My Dear Philadelphia, I've Written You A Letter

so grab your Bibles in turn to Revelation chapter 3 this morning verses 7 to 13 and we're looking at of the series of this 7 letters to the seven churches and it's themed up in the title that Jesus would perhaps say my dear Philadelphia I've written you a letter and that's what we're looking at and now we come to the sixth church next Sunday we'll cover the seventh church and then the Sunday after that we will be at May 31st and we're gonna look at the eighth letter to the eighth Church you say what do you mean there is no eighth letter to the eighth Church we are going to pray and assemble and breathe and present a message on that opening Sunday morning if Jesus were to write an eighth letter to the 21st century church what is it that he would write and pray for me as I pray to God about that message that it needs to be a message that is 100% timely 100% relevant of course God always is but what is Jesus saying now to the church will be our eighth letter that Christ would speak and send forth to us but for now number six revelation three seven follow along with me if you would and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write these things says he who is holy he who is true he who has the key of David he who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens 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 you've kept my word and you have not denied my name indeed I will make those or 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 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 which will come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth behold I am coming quickly hold fast to what you have that no one may take your crown verse 12 he who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my god listen to this 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 and I will write on him my new name verse 13 wind he who has an ear to hear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches so get your notes ready as we begin to look at this now as we do remembering if you can capture this in your mind when we started there's this grand postal circuit of the Royal or Imperial Roman mail route it's very interesting because as we look at the seven letters to the seven churches there's a it's a big loop here's what's cool about it there are way more than seven churches at the time of Jesus writing to the churches but what's great about these churches mentioned is that they are epicenters of ministries that have gone out from them and I'm not going to name them off by name but some of those other ministries you know well from the book of Acts for example or from some other epistles that have been written by the Apostle Paul but they are epicenters and when those letters arrived for example at Ephesus that letter was read at the church at Ephesus and then it emanated out and was read to the other ministries and if that wasn't enough each of the seven letters delivered to the seven churches were then exchanged among the others and they all read what had been written to each allow me to put it this way they all received the full counsel of God in what would G in what was Jesus saying to them but by way of background let me give you some of these things they may be a little tedious but I think it's good for us to know regarding the origin the city of Philadelphia the name Philadelphia means brotherly love or brothers of love it's certainly and it is based upon two brothers of prominent authority who had such a bond together and that city being named by Attalus of Philadelphia's is this title where then the name of the city speaks about this union between two brothers of great bonding and that's where the city comes from that name of that city it was founded by Atlas Philadelphia sin 140 BC he was the king the location of Philadelphia is very interesting and I'm just going to read it to you because of its many temples and shrines to Babylonian and Greek gods Philadelphia was called the little Athens of the Roman Empire it was strategic for many reasons number one it was vital it was a vital stop along the great trade routes of the ancient world number two the region was extremely fertile for the growing of crops almost any sort but one in particular added its to it the fame of Philadelphia and to its economy and that was grapes and of course where there are grapes there's the industry of winemaking and Philadelphia was the Napa Valley of Asia Minor in its day wine being so valued by the Philadelphians that it was only natural for them to adopt the worship of Dionysus the god of wine otherwise known as Bacchus you've seen them before Bacchus is often seen in antiquity as the as the upper torso of a man and a in an animal body very freakish strange thing but it's it's also like all these pagan gods there's always wine involved no matter what the God is and sexual immorality that's one thing all the gods had in common know if it was Zeus or if it was a thena or tight and it doesn't matter let's all get drunk and take our clothes off is the theme of all these pagan gods and Dionysos is no exception what's amazing to me today you said well glad we don't live like that now excuse me you can't buy a car buy a hamburger without sex appeal being announced and everything that you go to purchase it's ridiculous and we do it today still it's this spirit of paganism Philadelphia geographically was located about 20 miles south of Sardis and we looked at Sardis previously and this is where it gets interesting at least to me it's geological past Masek significant not only could you grow grapes there because of its location and the soil the reason why the soil was so fertile for the growth of almost anything was its geological past Philadelphia was naturally very beautiful and I find this fascinating where and we know this big time in California but anywhere in the world we're a liquid we're a location is geologically unstable a lot of earthquakes lotta ground movement it is most often extremely beautiful it's from the geological upheaval that creates so many beautiful facets and characteristics of the terrain and again California it might be the perfect model for this where we have incredible mountains that jut up into the space as it were huge mountains many you know just