Letter to Philadelphia
Pastor Marq Toombs • July 26, 2020
Sermon Overview
REVELATION 3:7–13
Jesus’s letter to Philadelphia was written to a struggling church. They were struggling with the persecution they faced, yet they remained faithful. Jesus reassures them of their safety in him and that they will be saved in the judgment that is coming upon the world. Suffering purifies our faith and roots us in Christ.
Sermon Transcript
Grace and peace be with you from the Lord Jesus Christ it's a privilege to be with you this Lord's Day.
So we make our way through the series that we've been in, Jesus's letters to the churches in Revelation, know that those letters are not simply for those churches back then and there they are also for us. And as many of you have commented over the last several weeks, the letters that Jesus sent to those churches have relevance for us and we have all entered into the story and we've listened to the Lord Jesus Christ, speak some powerful words to us. And so today as we listen to his letter to the church at Philadelphia, let's keep in mind that what Jesus says to the church in Philadelphia, he also says to the church in Rockwall and beyond.
About 30 years ago, I was walking through the streets of Mexico City. I was on Insurgentes Avenue, in a little place called Barranca del Muerto. And as I was walking down the street, I suddenly had an odd sensation, a sickness in the pit of my stomach, a weakness in my knees and I found myself doing something like this, along the streets, trying to grab on to something and I eventually found my way to a lamppost, and I held on to the lamppost. Cars were screeching to a stop. People were jumping out of their cars, buildings were shaking, glass was cracking. We were in the midst of tremor, not a full on earthquake, as people in Mexico City know the difference between an earthquake and tremors. But an earthquake had hit Mexico City, some five years before that and the people were still sensitive to those tremors, still sensitive to the aftershocks and the concern that would come as tremors hit their city.
And they remembered what it was like in 1985 when large buildings collapsed and buried many of their family and friends under the rubble. And so five years after that, every time there was a tremble, every time there was a shake, we all felt the fear and the concern. And I don't know if you've ever experienced something like that. But if you have you know that there is a deep sense of insecurity and instability that overwhelms you. Because you know, in that moment, there is not a thing in the world you can do to stop the world from shaking. There's not a thing in the world you can do to keep yourself from feeling the impact of that.
Jesus writes a letter to a church in Philadelphia. And while for many of us, Philadelphia is the place where you get delicious cheese steaks, it's the place where Rocky Balboa became the champion of the world. Is the place where the American Revolution found its headquarters, a place where the Liberty Bell hangs and is cracked, reminding us of the frailty of our republic. For many people, Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love. But for the people in those days, Philadelphia was known as an earthquake prone city, a city that was often shaken by earthquakes. And in fact, destroyed on multiple occasions and then rebuilt.
And there is a church of Jesus Christ, planted in the heart of that city. And Jesus wants to send a word to that church, in the midst of all of the pressures he faces. The instability and insecurity, Jesus writes a letter to that church. And of all the letters he sent to the churches in Asia, this is the one letter where Jesus has no word of criticism for the church, no complaint. Whatever deficiencies, whatever problems she might have faced, Jesus overlooks them. Love covers a multitude of sins, and he reminds that church of how much he loves them. He simply points out the one thing that he wants to address. And it's not a moral problem, it's not a theological problem. He simply points out the reality that this is a church with very little power.
In Greek, he uses the phrase ‘micro-power,’ ‘micro-ability.’ It's a very small ability that this church has. And Jesus wants to address that. And so what I would like to do is set up a contrast for you between the weakness of the church on one hand, and then the power of Jesus on the other. And then we will end by looking at the promises that Jesus makes to those of us who are weak. Think about what Jesus says to this church. I know your works, I know you've kept my word. I know you haven't denied my name. I know you've got religious enemies bearing down on you, trying to shut the kingdom of God in your face. I know that you have very little power. And then he addresses them as one who has all power.
In Revelation 1, in Revelation 4, Jesus is referred to as the ‘Pantokrator.’ He is the All Powerful One, and he is addressing this very weak church. You might find yourself in a state of weakness today. You might be the kind of person or the kind of family that feels an incredible amount of weakness rising up from within you or bearing down upon you. And you know the sick feeling you can have, just by feeling that weakness. We live in a power hungry culture that despises weakness and looks down on weakness. And that makes you feel even worse, if you're in a state of weakness, doesn't it?
The late J.I Packer, who recently went to be with the Lord wrote in his book, “Weakness is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength,” he asked this question, “What is weakness?” The idea from first to last is of inadequacy, inadequacy. I wonder how many of you feel inadequate in your life. Maybe you feel inadequate physically because you're wrestling with some kind of sickness or disease. Maybe you feel inadequate in your stage of life because you're too young to be able to control your destiny, or maybe you're too old to feel like you have any worth or value left. I wonder how many of you feel inadequate physically, or financially? Maybe you feel like you just don't have as much as the people around you. And that makes you feel bad about yourself and feel weird about yourself. Like maybe something is wrong with you. Maybe you feel inadequate in other ways, socially, like you're not as well connected as other people. Or maybe you just feel inadequate in your own person. You're not sure, if you have anything to offer, you might feel a sense of insignificance or insecurity in and of yourself. That is all a kind of weakness that works in us.
