"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
"'I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}Philadelphia was a city that sat at a crossroads. It was a strategic city. This city was located near an volcanos, so it suffered from many earthquakes. The christians there were also under persecution, but they persevered though it.
"The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens." - This is how Jesus introduces himself. Why? The church right now was being persecuted by Jews. All these references would be familiar to a Jew who is familiar with the Old Testament. Jesus is telling the Jews that he is the messiah. The reference to the key means that Jesus has the keys to the kingdom.
"I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." - The church in Philadelphia was a small congregation. It was struggling. But Jesus says he saw what they were doing. He was pleased with them. The Jews believed they were the keepers of the kingdom. They thought they held the keys of the kingdom. They saw christians as apostate. Jews who converted were considered to be outside of the kingdom. The church was being persecuted and they might have been discouraged.
How does this apply to us? We are not really being persecuted. We still have an enemy. Satan was the one who stirred the Jews against the church. Satan is still out there. He is attacking the church even now. So instead of physical persecution, Satan lies to us. He deceives us to make us feel powerless. To make us lose hope.
- In times where we've fallen in sin, Satan questions God's grace & mercy for us.
- When we have hard times and things are all going wrong, Satan questions God's love for us.
- When we don't get what we want, Satan questions whether God is truly for us.
How do we live in defeat? There's this invention called DVR. For sports fans, if you miss a show, you can just record it. Let's say the eagles were at the superbowl and you recorded it. You tell your friends not to tell you how the game went. You avoid ESPN.com. And then bam, your Kramer-esque friend sweeps into your place. The EAGLES WON! And you're like, man... why'd you do that? So you sit down to watch the game. You watch McNabb struggle and start to throw footballs at feet. Your team is down in the 3rd quarter. You're thinking... man, I guess that's just how it's going to happen. Always choking. Your Kramer-esque friend says... wait a sec, why are you so down? We WIN! And that is how we live defeated.
"Philadelphia had been built with the deliberate intention that it might becomes a missionary city. Beyond Philadelphia lay the wilds of Phrygia and the Barbarous tribes; and it was intended that the function of Philadelphia should be to spread the Greek language, the Geek way of life.." - Barclay
Our city, Philadelphia is also very missionary. Graduate students come from all around the world. They come to learn new ideas. They spend formative years here. The city is also known as a city of neighborhoods. Many ethnic groups are here. Chinese, Lebanese, Ethopian.. We can reach the world through working locally in our city.
Know that God has opened the door. It is open because the door was slammed shut on Jesus' face. We need never fear that God has shut us out. And not only that it is open for us, but it open for mission. We can reach people for God, regardless of circumstances.
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