The Church Of Philadelphia - An Open Door

[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Etrie. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:13] Be blessed. Hallelujah. Alright, Revelations chapter 3. Verse 7.

[0:30] As for today, we'll finish on Philadelphia. Verse 7 says that, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia writes, These things say he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, and he who opens and no one can shut, and shuts and no one opens.

[0:51] I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength. For you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name.

[1:09] Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie indeed. I will make them come and worship before your feet.

[1:22] And to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial.

[1:34] We shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

[1:47] He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. 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 out of heaven from my God.

[2:08] And I will write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Amen.

[2:18] Amen. Amen. I said last week that the Church of Philadelphia, oh, sorry, the Church of Philadelphia is planted in the city of Philadelphia.

[2:32] And the city of Philadelphia was not a big city, but a flourishing city, particularly when it comes to agriculture. Because of volcanic ashes, their soil was very fertile for agriculture, especially for the vine.

[2:50] And so they used to produce a lot of grapes and wine. And they had, for that matter, the God of the city of Philadelphia is Dinosauros, who is the God of wine.

[3:04] So Philadelphia was noted for wine and noted for its smallness, but they were kind of doing okay. And the Church of Philadelphia was very small, smaller than the Church of Smyna and the Church of Pergamos.

[3:26] And the Church of Pergamos, not Smyna, sorry, Sardis, the Church of Pergamos was a very prosperous church. The Church of Titeria was doing well, and the Church of Sardis was also doing well.

[3:40] And all those churches were flourishing, and yet Jesus didn't give them commendation, but condemnation about something that was not right with them. But when it came to the Church of Philadelphia, they did not receive any condemnation, but commendations throughout.

[3:57] Interestingly, the Church of Philadelphia was kind of, in the order of address, was placed or sandwiched in between the Church of Sardis and the Church, the last one, the Church of Pergamos.

[4:11] I haven't dealt with Pergamos yet. The Church of Pergamos. So the Church of Sardis... No, did I say Pergamos? I'm sorry, Laodicea, the last one.

[4:22] Laodicea. The Church of Sardis... The Church of Sardis had condemnation because he had a name that it was alive, but it was dead. And he was commanded to come back to its...

[4:37] or wake up, lest the things that remain will die. And so Jesus has some condemnation. He was commanded to repent, else judgment was coming.

[4:49] And then guess what? So we have the Church of Sardis, then the Church of Philadelphia, which didn't have any condemnation. And then the last one was the Church of Laodicea, which had a lot of condemnation.

[5:01] So it was like... It was a good church sandwiched in between two bad churches. And all these churches were... They were not mosques.

[5:14] All right. They were not mosques, or they were not some shrines, or they were not something that was outside of the Spirit of God. These were... That's why the Spirit of God spoke to them. Jesus wrote a letter and said that when He finished, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

[5:31] All right. So He spoke to them because Jesus is... Jesus' main concern is His Church on earth. He died...

[5:41] He came on earth because He was interested in a church. And for those of you who don't know what the church is, the church... You don't come to church.

[5:52] You are the church. I don't go to church. I am the church. Right. All right. And the church in the New Testament is made up of two aspects of the church.

[6:06] We have the universal church, which is usually called the church. And then the local church, which is called a church. Everybody who is a Christian is automatically part of the church.

[6:22] But unfortunately, many people who are part of the church, not everyone is part of a church. So everybody in the church is supposed to be part of a church.

[6:35] So Jesus wrote the letter to churches. A church. Church of Ephesus. Church of Smyna. Church of Pergamos. Church of Sardis.

[6:47] Sorry. Sardis. Titeria. Church of Sardis. Church of Philadelphia. Church of Laodicea. He wrote to churches. Read what we just read.

[6:59] Revelation chapter 3, verse 13. It says, He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit... He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit does what?

[7:11] Says to whom? Not the church. But the churches. Individual churches. So Christ deals from heaven with churches. Local churches.

[7:23] Right? Even though all the local churches together are part of the church. Jesus said, Matthew chapter 16, verse 18. He said, Upon this rock, I will build my church.

[7:37] I say you are Peter. And upon this rock, I will build my church. Jesus was the first person to introduce the word church.

[7:48] He was the first person who mentioned church. And he said, I'm going to build the church. But besides the church, we have, as I said, we have local churches. So everybody who is part of the church is supposed to be part of a church.

