Leading people on the journey to authentic faith

Dr. Sam fills in for Pastor Brad who was out sick.

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By popular demand, this new Passages study on Wednesday nights has been added to the podcast. Listen as Pastor Brad bravely answers questions turned in by members and attenders, no holds barred.

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By popular demand, this new Passages study on Wednesday nights has been added to the podcast. Listen as Pastor Brad bravely answers questions turned in by members and attenders, no holds barred.

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18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Have you ever played the word association game? Many of you have, but for those of you who haven’t the game goes like this: someone gives you a word, and then you are to say the first thing that comes to your mind upon hearing that certain word. If we were to play that game today and I gave you a few words to associate how would you answer? If I were to say food, you might say Pizza. If I said instrument, you may say Guitar. If I said, “movie” what movie would pop into your mind? I may say Batman and you would respond with Robin. If I were to say “Tennessee Vols Football Fan”” you might say, “SAD”…. right???… Many of these would be pretty easy to associate with something else wouldn’t they? But what about this one: Christian… What comes to mind when you hear the word “Christian”??? That term has become very vague in how we as a society use it hasn’t it??

When speaking of being a Christian people often say things like “I’m Christian because my parents were Christian” or, “I’m a Christian because I’m from the south” Or “I’m a Christian… But I don’t care about that church stuff.” “Christians do this” “Christians don’t do that” “Someone is a Christian if they pray before their meals” “Someone is NOT a christian if they see an R Rated movie, unless it’s the passion of the Christ” It seems as if in our world today it’s tough to pin down what we associate with the term “Christian" because we’ve made it into a ton of things. Did you know that Jesus never used the term “Christian”? The first time we see the term “Christian” used in the scripture is in Acts 11:26 when it says, “26 in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. “ So, if the followers of Jesus were not known as Christians what were they known as??? The text tells us… The disciples….. Consider this: The word Christian is used only 3 times in the entire bible… The word disciple is used 281 times in the New Testament alone… We see that even though our primary term would be “Christian” The authors of the New Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit, primary term was “disciple” You may be thinking right now, “so what? Christian, disciple, tomato, tomAto, it’s all the same…. Why does it matter if we changed our name from disciple to Christian?” Check out what Andy Stanley says of this when he says, “I want to suggest to you that in changing the primary word that we use to describe ourselves, we lost the clarity that the word disciple conveyed about what a follower of Jesus actually is.” So, if we know that “Christian” can mean a ton of things, what does disciple mean?” When looking at the word disciple in the original language we see that in the simplest of terms it means “learner”… or “follower” I hate to say this, but I believe that in our day and age, a lot of people who call themselves Christians are not actually disciples. Just because our parents went to church, does not make us a disciple. Just because we are from the south, that doesn’t make us a disciple. Just because we choose not to watch R-rated movies does not make us a disciple. So, what does? One pastor says that, “Being a disciple is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” And I believe that God is calling all of us to be His disciples. From the text here I believe we see 3 realties of being a disciple of Christ: First I believe we see the reality that…….. JESUS DOESN’T CHOOSE THE BEST, HE CHOOSES THE WILLING. 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Here we see that Jesus is making his first selection of the disciples he’s going to build his dream team with.

If you were a religious fan back in this day, I can imagine you would have had your predictions of who Jesus was going to pick.

Will it be one of the amazing scholars in Egypt?

Or will it be one of the great philopshers from Athens?

No. No. I know, it has to be one of the most powerful men from Rome…

And the religious fans would’ve waited in anticipation to see who Jesus’ first selection would be…

Those of you who know me, know that I love sports…

Especially, the eight time national champion Kentucky Wildcats. I sometimes become convicted though, that I get more excited about sports then I do about church…

So, I started wondering. What would happen if people treated church like they do sports…

