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.

Relying on God’s Strength.

Yesterday we looked at the letter to the church in Sardis, and noted that it was nearly all negative. Today’s reading, the letter to the church in Philadelphia, is, by contrast, nearly all positive! The church at Philadelphia is described as a church with ‘little strength’ (v. 8). But despite the fact that they have little strength, they have ‘kept God’s word and have not denied his name.’ And again, in verse 10, they have kept God’s command to endure patiently.

Is it good to be a church of ‘little strength’? Maybe we might say that about ourselves in Bethel. When a person or a church is ‘strong’ because of human strength, then there is a risk that they will rely on that human strength, rather than relying on the Holy Spirit. A well-known verse, found in Zechariah 4: 6, says, ‘“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.’ And in Ephesians 6: 10, at the end of the passage about the armour of God, Paul writes, ‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.’ Both of those verses emphasise that strength is good, but only when it is the strength of the Lord. If we have our own ‘might’ or ‘power’ we might be proud and we might go our own way rather than God’s way – even when seeking to live the Christian life or run a church.

In 1 Corinthians 1: 27 - 29 it says, ‘But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.’ 

In the opening verses of this letter, there is reference to an open door. What Jesus opens, no-one can shut, and vice versa. And not only that, but he says to the church, ‘I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.’ We sometimes pray for an ‘open door’ for opportunities to proclaim the Gospel – an open door for mission. Well, if we are looking, we will see that Jesus has placed an open door before us in the right place – the place and people where he wants us to reach out. And not only that, but no-one else can shut that door. Jesus opens the door for his mission, and we need to recognise the open doors and make the most of them. Club 707 has an open door into many of the schools in Caerphilly at present – and we must do all we can in going through that door with the love of Christ and the message of the Gospel. Where is there an open door for mission in your life? Where is there an open door for Bethel?

 

Prayer

Lord, we might think we have little strength of our own – please give us the strength of the Holy Spirit to empower us to serve you. May we never try to rely on our own strength. Show us the open doors that you have placed before us, and help us to go through them – doors open for your mission. Amen.