me standing here in our location there's five mountains that are within an hour or an hour fifteen minute drive time they're all visible to us almost all the time five of them exceed ten thousand feet high how did that happen because of what is known as the San Andreas Fault and California especially California is lined and creased with earthquake faults which makes such amazing valleys in such amazing areas many of it volcanic which produces amazing soil which creates California's being really the food and fruit and vegetable producing location in all of California or the nation for that matter why is it the case because of this geological past and for us in California we can relate to Philadelphia listen to this so Philadelphia the natural beauty of it with its hills in its mountains and its Canyon in its valleys it's like many places in the globe where there's the greater the geological activity the more beautiful the area but it comes at a great price it also hosts earthquakes earthquakes were the uneasy norm of Philadelphia and in 1780 we heard about this a couple of studies ago in 1718 Philadelphia and ten other cities were totally destroyed by one earthquake that scientists tell us even though they didn't have a way of recording it but by looking at archaeological research they estimate that earthquake to have been somewhere in the vicinity of an eight or nine on the Richter scale of course it didn't exist then but they estimate that Philadelphia prospered as a city for more than 1,400 years until Muslim invaders brought their jihad expansion on their way to Europe and the Christians in Philadelphia were captured and caused them to form a line and as they were marched into the great theater of the gods there in Philadelphia they were systematically beheaded and from that time on a Christian presence in that region was sparse at best the last presence of Christianity was at the end of World War one when Christians fled into Europe so Church as we look at this together I'm gonna ask you to write this down by way of theme before we take any notes write this on the top it comes out of verse 9 the foundation to Jesus is letter to the church at Philadelphia it is this verse 9 says I have loved you will you write that down Jesus says to the church at Philadelphia everything that I'm about to say to you is based upon this fact I have loved you and the word that forms I have loved you is a love that has been it's a love that is abiding now and it's a love that will see through he says I have loved you and so on your note taking we're gonna be looking at a very unique facet to this particular letter of the book of Revelation before we do he feeds 318 write it down Ephesians 3:18 there's the prayer of Paul for the church at Ephesus that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width the length the depth and the height and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge don't you love that I love the fact that God's love is bigger than anything my mind can comprehend and that you may be filled with all the fullness of God that's God's will so here we go number one Jesus writes a letter to the Philadelphian church and this is what he says to them then and to us today verse 7 number one point he wants to remind us look that he is the I am of your I am say what do you mean I am of your I am he's going to announce here and don't miss it oh my friend if you're involved in a cult right now are you a Java witness listen up are you a Mormon listen up are you in some cult that says Jesus is really important but he's not the most important Oh listen up this is awesome he is the I am he is the egg aw and me in the Greek language of the self contained eternal existing God forever and ever amen he is the god that manifested himself in human flesh and he's going to speak to us now verse 7 and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write these things says Wow hang on in other words thus saith the Lord chew on that for a while you can't get away from it he who is holy he who is true he who has the key of David he who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens absolutely deity speaking there's no way around it and the Church of Philadelphia listen up everybody they were very familiar with the deity of Jesus Christ to them there is no doubt who he was and Jesus is identifying himself in other words kind of like this if somebody has heard about you they may have seen your picture but the moment that you meet them you say to them hi I'm Jack and they'll say oh my you're jack I heard I saw it's great to meet you we hope we've all had that experience exactly the same way Philadelphia had heard about the deity of Jesus Christ Jesus now comes to them and confirms what they had heard in his revelation to them I am the great name of God it's the name that appeared at the amazing mount of Sinai Mount Horeb when God spoke to Abraham and when excuse me Moses and Moses then gets the command to go down and Moses asked God a great question now I'm gonna go down there and talk to the kids of Israel and your people but who do I say to them set me and the Lord said to Moses you go down and tell them I am sent you that's the name of God and when Jesus speaks verse 7 alone Church seals forever and one verse the deity of who Jesus Christ is I am the great I am who loves you that's what he's saying and this is why that matters everything that you need is found in me that is the understanding of the I am the becoming one so we've read in the Bible many times the the various names of God and I want to commend to you a book by Jukes the author is Jukes and he has a book it's a Christian classic and it is entitled the names of God you got to get that book because for example one of the names is Jehovah Jireh the I am who provides and then you can look at all of the verses and all of the events and that wonderful work that he produced - God's a bill to provide the great I am and so when Jesus says upfront of this these things says or we would say today with no harm whatsoever thus saith what that means is in that grammatical and theological statement is the fact that whoever's about to speak has just owned absolute authority so somebody might say Jesus never said that he was God oh yes he did on numerous accounts this is absolute authority let's