This one trick will cut your mortgage payment in half.
Six easy exercises for burning off that belly.
Twelve tips for looking great for bikini season this summer.
If you are an astute cultural observer, you will recognize that sentences like this come from that great and sophisticated genre of magazines that hang out by the checkout aisle in the grocery store.
And they make these strange promises.
And perhaps you, like me, are confused that anyone actually buys these documents.
But if we stop for a moment to consider why people might actually buy these things, I think we might notice that what's being sold is a solution to some perceived problem.
You see, we think we have a problem.
We're not quite sure what the problem is.
But we have this nagging intuition that something is wrong.
And here is an almanac, a solution for whatever problem ails us.
Usually it's too large a stomach or too boring a sex life or too empty a bank account.
When was the last time you walked up to one such rack of magazines and saw there in all caps blazing in front of you,
do the same thing you're doing now?
That would be strange.
It would be counterintuitive.
You would have very little desire to buy this document in front of you.
After all, all you have to do is keep doing what you're doing.
In fact, that might sit strangely with us, we Americans, who think that to be an American is to take yourself into your own hands
and to create yourself however you desire yourself, always improving, taking more classes, taking more exercises, learning more things.
But the message of Jesus tonight to the Church of the Philadelphians is precisely this strange one.
Keep doing what you're doing.
And to help us make sense of that claim, that desire Jesus has for His church,
let's look there in Revelation chapter 3.
Revelation chapter 3, verses 7 through 13.
If you remember in context, this is Jesus, having appeared after His resurrection, many decades after His resurrection,
to John, the beloved apostle who is in exile on the island of Patmos.
John has this vision, and in this vision, Christ comes and says to him this,
Revelation 3, verse 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.
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.
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.
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.
I am coming soon.
Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.
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, 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.
He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Let's pray briefly.
Lord, your desire that you spoke to John is that your people would have ears, that they would hear.
I pray that we would have ears and would hear tonight, Lord.
Speak to us from this passage.
Encourage our weary souls.
Cause us to love you more.
And allow the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart to be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
If you've been joining us here in the evening service at Trinity over the last few weeks,
you'll know that this is our current sermon series.
There are seven brief letters, the beginning of Revelation,
to seven different churches in the continent, the subcontinent of Asia Minor, which is now Turkey.
This is the sixth one.
Of those seven, Jesus says a mix of good and bad things to four different churches.
He says only good things to two churches, of which Philadelphia is one.
He says only bad things to one church, which is Laodicea, which is next week.
So if this sermon doesn't have enough fire and brimstone for you, come back next week for Laodicea.
From this text tonight, I hope we can learn and be encouraged by three things.
First, the situation of the Philadelphians.
The situation of the Philadelphians.
Second, the beautiful reasons and rewards for patient endurance.
Third, the application to Trinity Baptist Church.
So first, the situation of the Philadelphians.
Philadelphia was a relatively small city that received its name, which means brotherly love,
just like the city in Pennsylvania does.
There are some stories that go back and forth.
Essentially, one is that the older brother, the more powerful one, was rumored to be assassinated.
And many people pressured the younger brother to take his place, to steal a throne from him.
And the younger brother said, no, I'm far too loyal to my brother.
And once the older brother was seen to be alive, the younger brother was vindicated and given this city named the city of brotherly love.
It was probably the youngest of all the seven cities mentioned in this section of Revelation.
Its church was probably the newest.
And it was one of the smaller churches to which this book of Revelation is addressed.
In AD 17, about 70 years before this letter was written, a large earthquake destroyed most of this city.
And from this text, we learn that there was likely an important and influential synagogue in the city of Philadelphia
that was strongly opposing the work of the Christians there.
Perhaps some of the Christians were former members of the synagogue who had converted to Christianity
and subsequently been excommunicated from the synagogue.
It seems that this Jewish opposition is the greatest trial faced by the church in Philadelphia.
Given how vehement John's language is about them.
