Now I would invite you to stand for scripture reading. This morning our scripture reading are taken from the Old Testament and my sermon is taken from the New Testament. So first we will be reading Psalm 99, the whole Psalm, verse 1 through 9. And then my sermon text this morning will be from the book of Revelation chapter three, verse seven through 13. So first, hear the word of God from Psalm 99. The Lord reigns. Let the people stumble. His seats enthroned upon the cherubim. Let the airs quake. The Lord is great in Zion. He exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he. The king in his might loves justice. You have established equity. You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God. Worship at his footstool. Holy is he. Moses and Aaron were among his priests. Samuel also was among those who called upon his name. They called to the Lord, and he answered them. In the pillar of the cloud, he spoke to them. They kept his testimonies and the statutes that he gave them. O Lord, our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them. but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. And I'll turn your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 3, verse 7 through 13. This is the letter of our Lord Jesus Christ. the church in Philadelphia. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia writes, the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not But lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about my patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth. I'm coming soon. Hold fast what you have so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it. And I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, and the new Jerusalem, which comes down from God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. God's people, this is the reading of the holy, the infallible, and life-giving of God's Word. And may the Lord bless the reading of His Word into our hearts by the power of His Holy Spirit. This morning we are considering one of the seven churches in the Asia Minor, the church in Philadelphia. Whenever you read and hear the letters that our Lord Jesus Christ wrote or sent through his servant John to the churches in Asia Minor, as a Christian, as a believer, as a member of the body of Jesus Christ, even here in this church, do you wonder what our Lord Jesus Christ would say to us as covenant community, Presbyterian church here in Tellers, if he would send a direct and personal letter to us as a church? He has a word. In fact, words to say the church in Philadelphia. So do you ever wonder what Jesus would say about us as the Church of Jesus Christ? You see, from those churches that were in Asia Minor, who received a letter from Jesus Christ through his servant John, Only two churches, the church in Smyrna and the church in Philadelphia, were the churches who haven't received any words of rebuke or threats or condemnation from Christ, the head of the church. They were completely faithful. They were not perfect churches, but they were faithful to God and his word. and they have not received any words of rebuke, condemnation, or warning from our Lord Jesus Christ, because they kept his word. The first church, the church in Ephesus, was known for its endurance for Christ's name's sake, but were condemned for lack of love. She abandoned her first love. The next two churches, the church in Pergamum and Thyatira, were severely rebuked by our Lord Jesus Christ for tolerating sin and spiritual idolatry among themselves. The church in Sardis had a repetition of being alive, but Christ in his letter told her that she was spiritually dead. The church in Laodicea said, I am rich, and I know Jesus Christ with his holy and perfect eyes that knows and sees everything. He told the church, you think you are rich, but you are poor. You are neither cold nor hot for me. Notice carefully, each church in the Asia Minor is unique in its character, and it has its own distinction character. Each church serves us as a sample to show us what kind of church exists in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ. They have their own distinction character that we should learn from them. These churches in Asia Minor, they were real churches in the real cities in Asia Minor. The church that I have chosen for our consideration this morning is the Church of Philadelphia, not the one that you have in the state of Pennsylvania, but in Asia Minor. This church was the church that our Lord Jesus Christ, in his letter, never rebuked, never condemned, It was a tiny church, the smallest of all the seven churches in Asia Minor. It was located about 25 miles southeast of Sardis. It was formed in about 1990 before Christ by a man who was the king of Pergamon. His name was Adalas. he had a very unusual love for his brother. And because of his extremely and unusual love for his brother, they gave him a nickname, Philadelphia. And the church is called the church in the city of Philadelphia for that reason. And since he was And since the city was experiencing many kinds of earthquakes in its history, one of its important element for us to consider is that the church was located in unstable city, but it was a very stable church by the grace of God. The city, in fact, was destroyed by earthquake in 1780, but it was rebuilt by Emperor Tiberius. The church we are considering this morning was a spiritually stable, faithful, regenerated church. The Lord Jesus Christ was pleased with this church. It was a regenerated church, it was a faithful church, and it was an influential church in its community. So before we look into the characters of this church for which Jesus Christ commended this church, I would like to direct your attention to the identification or introduction of the author of this letter to the church. Of course, the church comes from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the author of this church. And unlike in chapter 1 and chapter 2, our Lord Jesus Christ, when he introduces himself to this church, he doesn't introduce, I, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The introduction that he uses for the church in Philadelphia was very unique. It was very Old Testament. It was very Hebrew. It was very fitting to this church in Philadelphia. And notice how he introduces himself. