A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Pastor John Randall says, "The Lord takes care of the opposition so you don't have to."

John Randall: Listen, friend, the church is the bride of Christ, and you don't want to mess with the Lord's bride. He takes that very seriously. He's very concerned for His bride, and He has ways of humbling the haters. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 59:19, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Are you being opposed by the enemy today? Allow the Lord to lift up a standard against your adversaries. Allow Him to take care of it. He has ways. He can handle it.

Guest (Male): Calvary South OC presents A Daily Walk with John Randall. Glad to have you with us. What does a healthy church look like? Maybe in your mind, you associate that with how many people attend on any given weekend or the size of the building. But Jesus looks at it far differently. Today, we'll finish our study of the Lord's letter to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation chapter 3, verses 7 through 13. This letter is full of good news and encouragement to a body of believers who were faithful. Here is Pastor John with the description of the faithful church of the last days.

John Randall: They'd been faithful to keep the word, but this is the other thing that's commendable: they did not deny the name of Jesus. They hadn't denied His deity; many had. Many had denied Jesus, who He was, but not the church in Philadelphia.

The world today blasphemes the name of Jesus, is offended at the name of Jesus, uses His name as a word of profanity. Why? Why use the name of Jesus in that way? Why not use some other name? Why not use the name Buddha when you want to be profane? Because there's no power in that name. There's only power in the name of Jesus.

That's why people use it, because there's power in that name. The Bible tells us God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, every tongue should confess, those on earth and those under the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The Bible says in Acts chapter 4, verse 12, "There is salvation in no other name, for there is no other name under heaven given among whereby men must be saved." Friends, there's only one name that has the power to save, and that's the name of Jesus. It's a powerful name. Jesus commends this church. They kept the word, they hadn't denied His name, and because of this faithfulness to persevere in the midst of pressure and persecution, the Lord says to them that they would be blessed and that He would have His hand upon them.

You know, I look back when you look back through the letters that are written in the book of Revelation, we've pointed out in our study together that sometimes you can find parallel historical things that took place that really correlate with the churches. During this particular time when looking at the church of Philadelphia, it reminds us of a time in church history that started about the year 1750 to the present time, called the Missionary Movement.

A missionary movement. There was this movement of people that began to take the gospel in every direction. It started about 1750 to the present time. Some of the things that accompanied this or were a catalyst for it was a rediscovery of the word of God. A rediscovery of God's word, and then a rediscovery of the Great Commission, and then a realization of the return of Christ. Those things were what were used to motivate people to take the word of God and preach it to the uttermost parts of the world.

The church basically began to awaken from its sleep. Men like William Carey set out for India, Hudson Taylor set out for China, DL Moody to America, Charles Spurgeon impacting England. David Livingstone in the 1800s, the story is told about this young Scotsman that had completed his medical education and was ready for whatever God wanted for him.

One day he was sitting listening to a man by the name of Robert Moffat talk about his ministry in Africa, and he shared his overwhelming burden for the people. Livingstone was so inspired and moved by what he heard that he rose up from that meeting and he agreed to the challenge to go out.

It was 20 words he said that changed his life. 20 words, and here they were. These were the words of Robert Moffat that inspired Livingstone to take the gospel into the unknown parts of Africa. These were the words: "I have sometimes seen in the morning sun the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been."

It was that phrase right there that stirred his heart to take the gospel to the unknown world. Livingstone spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel in Africa, and when he died, he was found in his hut on his knees praying, and that's where he died. I think of others like Hudson Taylor, as I mentioned, an English missionary to China, the founder of the China Inland Mission. He spent five years translating the New Testament into the Ningpo dialect, and then at his death in 1905, there were 205 stations and 849 missionaries and 125,000 Chinese Christians in the China Inland Mission.

These are just some of the giants of the faith that started out in the 1800s to the present time. The great awakening. You think of the move of God's Spirit throughout church history. This is where it started with a faithful church, keeping the word of God, not denying His name. Folks, I believe that there are two churches that will run parallel to one another in the last days before Christ's return in the Rapture.

