March 2, 2025 • 41 mins
Join us this week as we explore the remarkable story of the Church in Philadelphia, noted for its unwavering faith and resilience in the face of challenges. In this episode, we unveil the significance of the "open door" that Jesus sets before His followers, symbolizing unmissable opportunities for evangelism and sharing the message of hope amid trials.
We discuss how the early believers navigated a world filled with persecution, guided by their commitment to God's word and His promises. The Church in Philadelphia stands as an exemplary model, having received all praise from Jesus without any condemnation, inviting us to reflect on the qualities that sustain a thriving faith community.
Dive into the rich history and challenging circumstances faced by these early Christians and discover what lessons we can apply to our own walks of faith. As we unravel the importance of personal relationship with Jesus, we highlight the promise of renewed strength from Isaiah 40:31 that sustains believers through life’s valleys.
Whether you're looking for encouragement or affirmation in your spiritual journey, this episode offers insight into how we can hold fast to our faith and embrace the opportunities God places before us. Tune in, and let's embark on this inspiring journey together. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and join the conversation with us!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Good morning, friends , and welcome to this week's
edition of the Thoughts I haveTowards you, wherever this finds
you.
We are moving right along herein our ongoing study through the
book of Revelation.
We find ourselves looking atchurch number six of the seven
churches in Asia Minor, thechurch in Philadelphia.
Let's pray the church inPhiladelphia.
(00:24):
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I give youthanks for today, for this
wonderful medium of technologythat we use, that you've given
us to use for your glory, toreach a hurting world.
It was initially done withtraveling preachers who traveled
(00:54):
all over the world, as we seein the letters of Paul and we
hear about the lives of DL Moodyand early Billy Graham and many
others, all the way to radioand now podcast.
Lord God, I give you thanks forthis medium of technology that
allows us to come together asthe body of Christ.
(01:16):
Wherever this podcast findsfolks, lord God, I pray for
everyone within the sound of myvoice, that they would find your
peace and your mercy and yourgrace wherever life has them.
There is no promise.
There is a promise, rather,that you make that we will have
(01:39):
tribulation In John 16, 33,.
We will have tribulation, wewill have trials, but we are to
take heart before you haveovercome the world.
Father God, as we look at theworld today and as we look at
specific items in the world, aswe look at the church as a whole
(02:01):
, as these letters have forcedus 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 usthrough the church as a whole,
the different stages of churchlife and where the pitfalls are,
lord, we give you thanks thatyou give us an example of a
church with a relationship as itshould be the church in
(02:21):
Philadelphia.
Lord, we all strive, if we canuse that word, to have that kind
of relationship with you.
And help me to remember, andhelp everyone to remember, that
this podcast is not about myfame or my notoriety, my name
recognition.
It's not about any of thosethings.
(02:41):
It is about reaching the lostfor your son, jesus, because he
is the only way to heaven.
He is the way, the truth andthe life, and no one gets to the
Father except through him.
Father God, I give you thanksfor your words today and not my
(03:06):
own.
Lead us now as we begin ourstudy In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, I had a week off.
I had a friend in town lastweek so I didn't get this
recorded on time and for that Iam sorry, but it was a blessed
time of release and relief forme and my family.
(03:26):
I pray for Rick and Becca asthey head back to Germany.
They enjoy some family time inthe Northeast today and head
back to Germany next week.
I believe I've known this guysince I was 14 years old that's
longer than either one of uswould like to remember and he's
(03:48):
one of my anchors that the Lordhas given me.
It's not about so often thefamily that you have, but the
family that you choose foryourself and Father God is that
family which we all have theopportunity to choose for
ourselves.
That door is open and it isstanding open that the Lord
(04:12):
would knock and he would justopen the door and accept His
gift and with that let's goahead and get started.
We're moving right along.
As I said, in our study of theseven churches in Asia Minor, we
have reached the church inPhiladelphia.
So if you would pick up with me, in chapter three, beginning in
(04:33):
verse seven, we'll read theletter in its entirety, as we do
, and then break it down.
This is again the New KingJames Version, again now
beginning in chapter 7.
It says and shuts, and no oneopens.
(05:01):
I know your works.
See, I have set before you anopen 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 ofthe synagogue of Satan who say
they are Jews and are not, butlie.
Indeed, I will make them comeand worship before your feet to
(05:26):
know that I have loved youBecause you have kept my command
to persevere.
I also will keep you from thehour of trial which shall come
upon the whole world to testthose who dwell on the earth.
Behold, I am coming quickly.
Hold fast what you have that noone may take your crown.
(05:49):
He who overcomes, I will makehim a pillar in the temple of my
God and he shall go out no more.
I will write on him the name ofmy God, the name of the city of
my God and a new name, I'msorry of my God and the new
(06:10):
Jerusalem which comes down outof heaven from my God.
And I will write on him a newname he who has near to hear,
let him hear what the Spiritsays to the churches.
That's Revelation 3, verses 7through 13, new King James.
So I'm so excited.
(06:31):
It's such a good day.
Did anyone else catch thechange in tone?
It's literally night and daydifference.
Now imagine the congregationhearing this letter from Jesus
read aloud because that's howthey did it they would read the
letters from Paul aloud from thepulpit.
(06:52):
What rejoicing there must havebeen after some hand-wringing
and some breath-holding, becausethey heard the other letters
too, and they were probablywaiting with bated breath to see
what Jesus had to say aboutthem.
To be honest, all of us want aletter from Jesus like this.
(07:17):
As I read it many times overthe last couple of weeks in
preparation for this message, myheart was lightened.
After the last several weeks ofhard teachings about compromise
, corruption and death, it waslike a breath of fresh air.
So let's get into it.
I do have one other thing tosay.
(07:39):
These are peaks and valleys,gang, and you're going to have
those in life and in your walkwith Jesus.
You're going to have peaks andvalleys, gang, and you're going
to have those in life and inyour walk with Jesus.
You're going to have peaks andvalleys, what we call valleys
and mountaintops and man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man.
We want to stay on themountaintops when we have those
mountaintop moments.
I've had a couple.
(08:00):
I've been blessed to have morethan what I feel is my fair
share in my life Mountaintopmoments in ministry, mountaintop
moments in Israel, at the RiverJordan, at the Sea of Galilee,
at the Dead Sea, in the old city, just a zillion different
(08:23):
moments where I felt like,surrounded by the people that
were on the tour and thehundreds 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 thevalleys too, and that's what
(08:46):
these letters kind of lay out ona macro level, right, they lay
out those peaks and valleys.
