Access to an Open Door

Revelation 3:7-13

 

            Philadelphia was a city of instability. It was devastated by an earthquake in 17 A.D., but this was not the lone occurrence of such a disaster. The volcanic activity in the area caused multiple earthquakes leaving the people to wonder when the next disaster might take place. The citizens also lived in a city which had changed names over the years. There was very little that seemed steadfast to people who dwelt in such a place. Even the church must have been affected to some extent by this instability.

            The Philadelphian church faced persecution from the local Jewish community. While the Jews seemed to tolerate the pagans in the society around them they persecuted the Christians. They would not allow this new sect to threaten their stability, or the security they had found in their ritual and routine. Christians were cast out of synagogues and their corporate worship hindered as the Jews attempted to keep them from God.

            This seemed like an unlikely place for the church to thrive, yet even today there is a Christian presence in that place. Historically, it is under the most intense persecution that God’s church has thrived. This has happened because it is in these circumstances God’s people learn some of their most important lessons. They learn what it means to walk by faith, and follow the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit. They have neither the resources nor the numbers to carry out God’s work on their own. All they can do is trust in their Savior to give them the opportunity to submit to His work through them. The church that seems to live in the direst circumstance is one of only two that receive no criticism or condemnation from Christ.

            The letter to the Philadelphians is the only one of the seven letters that does not refer directly to the vision of Jesus in the first chapter of Revelation. Each of the other letters refers to one of the aspects of John’s vision, but this one refers to the one who holds the “key of David.” This is a reference to the prophecy of Isaiah.

 

            Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have            cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you and whirl you around and around and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There   you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you    shame of your master’s house. I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open” (Isa. 22:15-22).

 

The key of David refers to the judgment that had been pronounced on one who had misused his position among God’s people. He worked before the king, but used that status to his own advantage, much like the Jews during the days of the early church. The Jews had once been the chosen people of God, but no longer carried the keys to the kingdom. They had been cast down from that position and replaced by the church established by Jesus Christ at Calvary. The Jews cast Christians out of their places of worship, but they had no authority to keep them from God. Access was not based on genealogy, but relationship to God’s Son. It was not held by man, but the door to the kingdom was set in place and opened by Jesus – the one who held the keys.

            They key of David is given by one who has the power to provide us an open door to the kingdom of God. Jesus set such a door before the people of the church. There is no man who has the ability to control our ability to walk through the open door of Jesus Christ. It is only through our supernatural experience of salvation that we access God. “The revelation had started with a vision of Christ with ‘the keys of death and of Hades’ in His hands (Rev. 1:8). Having such keys, Christ is able to open doors that have been barred to mortals.”[1] The church is not limited to worldly methods and ways. She is not limited by finite understanding and logic. God’s people stand before a door that gives them access to the throne room of their King. They stand before a door that ushers them into the very presence of Almighty God, creator of the heavens and earth, and One who has promised to provide and care for His people. It is from this position that the church must approach every obstacle, each trial, and all of her difficulties. It is from this place that the church of this world becomes the victorious church of God.

 

Jesus Opens the Door to Heavenly Power

 

            The people of Philadelphia had “but little power.” The church was likely small in number, and would not have the political influence of the Jews of their time. They would not have won the favor of the local government, or the society in which they lived. They had no possible means through which they could open the door to any of these things. If the church was to represent God in a place that was hostile to them it would only be through the supernatural power of God. Carol Rotz commented, “Christ opened the door for the Philadelphian church because they were too weak to open it themselves…their weakness may refer…specifically to the size of the Philadelpian church or to their insignificance against the synagogue leaders.”[2]

            In a world where the political powers seek to eliminate the name of God from every part of society and the religious order continually turns to worldliness for answers there remains only one way for the church to be the vessel through which God’s Heavenly Kingdom invades the world. It is through the supernatural power of Jesus Christ working in us each day! Jesus told us explicitly that He is the door that provides access to the throne of God: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). As we walk in relationship with Him we are delivered into the very presence of God. We find ourselves in a place where our prayers are answered, not simply because we voiced them, but because they came from an offering of our own hearts giving God a place from which to work. Entrance through this door brings us face to face with God, and provides an avenue for His Holy Power to invade this sinful world.

            For countless generations the Jews awaited the presence of God. They believed He would set up a kingdom in Israel and restore them to prominence, but the presence never came. They carried on their rituals year after endless year and many never even noticed that God was not there. They had ritual and law, but like the church of our modern day, they lacked God’s supernatural power. When this power finally did come they did not notice. They did everything in their power to suppress it and hinder the work of God. But the power that threatened their comfortable religion was the full force of Heaven invading earth through the door Jesus opened for the church. “It was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Luke 23:44, 45). As Jesus Christ hung on the cross of Calvary, the divide between man finite works and God’s infinite power was bridged by the One who took our sin on Himself and died on the Roman cross. It overcame the wall that sin had built keeping man from experiencing the work of God in His life, and among God’s people. On that day the keys of God’s kingdom were torn from the hand of the Jews and the door was forced open by the Son of God. In the climax of God’s redemptive plan, God’s power once again came to earth.