look first at he who is holy this one that has written to you a letter declares that he is holy and here's what it means it's a hundred percent exclusive there is not another who is holy he said wait a minute I thought the Holy Spirit was holy he is well I would assume God is holy God the Father he is well then you just said Jesus is holy but that's exclusive there's no other one that is Olli that's correct God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit is holy God alone is the one that's holy no one else you know listener Muslim friends say that Jesus was a great prophet but nothing more no the Bible says Jesus was God and that he alone is holy 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 15 first Peter 1:15 says but as he who called you is holy you also behold in all of your conduct because it is written be holy for I am holy says the Lord and then think about an expression of holiness I love this write it down this is where my favorite verses I just this blows my mind if you love to look at nature and to see God's creation chew on this this is precious Psalm 104 beginning at verse one Psalm 104 1 bless the Lord O my soul o the Lord O my god you are very great and you are clothed with honor and Majesty who cover yourself with lights as with a garment who stretch out the heavens like a curtain God does this he lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters that is an awesome scientific term that speaks of God's suspending water in the atmosphere between his throne and on earth his foot still beneath the genius of God to move water all around the world he floats water he's the God that does that we take it for granted it's an amazing miracle he so listen he goes on to say who makes the clouds his chariot who walks on the wings of the wind I just love that because it screams the holiness of God the crashing of the waves or maybe it's the incredible silence of a snow that's falling have you ever heard or not heard snow falling you know when snow falls there's this deafening silence because every flake begins to deflect sound waves so that it big it does an amazing way of silencing things and there's a reverence to it you're not worshiping nature you're worshipping the God of nature who speaks to us regarding these external things about his holiness that God is altogether holy and then he says to us you be holy now you may say Oh pastor I've been trying to be holy oh I'm sorry let me explain stop trying to be holy when he says be holy for I the LORD am holy this is what it means because I'm holy and you are my child I have put my spirit upon you and you will go be holy it's not be holy to try to be holy it's because in salvation you are declared holy now get on out there God would say and go live a holy life by his power one is pure Liberty the other one is legalism in bondage and many people today who name the name of Christ battle with that take a deep breath relax Christian and let God live as holiness out through you as the spirit resides in you he's holy number two he's true he alone is true all of this is absolutely screaming the fact that only Jesus is holy only Jesus is true no one else Revelation chapter 6 verse 9 tells us about the host that's up in heaven these are what's known take take this down in your notes revelation 6:9 our tribulation Saints these are those who died after the churches raptured during the Tribulation Period they're called tribulation Saints revelation 6:9 John said when he opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar that is in heaven the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held verse 10 and they cried with a loud voice saying how long O Lord holy and true there you go until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth he's holy he's true third is that he holds the key of David notice the key singular by the way Jesus holds a lot of keys remember we know that he holds now the keys to hell and to death Jesus here the Bible says he holds the key singular of David now look I've told you many times that if you're Jewish in faith I would ask you to do yourself a favor this is a great verse you saw how to read the New Testament well I tell you what I remember I told you before if you just read Genesis to Malachi and skip the entire New Testament and start reading the book of Revelation the the average Jew who knows his Torah and those his Old Testament Scriptures would probably recognize more of what's in the book of Revelation than the common Gentile who just reads the Bible because so much of it is what is fulfilled in the book of Revelation began in the Old Testament and by the way I find it significant that 75% of the book of Revelation is happening during a time when God is working with the nation of Israel again the Jewish people but this is an important thing too recognize again for the Christian it's like oh that's cool but if you're Jewish today you have to sit up and you have to take note of this according to the Bible Jesus holds the key of David what on earth does that possibly mean if you would want to mark down in your Bible or turn there if you would Isaiah chapter 22 is all about Isaiah the prophet telling Judah that you're going to be invaded by the Assyrian Empire if you don't repent so imagine if somebody came on the scene today and said America you're gonna be invaded by China unless you repent that's what Isaiah was saying and they didn't revenge so what happens the enemy comes in and takes them and they had a wicked King Shabnam at the time and God was done with him God's gonna remove him and God's gonna send reform to the nation and God brings to Judah Alya Kim and Alya Kim is listen is a type of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament typology you see oh man this is deep you're making that up that's crazy hang on it's Isaiah 22 22 the Bible says in Isaiah 22 22 regarding the Messiah every Jew knows that's regarding the Messiah yes but it's also regarding to like him he's the type of the coming Messiah what are we - listen my Jewish friends what are we to know from our Jewish background an attribute or characteristic or scenario regarding the Messiah of Israel Isaiah 22 22 the key of the house of David this is a messianic statement I will lay on his shoulder so he shall open he shall open notice that and no