It's the church of Philadelphia, the faithful church, and the church of Laodicea, which is the apostate church. Two churches running parallel to one another prior to the Rapture of the church. What church are we a part of? In light of the faithfulness of the church at Philadelphia, Jesus provided some precious promises for them to hold on to.

Notice what it says in verse 9. "I will indeed make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but they lie. I will make them come and worship before your feet, and they'll know that I've loved you." The Bible says that the Lord has given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that all the promises of God are in Jesus, yes and amen. Jesus' first promise to this faithful church is, "I'm going to handle your enemies. I'm going to take care of them." Have any enemies this morning?

Some of them you can see, others you can't. Jesus says, "I've got this. I'll handle it. I'll take care of it." Jesus said, "I'll make them come and worship before your feet, and they're going to know something. They're going to know that I've loved you."

There were those who were hostile towards the church in Philadelphia. One of the reasons they were hostile is because Gentiles were getting saved, and Gentiles and Jews were no longer separate. They were just one body. Some people hated the unity that was found in the body of Christ. Jesus said the haters worshiped at a church called the synagogue of Satan. That's definitely a church you don't want to be a part of.

Jesus said they claim to be one thing, but they lie. They're really not a part of the church. They're something different than they want you to think that they are. There are those who claim to be Christians today that aren't. They claim to know Christ or to speak on His behalf, but they proclaim the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches and are opposed to those who uphold the truth of Scripture. The Lord says, "I'm going to take care of that." That's His business. The Lord takes care of it.

He doesn't exactly say how He's going to humble them, but He says He's going to. They would come to realize that the church of Jesus Christ was loved by her bridegroom. Listen, friend, the church is the bride of Christ, and you don't want to mess with the Lord's bride. He takes that very seriously. He's very concerned for His bride, and He has ways of humbling the haters.

The Bible tells us in Isaiah 59:19, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Are you being opposed by the enemy today? Allow the Lord to lift up a standard against your adversaries. Allow Him to take care of it. He has ways. He can handle it. I'm thankful that the Lord takes care of the opposition. The Lord repeats the phrase "I will," "I will make," "I will make." The Lord says, "I will personally handle it."

Jesus not only promised the faithful church that He would stand against their enemies, but friends, this next verse is so critically important. You have to hear this, pay close attention, you might want to underline it, mark it in your Bible, verse 10. Jesus tells this faithful church of Philadelphia He would take them out before the Tribulation comes.

Notice: "Because you have kept my command to persevere," that is, you've been faithful, you've kept my word, you haven't denied my name. You continue to walk through the open doors that I've presented to you. This is the Lord's promise: "I will also keep you from," that word for "from" is the word "out," "out of the hour of trial, which is going to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth."

Herein lies an extremely important verse as it relates to the Rapture of the church. If you don't know what the word "Rapture" is, let me explain. The Rapture of the church is the event in which God snatches away all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on a Christ-rejecting world during the Tribulation period.

The Rapture will involve an instantaneous transformation of these bodies for eternity. The Bible says we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. The Rapture of the church is distinguished from the Second Coming because at the Rapture, the Lord comes in the clouds to meet us in the air, and at the Second Coming, He comes back on the clouds, and we come with Him. There is a difference.

The church is mentioned 19 times in chapters 1 through 3 of Revelation, but it's purposely absent when the judgment of the world begins in the Tribulation. Another passage of Scripture that Jesus mentioned, Luke chapter 21, concerning these things. Jesus said, "Take heed," Luke 21:34, "lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day," which speaks of the Tribulation, "that day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare to all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man."

When Jesus says "the day," He's talking about the Tribulation period. He said, "Pray that you would be able to escape it." That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm praying for it. Lord, take me out. I want to be ready to escape it.

