Speaker 1: 0:33

Good morning, friends, and welcome to this week's edition of the Thoughts I have Towards you, wherever this finds you. We are moving right along here in our ongoing study through the book of Revelation. We find ourselves looking at church number six of the seven churches in Asia Minor, the church in Philadelphia. Let's pray the church in Philadelphia. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I give you thanks for today, for this wonderful medium of technology that we use, that you've given us to use for your glory, to reach a hurting world. It was initially done with traveling preachers who traveled all over the world, as we see in the letters of Paul and we hear about the lives of DL Moody and early Billy Graham and many others, all the way to radio and now podcast. Lord God, I give you thanks for this medium of technology that allows us to come together as the body of Christ. Wherever this podcast finds folks, lord God, I pray for everyone within the sound of my voice, that they would find your peace and your mercy and your grace wherever life has them. There is no promise. There is a promise, rather, that you make that we will have tribulation In John 16, 33,. We will have tribulation, we will have trials, but we are to take heart before you have overcome the world. Father God, as we look at the world today and as we look at specific items in the world, as we look at the church as a whole, as these letters have forced us to do, as you've taken us through the church as a whole, as these letters have forced us to do, as you've taken us through the church as a whole, the different stages of church life and where the pitfalls are, lord, we give you thanks that you give us an example of a church with a relationship as it should be the church in Philadelphia. Lord, we all strive, if we can use that word, to have that kind of relationship with you. And help me to remember, and help everyone to remember, that this podcast is not about my fame or my notoriety, my name recognition. It's not about any of those things. It is about reaching the lost for your son, jesus, because he is the only way to heaven. He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one gets to the Father except through him. Father God, I give you thanks for your words today and not my own. Lead us now as we begin our study In Jesus' name. Amen.

Speaker 1: 3:44

Well, I had a week off. I had a friend in town last week so I didn't get this recorded on time and for that I am sorry, but it was a blessed time of release and relief for me and my family. I pray for Rick and Becca as they head back to Germany. They enjoy some family time in the Northeast today and head back to Germany next week. I believe I've known this guy since I was 14 years old that's longer than either one of us would like to remember and he's one of my anchors that the Lord has given me. It's not about so often the family that you have, but the family that you choose for yourself and Father God is that family which we all have the opportunity to choose for ourselves. That door is open and it is standing open that the Lord would knock and he would just open the door and accept His gift and with that let's go ahead and get started. We're moving right along.

Speaker 1: 4:51

As I said, in our study of the seven churches in Asia Minor, we have reached the church in Philadelphia. So if you would pick up with me, in chapter three, beginning in verse seven, we'll read the letter in its entirety, as we do, and then break it down. This is again the New King James Version, again now beginning in chapter 7. It says 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. For you have a little strength, have kept my word and have not denied my name. Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet 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 shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God and a new name, I'm sorry of my God and the new Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my God. And I will write on him a new name he who has near to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. That's Revelation 3, verses 7 through 13, new King James. So I'm so excited. It's such a good day. Did anyone else catch the change in tone? It's literally night and day difference.

Speaker 1: 7:11

Now imagine the congregation hearing this letter from Jesus read aloud because that's how they did it they would read the letters from Paul aloud from the pulpit. What rejoicing there must have been after some hand-wringing and some breath-holding, because they heard the other letters too, and they were probably waiting with bated breath to see what Jesus had to say about them. To be honest, all of us want a letter from Jesus like this. As I read it many times over the last couple of weeks in preparation for this message, my heart was lightened. After the last several weeks of hard teachings about compromise, corruption and death, it was like a breath of fresh air.

Speaker 1: 8:05

So let's get into it. I do have one other thing to say. These are peaks and valleys, gang, and you're going to have those in life and in your walk with Jesus. You're going to have peaks and valleys, gang, and you're going to have those in life and in your walk with Jesus. You're going to have peaks and valleys, what we call valleys and mountaintops and man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man. We want to stay on the mountaintops when we have those mountaintop moments. I've had a couple. I've been blessed to have more than what I feel is my fair share in my life Mountaintop moments in ministry, mountaintop moments in Israel, at the River Jordan, at the Sea of Galilee, at the Dead Sea, in the old city, just a zillion different moments where I felt like, surrounded by the people that were on the tour and the hundreds of people that were just in town living their lives. Jesus was right there with me, just me. I've had those in ministry. I've had those in my family, which is my first ministry. But then we'll talk about the valleys too, and that's what these letters kind of lay out on a macro level, right, they lay out those peaks and valleys.