The first letter was go back toyour 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 youfirst believed, remember all the
(09:12):
things that you did, that youdidn't have a problem with and
you made time for, and all ofthose things.
And then, as we went throughthe letters, it came down and
down and down and down and downand down and down, until we
talked about spiritual deathlast time.
What a heavy message, what aheavy message, spiritual death.
And now we get this letter forthe church in Philadelphia and
(09:38):
we're climbing that mountainagain, we're getting ready to be
on that mountaintop.
And in the beginning, here itsays and to the angel in the
church in Philadelphia this isverse seven it says write these
things.
Says he who is holy, he who istrue, he who has the key of
David, he who opens and no oneshuts and shuts and no one opens
(10:01):
.
I know your works, see, I haveset 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 bynow.
He's holy and true, the key ofDavid.
He opens and no one shuts andshuts and no one opens.
(10:24):
He opens and no one shuts andshuts 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 hisposition as Messiah referenced
(10:47):
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 readthat.
It says verse 22, chapter 22,.
(11:08):
Book of Isaiah the key of thehouse of David I will lay on his
shoulder, so he shall open andno one shall shut, and he shall
shut and no one shall open.
So Jesus is quoting Isaiah here.
He's pointing back to hismessianic prophecy about Jesus.
(11:29):
He's saying he's going to havethat power.
So, logistically, the church inPhiladelphia was about 30 miles
from Sardis.
Now Sardis, if you'll remember,is the dead church.
It was situated at the gatewayto the central plateau of what
(11:55):
is now Turkey.
The city was the center of agreat vineyard district and had
a thriving business in wine.
They'd had their share ofadversity.
The city had been rebuiltseveral times after.
Earthquakes has caused severedamage.
Because of its location, though,the church had access to the
kingdoms of Lydia, mercia,philegrae and Philegrae and try
(12:22):
to pronounce those names acouple of times.
It's not very hard, it's notvery easy.
Rather, p-h-r-y-g-i-a, filigreeand merchants traveled to and
from those locations to passthrough the city.
They would pass through thecity of Philadelphia as they
went back and forth, rather tothose locations.
(12:45):
This gave the church inPhiladelphia a great opportunity
to reach many people across theRoman Empire with the gospel.
The door of evangelism was wideopen for them and Philadelphia
was making great use of it.
This is what Jesus is makingnote of here, on a micro level,
(13:07):
with regard to the church inPhiladelphia.
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 opendoor and no one can shut for you
.
Have a little strength, buthave kept my word and have not
denied my name.
Indeed, I will have not deniedmy name.
(13:29):
It's interesting here thatwhile Jesus had nothing positive
to say about the church inSardis, he had nothing negative
to say about the church inPhiladelphia, and there's only
30 miles distance between thetwo.
(13:49):
Now, 30 miles.
In those days you did it bycart 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
(14:13):
greater then, of course, than itwould be today.
30 miles at, you know, 60 milesan hour, for example, is
nothing.
30 miles at 30 miles an houronly takes an hour.
So 30 minutes is what it wouldtake you at 60, and you know
it's not a big deal, but backthen 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
(14:38):
you live in proximity to a goodBible-believing,
scripture-teaching church,salvation's not guaranteed.
As Americans, we often toutourselves as a Christian nation.
How many times have you heardthat?
Right, we're a Christian nation, we're a Christian nation.
As a matter of fact, thismorning, as I was watching the
(15:00):
news before I sat down to recordthis, they said that there was
good news because 60, what didthey say?
As of the last polling, which Iguess was recently, 62% of
Americans claimed to beChristians, and that was up
slightly from years past.
(15:21):
And they said that, oh, thispoints to a revival of faith and
you know this and that.
And then, of course, the guywent into, you know, making it
cool again.
Well, okay, that's where theylost me.
I understand having to reachpeople.
(15:42):
I get that.
I do that every week.
I get that Finding new ways toengage with people who might not
listen or get people to sharethe messages not for me but for
the overarching mission that Ipromotion piece is very
(16:03):
challenging, and so I understandwhat they were saying.
But the reality is there aregoing to be a lot of people that
are left behind after therapture of the church, after the
Lord comes for his church,comes for his church.
That we'll think for years,probably through the entire
(16:29):
tribulation.
Some of them, if they live thatlong, we'll think, well, I
should have been taken if that'swhat it was, so that couldn't
be what it is.
Because that I should have beentaken.
And that's what I talk aboutall the time, gang.
That's why I I'm here.
I don't want people to getripped off.
I don't want people to getripped off so because you live
(16:50):
in proximity of that good, biblebelieving church, your
salvation isn't guaranteed.
Um, so the question becomes ofthose 62% in the poll that I saw
this morning are they reallyChristians?
I would say that my hope isthat the majority of them polled
(17:12):
knew what it is to have apersonal relationship with Jesus
Christ and to know andunderstand when we say it's not
about religion, it's aboutrelationship.
It's not about religiosity andprocess.
It's about daily relationshipand prayer and time in the Word
and fellowship with like-mindedbelievers and a personal
(17:36):
understanding of what it meansto walk with Jesus.
I would hope the majority ofthem would know that, but I
would guess that probably manyof them don't.
So, as I said, relationship iswhat is needed, a one-on-one
(17:57):
relationship with Christ.
The remainder of this letter isan outline of what that
relationship looks like, for youhave had a little strength, it
says, have kept my word and havenot denied my name.
So, yes, the door of evangelismwas open for the church in
(18:20):
Philadelphia and, yes, they weremaking great use of it.
Jesus recognized them for that.
However, it's hard.
It's hard, and I want you tothink about something as we get
into the next section here.
I want you to think about whoit is that the devil goes after.
Have you ever thought about?
(18:41):
You know, as you sit there andI know that some of you do this,
I know that I've done it attimes 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 orwhatever you know.
(19:03):
And this guy over here, hedoesn't attend church, he
doesn't read his Bible, hedoesn't do any of these things
and man, his life is just aces.
I don't understand.
Well, understand that.
As I've said, sometimes you getinto trouble because you're a
knucklehead.
Okay, I know, I've gotten intomy share of trouble.
(19:25):
That I thought when I wasyounger was persecution.
Well, it's not persecution,larry, you're just a knucklehead
.
Okay, I accept that.
And sometimes it's actualpersecution from the master of
all lies Right, from the masterof all lies, right.
