The Messianic congregation at Philadelphia received a commendation even though they considered themselves weak and small. This devotional reading looks at that reward and what it meant to them.
Nuggets
- This high praise came even though Audio Man acknowledged that it was a weak congregation.
- Not everyone was a true disciple.
- Our faithfulness will be rewarded on the Day of the Lord.
- The Philadelphians will have a place of honor in God’s kingdom for eternity.
We kind of had an abrupt ending to the last devotion, so we are just jumping right back in on this devotion.
We are talking about the Messianic congregation at Philadelphia. Audio Man had been giving the congregation at Philadelphia high praise.
Most people – even the Philadelphians – wouldn’t have thought that they should have gotten such glowing praise. They thought they were too small and weak.
God thought differently.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the On the Day of the Lord theme, click the button below.
Devotions in the The Letters to the Congregations series
Philadelphia’s Commendation, cont.
“... I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Rev. 3: 8 ESV)
You Have but Little Power
This high praise came even though Audio Man acknowledged that Philadelphia was a weak congregation.
Audio Man was telling the congregation at Philadelphia that the crown He had described to Smyrna was right there. Their entrance to Heaven was fixed.
We know the saying that the weakest person determines the strength of the team. Jesus said it doesn’t matter how weak the weakest disciple is or even how strong. Our enemies are still not going to prevail over us.
Why? Because God’s work is most important. He will not allow anything to succeed against Him.
Exell took this another way. He thought the the little power meant the congregation was small in number.
Resource
We talked in the letter to Sardis that God is not interested in size. He is interested in inward transformation.
We judge ourselves and find ourselves lacking.
God comes to us, as He did to the congregation in Philadelphia, and encourages us.
We generally want God to use us. We can want to be instrumental in serving others to improve their lot in life.
Taylor said that shouldn’t be our focus. He wrote, “Not what we can do for others, but rather what we are in ourselves, demands our first attention, for to do good to others we must first be good ourselves.”
Resource
The good we must have in ourselves is God. As Pastor Steve said recently in a sermon, we must disciple ourselves first.
We must get our spiritual condition right with God – and keep it right with Him – before we can serve Him by helping others. Then, serving Him must have a priority of their spiritual condition, not only their physical condition.
Our goal should be to show God’s greatness, not our own.
Kept My Word and not Denied Me
Look what Audio Man really said. The strength part wasn’t the focus. The obedience part was. We’ve said before that success is judged by how obedient we are.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (II Cor. 12: 9 ESV).
I think most of what Audio Man is trying to tell the Philadelphians is that they have made achievements in His kingdom work. They have kept the faith.
True, we are to witness and make disciples. But, again, we have to disciple ourselves first.
Our faith makes us great and powerful in God’s eyes.
We do, however, have to couple it with two things. “… and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Rev. 3: 8 ESV).
Obedience and submission.
Keeping God’s Word means we have read it, know, and do what it says. Not denying His name means we stand up to obey when we are challenged to put in with the worldview.
What Audio Man was telling the congregation was that they need to persevere in weakness. We have to stay strong in trials and persecution. We have to be steadfast in the times of temptation.
No, they – or us – are not going to be 100% perfect in keeping God’s Word. We want to make sure we don’t deny His name.
Disciples have to hide God’s Word in our hearts and live our lives obeying it.
Note of Caution
“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” (Rev. 3: 9 ESV)
Not everyone was a true disciple.
This letter is a little different than the one to the congregation at Thyatira. That letter said that there were some false teachers in their midst.
This letter doesn’t say it was some of them.
Either way, there were members of the synagogue of Satan present. They are gentiles claiming to be Jews.
The bottom line is the hypocrites in Philadelphia would be exposed and brought down to their knees before the real disciples of Philadelphia.
No, this isn’t to give honor to the real disciples of Philadelphia. It is to show the disciples of Satan how much God loves those who are true to Him.
More importantly, they will bow down before Jesus. “For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God’” (Rom. 14: 11 ESV).
Just as the followers of Satan will have to willingly bow down to Jesus, they will have to admit that we were telling them the truth all along.
Philadelphia’s Reward
“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” (Rev. 3: 10 ESV)
Our faithfulness will be rewarded on the Day of the Lord.
The congregation at Philadelphia had Matthew 24: 13 down pat. “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 24: 13 ESV). Because of this, they were given what looks like an unusual promise.
But is it?
The trial hadn’t come yet. Audio Man was describing the condition of the congregation pre-trial.
They felt they were not useful. Audio Man said they had proven their usefulness.
The Philadelphians had proven themselves faithful in the small things. How does Jesus rewards that? He gives us bigger things.
That tells us our strength comes from God’s trust in us. We know He won’t ask of us something we cannot do.
Our reward for remaining faithful is to be kept for the trials we face in this life. True disciples are never cut off from God in their times of trials and persecution. God is always there with us to encourage us.
Our reward for remaining faithful to God is to be kept for eternity. “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jas. 1: 4 ESV).
Closing
“I am 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, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3: 11-13 ESV)
The Philadelphians will have a place of honor in God’s kingdom for eternity.
Coming Soon
Worldview people look at “I am coming soon …” (Rev. 3: 11 ESV) and say that makes God’s Word a boldface lie because HELLO, we’re still here.
To me, that just shows people do not understand prophecy. Prophecy is for a future date, but it is also for a present date.
Audio Man was also prophesying about something that would happen soon to the congregation at Philadelphia. Just because history hasn’t recorded what that trial was and the outcome, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
What did John say about recording the words and actions of One Man for three years? “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (Jn. 21: 25 ESV).
Soon is relative. What does ASAP mean? I’ll get back to you the minute I have the answer. I’ll get back to you when my workload allows me to shuffle this up to next on my to-do list (which may be next week). I’ll get back to you when I can no longer put this off.