Speaker 1: 9:27

The first letter was go back to your first love. I mean it was a love letter. It was hey know. Go back to your first love. I mean it was a love letter. It was, hey, you know, remember. Remember how it was when you first believed, remember all the things that you did, that you didn't have a problem with and you made time for, and all of those things. And then, as we went through the letters, it came down and down and down and down and down and down and down, until we talked about spiritual death last time. What a heavy message, what a heavy message, spiritual death.

Speaker 1: 10:01

And now we get this letter for the church in Philadelphia and we're climbing that mountain again, we're getting ready to be on that mountaintop. And in the beginning, here it says and to the angel in the church in Philadelphia this is verse seven it says 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 that no one can shut. Jesus, as in the other letters, tells the church who he is. We're used to this pattern by now. He's holy and true, the key of David. He opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. He opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. What is the key of David? That's an interesting euphemism, that's an interesting thought. What is the key of David? Well, it's a hearkening back, if you will. It's a reference to his position as Messiah referenced in the Old Testament prophets, book of Isaiah, chapter 22, verse 22. Flip over there. He's a major prophet. Flip over there and let's read that. It says verse 22, chapter 22,. Book of Isaiah the key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder, so he shall open and no one shall shut, and he shall shut and no one shall open. So Jesus is quoting Isaiah here. He's pointing back to his messianic prophecy about Jesus. He's saying he's going to have that power.

Speaker 1: 12:05

So, logistically, the church in Philadelphia was about 30 miles from Sardis. Now Sardis, if you'll remember, is the dead church. It was situated at the gateway to the central plateau of what is now Turkey. The city was the center of a great vineyard district and had a thriving business in wine. They'd had their share of adversity. The city had been rebuilt several times after. Earthquakes has caused severe damage.

Speaker 1: 12:39

Because of its location, though, the church had access to the kingdoms of Lydia, mercia, philegrae and Philegrae and try to pronounce those names a couple of times. It's not very hard, it's not very easy. Rather, p-h-r-y-g-i-a, filigree and merchants traveled to and from those locations to pass through the city. They would pass through the city of Philadelphia as they went back and forth, rather to those locations. This gave the church in Philadelphia a great opportunity to reach many people across the Roman Empire with the gospel. The door of evangelism was wide open for them and Philadelphia was making great use of it.

Speaker 1: 13:31

This is what Jesus is making note of here, on a micro level, with regard to the church in Philadelphia. Jesus says I know your works, see and this is we pick up in verse eight I know your works, see. I have set before you an open door and no one can shut for you. Have a little strength, but have kept my word and have not denied my name. Indeed, I will have not denied my name. It's interesting here that while Jesus had nothing positive to say about the church in Sardis, he had nothing negative to say about the church in Philadelphia, and there's only 30 miles distance between the two.

Speaker 1: 14:19

Now, 30 miles. In those days you did it by cart and buggy, or by horse and buggy. Rather, if you had a horse, otherwise, you walked. So think about walking 30 miles. I mean that's no easy task. Okay, about walking 30 miles. I mean that's no easy task. Okay, you're walking 30 miles, and so, yeah, the distance was greater then, of course, than it would be today. 30 miles at, you know, 60 miles an hour, for example, is nothing. 30 miles at 30 miles an hour only takes an hour. So 30 minutes is what it would take you at 60, and you know it's not a big deal, but back then it was, but still, and yet it's not that far away. Okay, it's not that far away, and this shows that even though you live in proximity to a good Bible-believing, scripture-teaching church, salvation's not guaranteed.

Speaker 1: 15:17

As Americans, we often tout ourselves as a Christian nation. How many times have you heard that? Right, we're a Christian nation, we're a Christian nation. As a matter of fact, this morning, as I was watching the news before I sat down to record this, they said that there was good news because 60, what did they say? As of the last polling, which I guess was recently, 62% of Americans claimed to be Christians, and that was up slightly from years past. And they said that, oh, this points to a revival of faith and you know this and that. And then, of course, the guy went into, you know, making it cool again. Well, okay, that's where they lost me.

Speaker 1: 16:10

I understand having to reach people. I get that. I do that every week. I get that Finding new ways to engage with people who might not listen or get people to share the messages not for me but for the overarching mission that I promotion piece is very challenging, and so I understand what they were saying. But the reality is there are going to be a lot of people that are left behind after the rapture of the church, after the Lord comes for his church, comes for his church. That we'll think for years, probably through the entire tribulation. Some of them, if they live that long, we'll think, well, I should have been taken if that's what it was, so that couldn't be what it is. Because that I should have been taken. And that's what I talk about all the time, gang. That's why I I'm here. I don't want people to get ripped off. I don't want people to get ripped off so because you live in proximity of that good, bible believing church, your salvation isn't guaranteed.

