Revelation 3:7-13 The Dynamics of a Dynamic Church

Theological Proposition/Focus: Christ is the head of the Church and so everything that a church does should focus on Christ.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Trust in, center on, hold to, and listen to Christ.

Introduction:

Image: Passing Back Exams and seeing them in the trash

One of the most frustrating experiences most teachers have is the experience of passing back exams or major term papers. Consider this, the students spends hours studying or writing, the teacher then spends hours grading and marking. The result is a document that both shows what the student knows and where the student needs to grow. However, in most cases the student looks at the two digit number on the front of the exam decides what they think of that number and throws it in the trash can. What a wasted opportunity! Even if the student has a three digit number on their exam most teachers have still marked areas that are particularly good or could use some help.

Need: As a church, we must look at what we do well and where we need to improve so that we ensure that everything we do is always and only for Christ.

You might be thining yes we do that. But what I want to do is take you deeper. Don't just accept that we are doing everything for Christ. Rather evaluate and determine exactly how we are accomplishing this. What can we look at in our church and say this is all about Christ, let's grow this. In order to help foster this way of thining I want us to look at one of the seven churches in Revelation. Specifically, I want you to look at one of the churches that received a good grade. What we will see is the dynamics of a dynamic church.

Setting the Stage:

We are going to be studying a short letter contained within the book of Revelation. Specifically, a short letter to the church in Philadelphia. Not our modern Philadelphia but the ancient city, one of the seven cities in Revelation. The city or town of Philadelphia was the youngest of the seven cities having been founded in the middle of the second century BC. The city had suffered some destruction in AD 17 from an earthquake but was aided by the emperor Tiberius. The city was known as the gateway to the East as strategically it was on a main route from Rome to the East.

For the most part, the letters to the seven churches in Revelation are pretty negative but the letter to Philadephia is positive and so we turn to this letter.

Text:. Revelation 3:7-13

7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Body

The first thing that I want you to notice stems from verse 7. Specifically, I want you to see that

A Dynamic Church confidently trusts Christ (7).

Why can we so confidently trust Christ? Within verse 7 the first item of significance seems to be descriptions used for Christ. Specifically, we see that

Because Christ is holy and true

The Holy One is a reference to none other than the God of the Old Testament. You might be have heard the term holy before but I think sometimes we are too quick to recognize the word and move on. Holy means to be set apart. Specifically, something holy was dedicated or consecrated to God. However, in this passage something stronger is being used. Christ is not just holy, he is the Holy. The greek includes the definite article. That is, Christ is the one that defines what it means to be holy. That is, Christ is none other than God. The use of the descriptor "true" further contrasts Christ with the idols that so many others worshipped. We can trust Christ because he is none other than God. He is truth. In a world where there is so much that will fail we can trust Christ. A church that confidently trusts in Christ will not be disappointed.

In

Revelation 6:10 God is described as Holy and true

and these qualities are used as the basis for the saints calling on God. We can call on God because he is both Holy and true.

Image: The era of human failures

We live in an era where it has become regular news to learn that a particular leader has had a moral failure. The pastor of such and such church, who built it from the ground up removed after it is revealed that he had such and such occur in his life. We see that men have failures. But Christ is the Holy and True God. When we place our confidence in Christ we are placing our confidence in one who will never fail us, God himself.

The reference to the

key of David

is likely an allusion Christ's authority to admit people into heaven and here is a reference to the one who has ultimate control of the destiny of all humans. The allusion is likely an allusion to Isaiah's prophecy in

Isaiah 22:22 about the role that Eliakim would play as a good administrator

However, now that role of administration is taken by none other than the Holy True God himself.

One interesting note in both the prophecy of Isaiah and here is that the one with the keys is opening that which is shut not just shutting that which is open.

Because Christ is the source of blessing

In contrast with the judgments of the other churches Christ as shown here is the one who brings blessing.

MTR: Take confidence in the Holy and True Christ

No matter what, we must remember that Christ is the head of our church. Everything we do we do in confidence to Christ.

In verses 8-10 I see an emphasis on the fact that a

A Dynamic Church relies on Christ to overcome obstacles (8-10)

What does it mean to allow Christ to overcome obstacles? First, there are some prerequisites, we must

Realize Christ knows us.

Specifically, Christ knew the works of each of the seven churches. He knew the works of the church in Philadelphia, and he knows our works. Christ knows exactly what we are doing. He knows our emphasis and he knows our motives. Christ knows us. In the case of the other six churches Christ explicitly talked about the works of the church and in 5 of those 6 cases, what Christ said was not entirely positive. The point is that Christ knows what we are doing as a church. We must center on Christ because he knows what we are doing.

