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;
Every letter
to every church had a specific beginning salutation. To Ephesus He is the one who holds the seven
stars in His hand. To Smyrna He is the
first and the last who was dead and is alive.
In each case He meets the needs of every church because each church is
different in their struggles, gifts, strengths and weaknesses. Philadelphia means ‘friendly city’ and Jesus
wants them to know that they must be holy and true as He is Holy and True. He will go on to say they have a little
strength and we must understand that no matter how little our strength may be,
Jesus will multiply that strength and make it enough. With HIS strength an open door will remain
open and a closed door will remain closed.
Jesus is our victory and not we ourselves.
8 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.
Jesus is
telling Philadelphia that He knows their works and is somewhat pleased by
them. They are pressing in with the
little strength they have and He has honored their faith by opening a door that
cannot be shut. They have obeyed His
Word and have not denied His name. Now
you might ask yourself who would deny His name?
Well…what about churches who teach about God’s love and the grace and
mercy of our Lord but NEVER mention His name?
You need not declare that Jesus is NOT Lord to deny Him. Ignoring His Name and Sacrifice and
Resurrection is every bit as bad as cursing Him; especially if you CLAIM to be
a Christian.
Last week the
Catholic Pope said that God will honor and receive someone if they come to Him
sincerely, no matter if they speak of Christ or not. Galatians 4:10-12 makes it perfectly clear
that there can be no salvation in any name other than Christ Jesus. It even explains that the very people of God,
the Jews, were offended by Christ’s coming and refused to receive Him.
9 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.
The church in
Smyrna had the same problem with false Jews.
Jesus goes as far as to say they are the synagogue of Satan. In their pride and arrogance they will be
forced to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and will even worship before the feet
of the Body of Christ, the church. Jesus
expects us to continue to love Him and in return, He is more than faithful to
love us in return and will not abandon us.
10 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.
Consider that
Jesus laid down His deity for the sake of our future. He endured becoming a man and living through
the various stages of infancy, childhood, parental submission and obedience. He sat in the classroom and learned His
scriptures while His Spirit must have been shouting in His ears, “Yes! This is YOU!!! You are MY Son!” He went through all His hours of temptation
so you can make it through yours. He
went through all His trials so you might have His strength in yours. He came to know and understand the world so
He can make intercession for you and one day try those who refuse to receive
Him and His promise in John 1:12.
One day He
will come again and receive all His own into glory. Seven years later He will return and judge
all the sons of the earth who have no knowledge of Christ nor a desire to
worship the Savior of mankind. On that
day however, the lost will declare that Jesus is Lord (Isaiah 45:23, Romans
14:11).
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou
hast, that no man take thy crown.
1
Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10 say that Jesus will come as a thief in the
night. Matthew 24:43 reminds us that the
only way we can survive that coming is to be one with Him when He comes. This is the same theme and will happen in the
same way as Matthew 25:1 where the wise virgins keep enough oil for the lamp so
they do not go out before the bridegroom comes.
We know that
oil is the Holy Spirit and we know that no man comes to the Father unless the
Holy Spirit draws them. You cannot
faithfully wait for the Lord’s return unless the Holy Spirit keeps your heart
and lamp lit. He can take that little
glowing ember of faith and fan it to a fire without quenching it. I have faith in God. If I should doubt myself what is that to Him
as long as I believe in what I might accomplish in Christ Jesus.
12 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 out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
There are two
large pillars in the middle of my church in Riverside, California. I always
believed that I was one pillar and Bishop McGinnis was the other. That was important to me to know that as long
as we stood strong it would be alright because God would handle the rest.
Are you a
pillar? What does a pillar do? It holds up the roof so it can’t collapse
under its own weight. The pillars allow
the architect to raise up great structures because the pillars will not quit or
become too tired to carry their weight.
When God makes you a pillar you are no longer a wanderer nor a lightning
bug flitting from church to church. You
have become dependable and trusted to carry a load that never gets lighter and
often gets much heavier. To be a pillar
in the house of God is a great honor and rarely gets the recognition they
deserve because they do it for their love of God and His people.
The final
honor of a pillar is that you have become one with the temple of God in the New
Jerusalem. God’s name is written on your
heart even as the High Priest carried the words, “Holy Unto The Lord.” When God has finished with this world we will
continue as pillars in the House of God and will be one with God forever. There is a name that no man has heard nor
understands that God will write upon our hearts on that day. It will be a name above every other name and
we will bear it up proudly.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches.
There is no
place for pride or falsehood in the body of Christ. Jesus has come that we might have more
abundant life and we owe it all to HIM.
There is a part of me that wishes to be recognized for my works that I
have done in Him but thankfully I am outgrowing this desire. One day my only prayer and joy will be to
say, “Not my will but thy will be done; on Earth as it is in heaven.” Satan stumbled because of pride. Many great men of God stumbled due to
pride. Take care beloved that you do not
become one of them. Be the pillar of God
beloved.
Bishop J
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