Look, he calls them in verse 9, the synagogue of Satan.
The strong words.
And given how much time John spends urging the Christians in Philadelphia to endure and stand fast in the face of that opposition.
This was a beleaguered church.
They were under opposition.
Still, as I mentioned, in spite of all this opposition, Jesus has only good things to say about this church.
Small, relatively weak, and oppressed though it was.
This church was no Antioch or Rome.
In fact, I think many of them were probably quite surprised to receive this letter from Jesus himself.
In terms of strategy, this might not be the city, the church that you're most interested in appealing to.
But from that point, I think we should take great encouragement.
From this brief message to the Philadelphians,
I think we can learn that God does not overlook even the smallest faithfulnesses of his people.
Notice, the Philadelphians are not commended for taking the gospel to all of Asia.
For having many teachers in their midst.
For taking up huge collection of offerings.
Or any such accomplishment like that.
No.
The Philadelphians are commended because they have kept Jesus' word and not denied his name.
They have kept on.
They have endured.
They have stood in the day of opposition.
And for this, they were commended.
We are right, I think, to have high and lofty ambitions for God to use our own lives powerfully.
That's a good ambition that we ought to have.
But perhaps your life situation does not look promising for the conversion of entire nations.
Taking the gospel to some unreached people.
The writing of great books about God.
The sacrifice of incredible things for his glory.
Perhaps your life looks like a fairly normal Christian life.
Don't be discouraged.
Let the letter to Philadelphia remind you
that every diaper change in the middle of the night for a screaming baby
performed with a whispered prayer for that child is noticed by the Lord.
Every Sunday school lesson taught to children and then forgotten almost immediately
is remembered by the Lord.
Every time of prayer of raising up your children or your friends or your neighbors
or sharing the gospel with them that seem to bear no fruit whatsoever
is noticed by God.
He notices the smallest things of our lives.
Every small act of kindness and mercy done without any audience
is known to God himself.
He sees your work.
He knows your works, he says to the Philadelphians.
He says this also to us.
I know your works.
Though you are small, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
This is encouragement for us.
The Proverbs say that the eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good,
observing, not missing anything.
Remember how Jesus was the only one in the temple courts
who noticed the widow offering her two small mites.
It was Jesus alone who saw that.
And Jesus praised her.
So it is with Philadelphia.
So it is with us.
Jesus casts his eye upon the otherwise unimportant church of Philadelphia
and encourages them to stand.
This is the situation of the Philadelphians.
Secondly, we see from this text the beautiful reasons and rewards of patient endurance.
Quite simply, the reason and reward of patient endurance under opposition
is nothing other than the person and the work of Jesus.
He is introduced here, speaking of himself, as the Holy One, the True One,
as one who is trustworthy because he cannot deceive.
And because he is trustworthy, his promises can be believed.
He has, it says, the key of David,
who opens and no one shuts,
who shuts and no one opens.
You see, this introduction of Jesus is the foundation
for all that follows in the rest of this passage.
He is holy and true.
He is trustworthy and faithful.
And he has power to open and shut.
And no one can stand against him.
Christ is the True One,
not the opponents of the church
who say they are Jews but lie.
Jesus is the true obedient One of God,
the true Jew,
the true Lamb of God that follows the law of God in every detail.
Because he is this holy and true One,
it is to him whom the Philadelphians must cling
with all of their energy,
no matter the opposition.
The reward for standing fast in the face of opposition
is Jesus himself.
The reason for standing fast in the face of opposition
is Jesus himself.
And notice that the opposition against the Philadelphians
is precisely because they are being obedient to Christ.
It is not in the way of disobedience
that they have encountered hardship, no,
but in the way of obedience.
Like Job in the Old Testament,
their trial cannot be attributed to their own specific sins.
Rather, hostility is the price of following Christ
in a fallen world.
Hostility is the price of following Christ in a fallen world.
This has always been the condition of God's church
to more or less degrees
in one place or another
since the resurrection and the ascension of Christ.