one shall shut he shall shut no one shall open oh my goodness I can hear the crowd cheering in your living room right now I can hear people going wow I hope so this is Jesus announcing to the church at Philadelphia hey guess what the promise that was given to Judah through the prophet Isaiah about the Messiah's attributes I'm the one that's arrived and I'm the one that's the fulfillment of that Old Testament prophecy I've got the key of David now let me ask you this skeptic even if you're an unbeliever you should have enough brains to know that Jesus is a descendant of David that genealogical record is of no doubt but you find that fascinating enough for you to start digging into the story and finding out who Jesus Christ really is it's remarkable see Jack you make a big deal about the Jews are you Jewish no but the God that I worship is Jewish and he's grafted me a Gentile into his family again based upon old and new Testament number four he opens and no one shuts oh I love this God loves you Christian God loves you in the 21st century in the midst of all the covet craziness and all of the economic implosion God loves you and it doesn't change his love for you cannot change he loves you and that's expressed with this wonderful opening of the door an example for the for us to look at when God opens doors acts 14:27 acts 1427 says now when he had come this is the ministry team and gathered the church together they reported all that God had done for them that's Paul in his missionary team and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles so listen because God loves us he uses us and in this case with Paul God opened up a door of salvation faith to the Gentiles and Paul got to walk through the door and be used by God man I don't know I don't know how else to communicate this walk through the doors that God has opened to you what's wrong with us we're so bold about dumb things maybe man come on let's go of the roof let's go do this let's dive off that cliff no one says this pray but let's pray about jumping off the cliff no we just do it it's like I was gonna say second nature it's our first nature let's jump nobody stops and says let's pray before we jump jumper let's pray to see if we should jump is that interesting the fact of the matter is as believers we pray O God use me O God use my church Oh God use the my family use my friends use us and we pray and then it falls right there what we ought to do is pray Lord use me and then allow me to put it this way jump jump into ministry jump into helping jump into serving and get into that why you'll see the power of God and he'll open doors you say what if he shuts doors well that's next that's coming up he opens doors so no no I want him to open the door first not gonna happen you got to come right to the door and you've got to get right up there God knows what's in your hearts and listen Lord I'll do whatever you say in the door goes and then you open it up and the Lord announces to you I've opened a door you know that's a lot of freedom friend if you if you do that you can have confidence no matter what happens don't knock down the door let God open the door the next example is in 1st Corinthians 16:9 for a great and effective door has opened to me says Paul and there are many adversaries isn't that interesting cheer up when God opens the door you're gonna have that Viserys in fact if God opens the door and you don't have adversaries I'm a little nervous about that did God in fact open the door did you kick it down because one thing we know for sure from the Bible that if you present yourself before the Lord and if you are standing there in that place of him being your I am that is he's gonna he's gonna lead you guide you he's gonna be everything to you that when you make that step and you're dependent upon him miraculous things are going to happen if you play it safe and you're not sure about him being your I am you're gonna have a rough time and so the Scriptures tells us that there's victory when the enemy attacks God uses the enemy to often give us the thumbs up of the direction we're going and if you think I'm making this up look at the ministry life of Peter look at the ministry life of Paul look at the ministry life of Martin Luther or William Tyndale or Hugh Latimer look up the lives of these people who stood against the Machine of professional religion and they were constantly in trouble with the authorities because they were following God man I want to digress right now into something I can't second Corinthians 2:12 says furthermore when it came when we came to trow as to preach Christ's gospel a door of a door was opened to me by the Lord says Paul Colossians 4 verse 3 meanwhile pray for us that God would open to us a door for the word to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in Chains says the Apostle Paul see God opens the doors he opens the doors number 5 he who shuts and no one opens God closes doors thank God for this he shuts doors because knowing who the I am is and when you cry out to him he's gonna answer listen and when he answers sometimes he locked tight the door he said Jack I I'm I'm loving this and I know this but how do I differentiate between knocking and keep on knocking seeking and keep on seeking ask and keep on asking when he's closed the door I personally believe because and I'm only speaking from one reporters opinion that when you and I are living our lives with Jesus that you and I have a relationship established with him meaning we know him and he knows us and when we are talking with him and yes we keep knocking yes we keep asking yes we keep seeking until he says no or wait and when that happens it's a considered a door being shut and you don't need to push it anymore you don't need to fret you don't need to wring your hands about it anymore you don't need to worry about it anymore you've given it to him and you can relax in that he's the one who shuts doors my goodness friends I wish I at the time to itemize over the course of the last 30 years how God has shut doors in a direction that we sincerely thought he was going and it was kind of like this almost in all cases we made a plan we went down the road it didn't come together either nobody showed up or there wasn't the resources to do it or it just fizzled out and you just let it go