(19:50):
So it says that the church inPhiladelphia had kept Jesus's
word and not denied his name.
The church was small and yetnever faltered.
They kept the precepts of theLord, never denied him.
I know this world's a hardplace and there's pressure and
temptations seemingly aroundevery corner.
But take heart, the Lord givesstrength every day and in every
(20:15):
circumstance.
Please understand and manytimes this isn't in the brochure
when we raise our hand on aWednesday night or we come
forward on a Saturday and giveour lives to Christ.
But once you've given your lifeto the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords, satan has lostyou.
(20:39):
Okay, he's lost you.
He can't ever get you back.
If you have a true and honestrelationship with Jesus Christ
and you believe that he is theSon of God and he came to this
earth and he lived among us andhe was killed and rose three
days later from the dead,conquering sin, in the grave,
(21:02):
and sits at the right hand ofthe Father, if you believe all
of those things, and if youbelieve 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 knowsit, but he can still make a
(21:26):
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 isthe situation.
But going back now, I want youto go back to Isaiah, and if you
(21:47):
don't have this versehighlighted in your Bible and
committed to memory, I need youto do that today as homework.
It's Isaiah 40, 31.
And, as I said, underline itand commit it to memory.
4031, and, as I said, underlineit, commit it to memory.
But those who wait on the Lordshall renew their strength and
(22:08):
shall mount up with wings likeeagles.
They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not
faint.
Isaiah 4031, new King JamesVersion there is nothing, gang
nothing in the world like apromise from God.
He will give you strength.
(22:31):
Think of it.
No one or nothing can overpowerthat.
The church had problems.
We have problems, but God heldthem up by their faith and trust
in him.
Run and not grow weary, walkand not grow faint.
It's an amazing thought and Ihope it's an encouragement to
(22:55):
you today.
What kind of persecution did thechurch in Philadelphia struggle
with?
And this is where we're goingto spend the majority of the
remainder of our time thisafternoon.
The church is oftentimes.
I mean, we know in those daysthat Rome was a driver of much
(23:18):
of the persecution.
I mean, anyone who's if you'venot read Fox uh Fox's book of
martyrs?
Um uh the uh.
The books by DC talk on thepersecuted church or um the uh
uh.
Voice of the martyrs has somegreat books.
If you go to voice of themartyrs, just search voice of
(23:39):
the martyrs online and you'llfind some great books, um on
persecuted Christians and whatthey did for their faith.
It's absolutely amazing.
But the persecution in this casewas coming from what Jesus
calls the synagogue of Satan.
Oh Lordy, the synagogue ofSatan.
(24:02):
It says Indeed, I will makethose of the synagogue of Satan
who say they are Jews and arenot but lie, indeed, I will make
(24:22):
them come and worship beforeyour feet and know that I have
loved you.
So this is one of those digmoments where we say to
ourselves okay, who is thesynagogue of Satan?
What did that look like?
Well, here's the fun part thesynagogue of Satan.
The synagogue of Satan, thesynagogue of Satan that is
(24:50):
mentioned by Jesus in thisletter is mentioned with the
church of Smyrna as well.
They were a group of Jews thatpersecuted the churches in
Smyrna and Philadelphia.
They stood in the way of theexpansion in Philadelphia and
(25:13):
all the evangelism that washappening in the church, and
outright persecuted andslandered the folks in Smyrna.
Slander's a tough one.
Slander is a tough one whenpeople say things about you that
(25:34):
are 100% not true, when theydrag your name through the mud,
when they call you a Biblebeater, holy roller, when they
try to discredit you because ofyour beliefs, when they try to
(25:56):
catch you in a lie.
When they try, I mean it's allof those things they spend so
much time dealing with and it'shard.
It's hard to stay focused, it'shard to stay on top of things,
and especially when it's comingfrom the Jews.
I think oftentimes we forgetthat Jesus was a Jew.
(26:23):
The early church Jewish Peterwas a Jew.
The early church Jewish Peterwas a Jew.
James John was a Jew.
All the disciples were Jews.
They started the church whereIn Jerusalem.
Okay, and here are the Jewsdragging this through the mud.
They're standing in the way ofthe evangelism and we're not
(26:46):
told how they stood in the wayof the evangelism.
Suffice it to say that they didit.
And if we think about howpeople come to protest things
today, everybody wants toprotest, right, it's a protest
here for this and for that andthe other thing we've got a very
deep protest culture.
Everybody feels like theiropinion needs to be heard and
(27:09):
that their opinions are validand all of those things.
That's hard.
It makes it hard, especially ina small community where you
feel like it's you against theworld.
And what does Jesus say?
Jesus says, or God says up herethrough Isaiah but those who
(27:34):
wait on the Lord shall renewtheir strength, shall mount up
with wings like eagles and shallrun and not be weary.
They shall walk and not growfaint.
So, friends, I want you toremember that as you step
forward, as you become bold inyour proclamation of faith, bold
(28:06):
enough to stand and sayabortion is a sin, homosexuality
is a sin, transgenderism is asin.
I didn't say that, god did.
I didn't say it, god did.
Now that puts you, that makesyou countercultural, because the
culture doesn't necessarilybelieve that, although I think
that there are some changeshappening in the overall belief.
But don't worry so much aboutthe political climate or any of
(28:28):
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 ofyears and it'll last for
thousands more.
Stay focused on that and we'llbe okay.
(28:53):
Jesus, of course, is aware ofthe persecution through the
synagogue of Satan saying to thechurch of Philadelphia in
essence hey, I'm going to makethem your footstool.
And as we end here and we wrapup, I wanna make sure to let you
in on a little secret, becausethere's something else here too
(29:15):
that's very important.
It says because you have keptmy command to persevere, moving
forward through the letter.
Now, because you've kept mycommand to persevere, moving
forward through the letter now,because you've kept my command
to persevere, I will also keepyou from the hour of trial which
shall come upon the whole worldto test all who dwell on the
(29:38):
earth.
Let's read it again, becauseyou have kept my command to
persevere I will also keep youfrom the hour of trial which
shall come upon the whole worldto test those who dwell on the
earth.
Revelation 3, verse 10.
We're not going to be here,gang.
That's the reality of it.
(30:01):
That's the reality of it.
We aren't going to be here.
We will be raptured off withthe 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 thechurch is mentioned in the
(30:21):
entire book of Revelation untilRevelation, chapter 20.
The church will be removed, andyou know what.
You can look at this as a teaseif you want to.