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia writes, the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. So the first title that he uses for himself was holy. He introduces himself as holy. And holy refers to none other than God himself. God alone is holy, the people of God. Such absolute holiness belongs only to God. If you look into the Old Testament, the Old Testament over and over again describes God as the holy God of Israel. Isaiah in chapter 6 verse 3, he said, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Notice the emphasis that Isaiah makes on his words that God is holy. In Revelation 4, 8, The word of God says, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. What does it mean? What does holy means in relation to God and relation to the church in Philadelphia? It means God is separated. Separated from what? Separated from sin. God is sinless. God is blemish. God hates sin. This holy Lord, this holy King, who is holy and who hates sin, is sending this letter to the church in Philadelphia. But remember the title holy is also a reference to the messianic office. The demon-possessed man in Mark chapter 1, when he saw Jesus Christ, he confessed this. What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. This title is to God the Father and to God the Son because he is God himself. The angel came to the Virgin Mary to announce the birth and the conception of our Lord Jesus Christ in her womb. And Mary asked, how will this be since I'm a virgin? And the angel answer is saying, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. The demons acknowledge God as a Holy God. The demons acknowledge Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as a Holy God. So do the angels. And here Jesus Christ is coming to this church through his letter as a holy God. But he also said true. Holy and true. And you see the combination of holy and true. God being true and holy in chapter 6 verse 10. This is what the Word of God says. They cried out with a loud voice, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Holy and true. God, has both characters in himself. He's holy, he's true, which means he's trustworthy, he's reliable, he's true in himself, he's the source of all truths. Isaiah calls God the God of truths. Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life. So Jesus is telling this church, the letter that you are receiving is from me who is holy, Sinless, who is true, whatever I'm going to tell you about your own character, about your own response to me is true because it comes from the one who is true. He also said the one who has the key of David. This, my brothers and sisters in Christ, is so remarkable. Here, David is a symbol of the messianic office. Jesus Christ comes from the root of David. He, in the Old Testament and the New Testament, is the symbol of authority. You remember in Isaiah 22, 22 King Eliakim was given the key of the treasury of David and he gave it to his son Hilkiah. And he gave him authority to open the treasury of David and open it and give the riches of the royal king, King David, to everyone to whom he was pleased to give. And now this church in Philadelphia, was living among the jews people and most of of the persecution and the opposition that this church experienced it came not from the pagans but from the jews and the jews told the people in this church the king of david is in our hand we are the israelites the kingdom of god belong to us we open the king of the kingdom whenever we want to open it or we shut it and no one can open it And now Jesus is saying to this church, I'm holy, I'm true. I also have the key, the key off David, the king of the kingdom of God for salvation, for blessing and also for the open door, door of opportunity for evangelism. All these things are in my hand. It's in this key and I hold this key. You know what Jesus is doing? The church of Jesus Christ. Jesus is telling this church, I know you. I'm holy. I'm true. I have the key to the kingdom of David as a Messiah. I know everything about you. I'm omniscient. I know what goes on in you as a church of Jesus Christ. I know whether you are faithful or not. I know you. I know you in and out. Nothing about you is hidden from me. Covenant. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying to you this morning. I know you. So what do you learn from this church in Philadelphia? The first character that Christ commended was power. Notice what he says in verse 8. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. I know that you have little power. Now you might say, wait a minute, he's referring to this church as a feeble church, as a weak church, a church without any energy, little power. You see he's referring to their size. This was the smallest church in Asia Minor. This was the poorest church in Asia Minor. Outwardly, it was a small church, it was a weak church, it was unstable church, but Jesus is telling them, even though you are small, even though you are insignificant, but you have power. I have invested my power on you, and you are using the power that I have given you faithfully. You are influencing the community around you faithfully. You have little power, but you are mighty. You are strong. You know what you have. You know the riches that you have in Christ Jesus. And I see you using the power that I have given you. That should remind you what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1 27. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. And he chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. The will of God was to use this church, this small and insignificant church, to do mighty work for the kingdom of God. Paul understood that his strength was in God when he said, for the sake of Christ, I am content with with weaknesses, with persecution, with calamity, insults and hardships. For when I'm weak, then I'm strong. This church was weak, and yet it was strong because the grace of God was in her, and she recognized the grace that God has given her, and she was using the grace of God for the advancement of his kingdom. It is like the parable of the grain of the mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed was the smaller than all the seeds. But gradually it grew and it influenced all the people around her. Covenant, that should be our prayer at the Church of Jesus Christ. You see, we can be a small church. We can be a significant church. Look at your size. But you are mighty, you are powerful, because the grace of God rests upon you. God has given you all his riches in Christ Jesus. and you are called to use your grace and all the riches that God has given you through his son Jesus Christ for the growth of his kingdom. And then obedience was the second character that Christ commended in the life of this church. He said, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power and yet you have kept my word. Which means obedience. I gave you my word and you obeyed my word. You remained bound to the scripture. You didn't go astray from my word. I gave you my word and you obeyed it. John 14, 23 and 24. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Whoever does not love me, does not keep my word. Who was this church? What was the character of this church? This church was the lover of God's word. They loved the word of God. They remained faithful to the word of God. Jesus said in John 15, you are my friends if you do what I command you to do. Who is the friend of Jesus Christ? Which church is a friend of Jesus Christ? That church that does whatever the Lord Jesus Christ commanded her to do. And where is His command? His commandment is in His Word, in the Holy Word of God. But how did they obey His Word? They obeyed His Word under the pressure of the Jews. When they told them, we have the key, we can let you in, we can send you away from the kingdom of God. They rejected the Messiah and they persecuted them, they insulted them, they twisted the truth of the word of God by claiming the key of David, the key for the treasures of God's riches in salvation. for themselves. But under this pressure, you see the believers in Philippi, in Philadelphia, remained faithful to Jesus Christ. Are you faithful to the Word of God? And I'm addressing you this morning as a church. Are you faithful to the Word of God? There are many things around you that would tempt you not to be faithful to the word of God. There are many teachings and false doctrines around you that can easily take you away from the truths of the scriptures. They can come to you in a form of new perspective on Paul. They can come to you in a form of to kingdoms, republication of the law of God, in whatever form they come to you, not from outsiders this time, but from people from inside, from your own circle. Would you say to them, no, I stand in the truth of the scriptures. And whatever the head of the church, Jesus tells me to do, I do it. And I address your wives, Christian women, Christian wives, when people come to you and say things like, so your church teaches you to be submissive to your husband. How do you accept this teaching? How do you accept this preaching? Do you say to them, well, many things my church teaches is true. And when it comes to submission to my husband, I try to compromise. I try to keep the balance. Or do you tell them, no, that's not the teaching of my pastor. That's not the teaching of the church. That's the word of God. And whatever the word of God tells me to do, I do it joyfully. I keep his word. I'm submissive to my husband and I receive all the blessings that God has preserved for me as a result of that. Covenant, how we respond to the Word of God as a faithful church is very important for the glory of God and also for our testimony, certainly loyalty. Notice verse 8, what Jesus told this church. in verse 8. Jesus said, I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name, which means you remain to be loyal to me. Under a lot of pressure, you were not willing to deny my name. You see, they were attacked by the Jews. And everything the Jews around them were doing was for them to deny the name of Jesus Christ, to reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah. But Jesus commended this church. You never denied my name. You are very loyal to me. Romans 2 28 29. Paul reminds us who the true Jew is. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical, but a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by letter. Contrary to what the Jewish people around them were telling them. We are the true Israel. We are the true people of God. You don't belong to our fellowship. You don't belong to the kingdom of God. In the midst of that attack, in the midst of that false teaching, they remain loyal to Jesus Christ. Like a soldier who is always loyal to his nation. they remain to be loyal to Jesus Christ. In Revelation 14 12, the word of God says, here is a call for endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandment of God and their faith in Jesus Christ. You see, the sign of your endurance, the people of God, the sign of your love for God and for His word is your endurance in keeping the commandments of your God and also in keeping your faith in Jesus Christ. You are called to be loyal only to one, and that is Jesus Christ, your Savior. And the fourth character, that the head of the church commended about this church was their endurance. And notice verse 10, because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world. Now notice carefully the word, the word about patient endurance. So they were powerful, they were obedient, they were loyal, but they also endured. What does it mean? Well, they endured in times of good, in good times and in bad times. The church of Jesus Christ, there are times in our life that we would say, my patience is running. I will leave this church. I will leave this fellowship. No, no, they endured. They endured under persecution. They endured under opposition. even at the time that they felt that they were