when God is in it you can't get it off your heart it's constantly before you and it's intensifying and you make your first step and there is a landing and then you make your second step and yet again another landing I got to tell you this is personal it's not in my notes but it pops into my head regarding that very thing I had what I think seriously was the only dream or vision I've ever had as a believer I just don't have him pray for me but I had this I don't know if I was sleeping or I was awake but I saw the Mojave Desert of California beautiful but barren stark desert and I saw on the horizon a little white cloud and it was moving and it was getting it was zigzagging left and right and it was getting closer closer and as it got closer I could see that there was rain falling from beneath that little cloud and as the cloud got closer then I could see that there was something underneath it and as it was coming toward me and was coming just like this and it passes by like this to my right to my left there was a train like an old steam locomotive and the cloud was raining into a big brass bucket on the behind the engine and the train had no coal it had no electricity it had it had propulsion but you couldn't tell where it was coming from and right in front of the Train this may not matter I just realized you won't even care about this but right before the train went off the track there was a Pinot like your little train set a piece of track there was a piece of track right in the middle of the wheel so when the when the wheel came the next track was laid down and there was no track in front of the train until the train got to the end of the track and then the next track and it was going like that and the train was going across the desert and every so often the rain cloud would fill up the bucket the train would turn and the bucket would spilled into the desert and then a beautiful Oasis would explode in the desert streams in the desert oasis in the desert and the Lord had made it clearer and with a thought in my mind that's how you Jack are to be with me your only concern is to know that the track will be provided before you reach the end of it and that the cloud will be giving the life-giving water you just be the Train and go forward you don't need to worry about your propulsion you don't need to worry about your sustenance you don't need to worry about where you're going you just need to be on the track and move and God will provide he is the I am he will provide he will open doors he will shut doors number 2 My dear Philadelphia I've written to you a letter to remind you that I am your defender he's not only the great I am he is the great I am our defender Revelation 3:8 goes on to say I know your works see I have set before you an open door that no one can shut and this speaks about the sovereign hand of God he is our defender the Great God who's our defender will be and is the one who is sovereign do you believe that I'm going to pause right now for effect do you really believe that God is sovereign up until recently we've had the luxury of simply theoretically talking about it as Christians in America is God sovereign do you teach that are you a pastor do you teach the sovereignty of God are you a Christian do you believe that God is sovereign I have some doubts now after all of this covet panic and drama of people it's embarrassing some of the things that are going on and it's doubly embarrassing when you have pastors that are losing faith over following the fact that God is sovereign God is sovereign his revealed word is sovereign and this issue has challenged so many people today in their faith they've got strong feelings and opinions about something don't we all but then where does the faith factor come into play and where's the sovereignty of God in all of these things could we possibly be as a ministry in a grand test to see what we're made of could it be that God is speaking how bad do you want to follow me and my word will you trust me listen the last time I read the book of Mark or the Gospels period God said that he would protect us even if we were deployed into hostile territory I know your works he's it implies it's wonderful church at Philadelphia I've set before you an open door that nobody can shut he's our defender he has the key it's amazing to me do you remember in high school or it doesn't matter in school period it doesn't matter what it doesn't even matter if you're at the office at some company in a sense he's got the most power oh the CEOs got the most power or the Board of Education has the most power yes now is that true I mean it's true on paper but isn't it funny when the Board of Supervisors has taken to tour of the University campus you know they can't go anywhere the seemingly the most powerful person on the campus is the janitor because he's the guy that's got that big set of keys that makes so much noise on his hip as he's jingling along and that the Board of Education can show up to a door they can't even get in until they called this guy down and he comes and unlocks the door then they go in it cracks me up they got the authority but who's got the power to open the door hey listen because Jesus is God he's got the power the authority and the key he opens doors and he closes doors he's sovereign verse eight says for you have a little strength circle the words little strength it's awesome this is beautiful now you look I'm gonna tell you right now some scholars will say yeah that's the only criticism Jesus gave them are you kidding me that's not a critique Jesus doesn't say anything negative about the church at Philadelphia that's why I pray dear God please may this church be at the Church of Philadelphia that's a missions minded Church it's a church that loves the doctrine of God does the word of God it's the salt and light of a community it knows no place to hide its light under the bushel but shines it's light everywhere the consternation of some and to the blessing of others it's a church moving ahead I strive I'm not kiddin church I strive in the spirit that this church at least under my watch when I leave here someday by hook or by crook right by rapture or by rupture that during my investment here it was a church likened unto Philadelphia and when I think about that I love the fact that Jesus says