However, you want to do it.
But we're going to get deeperinto that in chapter four in the
(30:44):
next couple of weeks and we'regoing to spend probably two
weeks on the rapture of thechurch.
Now I know some of you arerolling your eyes.
Oh my goodness, here's anotherguy who believes in the rapture.
The rapture doesn't appearanywhere in Scripture.
Yeah, I've heard it all.
I've heard it all and Iunderstand that it's
(31:07):
controversial and I understandthat some of you may not buy
that.
Some of you may believe thatwe're going to go through the
tribulation.
Some of you may not buy that.
Some of you may believe thatwe're going to go through the
tribulation.
We're going to go through allof the different types of
tribulation beliefs that are outthere.
I'm a pre-trib rapture kind ofguy.
I believe that a strict readingof Scripture for Scripture's
(31:32):
sake points to nothing less thana pre-tribulation rapture.
We're also going to talk aboutthings like majoring in the
minors pre-post-mid-tribulationbeliefs and all of the different
buzzwords that you hearsurrounding this topic, and
we're going to define some ofthose in the weeks ahead
(31:54):
surrounding this topic.
And we're going to define someof those in the weeks ahead.
But sufficient to say that Jesustells us we're not going to be
here and he's going to protectus from the hour of trial which
will come upon the whole world,and that for me, the chapter or
(32:17):
I'm sorry to wrap up the letter.
Jesus then says at the end ofthe letter here he says and this
is important too.
This is important too too.
(32:39):
This is important too.
Behold, I am coming quickly.
Hold fast what you have, thatno one may take your crown.
He who overcomes, I will makehim a pillar in the temple of my
God.
He shall go out no more.
I will write on him the name ofmy God and the name of the city
(32:59):
of my God, the new Jerusalem,which comes down out of heaven
from my God, and I will write onhim a new name.
He who has an ear to hear, lethim hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.
Let him hear what the Spiritsays to the churches.
It's about perseverance, folks.
It's about pushing through.
(33:23):
Hold fast to the things thatyou have.
In other words, stay the course.
Stay the course that no oneshould take your crown.
Okay, he's crowned the churchin Philadelphia.
He, he, he, he has.
He has given um.
(33:44):
This is the only letter in theentirety of the book of
revelation that has all praise,nothing negative.
As I said before, please stickwith the program, stay the
course.
And you know what the reason?
There's a reason why Jesuscalled it the narrow way that
leads to salvation because it isnarrow, there's so much out
there that applies pressure toour lives.
And these are things that wehave to be cautious of, because
(34:10):
the devil's always looking torip you off.
And how does he do that?
I can tell you, and we'vetalked about it before.
He gets you to stumble, he getsyou to compromise, he gets you
to again walk, stand and sit,and by the time you compromise,
and then you're standing in badcounsel and you realize you're
like, oh no, you know, I've donethis thing.
(34:31):
Then he says, oh, you're notworthy to go back, you're not
worthy to try again, you're notworthy to try again, you're not
worthy to have a relationshipwith God.
Who would you think you were?
Look what kind of a Christianyou are.
He is the author of lies gang.
And when you are doing God'swill, the devil doesn't want you
(34:54):
to do it.
And so this brings us to closeon the church in Philadelphia.
What a wonderful letter, what awonderful time in scripture to
see what it looks like when Godopens doors that no man can shut
, shuts doors that no man canopen.
And, friends, I want to talkabout one more open door.
(35:16):
It may not be open right now,but Jesus is knocking on it.
He wants you in heaven.
He doesn't need you there, hewants you there.
He came and gave his life sothat you could accept him and be
there with him in heaven andhave a relationship with him on
(35:36):
this earth and have a wonderful,amazing walk.
God has a plan for your life.
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 tohim and say dear Jesus, I know
that I'm a sinner in need of aSavior.
I want to repent and have arelationship with you, as it
(36:00):
should be.
I want to go through thosevalleys and I want to go through
the peaks and the mountaintops,lord, the mountaintop moments,
and I want to have arelationship with you and I want
to know that every day yourmercies are new and every day
you give me new strength, andevery day I want to know all
(36:21):
those things.
And right now, lord, I'm in adark spot and I'm really hurting
.
I believe that you came to thisearth, that you walked among us
, that you lived and you taughtus and you died on the cross and
rose three days later from thedead, conquering death in the
grave, and that you did that tosave me from my sins, lord, and
(36:44):
I want to repent from all thethings that I have thought were
more important than you, and Iwant to change that today.
Lord Be with me.
Thank you, jesus, and it's inyour name that we pray, amen.
And if you prayed that prayeror something like it today, gang
, then welcome to the family ofGod and, as I said, I'm still
(37:06):
working on resources for you.
The thing that I would tell youis to get a Bible.
Get a Bible.
It doesn't matter whattranslation.
There are a zillion of them outthere.
I would suggest for a newbeliever something that's called
the New Living Translation.
It is written in English.
(37:27):
It's written in plain Englishso that it's easier to
understand the these and thethous and the other things are
taken out of it.
Now, what we use here on thispodcast is the New King James
Version, which is closer to thetrue translation from the Hebrew
(37:49):
and the Greek Hebrew for theOld Testament, greek for the New
and if you want to use that,you're welcome to do that.
It'd help you to follow alongwith these studies.
Of course, you can get theseBibles online through the
YouVersion app, which isfantastic.
I recommend it highly, but Ialso recommend that you get a
(38:09):
Bible.
There's something about pickingup the Word of God, holding it
tactilely in your hands andmarking in it, leaving notes in
it and all of those things.
And, yes, technology allows usto do those things and that's
all well and good and wonderful.
However, there's somethingabout sitting down in your
(38:30):
favorite chair or under yourfavorite tree and opening the
Word of God.
It's just, it's somethingspecial and there's a connection
there.
Gang, that's all the time Ihave today.
I pray for you every day.
I covet your prayers for me andfor this ministry.
You can find me on anywhere youget your podcasts Follow if
(38:53):
you're on Apple, subscribe ifyou're everywhere else.
I'll be putting out somethinglater today for subscribers on
the state of the church, andthis was kind of this kind of
germinated through the surveythat they talked about on the
(39:18):
news this morning, which Ithought was quite interesting,
and so I'm kind of working thatout in my head and that's
probably what I'm going to workon this afternoon.
So look for that either todayor tomorrow.
For my subscribers, again, youcan subscribe by going to my
website the thoughts I havetoward youcom.