Check out what Kyle Idleman has to say about this: See if you can imagine this one. People arrive hours early for church. On Sunday mornings, they don’t just set a backup alarm on their cell phones to assure they wake up in time —they set a backup for the backup. Throughout the week, they talk about what happened the previous Sunday as excitement builds for the upcoming church service. There are all-day radio talk shows devoted to reviewing last week’s service and breaking down the next one. There’s even a TV show called “ChurchCenter” that runs highlight clips of church activities that have happened across the nation. When Sunday comes, the people load up their trucks, SUVs, and sedans hours before the service starts. “Hurry,” Dad says frantically. “We’re behind again.” “It’s 6:00 a.m.” Mom says. “Church doesn’t start for five hours.” “Last time we left at this time, we had to park three miles from the sanctuary and sit in the nosebleed seats. Someday, I re- ally want to sit in the front row. But you have to camp out on the church lawn to have any chance of that.” The roads are really congested on the way to church, no matter how early you leave. At church, there are vehicles parked as far as the eye can see. Some members are tailgating, laying out elaborate spreads of barbequed meats on portable grills. Lawn chairs dot the church parking lot. Some people have television monitors and satellite dishes so they can catch updates from other worship services while they wait for their own to begin. Even in the dead of winter, they’ll be out here in the same numbers. And once the church doors open, the masses begin fil- ing into the sanctuary, cheering with great passion and excite- ment. As the service starts, the people are all on their feet — not that they ever sit down. A bunch of young guys stand in the front row. None of them wears a shirt, but each one has a letter paint- ed on his chest. Together they spell J-E-S-U-S. After several hours of worship and an extra-long sermon, peo- ple start looking at their watches. Everyone is thinking the same thing: “I hope the service goes into overtime!”

Did any of you go to the NFL draft in Nashville this year?

They said it was somewhere around 500 thousands people in attendance. People love the draft….

One of the most outstanding draft selections in the history of football came at a very unexpected time in the year 2000.

The person walks to the stage to represent the New England Patriots. He takes a deep breathe and says…

“With the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft, the New England Patriots select… Tom Brady, QB from the university of Michigan…”

And everyone looked at each other and said… “WHO!?!?!”

Not knowing that he would go on to be the greatest football player of all time.

What if there was a disciples draft???

“With the first pick in the very first disciples draft Jesus Christ of Nazareth selects…… Simon Peter & his brother Andrew, fishermen from the city of Capernaum.”

And everyone looked at each other and said “WHO?!?!”

Fisherman were not on the top of the board of the religious list back in this day.

Most likely, they had little education, little spiritual perception, and little to none religious training.

It was an unexpected pick…

Little did they know, they would be the ones Jesus would use to turn the world upside down.

John Macarthur: speaks of this when he says, “God skipped all the wise of the day! The great scholars were in Egypt; the great library was in Alexandria; the great philosophers were in Athens; the powerful were in Rome. He passed over Socrates the great thinker and Julius Caesar. He chose men so ordinary it was comical. No Rabbis, no teachers, no religious experts...”

Don’t miss what I am about to say: God may not always call the qaulified, but He always qualifies the called….

Paul describes it even better there in 1 Corinthians 1:26 when he says,

26 Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

So, whether it is a lack of education, it’s an insecurity you may have, a weary heart, or a sinful past, despite our shortcomings Jesus calls to everyone of us as he did Peter and Andrew and says, “Follow me… Be my disciples….”

We see the reality that Jesus doesn’t choose the best, He chooses the willing.

Not only that, but we also see the reality that……

TO FOLLOW HIM, WE HAVE TO LEAVE ALL.

21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Notice the two things they left in this passage.

The Boat Their Father

I think the author wants us to notice something here..

The boat is what the place they were most comfortable. Their father was one of their most significant relationships..

The author is trying to show us that a call to follow Jesus is one where He has to be of utmost importance to you, or it’s not gonna work out. We see that Jesus says something similar in Luke 9:57. It says, “57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

In other words, being a disciple means being out of your comfort zone. We’re not gonna stay in the boat the entire time.

59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Again Jesus shows us that we have to love Him above everything and everyone in order to follow Him.

One of the most popular teachings on this subject would be when Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What do we know about a cross? It’s a death instrument.

Jesus is saying, if you are not willing to die to yourself daily, then you can’t follow me.

A call to follow Jesus means dying to anything that would be a hindrance to the work he’s called you to.

A call to follow Jesus is one that requires anything living within’ us that causes us to love something else more than Him, to be put to death.

That’s why Deitrech Bonnohefer so accurately said, “When Christ calls a man to follow Him, He bids him come and die.”

