[Special - Seven Churches] A Letter of the Lord to the Church in Philadelphia (1)
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 11722 |
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September 18, 2011 |
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* The Church of Ephesus
* The Church of Smyrna
* The Church of Pergamum
* The Church of Thyatira
* The Church of Sardis
* The Church of Philadelphia
* The Church of Laodicea
 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
Chairman, The United Holiness Church of Jesus Christ
Permanent President, The World Christianity Revival Mission Association
Joint President, Association of Lovers of National Assembly and Prayers for the Country
Founder & Board Chairman, Global Christian Network
Founder & Board Chairman, World Christian Doctors Network
Founder & Board Chairman, Manmin International Seminary
Founder & Board Chairman, The Alliance Holiness Theological Seminary
Doctorate of Ministry, and Honorary Doctorate of Divinity
Senior Pastor, Manmin Central Church
His sermons were broadcast by the Far East Broadcasting Company and the Asia Broadcast Station
His Christian columns appear on The Chosun Ilbo, The Hankook Ilbo, The JoongAng Daily, The Dong-A Ilbo, The Munhwa Ilbo, The Seoul Shinmun, The Kyunghyang Shinmun, The Hankyoreh Shinmun, The Korea Economic Daily, The Korea Herald, The Shisa News, and The Christian Press.
He conducted crusades in Tanzania; Argentina; Los Angeles, Baltimore, Hawaii, and New York City of the USA; Uganda; Japan; Pakistan; Kenya; the Philippines; Honduras; India; Russia; Germany; Peru; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Israel; and Estonia.
A Letter of the Lord to the Church in Philadelphia (1)
"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name." (Revelation 3:7-8)
When the apostles were working in Philadelphia, it was a small city with approximately 1,000 people. It was a well-known grape-producing center. The people enjoyed taking pleasure in wine and dancing as they worshipped Dionysus, the Greek mythological god of wine.
Philadelphia was also a gateway city that connected Sardis, Pergamum, Troy, and Rome. Among the seven churches, the Church of Philadelphia was the only church that received only commendations from the Lord. It is a good example to many churches today.
1. The Lord is Holy and True
The Lord who is speaking to the Church of Philadelphia and who has the key of David, is holy and true. Here, 'holy' means that He is above all men, without any spot or blemish, and not stained by sin, and gives glory to God by living only by the word of God. Originally, the term 'holy' could not be used for any human being. It is because only God is holy and true.
But, if a man casts away every form of evil and he comes to resemble God who is holy, then the term 'holy' can be used to express it. (1 Peter 1:16) Jesus says in John 10:34-35, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, (and the Scripture cannot be broken)." Here, those 'whom the word of God came to' refer to those who keep the word of truth and live by the word. It means that God considers those who keep and live by the word to be as gods.
It doesn't mean that they are truly at the level of God just because God considers them as gods. It means that God considers them to be complete children of God. He considers them to be those who are men of spirit, and men of the truth. 1 Peter 1:16 reads, "Because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" As spoken, it is the will of God for us to become holy as He is holy.
Next, 'true' means 'without falsehood or untruth.' Not changing, not swaying to the right or left, and not being cunning are examples of attributes that are 'true.' We can be given faith; we can experience God's power; and the word of God can be living and active in us only when we are true. That's because the word of God itself is the truth. On the other hand, when we are not true, then we may have doubt and we may be tempted by untruth. We can never understand the true heart, either (1 Corinthians 2:13).
2. …He, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this…
God gave the key that can open any door to blessings to David so that he could enjoy all kinds of blessings. It was possible because David was a man after God's heart. David, however, had to undergo severe trials before he became qualified to receive the key. To conceal the fact that he slept with the wife of his subject Uriah and she became pregnant, David arranged for the death of Uriah. This was the beginning of his trials.
In 2 Samuel Chapter 11 the Bible tells us in detail how faithful Uriah was and how much he loved his country and the people. David committed such an evil when he arranged for the death of his faithful subordinate at the hands of the enemies.
But to commit this sin did mean that David was a truly evil person. David, in fact, loved God more than anybody else. But, it was because he had such great power and authority as a king that the deep root of evil in his nature was able to come out as such a grave sin.
No matter how small the evil in us appears to be, that evil can come out as a grave sin when the environment or conditions exist that can stimulate the form of evil that still remains in us. Since God knew this, He led David to fully find the nature of his true being and become perfectly sanctified by allowing for him go through trials.
So even during the severe trials, David left everything in God's hands. Because of the rebellion of his own son, Absalom, King David had to hurriedly flee. Even when an ordinary man cursed at him, David didn't punish him. But rather he humbled himself. It was very different from his attitude before which had caused the death of the innocent Uriah with the authority of a king.
In other words, David could receive the key to open the door to great blessings only after he changed into a man who was proper before God. Through the genealogy of David, Jesus, Savior of all humanity, was born to open the way of salvation.
The key of David is not given to just a few chosen people. Anyone who loves God, resembles the Lord, and accomplishes the holiness and the truth can receive it. To the extent that we fulfill the qualifications that God wants us to have, the door to the blessings of health, finance, fame, and authority will be opened and finally, the key to open the door to the biggest blessing will also be given; the door to New Jerusalem.
This 'key of David' is actually the key of all blessings. Nobody can stop the blessings that the Lord gives. The Lord who has the key to all blessings is He "who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens."