[8:04] In other words, once you are a Christian, you are in the church. So, the church of Philadelphia was small, but it was faithful.

[8:16] It was small. It was not large, but it was loyal. It might have not been full, but it was faithful. The church of Philadelphia was a faithful church.

[8:32] And Jesus said, and remember last week, I told you, Philadelphia, the city of Philadelphia had undergone a few name changes.

[8:44] So, from Philadelphia, it went to New Caesarea, and then Flavia, and then came back to Philadelphia. Right, we'll go, today I'm going to touch on that.

[8:55] And it says that it promised them because of their faithfulness in Revelation 3, verse 8, 9, and 10. It promised them three things, if you remember what I said.

[9:08] Revelation 3, verse 8, I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it, for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name.

[9:23] So, the open door connotes door of more people coming to the church. Okay, so in the New Testament, open door actually means growth, church growth.

[9:41] Church growth. People are growing, and more people are coming to the Lord. Okay, and so, and he says that I am the one who shuts a door, and no one can open, and opens, and no one.

[9:54] So, that means that there are certain places, or certain times, God chooses not to let the church grow in some area. And you do, and do, and do, and do, thousands, thousands, thousands, thousands.

[10:08] I want millions. I want millions. Sometimes, there are times that God, for instance, in Acts, I kind of like this scripture a lot. In Acts chapter 16, verse 6, the Bible says that they decided to go and preach the word of God in Asia, Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, but they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit.

[10:27] Ah, can you imagine? Holy Spirit said, don't preach. Preaching? You are going to win those Holy Spirit. No, he actually forbid them. Don't go there. Was there a problem there?

[10:38] No, but he hadn't opened that door. Don't go there. Then, Bible says that, okay, so they decided to go, verse 7, then they, after they came to Mysia, they tried to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit did not permit them.

[10:57] How beautiful it is to live a life guided by the Spirit. That's what every Christian and every church leader and every church must desire to do, that the Holy Spirit will guide you.

[11:15] Some of you, some contracts you want to sign, the Holy Spirit may tell you no. And some of us, if the Holy Spirit shuts a door, we will break it open. You'll force the door open because, do you know why?

[11:32] Because that's what you want. He says that, I open a door that no man shuts.

[11:42] They wanted to preach in Phrygia, Holy Ghost said no. They wanted to preach in the regions of Galatia, Asia Minor, Holy Ghost said no.

[11:52] And then, verse 9 and 10, Bible says that, at night, Paul saw a man in a vision, a man of Macedonia standing and saying that, come to Macedonia and help us.

[12:02] And then when they woke up, verse 10, they concluded that God has sent them and they went to Macedonia. So, what does that mean? The door has been opened in Macedonia for the preaching.

[12:14] Yeah. And the door has been shut in Asia. But later on, God had a plan for Asia. Can you imagine all these letters in Ephesus, Smyna, Pergamos, Tithia, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, all these cities are cities in Asia.

[12:36] When Jesus went to heaven, he wrote the letter to the churches. That means that, watch this, that means that preaching had happened and churches had been birthed already. By the time Paul wanted to go and birth the churches, it wasn't God's timing.

[12:48] So, he said, I shut the door and no man can open. Don't go there. You'll be wasting your time. That is Acts chapter 16, isn't it? Three chapters later, Paul went to Asia and verse 11, chapter 19, verse 11 and 12, Bible says that, or verse 10 rather, this continued for three years and all Asia had the word of God.

[13:12] Paul was doing Bible studies for two years, sorry, continued for two years in one school of Tyranos and two years every day, every day. There's no problem with having church every day, okay?

[13:26] Those of you people make you feel like, why are you going to church twice a week or once a week? Those people don't know Jesus. I'm telling you, they don't know Jesus.

[13:36] Anyone who tells you that you are going to church too much, how can you go to church twice a week or three times a week? Why? Look at their face and tell them that you need to know Jesus. Because when you know Jesus, you can't have enough of him.

[13:50] And this continued for three years and all Asia. So, God actually had his own timing Christianity has never been and can never be under a threat.

[14:03] Because he said, I open a door and no one can shut it. And I shut it and no one can. I determine, I determine why church is flourishing. People get born again because God has opened the door for them to enter.

[14:17] Jesus said, I open it and no one can. He said, that's your brother, that's your sister who hates God so much and you are praying about. when the time comes, they will be running to church.