I know what you are prolly thinking… “Wow.. This doesn’t sound fun at all to me.”

All this talk about dying… I thought that following Jesus meant to have abundant life, not all this talk of dying..

So, which one is it Noah, does being a disciple mean dying or living?

Here’s the answer: Yes….

Let me expound…

Here we see one of the great paradoxes of Jesus.

Taking up your cross means dying to yourself.

Trading in your earthly desires for the heavenly desires Christ wants to give you.

Trading in the lie of trying to be fulfilled by things of the world, and becoming fulfilled by the things of God.

It is the process of dying to the flesh, and living by the spirit.

Becoming less of who you were before you knew Christ, and more of who He is calling you to be.

The Apostle Paul had this same idea when he wrote to the Galatians and said, “20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I like the way a popular worship song puts it when one of the lyrics say, “I found my life, when I laid it down."

A call to follow Jesus means that we are to leave all.

We are to love Him and seek after His will more than anything else in our lives…

When it comes to being a disciple, not only do we see the reality that Jesus doesn’t choose the best, he chooses the willing; not only do we see the reality that he calls us to leave all, but lastly we see the reality that….

HE COMMANDS US TO SPIRITUALLY REPRODUCE.

19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jesus says, if you follow me, I will MAKE you fishers of men..

Not, “If you do this bible study, or you memorize this gospel presentation, then I’ll make you fishers of men.”

NO!

In this text there’s a command, and a result…

The command: Follow Jesus. The result: become a fisher of men.

Spiritually reproducing is not just something that a disciple does, spiritually reproducing is the main factor of who a disciple is…

Have any of you heard of the Ennegram thing going around?

It’s basically like a personality test.. Like, a 7 is this. And if your result is a 4 then that means that you like this, but you don’t like this…

I don’t know… I have to get my students to explain it to me…

But, Jesus gives us a bit of a similar personality test in John 15:8..

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples.”

How do you prove you are a disciple? By bearing fruit. And if you are not bearing fruit, you have reason to question whether you are a disciple at all. Jesus tells His disciples how to bear fruit in His famous Great Commission: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In his book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman said: “When will the church learn this lesson? Preaching to the masses, although necessary, will never suffice in the work of preparing leaders for evangelism. Nor can occasional prayer meetings and training classes for Christian workers do this job... Individual women and men are God’s method. God’s plan for discipleship is not something, but someone.” Church, when it comes to making disciples, WE ARE PLAN A, AND THERE IS NO PLAN B.

That’s why we are happy to share with you guys this morning that we are launching what is called the “Who’s Your One” campaign. We are encouraging every member of the church to identify one person whom they know that is spiritually seeking or lost, and commit to praying for that person, and taking the initiative in being the first piece of the puzzle that could help that person come to know Christ… Now, if you have been in church for a while, you may have heard of or been apart of something like this before. So, you may be wondering, what all this will entail. If it will be like the evangelistic campaign you did this time, or that time. I believe the best way I can explain what this campaign is, is to first tell you what it is not. 1. Who’s Your One will not be motivated by guilt. Far too many times in the church culture we see a lot of these evangelist efforts driven by something of the effect “If you really love Jesus, you’ll go knock on this door, hand them this gospel track, give this presentation” Who’s Your One is not that… 2. Who’s Your One will not simply be a leverage point for us to brag of our evangelist success. Will we be excited about people coming to Jesus? Yes! Will we be doing it all so that we can show everyone how amazing we are? No! We will do everything for the glory of God, and not ours. 3. Who’s Your One will not be a process in which we turn people into projects… We will not approach people who do not know Jesus and turn them into our own little project that the church has us working on… Rather, we will love that person as Jesus would love them, and show them that we want them to know Christ because we love them, not simply because we are involved with a churches evangelist campaign.

Through Who’sYourOne, I believe that God is going to show us that He is calling all of us to be His disciples. And we can jump into this season with confidence because we know that even though we may not be the best by the world’s standard, God loves to use those who are weak to shame the strong. We know that if we follow Him and love Him above all else, he will in return give us a life that will truly satisfy and fulfill all we could ever long for. And by knowing these things, and believing them, we know that He will use as His disciples, to make disciples, all for the glory of His name.