Click on the dollar sign, uh,and I think we've set it at a $3
(39:41):
subscription for, um, uh,biblical worldview stuff, Uh,
and this is the first thing thatkind 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.
The subscription, the rate andreview please rate and review
the podcast so that we can beatthe algorithm.
(40:03):
Five stars is the acceptablereview.
Leave a comment for me.
You can also leave me some fanmail to the website if you want
to go there and do that.
Again, that'sthethoughtsihavetowardyoucom.
And until next time, gang, makeit count and be blessed.
Good morning, friends , and welcome to this week's
edition of the Thoughts I haveTowards you, wherever this finds
you.
We are moving right along herein our ongoing study through the
book of Revelation.
We find ourselves looking atchurch number six of the seven
churches in Asia Minor, thechurch in Philadelphia.
Let's pray the church inPhiladelphia.
(00:24):
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I give youthanks for today, for this
wonderful medium of technologythat we use, that you've given
us to use for your glory, toreach a hurting world.
It was initially done withtraveling preachers who traveled
(00:54):
all over the world, as we seein the letters of Paul and we
hear about the lives of DL Moodyand early Billy Graham and many
others, all the way to radioand now podcast.
Lord God, I give you thanks forthis medium of technology that
allows us to come together asthe body of Christ.
(01:16):
Wherever this podcast findsfolks, lord God, I pray for
everyone within the sound of myvoice, that they would find your
peace and your mercy and yourgrace wherever life has them.
There is no promise.
There is a promise, rather,that you make that we will have
(01:39):
tribulation In John 16, 33,.
We will have tribulation, wewill have trials, but we are to
take heart before you haveovercome the world.
Father God, as we look at theworld today and as we look at
specific items in the world, aswe look at the church as a whole
(02:01):
, as these letters have forcedus 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 usthrough the church as a whole,
the different stages of churchlife and where the pitfalls are,
lord, we give you thanks thatyou give us an example of a
church with a relationship as itshould be the church in
(02:21):
Philadelphia.
Lord, we all strive, if we canuse that word, to have that kind
of relationship with you.
And help me to remember, andhelp everyone to remember, that
this podcast is not about myfame or my notoriety, my name
recognition.
It's not about any of thosethings.
(02:41):
It is about reaching the lostfor your son, jesus, because he
is the only way to heaven.
He is the way, the truth andthe life, and no one gets to the
Father except through him.
Father God, I give you thanksfor your words today and not my
(03:06):
own.
Lead us now as we begin ourstudy In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, I had a week off.
I had a friend in town lastweek so I didn't get this
recorded on time and for that Iam sorry, but it was a blessed
time of release and relief forme and my family.
(03:26):
I pray for Rick and Becca asthey head back to Germany.
They enjoy some family time inthe Northeast today and head
back to Germany next week.
I believe I've known this guysince I was 14 years old that's
longer than either one of uswould like to remember and he's
(03:48):
one of my anchors that the Lordhas given me.
It's not about so often thefamily that you have, but the
family that you choose foryourself and Father God is that
family which we all have theopportunity to choose for
ourselves.
That door is open and it isstanding open that the Lord
(04:12):
would knock and he would justopen the door and accept His
gift and with that let's goahead and get started.
We're moving right along.
As I said, in our study of theseven churches in Asia Minor, we
have reached the church inPhiladelphia.
So if you would pick up with me, in chapter three, beginning in
(04:33):
verse seven, we'll read theletter in its entirety, as we do
, and then break it down.
This is again the New KingJames Version, again now
beginning in chapter 7.
It says and shuts, and no oneopens.
(05:01):
I know your works.
See, I have set before you anopen 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 ofthe synagogue of Satan who say
they are Jews and are not, butlie.
Indeed, I will make them comeand worship before your feet to
(05:26):
know that I have loved youBecause you have kept my command
to persevere.
I also will keep you from thehour of trial which shall come
upon the whole world to testthose who dwell on the earth.
Behold, I am coming quickly.
Hold fast what you have that noone may take your crown.
(05:49):
He who overcomes, I will makehim a pillar in the temple of my
God and he shall go out no more.
I will write on him the name ofmy God, the name of the city of
my God and a new name, I'msorry of my God and the new
(06:10):
Jerusalem which comes down outof heaven from my God.
And I will write on him a newname he who has near to hear,
let him hear what the Spiritsays to the churches.
That's Revelation 3, verses 7through 13, new King James.
So I'm so excited.
(06:31):
It's such a good day.
Did anyone else catch thechange in tone?
It's literally night and daydifference.
Now imagine the congregationhearing this letter from Jesus
read aloud because that's howthey did it they would read the
letters from Paul aloud from thepulpit.
(06:52):
What rejoicing there must havebeen after some hand-wringing
and some breath-holding, becausethey heard the other letters
too, and they were probablywaiting with bated breath to see
what Jesus had to say aboutthem.
To be honest, all of us want aletter from Jesus like this.
(07:17):
As I read it many times overthe last couple of weeks in
preparation for this message, myheart was lightened.
After the last several weeks ofhard teachings about compromise
, corruption and death, it waslike a breath of fresh air.
So let's get into it.
I do have one other thing tosay.
(07:39):
These are peaks and valleys,gang, and you're going to have
those in life and in your walkwith Jesus.
You're going to have peaks andvalleys, gang, and you're going
to have those in life and inyour walk with Jesus.
You're going to have peaks andvalleys, what we call valleys
and mountaintops and man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man.
We want to stay on themountaintops when we have those
mountaintop moments.
I've had a couple.
(08:00):
I've been blessed to have morethan what I feel is my fair
share in my life Mountaintopmoments in ministry, mountaintop
moments in Israel, at the RiverJordan, at the Sea of Galilee,
at the Dead Sea, in the old city, just a zillion different
(08:23):
moments where I felt like,surrounded by the people that
were on the tour and thehundreds 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 thevalleys too, and that's what
(08:46):
these letters kind of lay out ona macro level, right, they lay
out those peaks and valleys.
The first letter was go back toyour 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 youfirst believed, remember all the
(09:12):
things that you did, that youdidn't have a problem with and
you made time for, and all ofthose things.
And then, as we went throughthe letters, it came down and
down and down and down and downand down and down, until we
talked about spiritual deathlast time.
What a heavy message, what aheavy message, spiritual death.
And now we get this letter forthe church in Philadelphia and
(09:38):
we're climbing that mountainagain, we're getting ready to be
on that mountaintop.