Speaker 1: 17:27

Um, so the question becomes of those 62% in the poll that I saw this morning are they really Christians? I would say that my hope is that the majority of them polled knew what it is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to know and understand when we say it's not about religion, it's about relationship. It's not about religiosity and process. It's about daily relationship and prayer and time in the Word and fellowship with like-minded believers and a personal understanding of what it means to walk with Jesus. I would hope the majority of them would know that, but I would guess that probably many of them don't. So, as I said, relationship is what is needed, a one-on-one relationship with Christ. The remainder of this letter is an outline of what that relationship looks like, for you have had a little strength, it says, have kept my word and have not denied my name. So, yes, the door of evangelism was open for the church in Philadelphia and, yes, they were making great use of it. Jesus recognized them for that.

Speaker 1: 18:54

However, it's hard. It's hard, and I want you to think about something as we get into the next section here. I want you to think about who it is that the devil goes after. Have you ever thought about? You know, as you sit there and I know that some of you do this, I know that I've done it at times you know why is that guy's life so easy? And mine stinks? You know our mind's hard. It doesn't stink, but, man, it's hard. My family got hit with this, and then disease and a major problem with finances or whatever you know. And this guy over here, he doesn't attend church, he doesn't read his Bible, he doesn't do any of these things and man, his life is just aces. I don't understand. Well, understand that.

Speaker 1: 19:46

As I've said, sometimes you get into trouble because you're a knucklehead. Okay, I know, I've gotten into my share of trouble. That I thought when I was younger was persecution. Well, it's not persecution, larry, you're just a knucklehead. Okay, I accept that. And sometimes it's actual persecution from the master of all lies Right, from the master of all lies, right.

Speaker 1: 20:19

So it says that the church in Philadelphia had kept Jesus's word and not denied his name. The church was small and yet never faltered. They kept the precepts of the Lord, never denied him. I know this world's a hard place and there's pressure and temptations seemingly around every corner. But take heart, the Lord gives strength every day and in every circumstance. Please understand and many times this isn't in the brochure when we raise our hand on a Wednesday night or we come forward on a Saturday and give our lives to Christ.

Speaker 1: 21:01

But once you've given your life to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, satan has lost you. Okay, he's lost you. He can't ever get you back. If you have a true and honest relationship with Jesus Christ and you believe that he is the Son of God and he came to this earth and he lived among us and he was killed and rose three days later from the dead, conquering sin, in the grave, and sits at the right hand of the Father, if you believe all of those things, and if you believe all of those things, then your life will reflect that, by default, your life will reflect that, and if in fact, that happens, those things happen. Satan has lost you and he knows it, but he can still make a wreck out of your life. Look at the book of Job. Have you considered my servant, job? Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yep, that happens and this is the situation.

Speaker 1: 22:12

But going back now, I want you to go back to Isaiah, and if you don't have this verse highlighted in your Bible and committed to memory, I need you to do that today as homework. It's Isaiah 40, 31. And, as I said, underline it and commit it to memory. 4031, and, as I said, underline it, commit it to memory. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 4031, new King James Version there is nothing, gang nothing in the world like a promise from God. He will give you strength. Think of it. No one or nothing can overpower that. The church had problems. We have problems, but God held them up by their faith and trust in him. Run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. It's an amazing thought and I hope it's an encouragement to you today.

Speaker 1: 23:27

What kind of persecution did the church in Philadelphia struggle with? And this is where we're going to spend the majority of the remainder of our time this afternoon. The church is oftentimes. I mean, we know in those days that Rome was a driver of much of the persecution. I mean, anyone who's if you've not read Fox uh Fox's book of martyrs? Um uh the uh. The books by DC talk on the persecuted church or um the uh uh. Voice of the martyrs has some great books. If you go to voice of the martyrs, just search voice of the martyrs online and you'll find some great books, um on persecuted Christians and what they did for their faith. It's absolutely amazing.

Speaker 1: 24:19

But the persecution in this case was coming from what Jesus calls the synagogue of Satan. Oh Lordy, the synagogue of Satan. It says Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie, indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet and know that I have loved you. So this is one of those dig moments where we say to ourselves okay, who is the synagogue of Satan? What did that look like? Well, here's the fun part the synagogue of Satan. The synagogue of Satan, the synagogue of Satan that is mentioned by Jesus in this letter is mentioned with the church of Smyrna as well. They were a group of Jews that persecuted the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia. They stood in the way of the expansion in Philadelphia and all the evangelism that was happening in the church, and outright persecuted and slandered the folks in Smyrna.