you've got a little strength it implies you are not a grand church you are not a institutionalized church but it certainly means in the positive you've got a little strength this is encouraging to me God is saying to Jack Jack whatever you have you've handed over it to me and that's all I've asked of you you come to me willing Christian do you come to God willing are you ready to have God are you willing to have God be sovereign in your life to be your great defender there's nothing like it there's nothing better you have a little strength and then he defines what they've done with that strength and I'm asking is it you is it me is it us you've kept my word what does that mean you've stayed true to my doctrine you have not wavered on this book you've kept true to it and then he says you've not denied my name let me read a few things to you this word little strength means to contend with weakness who wants to go into a fight weak have you ever felt like that oh man I I can't make this swim I can't do this triathlon I can't do this workout I can't even take a walk tonight because I don't feel good about it I just don't feel my feet hurt my head hurts you got all this weakness and you go do it anyway how many times have you not wanted to do what was right you stepped out in obedience to do the right thing and within moments or an hour your heart engages the right action and your attitude has changed oh we're so little Jesus we're so weak we're so nothing and Jesus says guess what because you're aware of that I love you and I'm gonna use you because here's why you may be weak but you don't let go of my word you may be weak but you've completely stay true to my name you've not embarrassed me that's what that means you've kept you've uh you've not denied my name you have maintained your witness you haven't done anything Philadelphia for me to be embarrassed about and I want to bless you you've kept my doctrine you've not made up stories you've not created you know the Lord told me to tell you I know you won't find this in the Bible but no none of that junk you've kept your nose in the book we would put it and so the word little streak means to contend with weakness it means to be moving forward yet aware of one's frailty and inability it's a statement that means that one is surrounded by opposition yet you will not give up it describes someone who knows and believes and lives in an ungodly world but keeps moving forward toward the goal of the prize the finish line now that sounds familiar doesn't it sounds like Ephesians I keep reading this is a thought look closely at what Jesus is saying and I'm quoting here I've given you these open doors of opportunities I have shut down other doors that you don't need to be involved in don't worry about the fact that you have a little strength because you have stayed true to my word my doctrine my instruction my commands and you have not tainted your witness nor in any way have you embarrassed me by denying my name that is awesome I pray that describes you and me as believers verse 9 says indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan this is the second time we've heard these but this by the way in those seven letters to the seven churches who say that they are Jews and are not but lie I will make them come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you now I'll be honest with you upfront there's a lot of speculation as to what that means are these false believers hiding in the church are these people who because remember the early church were Jews converted to Christ as Messiah but not all of them were we know that from the book of Acts my goodness the look look at me the church in the book of Acts church air quotes where it was a real pain to the real work of God there were false brethren every which way so what does this mean who are these people I'd rather not focus on who are these people more than what is it that they believe because then now that removes any ethnicity or any race from the story it's what is it that they believed that caused them to be of the synagogue of satan' and it's this it's a reference to those who had come out of the traditions of manmade Judaism and embraced Jesus as Messiah but over time they began to gravitate back toward their human rules rituals and legalism if a Jew were to follow the scriptures they would naturally come to the conclusion that the Messiah is none other than Yeshua Jesus you see Jack do you have backing for this Hebrews six beginning at verse four Hebrews six beginning at verse four for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come verse six if they fall away that that word is if they give up to seek something else they walk away from all of those witnesses that God has given them and they go off into something else it says if they fall away to renew them again to repentance in other words it's impossible to renew them again to repentance why well look since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to an open shame translation they deny his name it means this and this in the context I'm a Jew I'm reading Moses the light comes on I'm gonna go check out Jesus I wind up reading scripture there's a lot in there Wow I go to a church and I see and I sense and I discern Wow gods in this place this is amazing and I can testify that that experience was the most biblically round experience I've had over time my faith begins to wane my belief begins to wane and I gravitate back - my original belief I do not need the V Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world nope I'm gonna go back to the old ritual legalistic system because I don't believe Jesus can take care of my sins and I quit believing this is not a Salvation issue they didn't have salvation that's why Hebrews writes about these people they tasted they experienced they saw God moving only to give up that's who he's warning about very very serious the synagogue of Satan and I love the fact that verse nine at the end says and this is the thrust of the whole thing I'm gonna have them come and worship before your feet because I'm gonna have them know and fully understand that it is because I love you number three My dear Philadelphia I've written to you a letter to remind you that I am your coming one he's coming in revelation 3:10 and eleven it says because