REVELATION MESSAGE 9: Philadelphia–The Church of the Open Door
Revelation 3:7-13

Message: “Philadelphia–The Church of the Open Door!” 
Message Text: Revelation 3:7-13

An open door … the hand of God!

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Providence Is the Hand of God / J. Vernon McGee

• What is providence? Here’s a theological definition: Providence is the means by which God directs all things — both animate and inanimate, seen and unseen, good and evil — toward a worthy purpose, which means His will must finally prevail.
• God brought together a little baby’s cry and a woman’s heart down by the River Nile when Pharaoh’s daughter went to bathe. The Lord pinched little Moses and he let out a yell. The cry reached the heart of the princess, and God used it to change the destiny of a people. That was providence. That was the hand of God.
• From Edited Messages on Esther by Dr. J. Vernon McGee [http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/thru-the-bible-with-j-vernon-mcgee/read/articles/providence-is-the-hand-of-god-11044.html]

Providence in Scripture …

• (Isaiah 46:8–11 ESV) Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
• (Ephesians 1:11–12 ESV) In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
• (Romans 8:27–28 ESV) And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

AUDIO

REVELATION MESSAGE 8 – Sardis – The Alive but Dead Church
Revelation 3:1-6

The ancient city of Sardis …

• … was a somewhat notorious city which Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, the noted Scottish archaeologist and New Testament scholar, described as “more like a robber’s stronghold than an abode of civilized men.”
• Paige Patterson writes that “in the cities of Asia Minor, no city was as legendary as Sardis.”
• Gordon Fee adds that: Of the seven cities to whose churches these letters are written, Sardis easily outstrips the others in terms of its antiquity and well-known history.
• And Warren Wiersbe tells us that: Ancient Sardis, the capital of Lydia, was a most important city. It lay about fifty miles east of Ephesus at the junction of five main roads; so it was a center for trade. It was also a military center, for it was located on an almost inaccessible plateau. The acropolis of Sardis was about 1,500 feet above the main roads, and it formed an impregnable fortress.
• Sardis was some kind of town. And the church in Sardis to which our letter in Revelation 3 is addressed was some kind of church. As it was with the church at Ephesus, if you were thinking about moving to Sardis around AD 95-96, this vibrant church would definitely have been on your radar.
• They had made quite a name for themselves. Whatever they were doing—which in today’s terms would be outreach, marketing, social media, needs-based programs—must have been the right things because they had built a reputation in the area as a church that was alive.
• Except it wasn’t. The church members were dead. It was a church of dead people.

—>The church at Sardis had three great needs:

• They needed to realize that they were dead.
• They needed to be brought to life.
• They needed to embrace the vision of an overcomer.
  

  They needed to realize that they were dead, 3:1-2, cf. Zechariah 4:6.

• Christ speaks to them from the fullness of the Spirit.
• They had built their church on the incomplete works of the flesh, aka “works salvation.”
• Dead Works: Works without the Spirit are works of human might and power and are likewise dead.
• Dead Works: Works without faith are dead works.

  They needed to be brought to life, 3:3-4.

• They had the “man” gospel and needed the “God” gospel.
• Two fatal errors in the works salvation camp:
• Believing is not really necessary—Jesus is one way of many ways to heaven.
• Believing is too easy—“easy believism.”
• Impossible apart from God, cf. Matthew 19:26.
• They needed to go back to the gospel they received, cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, John 1:12-13, Romans 3:24-25, Galatians 1:9, 11-12. [See on page below.]

  They needed to embrace the vision of an overcomer, 3:5-6.

• A vision of salvation and service that finds you one day before God the Father, dressed in white robes of purity and righteousness and hearing your name confessed before our holy God by Jesus Christ himself.

CONCLUSION: Are you saved?

• Are you a dead person who has been brought to life in Jesus Christ?
• “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

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BELIEVE VERSES …

1. (1 John 3:23 ESV) And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
2. (John 1:12 ESV) But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
3. (John 2:22 ESV) When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
4. (John 3:14–15 ESV) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
5. (John 3:16 ESV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
6. (John 3:18 ESV) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
7. (John 5:24 ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
8. (John 6:29 ESV) Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
9. (John 6:40 ESV) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
10. (John 6:47 ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

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Supplementary Scriptures …

By the Spirit …

• (Zechariah 4:6 ESV) 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.”

Back to the gospel—what they received …

• (1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV) Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
• (Romans 3:24–25 ESV) And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
• (Galatians 1:9 ESV) As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
• (Galatians 1:11–12 ESV) For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

• ⁶⁴ Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches, 354.  Patterson, P. (2012). Revelation. (E. R. Clendenen, Ed.) (Vol. 39, p. 118). Nashville, TN: B&H.
• [Patterson, P. (2012). Revelation. (E. R. Clendenen, Ed.) (Vol. 39, p. 118). Nashville, TN: B&H.]
• Fee, G. D. (2011). Revelation (p. 44). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
• Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 576). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

They were dead.

Do you know why Christ told them that they were dead? Because they were dead.

Not socially inactive or program deprived. Dead.

They seemed alive. In fact, they had a reputation that they were alive.