Speaker 1: 25:56

Slander's a tough one. Slander is a tough one when people say things about you that are 100% not true, when they drag your name through the mud, when they call you a Bible beater, holy roller, when they try to discredit you because of your beliefs, when they try to catch you in a lie. When they try, I mean it's all of those things they spend so much time dealing with and it's hard. It's hard to stay focused, it's hard to stay on top of things, and especially when it's coming from the Jews. I think oftentimes we forget that Jesus was a Jew. The early church Jewish Peter was a Jew. The early church Jewish Peter was a Jew. James John was a Jew. All the disciples were Jews. They started the church where In Jerusalem.

Speaker 1: 27:06

Okay, and here are the Jews dragging this through the mud. They're standing in the way of the evangelism and we're not told how they stood in the way of the evangelism. Suffice it to say that they did it. And if we think about how people come to protest things today, everybody wants to protest, right, it's a protest here for this and for that and the other thing we've got a very deep protest culture. Everybody feels like their opinion needs to be heard and that their opinions are valid and all of those things. That's hard. It makes it hard, especially in a small community where you feel like it's you against the world.

Speaker 1: 27:56

And what does Jesus say? Jesus says, or God says up here through Isaiah but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, shall mount up with wings like eagles and shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not grow faint. So, friends, I want you to remember that as you step forward, as you become bold in your proclamation of faith, bold enough to stand and say abortion is a sin, homosexuality is a sin, transgenderism is a sin. I didn't say that, god did. I didn't say it, god did. Now that puts you, that makes you countercultural, because the culture doesn't necessarily believe that, although I think that there are some changes happening in the overall belief. But don't worry so much about the political climate or any of those things, because that's not, that's flavor of the week stuff. The Bible is what lasts. God's word is what lasts. So it's lasted for thousands of years and it'll last for thousands more. Stay focused on that and we'll be okay.

Speaker 1: 29:22

Jesus, of course, is aware of the persecution through the synagogue of Satan saying to the church of Philadelphia in essence hey, I'm going to make them your footstool. And as we end here and we wrap up, I wanna make sure to let you in on a little secret, because there's something else here too that's very important. It says because you have kept my command to persevere, moving forward through the letter. Now, because you've kept my command to persevere, moving forward through the letter now, because you've kept my command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test all who dwell on the earth. Let's read it again, because you have kept my command to persevere I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.

Speaker 1: 30:23

Revelation 3, verse 10. We're not going to be here, gang. That's the reality of it. That's the reality of it. We aren't going to be here. We will be raptured off with the church when the Lord comes back for his church. In these last two letters, these last two letters mark some of the last times that the church is mentioned in the entire book of Revelation until Revelation, chapter 20. The church will be removed, and you know what. You can look at this as a tease if you want to. However, you want to do it. But we're going to get deeper into that in chapter four in the next couple of weeks and we're going to spend probably two weeks on the rapture of the church.

Speaker 1: 31:19

Now I know some of you are rolling your eyes. Oh my goodness, here's another guy who believes in the rapture. The rapture doesn't appear anywhere in Scripture. Yeah, I've heard it all. I've heard it all and I understand that it's controversial and I understand that some of you may not buy that. Some of you may believe that we're going to go through the tribulation. Some of you may not buy that. Some of you may believe that we're going to go through the tribulation. We're going to go through all of the different types of tribulation beliefs that are out there. I'm a pre-trib rapture kind of guy. I believe that a strict reading of Scripture for Scripture's sake points to nothing less than a pre-tribulation rapture. We're also going to talk about things like majoring in the minors pre-post-mid-tribulation beliefs and all of the different buzzwords that you hear surrounding this topic, and we're going to define some of those in the weeks ahead surrounding this topic. And we're going to define some of those in the weeks ahead.

Speaker 1: 32:33

But sufficient to say that Jesus tells us we're not going to be here and he's going to protect us from the hour of trial which will come upon the whole world, and that for me, the chapter or I'm sorry to wrap up the letter. Jesus then says at the end of the letter here he says and this is important too. This is important too too. This is important too. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. 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 a new name. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. It's about perseverance, folks. It's about pushing through. Hold fast to the things that you have. In other words, stay the course. Stay the course that no one should take your crown. Okay, he's crowned the church in Philadelphia. He, he, he, he has. He has given um.