            It is this power that delivers the church through tribulation. Man can never do God’s work in his own power, or by his own authority. God has revealed the power through which difficulty is overcome. When the Jews returned from exile they faced the daunting task of rebuilding the city and the temple of God. Where would they turn? What resources would they use? How would they face opposition? The answer came to Zechariah: “Then he said to me, ‘this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts’” (Zech. 4:6). It is not through our own wisdom, or sheer determination that the church endures and triumphs in this world. It is by the Spirit and the Word of God! We spend a great deal of time devising plans and schemes to overcome the obstacles of this world, but God has promised to lead us in His way. His Spirit will lead us as He is revealed through the Word. We may  face our trials in our own way, but our wisdom and strength always pale in comparison to what we find inside the door opened by Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus Opens the Door to Victory

 

            It would do us well to remember that even in a place like Philadelphia, the gates of hell will not prevail against God’s church (Matt. 16:18). Many Christians today look to the Jews to carry out God’s ultimate will, but that is not God’s plan. His plan is, and always has been, nothing less than victory. The Jews had political influence and access to places of worship, but their power could not overcome the church. The Jews were forsaken by God because of their failure to walk in covenant with Him, and His plan is to be carried out through the church. That is why Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together…and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate” (Matt. 23:37).

            The church of the first century faced a battle that should not have been won. From a worldly perspective, they were outnumbered, outmatched, and had no resources with which to stand. But they stood before a door that would lead them to victory. They stood before the world with access to God. The door Jesus opens before us is never one that leads to defeat. While countless congregations close their doors for the final time each week, we find in Scripture that this is not the church of prophecy. The church established by God was built for victory, and nothing less. When will we learn that we do not have what it takes to overcome the world? We cannot stand against the powers of hell, but we serve one who has already defeated them. We need not fight the battle alone.

 

Jesus Opens the Door to Perseverance

 

            The promise of Jesus was not simply given to those who claim allegiance to Him, but all those who will live in light of this victory; the men and women who will stop at nothing to see God work in, and through, their lives and churches. Promises of stability were given to a church that lived in an unstable place. Today, those promises are given to a church that also lives in an unstable world. We see bombings like the one at the Boston Marathon, and stand on the brink of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula. We read of war, crime, and carnality with each passing day, but Jesus places the door of victory before the faithful – those who will persevere in His ways. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6)…

            It is easy to pray, but it is difficult to pray faithfully. We begin expecting God to answer, but as they days, or months, or sometimes years, go by we find ourselves less devoted. We turn our attention and focus to the things of the world to answer the prayers for which we once trusted God. If we are to persevere faithfully we must realize that, like the Philadelphians, we have “but little power.” We must understand that faith is not simply the desire to ask God while acting on our own, but the belief that He will do what He has promised to do. H. Ray Dunning wrote, “Faith is not, as many suppose, a self-generated desire for certain things to happen. Rather, faith is a believing response to a divine promise…”[3] Are we really responding to situations in faith when we ask God for direction without waiting for His divine response? Sadly, we have conditioned ourselves to believe that as long as we pray for God to bless our ideas they must be His will. This cannot be.

            The open door is promised, not to those who help themselves, but those who persevere and overcome in the power of Jesus Christ. Leonard Ravenhill said, “God honors not wisdom nor personality but faith…Faith links our impotence to His omnipotence.”[4]

 

Jesus Opens Doors In the World Through the Church

 

            We live in a world where people have become increasingly disenfranchised by the church. We can’t go anywhere without hearing the stories of how someone was “hurt” by the church, or how the people acted like hypocrites in one way or another. We can’t discount all of those things, but we must also remember that God works through the church. This is not considered politically correct in our modern world, but the church is a necessary part of the Christian life. It is through the church that we find fellowship among others with whom we serve. This fellowship cannot be found in any other place. If our families are not Christian it can’t take place with them. If our friends do not know Christ we do not know fellowship. There is no relationship through which we fulfill the commands about our relationships with one another except the church.