[14:31] So, when he says that, I've opened a door and no one can shut, do you know what he was talking about? He was telling them about increase which was coming. I'm going to increase your number because I've opened the door for more people to come into the church.

[14:45] So, he promised them increase and then the verse 9, not only increase, he also promised Revelation chapter 3 verse 9. Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie indeed.

[15:03] I will make them come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you. Very interesting.

[15:14] This is, that means I'm going to give you influence. The people who didn't listen to you, don't worry. am I, I'm going to make them come.

[15:25] So, God can open a door, nobody can shut and open. And then he said, I'll make them, look at Isaiah chapter 45 verse 14. No, no, yeah, it should be verse 14.

[15:43] Yeah, that says the Lord. The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush and of the Sabians, men of stature, shall come over to you and they shall be yours.

[15:57] Hey, this is a good one. They shall walk behind you. They shall come over in chains and they shall bow down to you. They shall make supplication to you saying, surely God is in you and there is no other.

[16:12] There is no other God. God said they will come. Amen. People who would not even look at you twice will now come and be willing to take orders.

[16:24] Please, what can I do for you? The synagogue of Satan who used to fight you, he said, I'll make them come and they will bow before you and admit that in fact, we didn't want to admit that you are, we need you, but now I have to be honest, I need you.

[16:40] Wow. I need you. Isaiah chapter 49, verse 23. Kings, if this sounds like what you agree in your spirit, if it's for you, you can shout amen after I've said it.

[16:59] Kings shall, kings shall be your foster fathers. Amen. Listen. Listen, listen, listen.

[17:13] God is my witness. As I prepared for today's service and message and I went back over my notes, I went on this, something hits my spirit and the Lord told me that this particular scripture is for carousel this season.

[17:25] Amen. I said, kings shall be your foster fathers. Amen. And their queens shall be your nursing mothers.

[17:38] Amen. They shall bow down to you with their faces to the end. And they will lick the dust of your feet.

[17:49] Amen. Isaiah chapter 60, verse 14. Also, the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you.

[18:01] Amen. And all those who despise you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet. Amen. Amen. Just finish this. So God said, I'll give you increase.

[18:13] Revelation chapter 3, verse 8, 9, and 10. 8 says, I'll give you increase. 9 said, I'll give you influence. 10 said, I'll give you immunity. From the great tribulation and great trial that is about to come on the whole earth to test those who dwell on the earth.

[18:32] Trial is coming. Now, he said, put it back, verse 10. He said, because you have kept my commandment to persevere, I will keep you. So God said, I will keep you because you have kept my word.

[18:45] And now, I told you last week, keeping God's word is not like you accept it. It's like believing in it and acting according to it. That's what it means to keep God's word. So when God gives you a word, or when God tells you something, when you do it, that's what means you have kept God's word.

[19:00] He said, because you have kept my word, I will also now keep you. from the great tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth, all humanity are about to come under attack.

[19:11] But he said, you, I will keep you. And then, so divine immunity. Somebody say divine immunity. So they are going to enjoy divine increase. They are going to enjoy divine influence and they are going to enjoy divine immunity.

[19:27] And guess what? I want to dwell on this and just try to wrap up. He said, great test that is coming on the whole earth. Go to the next verse. Behold, I'm coming quickly.

[19:37] Hold fast to, hold fast what you have that no man may take your crown. That means you already have the crown. I was going to spend time to talk about crown.

[19:50] Because most people don't believe in the crowns. Paul said, athletes, they run, 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 25, they run for a corruptible crown.

[20:04] In other words, a crown that does not last forever. Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Why is it self-control? That he, that they, now they do this, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we, for an imperishable.

[20:21] So you need a certain level of temperance, self-control, self-restraint, so you can gain a crown. You need it. God is, a God that gives crowns.

[20:36] And the day is coming. 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 4, it talks about, and when the, the Lord Jesus shall appear, when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory. Sound, shout crown of glory.

[20:47] Crown of glory. I mean, crown of glory. Shout crown of glory. Crown of glory. That, that's not fade away. Did you see that? This one, that's not fade away.

[20:58] And now, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 8, you need to hear this one, and I'll show you something. 2 Timothy, it said, finally, there is later, from verse 4, I prefer the first, sorry, verse 7, it's good.