And in the beginning, here itsays and to the angel in the
church in Philadelphia this isverse seven it says write these
things.
Says he who is holy, he who istrue, he who has the key of
David, he who opens and no oneshuts and shuts and no one opens
(10:01):
.
I know your works, see, I haveset 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 bynow.
He's holy and true, the key ofDavid.
He opens and no one shuts andshuts and no one opens.
(10:24):
He opens and no one shuts andshuts 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 hisposition as Messiah referenced
(10:47):
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 readthat.
It says verse 22, chapter 22,.
(11:08):
Book of Isaiah the key of thehouse of David I will lay on his
shoulder, so he shall open andno one shall shut, and he shall
shut and no one shall open.
So Jesus is quoting Isaiah here.
He's pointing back to hismessianic prophecy about Jesus.
(11:29):
He's saying he's going to havethat power.
So, logistically, the church inPhiladelphia was about 30 miles
from Sardis.
Now Sardis, if you'll remember,is the dead church.
It was situated at the gatewayto the central plateau of what
(11:55):
is now Turkey.
The city was the center of agreat vineyard district and had
a thriving business in wine.
They'd had their share ofadversity.
The city had been rebuiltseveral times after.
Earthquakes has caused severedamage.
Because of its location, though,the church had access to the
kingdoms of Lydia, mercia,philegrae and Philegrae and try
(12:22):
to pronounce those names acouple of times.
It's not very hard, it's notvery easy.
Rather, p-h-r-y-g-i-a, filigreeand merchants traveled to and
from those locations to passthrough the city.
They would pass through thecity of Philadelphia as they
went back and forth, rather tothose locations.
(12:45):
This gave the church inPhiladelphia a great opportunity
to reach many people across theRoman Empire with the gospel.
The door of evangelism was wideopen for them and Philadelphia
was making great use of it.
This is what Jesus is makingnote of here, on a micro level,
(13:07):
with regard to the church inPhiladelphia.
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 opendoor and no one can shut for you
.
Have a little strength, buthave kept my word and have not
denied my name.
Indeed, I will have not deniedmy name.
(13:29):
It's interesting here thatwhile Jesus had nothing positive
to say about the church inSardis, he had nothing negative
to say about the church inPhiladelphia, and there's only
30 miles distance between thetwo.
(13:49):
Now, 30 miles.
In those days you did it bycart 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
(14:13):
greater then, of course, than itwould be today.
30 miles at, you know, 60 milesan hour, for example, is
nothing.
30 miles at 30 miles an houronly takes an hour.
So 30 minutes is what it wouldtake you at 60, and you know
it's not a big deal, but backthen 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
(14:38):
you live in proximity to a goodBible-believing,
scripture-teaching church,salvation's not guaranteed.
As Americans, we often toutourselves as a Christian nation.
How many times have you heardthat?
Right, we're a Christian nation, we're a Christian nation.
As a matter of fact, thismorning, as I was watching the
(15:00):
news before I sat down to recordthis, they said that there was
good news because 60, what didthey say?
As of the last polling, which Iguess was recently, 62% of
Americans claimed to beChristians, and that was up
slightly from years past.
(15:21):
And they said that, oh, thispoints to a revival of faith and
you know this and that.
And then, of course, the guywent into, you know, making it
cool again.
Well, okay, that's where theylost me.
I understand having to reachpeople.
(15:42):
I get that.
I do that every week.
I get that Finding new ways toengage with people who might not
listen or get people to sharethe messages not for me but for
the overarching mission that Ipromotion piece is very
(16:03):
challenging, and so I understandwhat they were saying.
But the reality is there aregoing to be a lot of people that
are left behind after therapture of the church, after the
Lord comes for his church,comes for his church.
That we'll think for years,probably through the entire
(16:29):
tribulation.
Some of them, if they live thatlong, we'll think, well, I
should have been taken if that'swhat it was, so that couldn't
be what it is.
Because that I should have beentaken.
And that's what I talk aboutall the time, gang.
That's why I I'm here.
I don't want people to getripped off.
I don't want people to getripped off so because you live
(16:50):
in proximity of that good, biblebelieving church, your
salvation isn't guaranteed.
Um, so the question becomes ofthose 62% in the poll that I saw
this morning are they reallyChristians?
I would say that my hope isthat the majority of them polled
(17:12):
knew what it is to have apersonal relationship with Jesus
Christ and to know andunderstand when we say it's not
about religion, it's aboutrelationship.
It's not about religiosity andprocess.
It's about daily relationshipand prayer and time in the Word
and fellowship with like-mindedbelievers and a personal
(17:36):
understanding of what it meansto walk with Jesus.
I would hope the majority ofthem would know that, but I
would guess that probably manyof them don't.
So, as I said, relationship iswhat is needed, a one-on-one
(17:57):
relationship with Christ.
The remainder of this letter isan outline of what that
relationship looks like, for youhave had a little strength, it
says, have kept my word and havenot denied my name.
So, yes, the door of evangelismwas open for the church in
(18:20):
Philadelphia and, yes, they weremaking great use of it.
Jesus recognized them for that.
However, it's hard.
It's hard, and I want you tothink about something as we get
into the next section here.
I want you to think about whoit is that the devil goes after.
Have you ever thought about?
(18:41):
You know, as you sit there andI know that some of you do this,
I know that I've done it attimes 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 orwhatever you know.
(19:03):
And this guy over here, hedoesn't attend church, he
doesn't read his Bible, hedoesn't do any of these things
and man, his life is just aces.
I don't understand.
Well, understand that.
As I've said, sometimes you getinto trouble because you're a
knucklehead.
Okay, I know, I've gotten intomy share of trouble.
(19:25):
That I thought when I wasyounger was persecution.
Well, it's not persecution,larry, you're just a knucklehead
.
Okay, I accept that.
And sometimes it's actualpersecution from the master of
all lies Right, from the masterof all lies, right.
(19:50):
So it says that the church inPhiladelphia had kept Jesus's
word and not denied his name.
The church was small and yetnever faltered.
They kept the precepts of theLord, never denied him.
I know this world's a hardplace and there's pressure and
temptations seemingly aroundevery corner.
But take heart, the Lord givesstrength every day and in every
(20:15):
circumstance.
Please understand and manytimes this isn't in the brochure
when we raise our hand on aWednesday night or we come
forward on a Saturday and giveour lives to Christ.
But once you've given your lifeto the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords, satan has lostyou.