You know, there are those people, I don't understand exactly, but there are those people that say, you know, "You people who pray to escape the Tribulation period, you're nothing more than escapists." As if that were a bad thing! Jesus said to pray, and that's exactly what we're doing. It's almost like in their estimation it would be far more noble to go through the Tribulation period.

Think again. Jesus said "Pray that you would be taken out before it happens," and that's exactly what we do. And friends, listen, let me just give you a little prophetic update. When you look around the world and you see how quickly the world is being conditioned to do certain things just because somebody said to do it, not because they're supposed to but because somebody told them to, look how quickly the whole world in a matter of a year has shaped up, fallen in line, done certain things.

Listen, it's going to be no surprise when the church is taken out, how quickly the world once again falls in line, takes a mark, goes through the whole process. Why? Because they're going to have to. Friends, this is a dress rehearsal. What you're seeing happen now, it's like the stage is being set, the scaffolding is being set. The Lord is coming.

Folks, he's coming for us, is what I'm trying to communicate to you. If that weren't enough, Jesus said, "I'm going to take you out," but notice what He says in verse 11: "Behold, I am coming quickly." I'm coming quickly. We say, "How quickly is quickly?" because it seems like it's taking a while. What's taking so long? Lord, we're ready. Could You come today? He could. He could. Are you ready?

When we think about coming quickly, it means suddenly. It's happening. It's getting closer. It's a matter of time. And so in light of the fact that He is coming quickly, the Bible says here to this faithful church, "What do we do in the meantime?"

We hold fast to the word, we remain faithful, we walk through the doors that He opens, we trust that He's going to handle the opposition. But what do we do? Here's what He says, in light of the fact that He's coming quickly: "Hold fast what you have. Hold fast what you have. Do not deviate from what you've been doing. Remain faithful."

Some people say, "Well, why hasn't He come yet?" You know why He hasn't come yet? Because He's long-suffering. Listen, if He came at the beginning of this year, some of you wouldn't be with Him tonight. You wouldn't be with Him. You wouldn't have made it. You'd be here still, left behind, because you received Christ recently over the last year. He's long-suffering. He's waiting.

Some of you He's still waiting for. You know what? There is going to be one person, I don't know when the last person's going to get saved, but when that last person gets saved, the trumpet's going to sound, and I would say if you're here today, would you please come forward when the invitation's given? Boy, that'd be a great way to end the service, wouldn't it? That'd be the best ending ever. Rapture.

So He says, "Hold fast what you have. Keep doing what you're doing." For those of you maybe who have a little strength, don't stop what you're doing. Stay in the word. Keep following Jesus. Don't lose heart. He's coming. He's coming quickly. And then Jesus promises this: "No one's going to take your crown. No one's going to take your reward away from you." The crown representing that reward that will be given. Holding fast, abiding in Jesus, living for the eternal rewards of being with Him. He says, "No one's going to take your crown."

Verse 12, look at this: "He who overcomes, he who keeps going, he who keeps plowing forward, he who keeps trusting the Lord, he who overcomes, this is what I'm going to do." Here's the promise Jesus said: "I'm going to make you a pillar in the temple of my God, and you'll go out no more."

Keep this in mind when Jesus says "make you a pillar." It means something permanent. The city of Philadelphia had many pillars that had been shaken and destroyed through earthquakes historically, but Jesus says, "You know what? I'm going to make you a pillar, a pillar in heaven. You're going to be there, a part of it, permanently."

He's going to honor the church, and He tells them here, in addition to making them a pillar, a permanent fixture, He says, "I'm also going to place my name upon you." When it speaks of the name of my city and my name upon you, my new name, basically what that's describing—the name of God, the name of the city, a new name—it speaks of relationship.

We belong to the Lord, sealed by Him. The name of the city: the place where you belong, where you live, your residency. The name of Jesus. These are all marks of identification that the Lord says, "As you continue, as you hold fast, as you persevere, as you keep going, even with a little strength, you keep walking through the doors, you keep trusting God to handle the opposition. I'm going to make you a pillar, and I've got my name on you. You're mine. No one's going to snatch you out of my hand. I'm giving you a crown. You belong to me," is what He says.