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God’s End Game - Part 40

We are now into the final play of God’s End Game: the second coming of Jesus Christ or the Return of the King. Our theology book defines it this way…

The doctrine of the second coming describes the expected return of Jesus Christ at the end of time, when he will come to judge the world and usher in the fullness of his kingdom.

We’ve covered in a general sense the last part about ushering in the fullness his kingdom. God’s kingdom was temporarily overthrown by the devil in the garden, something God allowed. God’s end game plan is all about restoring that kingdom. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus ushered in the kingdom and his second coming finalizes it.

We also got a pretty good picture of what will happen at the end of the age (AKA the Last Day), at least as far as it concerns us:

Jesus will descend from heaven (dimension not altitude) at the sound of a trumpet. He’ll have with him those believers who have died. They will get their new resurrection bodies first. Then those who are alive at his coming rise up to get their resurrection bodies as well. We all will forever be with the Lord

There’s another part of our theological statement we haven’t looked at yet: he will come to the judge the world.

That seems to be a contradiction if you look at what is probably the least known verse in the Bible, John 3:17. I say least known because most folks stop at what is probably the most well known verse, John 3:16.

John 3:16–17 (ESV) — 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus also said…

John 12:47 (ESV) — 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

Catch the seeming contradiction? This is reconciled by looking at Jesus’ mission according to which of his comings we’re talking about.

The first time Jesus came, which is found in the Christmas story, it was about saving us from our sins…

Matthew 1:20–21 (ESV) — 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

How will he save us from our sins? By allowing himself to be crucified on a cross, by taking our sins upon himself as the Lamb of God. That’s one of Jesus’ many titles. It has to do with the Passover Lamb that was sacrificed so the angel of death would pass over the Israelites in the 10th plague. A lamb was also sacrificed daily in the temple to take away the sins of the people.

John the Baptist saw Jesus as the Lamb of God…

John 1:29 (ESV) — 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Paul did too…

1 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) — 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

As did the apostle John is his Revelation…

Revelation 5:6–14 (ESV) — 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Jesus’ mission as it relates to his first coming was about saving us from our sins as the gentle, meek, self-sacrificing Lamb of God. The mission as it relates to the second coming is a different story.

In Revelation we see this…

Revelation 19:11–16 (ESV) — 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

There’s another name for Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and in this text we see that Jesus set to wage war. What a contrast to the Lamb.

Along with waging war, Jesus returns to judge the earth and everyone on it…

Revelation 20:11–15 (ESV) — 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

As God’s End Game plays out towards the end, all people will be judged. It’s called in theological terms The Final Judgment…

This doctrine affirms that when Christ, the merciful and righteous king of the earth, returns, all human beings will be held accountable for their lives, resulting in eternal condemnation or eternal blessedness.

So, there’s really no contradiction when you look a things according to the mission. There’s the Lamb of God mission with the first coming and the King of Kings mission with the Second Coming. The first mission was to save and the second will be to wage war and judge.

How all this fits into a schedule of the End Times I don’t know. I know we’d like to know. As I’ve mentioned, there’s a whole industry, a franchise in Christianity focusing on providing timelines and such. It sells movies and books. One scholar warns though…

“Great caution is required when studying subjects within [the End Times]… The Bible gives few details, and those often in passing; it does not set out a detailed plan or pattern of divine action at the end of this passing age. As always, Christian theologians must be careful not to presume to know more than God has revealed.” But what God has revealed is enough isn’t it? What we can know is what we need to know. At the end of God’s End Game is the Final Judgment for all, for everyone who has ever lived since the beginning of time.

This makes me think about how everybody likes to categorize people into two groups.

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who make things complicated, and those who make things simple.

“There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.” – Mark Twain

There are two kinds of people in the world: the Givers and the Takers.

There are two kinds of people in the world: Pessimists and Optimists.

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who follow the rules and those who make the rules.

There are two kinds of people in the world: Players and Haters.

There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who know math and those who don’t.

In reality, you can’t divide folks into just two groups. The world and the people who live in it are too complex for that. But in the end, the final judgment really does make for two kinds of people in the world: those going to be with God forever and those not. Those whose names written in the Book of Life and those not. Those going to live in the New Heavens and Earth and those going to hell.