            When we experience salvation we find ourselves face to face with this open door. If we are to walk with God, we have no choice but to enter into relationship with Him through that door. We cannot choose to be a Christian, but not part of the church. Scripture tells us that, “The Lord added to their [the churches] number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). If God has added us to the church, who are we to remove ourselves? Yet thousands of people do so each year. We cannot walk in relationship with Christ without also finding ourselves in love with His Bride.  The door to God is opened to all. It is not limited by denomination, heredity, or ritual. This door is opened to all who will place their faith in Jesus. This makes us a member, not of “a church” but “the church.” The one true church of God. “He who is a member of the church anywhere is a member of the church everywhere, for church membership is a spiritual experience accompanying salvation. Church membership may be likened to citizenship.”[5]

            Those who enter this door do not only become part of the church, but “pillars” in God’s New Testament temple. They have the promise of stability that would have been meaningful for a city devastated by earthquakes in ancient times, and is just as meaningful for a church devastated by a sinful world in modern times.  This city was also given a heavenly name, “New Jerusalem.” The city that had changed names multiple times over the decades, confusing the identity of its citizens, found in the church a heavenly name, one that could not be changed by worldly forces or overcome by sinful powers.

            These promises are offered to the church today. The promises of stability and identity. The promise of fellowship with God, power from heaven, and victory over sin. We do not walk through this door by human ingenuity, but by faith in God. Faith in His power, and His victory. In our search for stability and identity the church looks to numerous sources today, but we need look no further than Jesus Christ, the one who holds the keys to the door before us.

 

            The church of Sardis was left with the threat of the coming of Christ. The church of Philadelphia was encouraged and found hope in the same event that demanded the repentance of others.[6] “Many miss the commendation of our Lord because of prayers they leave unuttered, service they will not, commandments they refuse to keep, tithes they will not render, and souls they fail to win.”[7] Because of their faithful perseverance a door had been opened before them. Jesus Christ can open that same door before us today. He can empower His church to do anything that is within God’s will. He can overcome any opposition and deliver us through every tribulation. Jesus stands before the church as the gateway to the heavenly city of God. He is the only gateway. Is it through Him that we will choose to enter?

           

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[1] Richard K. Eckley, Revelation: A Commentary for Bible Students (78)

[2] Carol Rotz, Revelation: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (83)

[3] H. Ray Dunning, Abraham (52)

[4] Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries (73)

[5] A.F. Gray, Christian Theology(126)

[6] Ray Summers, Worthy Is the Lamb (123)

[7] Lillie McCutcheon, The Symbols Speak (27)

The Salt of the Earth

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.  -Matthew 5:13


If you spend much time around church people you will inevitably hear mention of Christians being "salt and light." We talk about that and proclaim it, but do we really understand what it means? How can Christians possibly represent salt to this world? What does the statement say about the world, and about our lives? Let's consider these questions.


Historically, salt has had three purposes: It is used to purify, preserve and give taste. If Christians are to be salt in the world then we must accomplish one, or all, of these three things. I would contend that the purpose of Jesus' statement deals with the issue of preservation and purification since it would be completely inaccurate to claim that we are to make a sinful world palatable.


Before anything else this verse implies the need of the world. If we are salt then the world is in need of what salt provides. It is in need of purification and preservation. It is difficult to dispute that the world is in a decaying state. We need look no further than the morning news to see the sinful things that are taking place around us. Our societies are driven by sex and materialism, and decisions are made by governments for the self-preservation of their politicians. Just when we come to the point that we do not feel the world could get any worse we are always unpleasantly surprised by the ways man conceives to sin.


When we consider the call to be the salt of the earth we must do so against this context. In days gone by salt was used as a means of purifying. It was used on wounds to clean them and protect from infection. It is no mistake that this verse comes directly after the last of the beatitudes, which says, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:11, 12).  


To answer the call to be salt is to bring persecution on ourselves. We use the term "rubbing salt in a wound" today as a negative thing. But this is what was once necessary to clean and protect a wound. As the world decays it is necessary that salt be applied to it. What the world needs is a cleansing agent. Something that will help stop the decay. If Christians are to do this they must look and act different than the rest of the world. When we look at the church we too often see gatherings that are not much different from the world. We neglect the biblical mandate to live a holy life; sue one another in secular courts even though Scripture says we're already defeated when this happens, and many times we even do whatever is necessary to look as much like our sinful world as possible. The world does not need such a church.


What the world needs are people who will model the character of Christ. People who will be faithful witnesses, and display His love to all. People who will stand in truth and will not allow the decay of this world to drag them down. That's what it means to be salt. There is no compromise in the call of Christ. If salt loses its saltiness how will it be restored? It won't! Salt cannot lost it's inherent properties. It can only become corrupted and impure. Salt that is not pure is of no use to the work of Christ. It is good only to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.


In light of the call to be the salt of the earth, where does the church stand today? Are we useful to the purifying, preserving work of Christ? We could go even further. Are we personally living in a way that allows Christ to work through us? Are we really salt?