Jesus said these are the marks of identification. This is a promise to the believers that are there. "I'm going to write on you my new name." And then He says this: "He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Folks, everybody here today has ears, but I wonder if everybody's listening to what's being said.

This is a description of the faithful church of the last days. The church that keeps the word of God. The church that doesn't deny the name of God. The church that's faithful to walk through the doors that Jesus opens. The church that lets Jesus handle the opposition. The church that holds fast to what it has, that's waiting for the return of the Lord, looking for the return of Jesus. That's the faithful church, and Jesus said, "I'm going to reward that church." Let me just tell you, I want to be a part of that church. I want to be a part of that church, the faithful church.

Guest (Male): Me too. In just a moment, we'll wrap up Pastor John Randall's study of the Lord's letter to the church of Philadelphia. So keep it right here for more on A Daily Walk. We hear a lot about what's wrong in the church, but today we saw a church that did what was right, and they stand out in Scripture as a body of believers that were faithful.

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John Randall: One more thing I want to mention to you, I thought about it, and that is this: what are the signs of a faithful church? How do you know if a church is being faithful? Certainly what we read in Revelation is a testament to faithfulness in a church. But I think also what makes a healthy church—I can't help but go back to the book of Acts chapter 2 and verse 42, when the Lord said there concerning the church, the early church, that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, that's the word of God. And in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers.

That's what makes a healthy church, folks. A church that is in the word of God. A church that does not neglect fellowship. And by fellowship, I mean together, together, in person. Don't neglect. Listen, online church, we're thankful for it, but the truth of the matter is, it's overrated. There is something to being with people, with being with people. We need to be together.

The early church, they were healthy and faithful because they were together. But also, there was the breaking of bread, which speaks of communion, and they were a praying church, and they were a giving church, and they were a worshiping church. All of these things resulted in God adding to the church daily those who were being saved. That's a healthy church. That's what it looks like.

It's amazing when we think back to last week we talked about the church that had a name that it was alive, but it was dead. This is a church that had a little strength, and Jesus said that's the faithful church. That's the faithful church. Friend, I want to ask you this morning: are you part of the church? And I don't mean the church as it relates to Calvary Chapel. I mean do you belong to Jesus? Is His name upon you? Have you responded to Him? Because listen, He's coming for His bride, and if you're not ready, the truth of the matter is, on the authority of Scripture, you will be left. You will be left behind.

That's what the Bible teaches. But you don't have to be. In fact, Jesus died on a cross for your sins and for mine that you never have to be left behind. Jesus came to this earth, lived a sinless, spotless life, went to the cross, died in your place, took all of your sins, all of my sins, all the condemnation and judgment that we deserved upon Himself.

And He died in our place, and then He was buried, and the Bible says He rose again from the dead, and today He offers you salvation, eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, the hope of heaven. You say, "Well, what do I need to do to get that? How do I punch my ticket?" By responding to His love. By saying, "Jesus, I recognize I'm a sinner, and today I turn from my sin. Jesus, I've been living apart from You. I've walked away from You. I've drifted from You. I've been doing my own thing, I've been going through the motions, I've been playing the games. I say the right things, I have the right translation of the Bible, at least that's what I'm told, but I'm not really walking with You."

And I haven't been. Friend, today you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are prepared and ready when the Lord returns. He said, "Behold, I'm coming quickly." Are you ready? Are you ready for His return?

Guest (Male): We hope you are ready. If not, that can change today through simple faith in Jesus. On our next program, Pastor John Randall begins a look at the final letter in Revelation 3, the Lord's letter to Laodicea. And unlike the church in Philadelphia, there was a huge problem that needed to be addressed. Join us then for A Daily Walk. This program is made possible through your generosity and brought to you by Calvary South OC.