let’s get to the ‘heart’ of the Christians of this city.

What is “brotherly love?”

From a root: philadelphos – in a broader sense, loving one like a brother, loving one’s fellow countrymen

Even deeper: philos is a friend. (The English word as much misrepresented and undervalued as our word ‘love.’) Yet this is not the end of the word ‘Phila’ ‘delphos.’ The essence of its meaning is in the connection: adelphos – born of the same father and mother.

Consider your friend, born of your mother; born also of your same Father. Consider your Christian brothers and sisters as all having God our Father in common, with Christ Jesus as our Brother.

Brotherly love: Love one another as I have loved you. – John 13:34 & 15:12

This is the love of the church at Philadelphia.

Brotherly Christian love draws from the depths of the mysteries of God, where we are one with the Very Son of God. After His resurrection, Jesus speaks to the depths of this Godly love in His well-known ‘Do you love me?’ questions to Peter.

We now have a God-commanded love to share. You may find even deeper meaning to the brotherly love of the church of Philadelphia with further study of Jesus’ questions to Peter and Peter’s answers to Jesus in John 21:
1. v.15 agapaō me more than these? You know I phileō you.
2. v. 16 agapaō me? You know I phileō you.
3. v. 17 phileō you me? Lord you know all things, you know that I phileō you.
The restoration of Peter: a friend who had denied the Lord three times

— a friend now bound by the relationships between God and man

— a friend also bound by his relationship between God and His brothers (even you… even me).

Dear brother; beloved sister; in the Lord:

Do you love Jesus?

Love one another.

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

NEXT (seventh and finally): Laodicea
October 7, 2013
Stuck in our Sin
Isaiah 63:16-17 For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O LORD, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.

O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Matthew 12: He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!
- Are you a lost sheep of the Lord?
- Stuck in the mud, are you… and think no one cares?
- Been a while since you have found your self in fellowship and worship with other believers?
God our Father welcomes the ‘prodigal son.” (Do you recall, beloved lost sheep?)

Jesus our Lord and Redeemer leaves the ninety-nine of the fold to rescue the lost one. (…That angels might rejoice. Do you recall?)

James 4 (ESV)

Warning Against Worldliness

4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[a] are at war within you?[b]

2 You desire and do not have, so you murder.

You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.

You do not have, because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

4 You adulterous people![c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace.

Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Therefor be humble before the Cross. Bow down an worship your Redeemer.

Be NOT like a proud goat on his own hill,

But like a humble sheep,

Faithful to the call of the Shepherd.
October 5, 2013
The Time Is Near For Our Church – Sardis

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

John to the seven churches

Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, … to Sardis…

“Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Christ, our risen Lord and Savior holds in His right hand the angels of the churches. Christ, our returning Lord and Savior stands in the presence of His golden churches – the believers to be taken-up along with those who have gone before us.

Yet each letter to the churches is specific to a group of believers: praise for faithfulness and call to continued faith. For not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will be taken-up. Not all who say, “Lord, lord,” will stand as a light of witness as a lampstand on His right. For some will be separated to the King’s left and He will say of those who did not glimmer with the light of Jesus, “I never knew you.”

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. – Matthew 25:46 KJV

Therefore: The warnings for the seven churches are addressed to the saints of every generation until the last.

You with ears to hear, let the scripture of Revelation speak to your eternal soul.

Revelation 3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

Now here is a short letter to our MEGA-CHURCH. It’s only six verses (including the introduction above and the “let him hear…” closing).

We know ALL the things you do to witness your faith, so you don’t have anything to concern yourselves with in this short letter. “But wait,” as the commercial says (NO, not the commercial or billboard for your church, but another one), “there’s more.” Better not turn the page from Seeker-friendly Sardis too soon.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

THOUSANDS attend our church and MILLIONS WATCH our church broadcast EVERY WEEK from their La-Z-Boys at home.

We have done everything we could think of to get more viewers and take our gospel into all of the world. Do you mean to say that our $50 million dollar annual budget is not buying enough viewers for God?

“I know your works.” Millions know your works. “I know your reputation.” Millions see you as Christ! They covet your blessings. As soon as they receive the kind of blessings you have (they think), they will do more for the church.

They know they are dead, but they want your life now; NOT Christ’s life now or ever.

3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

Matthew 22: 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

You may be an active and faithful member of a large church. Your pastor (though held to a higher standard for his preaching) may also be one of the faithful chosen, rather than the MANY called.

You may sit amongst other chosen ones, even in a congregation of most who will not wake up to remember what we have received and heard. Many are called in every church, but who with ears to hear will truly hear in his heart?

Take heart in Christ’s closing to alert the believers of Sardis:

5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

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

NEXT: Philadelphia

October 5, 2013