Speaker 1: 34:14

This is the only letter in the entirety of the book of revelation that has all praise, nothing negative. As I said before, please stick with the program, stay the course. And you know what the reason? There's a reason why Jesus called it the narrow way that leads to salvation because it is narrow, there's so much out there that applies pressure to our lives. And these are things that we have to be cautious of, because the devil's always looking to rip you off. And how does he do that? I can tell you, and we've talked about it before. He gets you to stumble, he gets you to compromise, he gets you to again walk, stand and sit, and by the time you compromise, and then you're standing in bad counsel and you realize you're like, oh no, you know, I've done this thing. Then he says, oh, you're not worthy to go back, you're not worthy to try again, you're not worthy to try again, you're not worthy to have a relationship with God. Who would you think you were? Look what kind of a Christian you are. He is the author of lies gang. And when you are doing God's will, the devil doesn't want you to do it. And so this brings us to close on the church in Philadelphia.

Speaker 1: 35:30

What a wonderful letter, what a wonderful time in scripture to see what it looks like when God opens doors that no man can shut, shuts doors that no man can open. And, friends, I want to talk about one more open door. It may not be open right now, but Jesus is knocking on it. He wants you in heaven. He doesn't need you there, he wants you there. He came and gave his life so that you could accept him and be there with him in heaven and have a relationship with him on this earth and have a wonderful, amazing walk. God has a plan for your life.

Speaker 1: 36:13

And if you'd say to me, larry, that's something that I need. I need Jesus in my life. All you have to do is talk to him and say dear Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. I want to repent and have a relationship with you, as it should be. I want to go through those valleys and I want to go through the peaks and the mountaintops, lord, the mountaintop moments, and I want to have a relationship with you and I want to know that every day your mercies are new and every day you give me new strength, and every day I want to know all those things. And right now, lord, I'm in a dark spot and I'm really hurting. I believe that you came to this earth, that you walked among us, that you lived and you taught us and you died on the cross and rose three days later from the dead, conquering death in the grave, and that you did that to save me from my sins, lord, and I want to repent from all the things that I have thought were more important than you, and I want to change that today. Lord Be with me. Thank you, jesus, and it's in your name that we pray, amen. And if you prayed that prayer or something like it today, gang, then welcome to the family of God and, as I said, I'm still working on resources for you.

Speaker 1: 37:38

The thing that I would tell you is to get a Bible. Get a Bible. It doesn't matter what translation. There are a zillion of them out there. I would suggest for a new believer something that's called the New Living Translation. It is written in English. It's written in plain English so that it's easier to understand the these and the thous and the other things are taken out of it. Now, what we use here on this podcast is the New King James Version, which is closer to the true translation from the Hebrew and the Greek Hebrew for the Old Testament, greek for the New and if you want to use that, you're welcome to do that. It'd help you to follow along with these studies. Of course, you can get these Bibles online through the YouVersion app, which is fantastic. I recommend it highly, but I also recommend that you get a Bible.

Speaker 1: 38:40

There's something about picking up the Word of God, holding it tactilely in your hands and marking in it, leaving notes in it and all of those things. And, yes, technology allows us to do those things and that's all well and good and wonderful. However, there's something about sitting down in your favorite chair or under your favorite tree and opening the Word of God. It's just, it's something special and there's a connection there. Gang, that's all the time I have today. I pray for you every day. I covet your prayers for me and for this ministry.

Speaker 1: 39:18

You can find me on anywhere you get your podcasts Follow if you're on Apple, subscribe if you're everywhere else. I'll be putting out something later today for subscribers on the state of the church, and this was kind of this kind of germinated through the survey that they talked about on the news this morning, which I thought was quite interesting, and so I'm kind of working that out in my head and that's probably what I'm going to work on this afternoon. So look for that either today or tomorrow. For my subscribers, again, you can subscribe by going to my website the thoughts I have toward youcom. Click on the dollar sign, uh, and I think we've set it at a $3 subscription for, um, uh, biblical worldview stuff, Uh, and this is the first thing that kind of caught my eye, so I'm going to throw it up there, uh, in the next day or so, uh, so that, view it Again.

Speaker 1: 40:26

The subscription, the rate and review please rate and review the podcast so that we can beat the algorithm. Five stars is the acceptable review. Leave a comment for me. You can also leave me some fan mail to the website if you want to go there and do that. Again, that's thethoughtsihavetowardyoucom. And until next time, gang, make it count and be blessed.