you have kept my command to persevere are you persevering Christian I know it's tough the whole word implies that it's tough but are you moving forward Jesus gives you this promise gives us this promise I will keep you from the hour notice there's an hour of trial coming which shall come upon the entire world all the world not part of it all of it to test those who all who dwell on the earth there is no doubt about it absolutely not my opinion but a biblical fact revelation 3:10 is referring to Jesus Christ making us a promise that the church will not endure the Great Tribulation seven-year period of time because it is a time of testing upon the world that will be upon all who dwell on the earth number one you don't your citizenships in heaven number two it's vitally important that if you're hanging in there with Jesus here and now he makes this promise it's the whole promise by the way it's answered again in Luke 21:36 in the 21 36 basically says that when you see all these things beginning to happen okay around you and these endtime events you need to pray because God has promised you the way of escape that you may stand before the Son of Man when all this stuff begins to happen on earth this is a verse regarding the rapture of the church and there's no way around it the judgment comes upon all those who are on the face of the earth it's upon the entire world and listen he says I will keep you from it you can search all you want go call your friend who's taken some Greek down at the local college ask him what it says it's undeniable it's not I'm gonna keep you through it there's some cults that have said that by the way oh no I'm just going to keep you through it nope it means that he will take you out of it you will not experience that and time doesn't permit me to give all of the verses but start here with this one Titus 2:13 that we are looking for constantly scanning for the imminency that's what it means for the Blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ but if you go to first Thessalonians 1:10 I'm gonna run through the verse as fast okay cuz I'm way over time first the Salone ins 1:10 there's a promise there guaranteed that you'll be delivered from the wrath that's coming upon the earth the rap the seven-year tribulation period is God's wrath all seven not just the last three and a half all of it the first half appears to be benign but it's gross satanic deception whereby the anti-christ deceives the world by peace and prosperity until in the midpoint he is recognized as being God among men and the world boughs down and idolizes him and in that the Bible says with the newly rebuilt temple in Jerusalem he goes to Jerusalem stands there and he declares himself to be God and then the last three and a half years is the Great Tribulation Period out of the seven year Tribulation Period powerful remarkable 1st Thessalonians 1:10 he promises to remove you from the wrath for Thessalonians 2:19 he promises to remove you from the wrath 1st Thessalonians 3 12 and 13 he promises to remove you before the wrath 1st Thessalonians 4:16 2:17 he promises to remove you from the wrath 1st Thessalonians 5 9 through 11 he promises to remove you from the wrath and then the bombshell you know well John 14:3 and if I go and he did to prepare a place for you he is I will come again he will to receive you to myself I'd say ok how about today that'd be nice that where I am that is right now in real time there well wherever that is you may be also and I would add let's go he's they're preparing to place during the wrath of God poured out on earth the church will be taken up and there'll be a grand reception in heaven above number 4 church to remind you I've written you this letter to remind you that I am your identification that I am your identification verse 12 this is cool he who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my god and he shall go out no more remember that earthquake we talked about in 1780 historians write I'm gonna read it to you in a moment historians write that when that earthquake hit people were seen running out of the temples remember Philadelphia was known as the little Athens when the earthquake struck it struck in the night we learned that from last week in the other church it struck in the night but people were still worshiping at these temples and historians tell us that the people went running from their homes and from temples to get to the outside because the earthquake had hit it was an extremely graphic word that Jesus employs here to remind them of that massive earthquake of 17 Eydie when those ten of their cities were devastated I read to you Ramsey Ramsey writes as a historian and I quote almost all that was left from the violent upheaval and the opening up of the ground were the pillars that supported the gods in their temples the deities themselves in whom the people trusted in the end could not support themselves and were found in ruin but the pillars were still standing Flavius Josephus writes and he tells that the people quote refused the going into the city center this is Philadelphia from that time forward instead they began to build their homes more like tents and makeshift dwellings out in the countryside and away from everything that could fall now maybe many of you cannot relate to that but in California we can in fact you may not know this but when southern California has an earthquake no matter what level it is our fire departments automatically move their fire trucks out of doors out of the fire house and they park them in the street or on the driveway of the firehouse why because another one could happen and the people of Philadelphia everything came down except the pillars do you hear this now what's interesting is the Bible's going to tell us here that Jesus is going to write on us in the ancient world when a city or an empire wanted to honor a general or an emperor or a Caesar or a king they would often dedicate a temple excuse me a pillar and they would put the name of that hero on the pillar you know this actually from the Bible itself in the temple God had two pillars that supported nothing and the pillars had names remember the names Jacque Chen and Boaz they were pillars but they had nothing on top of them and that's very symbolic of us the believer we are the temple of the Living God