This is just what Christians do.
We bear witness in obedience to Christ
and we face opposition for it.
We cannot put our final hope
in any city,
in any nation,
in any government,
or any administration
to protect and care for the church,
for us individually or collectively.
No.
The book of Hebrews tells us that
here we have no lasting city.
Meaning that this world cannot hold
the weight of our hope.
We yearn for something
in the deepest parts of our soul
that this world is not equipped to give us.
Therefore,
let's place that hope in a more sure foundation.
Place it in the solid rock of Christ.
Again, there in Hebrews,
it says that the exiles,
the pilgrims,
the wanderers
looked for a city with foundations
whose builder and maker is God.
This foundation
is a theme that's used to describe Christ.
The stone that builders have rejected
has become the cornerstone,
the most important stone in the entire edifice.
He is the foundation
of the eternal city of God.
Do you notice from this passage
where the city of God comes from?
Look there in verse 12.
The new Jerusalem.
It comes down from God out of heaven.
It's not achieved by voting
the correct political party into office,
by writing the wisest constitution,
by having the best social welfare programs.
We should strive for all of those things.
All the while remembering
that here we have no lasting city.
And the new Jerusalem
comes down from God out of heaven.
This is where we should put
our deepest yearnings.
And it's toward that vision
that John points the Philadelphians.
You see, governments and armies
can rage and have raged
and will rage against the church.
And society and elites
can scorn and have scorned
and will scorn her
for her strange behavior
in the way of obedience.
But Christ remains still a solid rock.
On Christ the solid rock I stand.
All other ground,
all other ground is sinking sand.
If all men therefore rise
in opposition to you,
but Christ takes up your cause,
you cannot fail,
but you will overcome.
And if throngs of men
rally around you
to sing your praise,
yet Christ takes his stand against you,
then heaven and earth
will pass away
before you make
one inch of progress
against the Lord's anointed one.
He is the one who opens
and no one shuts.
He is the one who shuts
and no one opens.
Christ, you see,
is the only indispensable ally
for the Christian
in all of the world.
May the shifting of society around us
give us ample occasion
to reflect on the steadfastness
of Christ.
Look also at the way
Jesus shows himself
to meet precisely the needs
of the Christians
there in Philadelphia.
Consider their circumstance.
As I said,
it's quite likely
that they have been
excommunicated from synagogues
for their faith in Christ.
If they were to go
to the homes,
businesses,
and synagogues
of those who were once
their friends,
perhaps even their family,
they would meet
nothing but closed doors.
bolted against their entrance.
You're no longer welcome here.
You cannot access this.
So Christ introduces himself
by saying that he is the one
who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
who shuts and no one opens.
Immediately after this,
he says that he has set
before the Philadelphians
an open door
which no one is able
to shut.
What a beautiful reversal.
In Christ,
all doors are open,
though on earth
they seem barred
and slammed in your face.
In Philadelphians, you see,
Christ says,
have not really been shut
out of any important assemblies.
For Christ has opened
to them every door.
This is the conviction
that allows the Philadelphians
in the words of Martin Luther
to let good and kindred go
this mortal life also.
In Christ, we lose nothing.
He is the one who opens
and no one can shut.
Consider the example
of David Livingston.
A missionary
who left the comforts
of England
to preach the gospel
in the interior of Africa
where he finally died.
It's an amazing story.
I commend you to read it.
When asked by several
Cambridge students
about the sacrifices
he was making
in going over to Africa
for the advance
of Christ's kingdom,
Livingston said this,
for my own part,
I have never ceased
to rejoice
that God has appointed me
to such an office.
People talk of the sacrifice
I have made
in spending so much
of my life in Africa.
But is that a sacrifice
which brings its own
blessed reward
in healthful activity,
the consciousness
of doing good,
peace of mind,
and a bright hope
of a glorious destiny
hereafter?
It is emphatically
no sacrifice.