(20:39):
Okay, he's lost you.
He can't ever get you back.
If you have a true and honestrelationship with Jesus Christ
and you believe that he is theSon of God and he came to this
earth and he lived among us andhe was killed and rose three
days later from the dead,conquering sin, in the grave,
(21:02):
and sits at the right hand ofthe Father, if you believe all
of those things, and if youbelieve 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 knowsit, but he can still make a
(21:26):
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 isthe situation.
But going back now, I want youto go back to Isaiah, and if you
(21:47):
don't have this versehighlighted in your Bible and
committed to memory, I need youto do that today as homework.
It's Isaiah 40, 31.
And, as I said, underline itand commit it to memory.
4031, and, as I said, underlineit, commit it to memory.
But those who wait on the Lordshall renew their strength and
(22:08):
shall mount up with wings likeeagles.
They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not
faint.
Isaiah 4031, new King JamesVersion there is nothing, gang
nothing in the world like apromise from God.
He will give you strength.
(22:31):
Think of it.
No one or nothing can overpowerthat.
The church had problems.
We have problems, but God heldthem up by their faith and trust
in him.
Run and not grow weary, walkand not grow faint.
It's an amazing thought and Ihope it's an encouragement to
(22:55):
you today.
What kind of persecution did thechurch in Philadelphia struggle
with?
And this is where we're goingto spend the majority of the
remainder of our time thisafternoon.
The church is oftentimes.
I mean, we know in those daysthat Rome was a driver of much
(23:18):
of the persecution.
I mean, anyone who's if you'venot read Fox uh Fox's book of
martyrs?
Um uh the uh.
The books by DC talk on thepersecuted church or um the uh
uh.
Voice of the martyrs has somegreat books.
If you go to voice of themartyrs, just search voice of
(23:39):
the martyrs online and you'llfind some great books, um on
persecuted Christians and whatthey did for their faith.
It's absolutely amazing.
But the persecution in this casewas coming from what Jesus
calls the synagogue of Satan.
Oh Lordy, the synagogue ofSatan.
(24:02):
It says Indeed, I will makethose of the synagogue of Satan
who say they are Jews and arenot but lie, indeed, I will make
(24:22):
them come and worship beforeyour feet and know that I have
loved you.
So this is one of those digmoments where we say to
ourselves okay, who is thesynagogue of Satan?
What did that look like?
Well, here's the fun part thesynagogue of Satan.
The synagogue of Satan, thesynagogue of Satan that is
(24:50):
mentioned by Jesus in thisletter is mentioned with the
church of Smyrna as well.
They were a group of Jews thatpersecuted the churches in
Smyrna and Philadelphia.
They stood in the way of theexpansion in Philadelphia and
(25:13):
all the evangelism that washappening in the church, and
outright persecuted andslandered the folks in Smyrna.
Slander's a tough one.
Slander is a tough one whenpeople say things about you that
(25:34):
are 100% not true, when theydrag your name through the mud,
when they call you a Biblebeater, holy roller, when they
try to discredit you because ofyour beliefs, when they try to
(25:56):
catch you in a lie.
When they try, I mean it's allof those things they spend so
much time dealing with and it'shard.
It's hard to stay focused, it'shard to stay on top of things,
and especially when it's comingfrom the Jews.
I think oftentimes we forgetthat Jesus was a Jew.
(26:23):
The early church Jewish Peterwas a Jew.
The early church Jewish Peterwas a Jew.
James John was a Jew.
All the disciples were Jews.
They started the church whereIn Jerusalem.
Okay, and here are the Jewsdragging this through the mud.
They're standing in the way ofthe evangelism and we're not
(26:46):
told how they stood in the wayof the evangelism.
Suffice it to say that they didit.
And if we think about howpeople come to protest things
today, everybody wants toprotest, right, it's a protest
here for this and for that andthe other thing we've got a very
deep protest culture.
Everybody feels like theiropinion needs to be heard and
(27:09):
that their opinions are validand all of those things.
That's hard.
It makes it hard, especially ina small community where you
feel like it's you against theworld.
And what does Jesus say?
Jesus says, or God says up herethrough Isaiah but those who
(27:34):
wait on the Lord shall renewtheir strength, shall mount up
with wings like eagles and shallrun and not be weary.
They shall walk and not growfaint.
So, friends, I want you toremember that as you step
forward, as you become bold inyour proclamation of faith, bold
(28:06):
enough to stand and sayabortion is a sin, homosexuality
is a sin, transgenderism is asin.
I didn't say that, god did.
I didn't say it, god did.
Now that puts you, that makesyou countercultural, because the
culture doesn't necessarilybelieve that, although I think
that there are some changeshappening in the overall belief.
But don't worry so much aboutthe political climate or any of
(28:28):
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 ofyears and it'll last for
thousands more.
Stay focused on that and we'llbe okay.
(28:53):
Jesus, of course, is aware ofthe persecution through the
synagogue of Satan saying to thechurch of Philadelphia in
essence hey, I'm going to makethem your footstool.
And as we end here and we wrapup, I wanna make sure to let you
in on a little secret, becausethere's something else here too
(29:15):
that's very important.
It says because you have keptmy command to persevere, moving
forward through the letter.
Now, because you've kept mycommand to persevere, moving
forward through the letter now,because you've kept my command
to persevere, I will also keepyou from the hour of trial which
shall come upon the whole worldto test all who dwell on the
(29:38):
earth.
Let's read it again, becauseyou have kept my command to
persevere I will also keep youfrom the hour of trial which
shall come upon the whole worldto test those who dwell on the
earth.
Revelation 3, verse 10.
We're not going to be here,gang.
That's the reality of it.
(30:01):
That's the reality of it.
We aren't going to be here.
We will be raptured off withthe 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 thechurch is mentioned in the
(30:21):
entire book of Revelation untilRevelation, chapter 20.
The church will be removed, andyou know what.
You can look at this as a teaseif you want to.
However, you want to do it.
But we're going to get deeperinto that in chapter four in the
(30:44):
next couple of weeks and we'regoing to spend probably two
weeks on the rapture of thechurch.
Now I know some of you arerolling your eyes.
Oh my goodness, here's anotherguy who believes in the rapture.
The rapture doesn't appearanywhere in Scripture.
Yeah, I've heard it all.
I've heard it all and Iunderstand that it's
(31:07):
controversial and I understandthat some of you may not buy
that.
Some of you may believe thatwe're going to go through the
tribulation.