and he's saying remember when the earthquake hit and everything fell down but the temple I mean but the pillars yep I'm gonna make you a pillar in my kingdom because I am the I am and my identification is wrapped up in you I am going to label a pillar with your name on it and Jesus is saying I'm gonna see to it it doesn't fall down Church listen in the midst of all that's going on in the world now you don't have to fall down look what he says verse 12 goes on to say I will write on him the name of my God think about you said Jack I don't feel like a pillar I didn't ask you if you felt like a pillar according to Jesus you are a pillar in his family in his temple he says I'm gonna write on you in that great so I got some tattoos you know what whatever they're all gonna fade oh my gosh hey if you're young don't get a tattoo cuz you know what it might look cool now but man once you hit 40 your tattoo is gonna sink I mean if you could have a battleship on your chest it's gonna wind up somewhere around your bellybutton as you get older you don't let listen you look bad it doesn't look good this the ship will sink and even if you wrote on here love mom and a few years it looks like it's it's it's written in some characters of some language don't do it how about this make sure that written on you is the name of my god says Jesus he says in the name of the city of my god that's gonna be written on you the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven that's a great Bible study right there and I will write my new name on you Jesus is going to give you a new name that I mean to be disrespectful but we use the word tattoo you know in the gangs the gangs that occupy the cities of the world did you know that those gangs are all marked with ownership it doesn't matter if you're the Crips or if you're the skulls or if you're 13 or if you're whoever you know you're marked and you know what I don't know if you know this or not but all of their women are marked did you know that they they have rituals and then once a woman has gone through that ritual they they mark her lower back with an ownership this gang owns her you may be marked by this world right now marked by this world because your world is gripped in fear you are tormented by the uncertainty of life because you've been marked by circumstance you've been marked by pain and suffering and sorrow you've been marked in other words you have scars from the pains of this life broken family rejected children our parents I don't know what it is it doesn't matter he knows he's the I am he knows you and so your life like my life has been written on people have written on us have they not when somebody who you love turns and says I hate you that's written on you it doesn't matter you know if you don't care about somebody they can say whatever it doesn't bother you but when a husband turns to a wife or a wife to a husband and says I have no need for you anymore I found a younger version or a richer version that's written on you and it's not gonna come off like a tattoo will not come off unless the great I am I don't know how he does this but when he but the moment you come to Christ he writes his name on you and it forever puts his name upon you but at the moment of his writing it's almost like this stringent this this bleach that goes through your system and washes away everything else that has marked you in the past so that it has no more power over you and now only you and I in our minds can entertain the thought of what used to own us and when that thought comes up to our minds we need to say nope I reject that thought in the name of Jesus I am refusing that that is no longer my life it is no longer my desire and if I had a choice to choose God right now or that way of life it's not even a thought I'm gonna go with God so get that thought out of my mind the Lord Jesus Christ rebukes that and I'm gonna walk with him the way you do that is by the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit doing that to you let him write on you his name now more than ever during this epidemic and what's coming next and the great economic collapse of economies the joblessness the homelessness the pain fear and sorrow is coming economists tell us mathematicians tell us it is inevitable what are you gonna do about it you gonna freak out you know jump off a building you got a pen listen that's insane stop the great I am wants to write hope on you love faith on you Jesus the name of the Father the name of the city of God and the new name of Christ himself which is reserved it's a it implies that Jesus and you listen and we're done it implies that between you and Jesus you have nicknames with each other that name he's gonna write on you the naming rights on you is going to be different than the naming rights on me it's personal do you Christian have a personal relationship with God and understand that there's a name that he has for you that's known only to him Jesus is announcing just hang in there because when I come for you you're gonna see my name written on you and you'll be a pillar in my house and you will never have to run outdoors any more for safety you won't have to flee because I am Here I am I am the I am I am the defender I am the coming one I am the identification of everyone who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ thanks for watching the real life YouTube channel we love bringing you content that will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ you can subscribe to this channel so that you don't miss one single video or live stream and you can share it with friends and family if you'd like to support this ministry by helping us reach others by taking the gospel and the teaching around the world you can do so by clicking the give Now button so thanks again for watching and God bless [Music]

Channel: Real Life with Jack Hibbs

Views: 37,245

Rating: 4.9286222 out of 5

Keywords: letters to the 7 churches, the church of philadelphia, revelation song, the book of revelation, end times prophecy, amir tsarfati update, jack hibbs live, jack hibbs rapture, real life with jack hibbs, letters to the 7 churches sermons, letters to the 7 churches audio books, seven churches, revelation, book of revelation

Id: LiMEvFLiYhM

Length: 62min 56sec (3776 seconds)

Published: Sun May 17 2020