Yes, Pastor Brad just said the “h” word. Is he really going to go there? Talking about hell in church has gone out of style. It’s become taboo in a way.

If I’m going to be honest, I sense that pressure. I’d rather not talk about it. But if I’m going to be fair in sharing with you what God has revealed in his Word, I have to. It’s not popular, I know, but it’s all over the Bible. It’s as much a part of God’s End Game as the resurrection and the New Heavens and Earth and everything else.

Conclusion: You know, God has kind of dealt with me over the years on the teaching of hell. Not so much what it is but how I present it, how I preach on it.

For many years when I preached on hell I did so in a spirit of pride, as if I was doing God a favor, like when the principal makes you the hall monitor and you get to enforce the rules written in the handbook. I wasn’t worried about going to hell after all.

Western Christianity as a whole for a very long time has majored on fire and brimstone preaching scented with a hint of pride, I believe. Which is partly why it’s gone out of style.

But I’ve come to realize how wrong it is to be puffed up about hell, to use it as a stone to hurl at the heathens.

Yes, by God’s grace I don’t have to worry about it. Yes, God is just to judge, and I will show you how necessary and right hell is soon. But how can my heart not break at the thought of anyone going there?

The Word of God reveals his heart on the matter…

1 Timothy 2:1–4 (ESV) — 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:8–9 (ESV) — 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Ezekiel 18:23 (ESV) — 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

In the coming weeks as we are able I’m going to cover the hell and final judgment part of God’s End Game plan, as humbly and as sensitively as I can.

I’m going to show you how no one’s actually in hell yet just as no one is actually in heaven (not as we understand it). And then, finally, I’m going to take us into the glories of the New Heavens and Earth, something I’ve been itching to do from the beginning. But here’s something I want you to think about today… All our destinies depend on what we’ve done with the Lamb of God. If we wait until the King of Kings returns it’s too late.

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Noah is the student pastor at PVFBC.

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Noah is the student pastor at PVFBC. He came to us from Grace Baptist Church in Springfield, TN, where he led children's ministry and served as a ministry intern. He's currently working on a BA in Biblical Studies with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Growing up in Adairville, KY, Noah is a diehard Kentucky Wildcats fan, enjoys fishing, and loves the outdoors. He's a big fan of David Platt, Matt Chandler, and Tim Keller. He aspires to be guitar player (emphasis on "aspires" ).

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Bro. Luis is the Associate Director of Mission/Hispanic Ministries Coordinator for the Robertson County Baptist Association.

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Dr. Tyson is director of missions with the Robertson County Baptist Association and a good friend of our church.

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Dr. David Evans is an evangelism specialist with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

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Most of the cities’ names in the seven churches of Revelation sound foreign and unfamiliar (as they should being from ancient times and culture): Ephesus, Thyatira, Pergamum, Sardis, Laodicea. But not the city we are visiting today.

Philadelphia is well known to us as a place in Pennsylvania. it’s the home of the Liberty Bell. We most likely we even know what the name means: the city of brotherly love.

Philadelphia the American city was named after Philadelphia the ancient Asia-Minor city, which was named after King Attalus II, whose loyalty and devotion to his brother Eumenes earned him the title Philadelphus (one who loves his brother).

Philadelphia was situated in an area prone to earthquakes. In AD 17, a horrific earthquake nearly destroyed the city. So traumatized were the Philadelphians, many chose to live in the surrounding countryside, especially since the aftershocks continued to damage buildings for many days afterward. This disaster was known among the ancients as one of the worst in their history.

In what we would know as disaster relief, the Roman emperor exempted them from paying tribute for five years so they could rebuild. Eventually, Philadelphia voluntarily took upon itself and embraced a new name, NeoCaesarea, to honor emperor Tiberius, who had especially helped them in time of distress.

Some years after that, they were traumatized once again, but this time by Emperor Domitian (you may remember him from chapter one. John had been exiled to Patmos by him because of his faith in a wave of persecution against Christians). H ordered half of Philadelphia's vineyards destroyed to protect the interest of the vine growers in Italy. It caused great hardship since they were dependent on this trade. The city felt betrayed by him.