In particular, as recorded in Acts 4:12, the door of salvation can be opened only in the name of Jesus Christ and no one can shut the door. not even the enemy devil and Satan can shut it. The Lord opens and shuts everything according to the will of God. He precisely accomplishes all things in the providence of God without making the slightest error.
3. I have put before you an open door which no one can shut
Before He gave His commendation to the Church of Philadelphia, the Lord gave them the promise that He would bless them. More specifically He said, "Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut." Once the Lord opens the door to blessing, no man, no angel, nor the enemy devil and Satan can close it. This is the word of promise that He will be with us through the authority and power of God.
Peter confessed before Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" as recorded in Matthew 16:16. Jesus gave him a great blessing in Matthew 16:18-19 saying, "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Thus, there is great authority contained in His word saying, "I have put before you an open door which no one can shut." It is the authority given to Peter that whatever he bound on earth would be bound in heaven and whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven.
But this word of blessing is not only for the Church of Philadelphia, but it is to anyone or any church that is acknowledged by the Lord. Since the people and the church that God Himself chooses and guides are in the providence of God, once a door is opened by the Lord, no one can shut it in any situation.
4. Because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Why, then, could the Church of Philadelphia receive such a great blessing? This is because they had kept the word of the Lord even with a little power and had not denied His name. Here, 'because you have a little power, and have kept My word' carries two meanings.
First, 'a little power' refers to a state where we have the faith as small as a mustard seed, right after we accept the Lord. However, such a small mustard seed grows up to become a huge tree, and many birds come and rest on its branches. Likewise, our faith grows up to become great faith as we progress in our Christian lives.
From the moment they had a little power, in other words, since when they had a small measure of faith, the Church in Philadelphia kept the word of God and grew up in their faith. In fact, it is not easy in the beginning of a Christian life to keep the word of God with such a little power. Because they have little strength to overcome the world, even though they know what the truth is, it is difficult to put it into practice in their lives.
For example, they listen to a message telling them that they should get rid of hot-temper. So, they make such a decision as they will live according to the word. But, when they encounter an incident that upsets them, they just get angry because they have only a little of the power. However, even if they have just a little power, when they truly put the word in their heart, and fervently pray, they can overcome it with the help of the Holy Spirit.
The Church in Philadelphia had a little power, but they fervently prayed and kept the word so that their faith grew up quickly. They were able to become a church that could receive words of praise from the Lord.
Next, keeping the word of God with a little power means that, even though they actually had great power, they accomplished the will of God with humbleness as if they only had little power.
Let's examine this through the example of Jesus, our Lord. Jesus is originally one with God the Father. He is the one and only Son of God, and His power and authority are the same as the power and authority of God. But this Jesus took the flesh of a lowly human when He came down to this earth. He lived the same way as human beings lived. He had to suffer the same hunger, tiredness, coldness, and pains of the flesh that human beings suffer.
He accomplished the task of the Savior, not in the form of the majestic and glorious Son of God, but in the form of an ordinary man with a little power. Even though He had almighty power, He accomplished everything according to justice as a mere man with minimal and limited power.
Likewise, even though some of us may have a good heart and strong potential, God doesn't unconditionally give us great power from the beginning. God leads us step by step according to justice so that the little power that we have can mature to become great power.
The Church of Philadelphia received commendation for keeping the word of the Lord as well as not denying His name. Here, the expression 'denying His name' is not only physically denying His name and forsaking Him.
If God's will is known and a person does not live by His will, it is to deny the Lord's name in a broader sense. There are some who profess with their lips that they have faith. However, when they are faced with trials, they go back to the world without really even trying to follow His will.
If a person knows but keeps disobeying the will of God because the matters seem trivial, when he faces trial or tribulation he is unable to overcome it. Instead he grumbles and complains against God. He may even leave the church. He may think, "This is such an insignificant matter…" and he disobeys the truth. But in the end, he will eventually face a situation that results in betraying the Lord.
The Church in Philadelphia started with a little power that was a small measure of faith. But even as their faith was just growing, their deeds were sufficient to receive praise from the Lord. They didn't deny God even when they were faced with trials and tribulation, but they kept their faith and came to stand on the rock of faith more and more firmly.
In order for us to keep the word of the Lord, and not to deny the Lord's name with such 'a little power,' most importantly, we must not stop praying. We cannot cast off untruth and overcome darkness by our own strength and power alone. Since we can do it only by God's grace and strength, we have to receive the grace and strength through fervent prayers.
5. Today's case like the Church of Philadelphia
The message given to the Church of Philadelphia contains the characteristics of a church that God Himself has chosen and supervised. It is the church that He recognizes and guides. The church of today that is praised by the Lord like the Church of Philadelphia has a little power but will not compromise with the world. They will keep the word of God, and in any kind of persecutions or trials, they will endure until the end and overcome with love and faith.
This kind of church will receive the same blessings that were given to the Church of Philadelphia. Namely, they will have evidence of God's love for them, and they will show amazing works of God's power. God will open many doors of blessings including the door of spiritual authority to defeat and drive out the enemy devil and Satan. He will open the door of God's power to perform great wonders, signs, and extraordinary works. Through these doors, they can lead so many souls to the way of salvation. Also, when the doors of blessings for the church are being opened, to the extent that its members are qualified, they get closer to receiving the key to New Jerusalem.
Even if God has given the key to blessings, it is up to the individual believers and churches to open the door and enjoy the blessings inside the warehouse. Haggai 2:9 says, "'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts." As said, even if we have a little power, we should do our best in our positions so that we will be able to accomplish greater things than before to give glory.
[To be continued in the next edition]
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