We can’t set a time frame to soon based on our clock and calendar. We have to do it on God’s.
I don’t think God wants us to concentrate on our limited outlook of soon. He wants us to focus on the urgency.
It is not a wise move to put off getting our spiritual condition right with God. No, the Day of the Lord might not be tomorrow, but we are not guaranteed to go on living. Physical death is filled with uncertainty.
We have to be ready when God calls – whatever form that takes.
We can’t miss the I will come soon. This tips it into the Jesus-being-Audio-Man court.
Hold Fast
This says that we are to hold fast to what we already have. What do we have? Kelly and Maclaren gave us a list.
- Faith
- The Holy Spirit
- Access to God
- Fellowship within a body of believers
- “Place among the people of God”
- Hope
- Truth and principles
- Hearts and wills
Resources
I love how Kelly said we not only have fellowship with other believers, but we also have a place. We have tasks that we need to do. We have a seat at the banqueting table.
We won’t experience spiritual death because we have salvation now. We are striving to gain more – maturity and perfection.
Seize Our Crowns
The crown we are going to get is eternal life.
We just talked about the crown of life when we looked at the congregation at Smyrna (the other congregation to get only a commendation). We receive the crown of life for enduring. But look what it says. “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown …” (Rev. 3: 12 ESV).
We are also striving to keep what we have.
Is that a different concept when we apply it to our faith? Let’s look and see what some had to say about that.
- We aren’t entitled to our salvation. It is a trust, not a privilege. (Raleigh)
- We are holding fast against the world, which is challenging to say the least (Raleigh).
- Some experience spiritual bankruptcy because they assumed that it is secure without shoring it up (Ewing).
- We sit on our laurels; but if we don’t use our spiritual beliefs, we lose them (Ewing).
- Our spiritual nature is where it is currently at, not where it was at some mountaintop experience (Ewing).
Resources
Does this mean we can lose our salvation? I don’t think we can in this way. No one else can take away our salvation.
Remember, we said that we have to listen for opportunities to serve. Raleigh said that, if we miss that opportunity and someone else comes in and does it, they will “take” the crown that was originally meant for us.
It would diminish our final crown, but we would still get the crown.
Pillar in the Temple of My God Never Go Out
We are the stones on which the Church is built, and the congregation at Philadelphia will be part of the pillars that support the building.
The Messianic congregation at Philadelphia will be part of the inside pillars that hold up the temple. Those would be stone pillars.
We know that we are all living stones. “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 2: 4-5 ESV).
But these are special load-bearing pillars.
Some of us may have pillars or columns in our basement that hold up the first floor. If we don’t have a basement, we would have load-bearing walls.
The support for the house is still the same. There has to be something that supports itself and what is directly above it, like the roof joists.
The stones put together form the Church. I would see the congregation at Philadelphia part of the foundation that holds the Church together.
The Philadelphians would have gotten this reference. Remember, the city was riddled with earthquakes.
They would have seen pillars that stood firm – and pillars that buckled under the shaking. Jesus would never have been talking about a unreliable pillar holding His Church.
Think of the honor that this is! The little bitty congregation who thought they weren’t worth much at all is part of the glue that holds the Church together.
The congregation at Philadelphia was made up of everyday Tom, Sally, and Elaines. Not Moses or Paul or Billy Graham.
The you and me of the faith.
If we do that, our reward will be pillarship, too. We will help those disciples who need our support.
Never Go Out
Jesus told us that we are to be in the world but not of it. That puts us in the spiritual world, even now.
The Savior was telling the congregation at Philadelphia that, though they feel small and unworthy, they will always be worthy when they are faithful.
All they have to do is seize the opportunity to do God’s work.
Eternal life will be forever. They will never lose that.
Write on Him
The first time I read this, my head hurt. I got lost halfway through.
Let’s try it again.
“… 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” (Rev. 3: 12 ESV).
Audio Man will write the name of God on us. It will be permanently written on our hearts.
It shows God’s ownership of us.
It has never jumped out at me that Audio Man would be given a new name. Oh, God will still be I Am. Jesus will still be Emmanuel.
Let’s see how Maclaren described this. He wrote,
“It will do away with the ancient, earth-begun relation of dependence and faith and obedience. ‘Jesus Christ is the same…for ever’; and His name in the heavens, as upon earth, is Jesus the Saviour. That new name no man fully knows, even when he has entered on its possession, and carries it on his forehead; for the infinite Christ, who is the manifestation of the infinite God, can never be comprehended, much less exhausted, even by the united perceptions of a redeemed universe, but for ever and ever more and more will well out from Him. His name shall last as long as the sun, and blaze when the sun himself is dead.”
Resource
Remember, name was all about reputation in the culture of John’s time. Names really meant something.
Making the Connections
God doesn’t need us. He is Sovereign God. He created everything.
The kingdom work that God has us do for Him — He doesn’t need us to do that.
God wants to use us.
The beautiful thing is God can use each and everyone of us — even if we think we are like the Philadelphians. We think our skills are too small or too weak.
God calls us to be faithful.
How Do We Apply This?
- Expect Christ’s return.
- Hold fast to the truth God tells us in His Word.
- Hold fast to our godly character.
- Hold fast to our courage to live godly lives.
- Be brave.
- Be meek.
- Be prayerful.
- Be hopeful.
- Hold on publicly.
- Hold on by persisting.
- Courageously hold on.
- Hold on humbly.
- Defend our crown.
Resources
Father God. We are humbled that You call the unworthy to do Your work. Lord, we are all unworthy. Some of us just feel it more than others. Help us to remain faithful to You even when we feel our worst. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.