This morning let’s listen to what Jesus had to say to the Christians at Philadelphia and see what we can learn and apply to ourselves…

Revelation 3:7 (ESV) — 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘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.

As with every letter, Jesus introduced himself, giving his credentials in a sense. Almost always in these letters he drew from John’s vision of him in chapter one. But not here. Christ described Himself to the church at Philadelphia as…

The holy one

The idea of holiness is hard for us modern Westerners to comprehend. In the OT and NT holiness is associated with the otherworldliness of God who is so infinitely above and set apart from us morally and in every other way imaginable we can barely grasp it. Holiness literally means set apart or consecrated.

We seek to be holy or set apart as Christians. The word saint, which is a synonym in the NT for Christian, means holy ones. But not in the sense that Jesus is holy.

Jesus is THE holy one; he is the actual embodiment of holiness.

He’s also…

The true one

John 14:6 (ESV) — 6 Jesus said … “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We seek truth in logic, reason, philosophy, and religion, and we find it to some degree in them all. But Jesus is the source of all truth. Just as he is the embodiment of holiness, so is he of truth.

Next he described himself in an unusual way, drawing from the OT…

The One who has the key of David

John Walvoord explains: “Here the allusion seems to be to Isaiah 22:22 where, speaking of Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, it is recorded that ‘the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.’ Eliakim had the key to all the treasures of the king, and when he opened the door it was opened, and when he closed the door it was closed. Christ, the great antitype of Eliakim, has the key to truth and holiness as well as to opportunity, service, and testimony.”

Jesus’ description of himself ties in very closely with his praise for the church at Philadelphia…

Revelation 3:8 (ESV) — 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 but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

The One who has the keys of David, the One who opens a door and none can shut and closes a door and none can open, says he has set before them an open door.

What does this mean? Some Bible scholars think it has to do with entrance into God’s kingdom, so it’s about salvation.

But others think it means something else. The idea of an “open door” is found three other places in Scripture, and they all have to do with kingdom opportunities. The first is an open door…

To share the gospel successfully In the book of Acts Paul was traveling the Roman Empire spreading the Gospel. He and his party went to Antioch…

Acts 14:27 (ESV) — 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

The second is an open door…

To perform Kingdom work powerfully As Paul bought his letter to the Corinthians to a close, he informed them of his plans to remain for a time in Ephesus because…

1 Corinthians 16:9 (ESV) — 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

The word “effective” in this verse comes from the Greek word energes which means active, and we get our word “energy” from that! A door of powerful effectiveness had been made and Paul didn’t want to miss the opportunities that came with it.

And the third is an open door…

To preach the Word with clarity Paul gave the Colossian Christians a specific prayer request…

Colossians 4:3–4 (ESV) — 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

I think when Jesus said he was opening a door for them it meant he was preparing Philadelphia for missionary opportunity. They were about to see all their hard work produce a harvest, as the word was going to be preached in truth and clarity.

Why? Because, Jesus said…

I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

“…I know that you have but little power…” That sounds like a criticism or complaint. But actually it’s Jesus acknowledging their situation.

Like Smyrna, the Christians at Philadelphia had suffered greatly for their faith, because, just like Smyrna, their city was big on Emperor worship - especially since the emperor had done so much to help them rebuild after the earthquake.

Remember, they had even renamed themselves as the new city of the emperor. But veneration of the emperor involved a heavy emphasis on worshiping him by burning incense on his altar. Not to do so meant possible death. At Smyrna this led to death of their pastor.

Because of this they were probably small in number since Philadelphia wasn’t that big of a city anyway. They were also probably poor as a result as well.

And maybe, just maybe, they didn’t have much in the way of kingdom talent. No great preachers. No great teachers. C.H. Spurgeon said that perhaps…

They were not like that famous church at Corinth, where everybody could teach everybody… They had but small ability to speak with tongues, or work miracles, or teach the word… In all probability they were, like most of the churches of that day, possessed of very little [monetary] strength. They could do but little where money would be required. They were a company of poor people with no man of means among them…

How can this be a good thing? What does this have to do with God opening up a door?

A “little” power was all they needed to take advantage of the future opportunities because we are talking about Jesus here!