And then some of us feel a sense of spiritual inadequacy. Because we look around and we see that, other people seem to be better put together than we are. Our congregation might look out and see you other churches that seem to be healthier and larger and more influential than we are? And then we might feel a little bit odd about ourselves, like what's wrong with us? You might have a spiritual inadequacy.
I remember the first time I visited RPC, way back in the day when it was still Trinity Harbor. About a dozen years ago, I'd never been to a Presbyterian church. I've never been to a Reformed church in my life. My family and I sit right back in that second section, in a chair, in chairs, and after listening to the sermon and experiencing the worship and going through the liturgy and meeting some of the elders and some of the members, we walked away encouraged but challenged. And I remember telling my wife on the way home, wow, that was quite an experience. I don't think I could ever be an elder in a church like that, where I am right now. And look at me now a dozen years later.
But I gotta tell you something, I still feel a sense of inadequacy. It's not a bad place to be. It's not a bad place to feel inadequate. It's not a bad place to feel the insecurities of life. It's not a bad place to move deeper and deeper into weakness and to make yourself lower and lower. In fact, if I looked at my life, and I had to confess one thing to you today, it would be this, that for much of my life, I've resisted weakness and tried to run away from it. But then I'm convinced by men like J.I Packer, who was convinced by people like the Apostle John and the Lord Jesus Christ, that weakness is the way. So for all of you who are feeling weak and inadequate and insecure today, I wanna say you're in the right place. Jesus has you exactly where he wants you. You're in a good place. You see, he addressed this church and he says, look, I know that you have little power, but it's not a criticism.
He's just acknowledging a reality, I know you have little power and it's perfectly okay with me. Why, because Jesus has all power. And so as Jesus addresses this church, he can remind them, that their safety and their security, does not depend upon their own power, their own influence in the culture. Their safety and security depends upon the influence and the power of Christ within them. And that's what he's moving towards here. You have micro-power, you have very little ability. So what? “Why do you say, my way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God? Do you not know, have you not heard, the Lord God does not faint or grow weary, he gives power to the faint, and to him who has little power, he increases their strengths.”
And so from beginning to end in the story of God, God's people learn, sometimes learn the hard way and sometimes the easy way. But we all have to come to grips with this deep and profound truth. That God's grace is sufficient for us. That his power is made perfect in our weakness. In fact, Jesus Christ who had all power became weakness itself, in order to rescue those of us who are weak. And in this we see the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now let's shift gears and talk about the power of Christ in this letter. Jesus introduced himself to the church in Philadelphia, by referring to himself as the Holy one, the true one, the one who holds the key of David, the one who opens doors and no one can shut them or shuts doors and no one can't open them. If you're very familiar with the Old Testament, then you'll see that that imagery is borrowed from the prophets and from the Psalms, as the prophets in the Psalms anticipated the coming of Jesus and hinted that when he comes, he will have total and absolute power, over his people, over the world, over the conditions of life. And that power will not corrupt him, but he will use that power to comfort his people. And this is in fact what Jesus is doing. The phrase ‘Holy One,’ the title, the Holy One is used some 29 times in the book of Isaiah alone. It's used in other places, but it's used throughout Isaiah, to refer to Yahweh, to God, who is the Savior and the creator of his people. In one passage, Isaiah 43 God says, “Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. And when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Why, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. I will be with you.”
And this was written to a people, spoken to people who were on their way to exile, on their way to captivity. And they were going to cross rivers, and some of them were going to be cast into ovens and burned in the flames. And God says, I'll be with you every step of the way. It's spoken to people like us, who have been baptized. We've passed through the rivers, and God is with us. And now we've entered into fiery trials and difficulties, and God is with us. The Holy One of Israel is our Savior. And he is the one who has the power of the keys, he opens and shuts and no one can reverse what he has done. He opens and shuts the door to heaven, by the power of his sovereign grace. And no one can undo what he does.
And now it is this holy and true King who speaks to us in his word. He speaks to us who have very little power, very little influence, very little ability. And he reminds us that we're in good hands because the Lord our God is with us. He has not abandoned us or neglected us. He is with us and concerned about us. Behold, I have set before you an open door. He knows our works. And then he rewards us for those works. And the words mentioned here are the works of keeping his word and not denying his name. These are not spectacular deeds. These are ordinary things that he's asked his people to do.