What went wrong? They had the gospel wrong. At some point in the history of this church they had forgotten the gospel they had originally received. The gospel they now had brought “life” as humans view life, solutions for the here and now, the passing pleasures of sin, but not eternal life.

And whether it was the size of their church, their many activities, their community involvement … there was something was so outstanding about the church at Sardis that they were know as being alive, a happening place we would say today.

But they were dead because their gospel was false. One gospel brings life, the gospel of God’s grace and righteousness, redemption, the forgiveness of sins through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They were dead, so we know they did not have this gospel.

• (Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

REVELATION MESSAGE 8 – Sardis: The Alive but Dead Church!

Revelation 3:1-6

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Thyatira: The Loving, Faithful, Serving, Enduring but Tolerant Church!
Revelation 2:18-29

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AUDIO for Sunday AM – November 20, 2016

—>Jezebel was condemned … but not because she was a woman, or a prophetess or a teacher, but because she was a false teacher and a self-appointed prophetess …

Wives sometimes prophesied in the New Testament:

• (1 Corinthians 11:5 ESV) But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.

Philip’s four unmarried daughters prophesied:

• (Acts 21:8–9 ESV) On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.

Six women in the Bible are called prophetesses:

• (Exodus 15:20 ESV) Then Miriam the prophetess … (Judges 4:4 ESV) Now Deborah, a prophetess … (2 Kings 22:14 ESV) … Huldah the prophetess … (Nehemiah 6:14 ESV) … and also the prophetess Noadiah … and Isaiah’s second wife … (Isaiah 8:3 ESV) And I [Isaiah] went to the prophetess … (Luke 2:36 ESV) And there was a prophetess, Anna.

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Jezebel’s teaching was a lie:

• … and Jezebel is the same: to deceive God’s people by persuading them to adopt a lifestyle that would allow them to be accepted in the world and to continue membership in the church. [Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Vol. 20, p. 138). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.]

Jezebel’s life was a lie:

• Jezebel … “called herself a prophet.” In other words, she claimed that her teaching was a direct message from God. [Osborne, G. R. (2002). Revelation (pp. 155–156). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.]

Jezebel’s teaching was demonic:

• Satan’s so-called deep secrets could refer ironically to the gnostics’ claims to know (in an exclusive manner) the deep secrets of God; the Lord’s response to such a claim would then be that their “deep secrets” are inspired by Satan, not by God. [Beasley-Murray, G. R. (1994). Revelation. New Bible commentary: Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.]

“Thyatira: The Loving, Faithful, Serving, Enduring but Tolerant Church!”

Revelation 2:18-29

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SUNDAY AM

REVELATION MESSAGE 6 

Pergamum-The Faithful but Compromised Church 

Revelation 2:12-17

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SUNDAY PM

Be Strong and Very Courageous

Joshua 1:1-9 

◼︎ Some of the Characteristics of False Teachers …

From Jude 10-16 …

• They blaspheme all that they do not understand.
• They abandon themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error.
• They are like shepherds who feed themselves.
• They are like waterless clouds, swept along by winds.
• They are like fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted.
• They are like wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame.
• They are like wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
• They are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires.
• They are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

From 2 Peter 2:15-22 …

• Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray.
• They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,
• They are like waterless springs and mists driven by a storm.
• For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.
• They speak loud boasts of folly.
• They entice by sensual passions of the flesh.
• They pray on those who are vulnerable to error.
• They promise freedom but are themselves are slaves of corruption.
• Their last state has become worse for them than the first.

Message Title: “Pergamum: The Faithful but Compromised Church!”

Message Text: Revelation 2:12-17

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Message: “The Peace that Jesus Gives!”

Message Text: John 14:27, 16:33 & Selected

As we seek God’s wisdom as to how we honor him, not only on Tuesday, but our entire lives, we need the proverbial “big picture.” And the big picture is that this is not about God and America. This is about God. Everything is about God and his glory. The big deal is not you, not me, not our country, not this coming election, not supreme court justices. The big deal is a holy God and his glory and his sovereign rule over the affairs of men.

And many have lost sight of that.

• (Psalm 11:4 ESV) The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
• (Micah 1:2 ESV) Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
• (Habakkuk 2:20 ESV) But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Some things are too plain to see because we refuse to face the reality of this world as presented in the word of God. We don’t see what we need to see because we have turned our eyes to ourselves, the “little picture.” And often we do not hear what we need to hear because we do not see the personal benefit to our lives. In our “little picture” of life God is not above all and over all. Instead of “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” our attention has been diverted to all manner of media, whether right or left, liberal or conservative, Christian or non-Christian, who either do not know or have forgotten that this whole thing is about God. All about God. From before the creation of this world to long after this world becomes an annal in the history of God’s grand and glorious plan.

So how do we see these things that are sometimes too plain to see. How do we make sense of the seemingly unprecedented events of our country and our world?

The Bible. There is no other choice. If this is all about God, and if we want to make sense of this world, then shouldn’t we reference the Book that gives the only accurate account? The only reference that honors God as God and gives him the glory due his name. This is not about God and America. This is about God, the King of glory.

So let’s look to our Bibles and approach the conflict in a way that honors him.

Message: “The Peace that Jesus Gives!”

Message Text: John 14:27, 16:33 & Selected

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