THE TEXT:
The text for the sermon today is Revelation 3:7-13. Our text can be found on page 1029. These are the words of God:
7 “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.
8 “ ‘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. 9 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. 10 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. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 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. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
INTRODUCTION
Standing at 5’ 6” and weighing only 133 lbs., Spud Webb was one of the smallest ever players in the NBA. Playing for the Atlanta Hawks, Spud seemed to defy gravity with a 46’ vertical leap. Not only could Spud Webb dunk a basketball, he famously won the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie. It just goes to show you that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the dog in the fight.
The same can be said of the church in Philadelphia. They weren’t big. They weren’t powerful. They made zero headlines. But they were faithful in everything Christ providentially placed in front of them. And, for that reason, they were the only church of the 7 to last through the centuries.
How did such a small church not simply endure, but overcome the collapse of the world around them? They understood who Christ was. They rested in his power not their own. And, they held fast to their simple faith. They didn’t become masters of great things—they were mastered by the greatest and most glorious thing of all.
THE WARDEN OF HISTORY
7 “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.
What is this key of David? It’s a reference to Isaiah 22:22 when a faithful man named Eliakim was given the authority of the house of David. In other words, he alone could open the door into the king’s domain, and Eliakim is a foreshadow of Christ. He is the warden of history. The keys of the ages and epochs are securely in his hand. He alone opens a new century, and he alone can close another. He makes nations rise and fall. We may cast the dice, but he determines the result.
More importantly, he alone can open the door to his Father’s house. If he has opened that door for you, then you will walk through it. If that door remains shut, you can’t push it open through your own efforts.
Do you think the president, or the World Economic Forum holds the keys of history? They are merely pawns on the king’s chessboard.
DISPROPORTIONATE RESULTS
When you realize that Christ is the warden of history, you worry less about how big, strong, or influential your life or church is. This is the God of disproportionate results.
He says to Philadelphia, “You have but little power.” In other words, they were a tiny congregation. He says they are persecuted by the “synagogue of Satan.” Their Jewish friends in the city had betrayed them to the civil authorities. So they’re small and the obstacles are big.
At the same time, he says to them, “I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” Though they were small, their gospel reach was big. Concerning the “synagogue of Satan,” Christ says, “I will make them come and bow down before you,” in repentance and belief in Christ. Though a trial was “coming on the whole world,” Philadelphia would be preserved through it. Why?
First, they kept the Word of Christ. It was the one thing they would not let go. Can the same be said of you?
Second, they endured patiently. They didn’t get their feathers ruffled. They weren’t like a dandelion, blown by the wind. They were like oaks, deeply rooted in Christ. Enduring the storms that threatened.
THREE NEW NAMES
The passage concludes with promises too glorious for a single sentence, so Christ heaps up heavenly potentialities:
“I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” (v. 12)
Though you may be labeled a disturber of the current state of affairs, you are the one who upholds and supports the only building that will outlast this state of affairs: the church.
“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.” (v. 12)
The threefold name given to the faithful church is the name of the Father, the new Jerusalem, and the very name of Christ himself. There is no greater title that can be placed upon you. To be a child of the Father, a citizen of the new creation, and a co-heir of Jesus Christ. When every skyscraper falls into dust and the castles of sinful men are proven to be made of sand, you will have a city that only becomes more beautiful in every eternal age.