Say rather
that it is
a privilege.
Anxiety,
sickness,
suffering,
or danger
now and then
with the foregoing
of the common conveniences
and charities
of this life
may make us pause
and cause the spirit
to waver
and the soul
to sink.
But let this be
but for a moment.
All these
are nothing
when compared
with the glory
which shall be revealed
in and for us.
I never made
a sacrifice.
Doesn't that stir you?
A man who dies
in the interior
of Africa
for the advance
of the gospel
says,
I never
made a sacrifice.
Have you known
Christ
to be sweet
in this way?
To be valuable
and precious
in this way?
So that the giving up
of all the world
for him
would be for you
an easy choice?
If not,
meditate
upon the way
that Christ here
suits the needs
of the Philadelphians.
he introduces
himself
in ways
that precisely
target their needs.
Which of Christ's
names and titles
targets the need
in your heart?
Perhaps
it's for one
who will be to you
a father
as God
introduces himself
in the Lord's prayer
our father.
perhaps
yours
has been a life
of loneliness
and so
he says
to you
no longer
do I call you
slaves
I call you
friends.
Perhaps
the world
around you
seems
to lack
any steadfastness
to be at every
moment
full of anxiety
and Christ
says that he is
a rock
he is one
who provides
for his people
even in the
wilderness.
For Christ
to be sweet
to us
I think we
must meditate
on the nature
of our needs
and the names
he gives
to himself
to meet
those needs.
it seems
the Philadelphians
saw Christ
in this way.
The Philadelphians
knew it seems
that to be a Christian
is to gain
the whole world
as an enemy
temporarily
and to gain
the whole world
as a trophy
eternally.
To be a Christian
is to trade
two widow's mites
for a pearl
of great price.
There is
you see
no good thing
that Christ
will withhold
from those
who love him
from those
who patiently
endure in their
faithfulness
no matter how
small or great
it may be.
These are the
promises of Christ
that he makes
here and I
remind you
that they are
not for
grand displays
of faithfulness
they are for
the daily
endurance
under difficulty.
the promises
Christ makes
here are not
only of himself
but they are
promises of
access
access to his
very presence
which no one
will take
from him.
Consider this
promise in
verse 12
the one who
conquers I will
make him a
pillar in the
temple of my
God never
shall he go
out of it.
By the writing
of this text
the temple in
Jerusalem had
already been
destroyed and
that produced a
serious theological
problem for how
the Jews were
going to meet
with and
experience God.
In response to
this theological
problem Jesus
says that the
access of the
Philadelphians to
the inner sanctuary
of God is as
permanent as the
very pillars of
the temple
themselves.
The Jews attempt
to kick you out
of their synagogues
no one can kick
out the pillars
from the temple
and you shall be
as a pillar in
the temple of my
God.
Not only permanence
and presence but
God also makes
promises of
possession.
Look here in
verse 12.
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 of my
own new name.
Jesus desires to
claim those for
his own who
endure faithfully.
He gives us the
reasons and the
rationale and he
says on top of it
all I desire for
you to be my
own.
I desire for you
to bear my name.
And for those who
bear the name of
Christ that name is
like a passport into
the very inner courts
of intimacy with God
himself.
This is the promise
of possession, of
presence, of
permanence.
how do we know this
promise shall appeal
to us?
Because the
Philadelphians stand
firm in heeding the
words of Jesus.
Which I think is what
is meant by verse 10.
You have kept my word
about patient endurance.
They have heard the
voice of Jesus, the
word of the Lord,
endure, and they have
obeyed it.
They have done it.
And this is the
grounds for thinking
that they will
access and they
will benefit from
all of these glories
of Christ.
Because Christ is the
one who opens doors
and no one can shut
them, who shuts doors
and no one can open
them, then it follows
that Christ alone is
the one whose word we
must heed.
He is our only ally.
His is the voice we
must hear.
The church as the
bride of Christ and
we as individual
members of it all
have the single
great need of
listening to and
obeying the one
voice of Christ.