Over the last several months, as we've entered into the quarantine, and the pandemic has increased and changed life, we've made adjustments here and one of the first things we did as you can attest is we went back to the basics, didn't we? So what are the fundamental sustainable things that we need to do as the Church of Jesus Christ? The first thing we said, is we need to pray, and we need to cling to his word. And so we've made every effort to put the word of God out in front of you again and again. And you've done a wonderful job of keeping the word of Christ. You've also done a great job of not denying the name of Christ, not rejecting Him and giving up on him, in this difficult time. And as hard as it might be, and as weary as you might have grown of doing that, and as weak as we might feel in this moment, we're reminded that Jesus is aware of our works, and he rewards us. Not just later on, but even now, he rewards us. And He rewards us how? By giving us open doors.
In the Scriptures, the phrase ‘open door’ can refer on one hand, to missional opportunities. He opens the door and the people of God go through the door bearing witness and testifying that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, declaring the good news that Jesus is Lord. Doors have been open to us, not only to serve in India and encourage our brothers and sisters in India, but doors have been open to us, here in Rockwall. Here in our neighborhood since we've been able to speak more and more about the Lord Jesus to people in this difficult time. In God's providence, the pandemic has turned the hearts of many, to seek the Lord Jesus. We've actually had people come and join us and worship with us and log on online as the door has been opened by Christ for the gospel to go out from this place.
But that's not the only door that's opened. Also in Scripture, there is the door that's open to heaven, and there's a liturgical door. In Revelation 4, John sees a door open in the sky, and he's lifted by the spirit through that door to enter into the throne room of grace and to join the great assembly of the apostles and prophets and elders, and enter into this cosmic worship of the Lamb of God. What is Jesus telling the church at Philadelphia? Yes, I've opened a door for you missionally to your community in the City of Brotherly Love, but I've also opened a door for you spiritually to enter into the presence of God. To gather with all the saints through all the ages to worship the Lord Jesus Christ in the spirit.
C.S Lewis seized on this image of a door. Those of you who are familiar with the Narnia series, know that C.S Lewis love to use the image of a door. It's the door of a wardrobe through which children entered into the land of Narnia. And then the book Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan opens a door in the sky, inviting people from this world into the next world, the land of Narnia. C.S Lewis, stole that imagery from the book of Revelation. He's echoing what Jesus has done.
When 2020 began, we sat in the office, Zach and I sat in the office and then moved to a staff meeting, and Pastor Zach said, “Aslan is on the move.” And you would think that with the pandemic and the difficulties that have come that maybe Aslan checked out, but just this past week, we said Aslan is still on the move. And we're not talking about the fictitious lion in Narnia, we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is still on the move. He is still opening doors, and what he opens, no one can shut and when he shuts, no one can open.
But the thing I want you to see about this door in the text here, is that this is not just an ordinary door, nor is it an imaginary door. This is a door that represents the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In the gospel of John Jesus refers to himself as the door. He is the door by which his sheep may come in and go out and find pasture. He is the door through which if anyone enters, they shall be saved. And Jesus has said before the church in Philadelphia and the church at Rockwall, a door by which we can be saved, a door by which we must be saved, for he is the way, the truth and the life. And by coming through this door of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to the Father, and there is no other way.
Do you think about what an open door is? An open door is a sign of welcome. It tells you to exit one place but enter into another. It tells you more than that, it tells you, you're welcome here and you belong here. There's nothing like an open door. There's nothing like an open door when you go to your friend's house, and they want you to come in. There's nothing like an open door when you go back home after a long absence, and the door is wide open, unlocked for you to come in. There's nothing like an open door to a church, where you're welcomed, and you find your place of belonging. But all of those doors are pointing to the one door, which is Jesus Christ. There's nothing like coming into Christ. There's nothing like exiting the world, exiting the world of instability and insecurity, exiting all of that weakness and frailty, and passing through the door of his power and glory, and finding yourself in a new place where there is strength, where there's beauty, where there's life. Jesus is calling us and inviting us, welcoming us to come through this door.
Let's consider the promises of Christ. What are the promises of Christ to his people in this letter? One of the promises that would be easy to overlook is this one. I am coming soon. I am coming soon. I've noticed over the last several weeks that more and more of my family and friends have been thinking about the end. More and more of my family and friends have been thinking about the destiny of their life. Where is all of this going? Where is God in the midst of all of this trouble? Has God forgotten us? Has he checked out? Has he abandoned us? How far away are we from him? And how long will it take us to get to him? These are concerns that some of my family and friends have wrestled with. The good news is this. Jesus is coming this way. It's not just about Jesus, standing where he is and calling us to try to find him and get to where he is. He knows we have little strengths. We don't have enough strength to make that long journey. So what does he do? He condescends to us, he humbles himself. He makes himself weak. And he comes to meet us where we are.