Some of you may not buy that.
Some of you may believe thatwe're going to go through the
tribulation.
We're going to go through allof the different types of
tribulation beliefs that are outthere.
I'm a pre-trib rapture kind ofguy.
I believe that a strict readingof Scripture for Scripture's
(31:32):
sake points to nothing less thana pre-tribulation rapture.
We're also going to talk aboutthings like majoring in the
minors pre-post-mid-tribulationbeliefs and all of the different
buzzwords that you hearsurrounding this topic, and
we're going to define some ofthose in the weeks ahead
(31:54):
surrounding this topic.
And we're going to define someof those in the weeks ahead.
But sufficient to say that Jesustells us we're not going to be
here and he's going to protectus from the hour of trial which
will come upon the whole world,and that for me, the chapter or
(32:17):
I'm sorry to wrap up the letter.
Jesus then says at the end ofthe letter here he says and this
is important too.
This is important too too.
(32:39):
This is important too.
Behold, I am coming quickly.
Hold fast what you have, thatno one may take your crown.
He who overcomes, I will makehim a pillar in the temple of my
God.
He shall go out no more.
I will write on him the name ofmy God and the name of the city
(32:59):
of my God, the new Jerusalem,which comes down out of heaven
from my God, and I will write onhim a new name.
He who has an ear to hear, lethim hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.
Let him hear what the Spiritsays to the churches.
It's about perseverance, folks.
It's about pushing through.
(33:23):
Hold fast to the things thatyou have.
In other words, stay the course.
Stay the course that no oneshould take your crown.
Okay, he's crowned the churchin Philadelphia.
He, he, he, he has.
He has given um.
(33:44):
This is the only letter in theentirety of the book of
revelation that has all praise,nothing negative.
As I said before, please stickwith the program, stay the
course.
And you know what the reason?
There's a reason why Jesuscalled it the narrow way that
leads to salvation because it isnarrow, there's so much out
there that applies pressure toour lives.
And these are things that wehave to be cautious of, because
(34:10):
the devil's always looking torip you off.
And how does he do that?
I can tell you, and we'vetalked about it before.
He gets you to stumble, he getsyou to compromise, he gets you
to again walk, stand and sit,and by the time you compromise,
and then you're standing in badcounsel and you realize you're
like, oh no, you know, I've donethis thing.
(34:31):
Then he says, oh, you're notworthy to go back, you're not
worthy to try again, you're notworthy to try again, you're not
worthy to have a relationshipwith God.
Who would you think you were?
Look what kind of a Christianyou are.
He is the author of lies gang.
And when you are doing God'swill, the devil doesn't want you
(34:54):
to do it.
And so this brings us to closeon the church in Philadelphia.
What a wonderful letter, what awonderful time in scripture to
see what it looks like when Godopens doors that no man can shut
, shuts doors that no man canopen.
And, friends, I want to talkabout one more open door.
(35:16):
It may not be open right now,but Jesus is knocking on it.
He wants you in heaven.
He doesn't need you there, hewants you there.
He came and gave his life sothat you could accept him and be
there with him in heaven andhave a relationship with him on
(35:36):
this earth and have a wonderful,amazing walk.
God has a plan for your life.
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 tohim and say dear Jesus, I know
that I'm a sinner in need of aSavior.
I want to repent and have arelationship with you, as it
(36:00):
should be.
I want to go through thosevalleys and I want to go through
the peaks and the mountaintops,lord, the mountaintop moments,
and I want to have arelationship with you and I want
to know that every day yourmercies are new and every day
you give me new strength, andevery day I want to know all
(36:21):
those things.
And right now, lord, I'm in adark spot and I'm really hurting
.
I believe that you came to thisearth, that you walked among us
, that you lived and you taughtus and you died on the cross and
rose three days later from thedead, conquering death in the
grave, and that you did that tosave me from my sins, lord, and
(36:44):
I want to repent from all thethings that I have thought were
more important than you, and Iwant to change that today.
Lord Be with me.
Thank you, jesus, and it's inyour name that we pray, amen.
And if you prayed that prayeror something like it today, gang
, then welcome to the family ofGod and, as I said, I'm still
(37:06):
working on resources for you.
The thing that I would tell youis to get a Bible.
Get a Bible.
It doesn't matter whattranslation.
There are a zillion of them outthere.
I would suggest for a newbeliever something that's called
the New Living Translation.
It is written in English.
(37:27):
It's written in plain Englishso that it's easier to
understand the these and thethous and the other things are
taken out of it.
Now, what we use here on thispodcast is the New King James
Version, which is closer to thetrue translation from the Hebrew
(37:49):
and the Greek Hebrew for theOld Testament, greek for the New
and if you want to use that,you're welcome to do that.
It'd help you to follow alongwith these studies.
Of course, you can get theseBibles online through the
YouVersion app, which isfantastic.
I recommend it highly, but Ialso recommend that you get a
(38:09):
Bible.
There's something about pickingup the Word of God, holding it
tactilely in your hands andmarking in it, leaving notes in
it and all of those things.
And, yes, technology allows usto do those things and that's
all well and good and wonderful.
However, there's somethingabout sitting down in your
(38:30):
favorite chair or under yourfavorite tree and opening the
Word of God.
It's just, it's somethingspecial and there's a connection
there.
Gang, that's all the time Ihave today.
I pray for you every day.
I covet your prayers for me andfor this ministry.
You can find me on anywhere youget your podcasts Follow if
(38:53):
you're on Apple, subscribe ifyou're everywhere else.
I'll be putting out somethinglater today for subscribers on
the state of the church, andthis was kind of this kind of
germinated through the surveythat they talked about on the
(39:18):
news this morning, which Ithought was quite interesting,
and so I'm kind of working thatout in my head and that's
probably what I'm going to workon this afternoon.
So look for that either todayor tomorrow.
For my subscribers, again, youcan subscribe by going to my
website the thoughts I havetoward youcom.
Click on the dollar sign, uh,and I think we've set it at a $3
(39:41):
subscription for, um, uh,biblical worldview stuff, Uh,
and this is the first thing thatkind 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.
The subscription, the rate andreview please rate and review
the podcast so that we can beatthe algorithm.
(40:03):
Five stars is the acceptablereview.
Leave a comment for me.
You can also leave me some fanmail to the website if you want
to go there and do that.
Again, that'sthethoughtsihavetowardyoucom.
And until next time, gang, makeit count and be blessed.
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