It is the greatest
need of our lives.
The church at its
best has done
precisely this.
It was Luther's
conviction and
dogmatic desire to
hear the very voice
of Jesus and to
heed that voice
alone which
enacted a recovery
and a recentering
on scriptural
doctrines that had
been confused.
And hundreds of
years later when
Hitler attempted to
take over the
German church to
support his
political agenda,
Karl Barth and
the German
confessing church
opposed his
attempts.
In the Barman
Declaration, their
manifesto against
Hitler's church, his
claim to have
control over the
church, they wrote
that, quote,
Jesus Christ, as he
is attested to us
in holy scripture, is
the one word of God
whom we have to
hear and whom we
have to trust and
obey in life and
death.
So it was for the
Philadelphians in
90 AD, so it
was for the
Germans in
1930, so it
was for us in
New Haven in
2015.
We need to hear
the very word of
God.
And this then is
the conclusion of
the second point,
the rationale and
the rewards for
patient endurance.
it takes us to our
final third point for
the evening, briefly,
the application of
this text to
Trinity Baptist.
I've already made
plenty of
applications, and I
hope you see that
this text has
something for us
now.
I want to hearken
back to this point
about the church
not being chastised,
not being warned
against its evils,
but of being
commended for its
strengths.
If God were to
write such a
letter of
commendation to
the church at
New Haven called
Trinity Baptist, what
good things would
he find in us?
I think there are
many.
I think there are
many ways in which
I see daily
faithfulness, both
from the elders of
this church and
for the people who
sit in the pews
like myself.
I said here that
it is the one
great need of us
to hear the very
words of God, to
understand the
word of God, and
that is what the
elders of this
church desire to
do for us.
I said that God
does not think it
too small a thing
to look at the
small deeds of
faithfulness that
the Philadelphians
do.
I think we should
cultivate that same
sense.
So, consider
where have you
seen faithful
endurance in this
church, in the
people around you,
in the people in
the pews, in the
elders.
The word is
preached faithfully
from this pulpit
week after week.
This morning we
commissioned our
first church plant.
The church is
making disciples.
Who do you see in
this church who's
doing that good
work?
Find them and
encourage them.
Commend them the
way Jesus does with
the Philadelphians
here.
Do you know
that those who
labor for the
ministry of the
word can often
get discouraged?
Do you know that
those who are most
encouraging toward
others often fall
through the cracks
because there's no
one to encourage
them?
Find the people
around you who
you see to be
faithful in the
work of the Lord
and encourage them
this week.
Start small this
week.
I'd say do it
once a day.
An email, a text
message, a slap
on the back even
before we leave the
church tonight.
Encourage people,
encourage your
fellow congregant in
this church, your
brother and sister in
the Lord to hear the
words of God, to
heed them, to keep
the name of Christ
for himself, to
stand in the day of
trial.
I think this will
cultivate both a
spirit of Christ
likeness and also a
spirit of gratefulness,
to look at just how
graced and blessed we
are to be in a place
surrounded by brothers
and sisters who love
the Lord and who
desire with everything
in us to stand.
I pray that this text
to the Philadelphians
tonight encourages us
on that journey.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you
that you have seen fit
to speak to the
Philadelphians in this
way, that you preserve
this letter for us.
They were small and
weak, yet they were
faithful and they
form an example for
us to be faithful,
Lord.
I pray that we would
be encouraging to those
around us.
I pray that we would
strive for greater and
greater faithfulness, to
endure in the midst of
trial and tribulation,
and to see every small
work as one day to be
written down in the book
of the annals of your
people and your history,
Lord.
Now give us a heart of
worship as we conclude
this service with singing.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
Brothers and sisters, as we
think about the word that
Justin just encouraged us
with, we want to use this
final worship time as a
means to focus our hearts
back on Christ.
And this is what these last
two songs are about.
So please stand and
worship with us.
Amen.