[21:10] I have, I have fought a good fight. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my, let's not read it out loud. Let's go. I have fought a good fight. Read it out loud. I have fought a good fight.

[21:20] I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now, isn't it interesting to use the term, or the word race? I have finished, because Christian journey and assignment is like a race.

[21:33] And when he was talking about that, he had the Olympics that they used to do in those days on his mind. Because they used to run races. And he said, I have fought a good fight. It's like a boxer.

[21:45] Okay? In the boxing ring, he has fought a good fight. This is a good fight. That means he's won. He was not beaten. Fought a good fight. He has finished the race, and he has kept the faith. And he said, because anyone who finishes the race, anytime you win Olympics or proper race, what happens to you?

[22:01] You receive a crown. So, he said, I fought a good fight. Finished the race and kept the faith. Look at the next verse. He says that, finally, there's later for me, what?

[22:12] A crown of righteousness. What? A crown of righteousness. What? A crown of righteousness. A crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge. Let's all say, what is the Lord?

[22:23] The righteous judge. What is the Lord? The righteous judge. So, God will not give you without judging you. That leads me to that point I made before I started preaching that is appointed unto man once to die.

[22:41] And after that judgment, some people say, but what is the need of judgment? Once you are dead, you are dead. Can you imagine, can you imagine, you know, about Herod, the king, the one who killed John the Baptist and killed a lot of children?

[22:58] Herod and John the Baptist in heaven and God is not going to judge. All of you, it's okay. Is it fair? No. Some of you know people who have been very wicked. They lied on others and others went to prison and they lived free.

[23:12] So, never think that death is the end and God, who is going to do this judge? God, the righteous judge. God is going to judge. He must judge.

[23:24] God must judge everything we have done whilst we are on the earth. We must be judged. God is going to judge. So, he says that, look at 2 Timothy, sorry, 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 9.

[23:38] 2 Peter 2 verse 9. Sometimes, when people are behaving, watch them quietly and they think they will get away. Let them, leave them. On earth, if it doesn't happen on earth.

[23:50] See, sometimes people think that hell is, when you have gone through bad things on earth enough, then that's it. No. When I start teaching, when I'm teaching on hell, you will see, people say, if God is love, why must he send people to hell?

[24:03] You are looking at God from only one aspect. God is not only love. He is also a God of justice. He is a judge.

[24:14] He is holy. So, all those attributes come together to make him God. You can't only focus on one and leave the others. So, look at 1, 2 Peter.

[24:24] 2 Peter chapter 2, it says that, then, verse 9, it said, then the Lord, then, let's read down, let's go. Then the Lord knows how to live on the holy house.

[24:36] Is this not what we read in Revelation chapter 3? He said, I will deliver you from the great tribulation. God knows how to deliver the righteous, the godly. He knows how to deliver you from temptation.

[24:48] The reason why you keep falling in temptation is because you are not depending on God. That's why. I'm talking about you. He knows how to deliver you from temptation.

[25:00] And his plan is to deliver you from temptation. But why are you keeping falling? Because you are not working with him depending on him. He said, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to preserve the unjust unto judgment.

[25:16] So, the people who are not just, the unjust, those who are not in Christ, God has reserved them for what? He has reserved them under punishment for the day of judgment.

[25:32] Tell somebody, there's a day of judgment coming. There's a day of judgment coming. So, the church of Philadelphia, God said, he'll give them reward. And then what he said is that he'll give them, he'll write the name of God on them, the name of the new Jerusalem on them, and the name of his new name.

[25:53] Okay? He said, I'll write and then I'll do that. And now, verse 11, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God. He will not go out again. All those things are the benefits of being faithful.

[26:05] He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit of God. I pray that we will be the church of Philadelphia. I pray that we will be like the church, as the church carries, we'll be like the church of Philadelphia.

[26:18] And not just as carries, but as individuals. Your spiritual walk, your spiritual life, you'll be like the church of Philadelphia. Please lift up your right hand and pray that Lord, give me grace to be faithful.

[26:29] Pray that prayer right now. Lord, give me grace. We thank God for using his servant, Reverend Dr. David Entry, to share this awesome word. If this message has blessed you in any way, please spread the word by sharing it and send us an email to amen at charis.org.

[26:45] Remember to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for regular updates on what God is doing here at Charis Ministries. Stay blessed. Amen.