not loved, they were not cared, they endured. Because their loyalty was not to the church, it was to Jesus. Their loyalty was to the world, not to men. Maybe the pastor or the elders. Their loyalty, their obedience, their allegiance was to Jesus Christ. They endured. The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy, in 2 Thessalonians, sorry, chapter 3 verse 5, he exhorts us in this way, May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God, and now listen to this, and to the steadfastness of Christ. Now, let me call your attention to the endurance of your Savior, Jesus Christ. Being God, being the Son of God, being holy, being true, being the one who holds the key of David, he endured suffering and trials for the sake of your salvation. as he continue to suffer, as people continue to insult him, to ridicule him, to accuse him falsely, to inflict him. Jesus never said enough is enough. I'm going back to my father, but he endured until he went to the cross and died on your behalf. If it's necessary, you see, Jesus calls us to die for his sake. But this morning, Jesus is calling us to be faithful to his word, to be faithful to his word till the end. So the church was powerful. The church was obedient. The church was loyal. The church was a church that endured and Christ gave them a promise. The first promise that Christ gave them was this, I know your works, behold, I have set before you an open door. Covenant, if you are faithful, the promise for you is an open door. You see, this is not the door of salvation. It can be the door of salvation, but we are already in the kingdom of God. We have been saved by grace and faith in Jesus Christ alone. We are saved by the work of Christ on the cross. But this open door is the door for evangelism. This door is ours in Christ Jesus. Christ promises this open door, the door of opportunity for evangelism to the church that is faithful. to the church that is obedient, loyal, and the church that endures. 1 Corinthians 16, 9, Paul was mindful of this door, but I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. This door will be opened for you as covenant, as a church of Jesus Christ. And there will be many adversaries. Many, many will oppose you. But remember, when this king opens this door, no one can shut it. That's the promise. I will protect you, I'll preserve you. Just go and fulfill the mission that I have given you. And the second promise that Christ, the head of the church, gave them was this. The joy of seeing the conversion of their enemies. And listen to that promise. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan. These are the Jews, people. These are their enemies. I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you." This promise was given to Israel in the Old Testament. God, through His prophet, told them, your enemies will come. seeking your mercy and they will bow before you and acknowledge me as your God. But the people of God you also know that Israel as a nation forfeited, rejected this privilege by rejecting the Messiah. And God at his own right time opened the door, the door of salvation, not only to the Jewish, but also to the Gentiles. And John in John chapter one tells us to those who believe in his name, he gave them a privilege to be the children of God, both the Jews and the Gentiles. Because the key was in the hand of Jesus and Jesus opened that door of salvation, the door to the kingdom of God for everyone who believes in him to enter. And that's why you are in his kingdom because you believe it in his name. What is the promise for us? There are people out there who hates you and what you believe. They are called the enemies of God, and David called them because they are the enemies of God. They are our enemies. They hate what we believe. They don't like what we are doing this morning, worshiping our God. But one day, Lord willing, through our testimony, through our faithfulness, obedience, loyalty to Jesus Christ, they will come to us and say, indeed, your God is my God. I believe in the Christ that you believe. But for this to happen, my brothers and sisters in Christ, as a church of Jesus Christ, we need to be, by the grace of God, we need to be faithful. We need to follow the example of the church in Philadelphia. It was not a perfect church, but it was a faithful church. It was not a perfect church, but it never tolerated sin. Unrepentant and habitual sin was not tolerated in this church. The church was faithful. Jesus comes to them as the holy, true, the one who holds the key of David. And he tells them, I'm glad. I'm glad about you. I'm rejoicing in you because you are faithful. You are faithful, you are obedient, you are loyal. And you endured, and here is the promise for you. And covenant, the promise of God for you at the Church of Jesus Christ is not only salvation, but it is also an open door of opportunity for evangelism. Because of your testimony, many, many elects around you in our city, beyond of our city, needs to be gathered in the house of the Lord, because they belong to him. And God wants to use us as a testimony for his holy name. Let's pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you for the preaching of your word. this word that reminded us that you always call us to be faithful, faithful, obedient, loyal. You also call us to be patient, endure, even in times of hardship, opposition, even in times, at times that we feel that nobody cares for us, you always call us to know you, to love you, to obey you, to keep your commandments by the grace of God. So this morning, as a church, we pray that you would make us faithful church, that we would follow the example of this small in the eyes of this world, but strong in your eyes, this church in Philadelphia, Help us to recognize the riches that we have in Christ Jesus as a church and help us to make use of all the spiritual gifts that you have given us as a church to become a living testimony of your son Jesus Christ in the life of our neighbors and beyond. Help us to be a faithful and a witnessing church. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.