Now, many people hear the promise, “I am coming soon,” and they hear it in different ways, don't they? Those who are living outside of Christ, those who are living in rebellion to Jesus, those who hate Jesus, are going to hear that one way. They might blow it off as if it's no big deal, they don't care anyway. Or they might be terrified by the prospect that Jesus is coming. Because what they hear is, I'm coming to get you. I'm coming to get you, I'm coming to make things right. I'm coming to give you what you deserve, for all the trouble you've caused. And they are very right to feel that fear. They're very right to be terrified at the notion of Jesus's coming.
But for those of us who are walking in Christ, and we put our trust in Jesus, and we're resting in him, this is truly a promise, isn't it? I'm coming for you, not against you. I'm coming to make things right, I'm coming to fix things that are broken, I'm coming to restore you, I'm coming to do what is right and good for you, I'm coming to bring justice on the earth, I'm coming to judge the living and the dead. And Jesus knows how to sort through all of these things. And so we hear in his coming, a promise to sort things out. The promise that he makes here is specifically for those who conquer. Think about that. I know you have little power, I know you have little ability, but what does he still expect you to do in your weakness? He still expects you to conquer. And what are you to conquer? You conquer yourself for one. You get over yourself. The temptation to give up on Jesus, the temptation to ignore his word, the temptation to deny him in front of others. You have to get over that. You have to get over it in yourself first, and then you can help people around you get over it. So you as an individual, you need to conquer yourself. Conquer your own sin, conquer your own struggles. But then you do that as a community, don't you? We do it together as a community. We conquer, we overcome all the pressures, all the temptations. And how do we do this? By holding on to the word of Jesus, and by confessing his name, by clinging to the things that he has given us, holding on to those things will help us to conquer.
And when we conquer, these are the promises he gives us. I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God and I will write my name on your pillar. And you think, well, that's a strange promise. Why would you give a promise like that to the church of Philadelphia? Well, think about the fact that they live in an unstable, insecure world. They're facing this all the time, things are constantly trembling and shaking. And Jesus is promising to put them in a place that will never be shaken. A place that will never be brought down, and not just put them in there, but to make them a support system within it. He's gonna make them a part of the structure of the temple of God. He's moving them out of the instability of the world to the stability of the temple of God. And there'll be pillars there. You're gonna support the weight of glory. You're gonna testify to the true and living God. And once you're there, he will write names on you.
Think of this spiritual graffiti that Jesus is going to etch into your life. Think of the tattoos he's going to put on you. And what do they look like? It's just names, one name after another. You've heard that phrase since you were a child right? Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? Think of the times you've been called names that demeaned you. You've been called names that made you feel less or even weaker than you already felt. Think of the times names have been applied to you that didn't fit. And now Jesus is promising to put names on you that are permanent. Names that are going to alter your identity, transform you, names that are going to identify you with the true and living God. And what are those names?
The first name he promises to put on you, on your pillar in the temple of God, is the name of the Triune God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And I want you to know he's already etched that name on your life. He's already put the name of the Triune God on you. When you were baptized, he wrote his name on you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, he made you a part of himself, a part of his family. But now, he's going to do more than that. He's going to add a new name, the name of the City of God. The true and better City of Brotherly Love is the New Jerusalem, that comes down out of heaven. Jesus is going to etch on you the name of the City of God, you are a citizen here, you belong here, this is your place of residence. And he's also going to etch on you his own new name. You have to read all of Revelation to get this but somewhere in the book of Revelation, he reveals to us the name that is written on his thigh, the name that is tattooed on his leg. That he is the Faithful and True Witness. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and he will write that name on you. These are promises that he makes.
And you know why it's important for us to see this three fold promise? Because a fact is established by two or three witnesses, and what is he saying to us? I'm gonna write my name on you, and it's gonna be permanently etched into your life, it's never going to be erased, blotted out, chipped away. You're always going to belong here. You're always gonna have a place here. You're always gonna have what you need here. Because you belong to the Lord God. When you buy something new, whether you do it digitally or analogically, what are you doing? You put your name on it. 'Cause you wanna show ownership. Jesus has purchased you with his blood, what does he do? He puts his name on you, in three ways. To remind you again and again and again, that you are his and he is yours. And he loves you. Comfort, comfort, oh my people. All you people with little power. All you friends with little strength. All you children who feel too small all you elderly folks who feel too weak and everyone in between who feels insecure and inadequate comfort, comfort, oh my people.
The Holy One does not faint or grow weary. The True King gives power to the faint and to him who is weak, he gives strength. Whether you are young or old or in between, whether you are a man, woman or child, the same thing is true of each and every one of us that we all grow weak and weary. We all wonder and stumble and feel exhausted. But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings of eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.
For the Holy One of Israel is our God and he will bring us to himself, now and forever.
So rest in your weakness, and in resting in your weakness, you will rest and the power of the Lord Jesus.
For his power is made perfect in your weakness.