He took a little bread and fed thousands; He took a man’s little faith and performed a mighty miracle (”Help thou my unbelief!” Mark 9:24). Christ said if we have the faith of a little mustard seed, it was enough to move mountains.

In fact, he prefers to take the seemingly insignificant and powerless and use it to do great things!

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (ESV) — 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Isn’t this exactly what God did with Jesus? Born a helpless baby in a manger to poor parents who had little power or influence.

Jesus also opened the door because they…

“have kept My Word have not denied My name”

They had been faithful to the gospel even under intense difficulty. There are two situations in which the church is tempted to fall short of keeping Jesus’ word: in times of great prosperity (as we’ll see next time) and times of great suffering. But they did not compromise. They did not bow down to Caesar. They didn’t fall into error.

What was this open door going to look like?

Revelation 3:9 (ESV) — 9 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.

Just like Smyrna, the Jews at Philadelphia were a source of persecution and suffering for the Christians. They were exempt from having to burn incense at the emperor’s altar, but they turned in Christians who didn’t.

Jesus promised that these very ones would come and “worship” at their feet. The very ones who had caused their distress would be worshiping alongside them one day!

It makes me think of a documentary I watched this weekend called Accidental Courtesy. It’s about a black man named Early Davis who befriends KKK members and wins them over. In his garage are 3 dozen or so hoods ands robes, from grand dragons to imperial wizards.

We’ve got to wrap this up.

Revelation 3:10-13 (ESV) — 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, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it,

Think about how this sounds to someone who was so frightened by an earthquake they had to move out the city in fear the pillars would fall on them. How they would have to go in and out of the city to do business.

and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Think about his this sounds to someone who had been betrayed by their emperor, even after naming their city Neocaesarea (neo meaning new), after him. Conclusion: What does this mean to us? Remember, we are trying to answer that question as a church and as individual believers.

We don’t want to be a church or Christian who has lost their first love like Ephesus. We don’t want to be a church or Christian that’s compromised or tolerated sin and false teachings like Pergamum and Thyatira. We certainly don’t want to be a church or Christian like Sardis: dead and without the spirit.

Of all the seven churches we want to be like Smyrna and Philadelphia. The only two which received no criticism from Jesus. But there’s a catch. They both suffered.

I love what Tim Keller says about this…

Do you see what it says? It says, “I’ll bring you to the time, I’ll bring things to the situation where they will come and fall down and acknowledge that I have loved you.” What is Jesus saying? He’s saying, “You’re puny. There are very few of you. You’re not very talented, but people you never thought in a million years would listen to you will listen to you. You will win over people who you never thought you’d win over. People who you thought were absolutely hostile to you will be softened and melted into your friends.”

How’s that going to happen? He says, “The reason I’m going to open that door is because you patiently endure.” This is the irony. Jesus says the way you handle closed doors will open others. He says, “The reason I’m going to open that door, the reason people are going to see a greatness about you, the reason you’re going to overcome, the reason you’re going to be able to win people over is because of the way in which you handled the closed doors of your life.”…

… Do you know what suffering is? It’s closed doors. You expected to be this far by this time in your career. You expected to be making more money. You expected to have more friends. You expected to be this. You expected to be married. Closed doors are the things that make you suffer, that hurt you. Jesus says, “Because you have been so patient in handling your closed doors, I will open other ones.”

That’s a remarkable statement. He is saying, “Suffering is never for nothing. If you handle suffering properly, it will turn you into great people who can open other doors. If you handle closed doors right, I will use those closed doors in your life to enable you to open other ones.” Do you follow that? The failure in front of you, if you handle it properly, will turn you into somebody who will succeed in some other way. Without that failure, you never could succeed. “The way you handle the closed doors will turn you into the kind of people I can use in other ways.” Greatness comes from handling suffering.

Are you here today and the phrase “you have but little power” describes you? You don’t have much to offer: education or money or power or influence. Hang in there. be faithful. And Jesus will take that little and make it more than enough to be somebody in his kingdom.

13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

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Bro. Luis is the Hispanic Coordinator for the Robertson County Baptist Association.

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John presents seven signs in his gospel that point us toward belief in Jesus

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John presents seven signs in his gospel that point us toward belief in Jesus.

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