The second key I see in verses 8-10 is that we must

Recognize doors opened by Christ

The reference to an open door may be a reference to evangelistic opportunities as in

1 Cor. 16:9

but here in context, it is probably actually a reference to Christ opening up the door of heaven. Christ invites us to join with him. That is, the open door is a reminder that we have direct access to God because of Christ.

One obstacle that churches face is that of having little strength. In fact, I suspect that regardless of the size, every church could do with a little more resources. I think that Christ keeps us in that sweet spot so that we stay focussed on him. I want you to notice that the cure to

having little strength

is not getting more strength but keeping the word of Christ.

Keep the word of Christ.

Despite only having a little strength, the church in Philadephia kept the word of Christ. that is, they obediently followed Christ. They stuck to Christ's teaching and

refused to renounce his name

Be sure that challenges arise, but never renounce Christ.

A second obstacle the church faced was

opposition from others

In fact, we see that an important part of a dynamic church is

recognizing the enemy

The enemy of the church is Satan because the enemy of Christ is Satan. We are not given all the specifics of the attack that Satan waged against the church in Philadelphia but it seems that there were some Jews who were opposing the church, and based on the promise Christ gives in verse 9 it seems they were attacking the validity of the church itself.

The church in Philadelphia was given another promise because of their loyalty to Christ's word. Specifically, they would be kept by Christ from the testing that was to come. Specifically, the church was promised to

Be kept by Christ.

This may very well be a reference to the rapture of the church. That is what I think it is, so in fact, this has applications for each of us. We keep Christ at the center because he is the one who keeps us from God's judgment.

Image: Dog's and lightining

Emily and I had a dog who was very afraid of lightning. When a big storm would roll into town I would either need to go sleep in the office where the dog's crate was located or bring the dog into the room to sleep with me. It is not that the dog was in any danger, but the element of fear caused the dog to want more than anything to be with me. The irony is that I could not protect the dog from lightning at all. How much more should we cling to Christ and be uncomfortable unless we are with him when Christ actually can keep us? Christ will keep us, we need to keep close to him!

MTR: Recognize the reality of opposition rely on Christ.

Next, in verses 11 and 12 I see that

A Dynamic Church looks forward to Christ (11-12)

Notice that Christ' is returning. We should

Look to Christ's coming

We talked about this idea two months ago. We should live in anticipation of Christ's return. We invest our time, money, and resources knowing that the hour is coming when Christ will return.

Look to Christ's reward

One reason we look to Christ's return is because we know that Christ will reward us. If we hold fast to Christ we look forward to the rewards that Christ bestows upon us.

There is an interesting word play used in the greek here. The word for "take" in verse 11 is

λαβῃ

which means "receive" so a better way to think about this is almost "so that no one receives your crown." But this is not some zero-sum game but rather a way of positively drawing attention to the idea of receiving a reward from Christ.

Finally, we see the importance of

Look to eternity.

There is a day coming when Christians will be fully vindicated. The image here is of God's people as a building, more a temple. Yes, today we have weaknesses, today we are subject to antagonists. But the time is coming when God will vindicate his people.

In fact, God promises to make the victors (that's us who he keeps) into

A Pillar in the Temple of God

Notice the three direct objects of the verb "I will write" which help to identify the believer's eternal destiny.

The name of God

carries the idea of a permanent mark that ensures full acceptance before God.

The name of the city of God

gives the believer the right to dwell in God's eternal city.

The name of Christ (genetive of source)

could be a reference to the new identity that one has in Christ (genitive of source, a new name from me.)

The city of Philadelphia had a history of renaming itself in memory of its supporters

Indeed we have a lot to look forward to and

MTR: Don't forget to talk about the future!

We live in the present, but we also cannot afford to ignore the future. The future gives us something to look forward to and since Christ is our future we need to talk about what Christ has in store for us.

Finally, I want you to see that

A Dynamic Church listens to Christ (13)

We might be inclined to walk away from this and think that it applies to someone else but I want you to notice the universal nature of the end.

Whoever means all

You see the passage was written to

Conclusion:

Faith+Promise+Foundation -> Dynamic

We are a church of Christ-followers and Christ is giving us an opportunity to join with him. We have faith, we have the promise that he will build his church, and we have a solid foundation. Just as with Philadelphia, Christ is opening doors. Will you go through with me?