Hope From the Word

Guest (Male): Pastor Bill Lubkeman comments on giving God lip service.

Bill Luebkemann: You know, it's one thing to accept the Lord with our words and say, oh, we follow the Lord now. We're Christians. I'm a Christan. I go to church every week, or I something else. It's quite another thing to live a lifestyle that's consistent with what the Bible says and consistent with the character of Jesus's name. And we should all be trying our most to live such lives. It should be our desire to be pleasing to him.

Guest (Male): Greetings and welcome to another installment of Hope from the Word, the daily Bible teaching ministry of Bill Lubkeman, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Marlton. We've been working our way through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And now we are in our last book, Revelation, where we find ourselves in chapters two and three, examining the seven letters to the seven churches. Number six is up today, the church at Philadelphia. As it turns out, the city of brotherly love actually lived up to its name. Here's Pastor Bill to continue in Revelation 3.

Bill Luebkemann: You know, a man once went to Charles Spurgeon back in the 1800s. Charles Spurgeon was a pastor of a very big church like 5,000 people or some crazy large numbers. There's a lot of people, especially back in those days. And a man once went to him and said, what can I do to win others to Christ? And Spurgeon said, well, who are you and what do you do? And the man said, well, I'm a an engine driver. He was an engineer on a train. Spurgeon said, well, is the guy that shovels the coal for you?

Is he saved? And the man said, I don't know. And Spurgeon said, well, go and find out and start working on him. You can be a missionary wherever you're at and whoever you are. All you have to do is use what the Lord gave you in the place that he has put you to share the Lord, to share that good news with those around you. It's very easy to see what other people are doing, want to be part of what they're doing, you know? It's easy to see the action going on somewhere else and say, wow, I wish I was a part of that.

Look at what so and so is doing. I want to do that. Why can't I be like him or her? Or it. The reason you can't be like them is you're not them. You are who you are where God put you here and you have the things that he's given you to do with whatever he's given you to do. You can reach the people who are around you and that's what the other people are doing. And the reason someone else might be successful at it and you're not is they're taking advantage of the open doors that are around them and maybe you're not doing that.

We shouldn't be wanting to be somewhere else or do something else. Uh, the Lord may move you somewhere else someday, but from now, wherever you're at, you need to be serving the Lord in whatever ways he gives you. I want to look at this concept of an open door just a little bit in a couple of other places. In Acts 16, there's a couple places in Acts where we see that. In Acts 16:6, it says Paul and his companions traveled through the region of Phrygia. I love that name, Phrygia. I could say that, Phrygia. Isn't that a cool name?

I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it right, but I I like it. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. Here's an example of a closed door and an open door. Even doesn't use the phrase, I put this verse first because it's the one that doesn't use the phrase open door or closed door. But see, they were traveling through one reason. That's the open door. They were traveling through one area rather. That's the open door because they were kept out of another area.

That's the closed door by the Holy Spirit. If you back up a couple pages uh, to the left in Acts 14:27, it says on arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. So again, we see the idea of an open door. And we see it in a couple places in Corinthians also. In 1st Corinthians 16 verses eight and nine, Paul saying here, but I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost because a great door for effective work has opened to me.

And there are many who oppose me. It's almost like you know, there if there's opposition, that's even proof that the door is open because people are opposing what God is doing. Over in 2 Corinthians 2:12, now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me. So here he was going to another town and getting there and finding out that the door was open. And how did he know it was open by the way? Well, he was sharing the gospel and he was being successful at it.

Over in Colossians chapter 4 verse 3, this is the last one. And pray for us too that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. So there Paul praying that the Lord would open the door. In that case, here in Philadelphia, he's telling them, I've placed before you an open door and no one can shut it. And it doesn't matter if there's opposition. You know, if there's opposition, that's a good thing because the Lord's probably working, but the opposition's not going to close the door.

Don't get discouraged because of the opposition. The door is open, so take advantage of it. Something else we should consider with regard to this door is that these folks may have been shut out of the synagogue for becoming Christians. Later on, it talks about the synagogue. So a certain it's like a certain door was closed to them. They used to go to the synagogue. Now they're believers. Um, they can't go there anymore. They got kicked out. They got the left foot of fellowship, if you will. And so now the Lord's opening up a different door and letting them go someplace else.

And one thing we can count on is he'll never shut the door on our relationship with him either. And one last thought can be on this whole door thing. In John chapter 10, we don't have to turn there, but Jesus said he was the door to the sheepfold. And you know, the sheepfold back in those days, there was no doorway. The shepherd stood guard at the door and let the sheep come in and come out. And at nighttime, the shepherd laid on the ground across the doorway so that you know, nothing could get out or in without running over him.

And that's how he protected it. And a good analogy there when Jesus says, I am the door. And anyone who tries to get it in any other way is a thief and a robber. And the Lord continues here. He says, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength. Yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. The Lord here continues by telling them he's aware that they have little strength. And you know, that comes across as a bad thing in a way like almost like they lost the fight and they're half unconscious.

You know, they're that they're just barely a dragon here, you know? That they're they're good and they're clean and they have good motives and they they trust in the Lord, but they don't have a lot of strength. But it may be uh, that we need to look at that in a different way, you know? It may be that with only a little strength of their own, they would have to rely on the Lord more. And when you think you can do it under your own strength, when you think you have a lot of strength, hey, no problem.

I'll take care of that. I know how to do it. Uh, I'm an expert in that field. It may be then you're working under your own strength and not under the Lord's power. When we have the strength, that's probably when we're the weak because the Lord likes to work through the foolishness of men to achieve his purposes. 2 Corinthians 12 verses nine and 10. Therefore, Paul said, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.

For when I am weak, then I am strong. So when it says here they have a little strength, it may just mean that they're stronger than you think they are. And you know, when it says they have a little strength, it may also be referring to their size. Maybe they weren't a big group of believers. They may have been a small church making a big impact. And we need to know that in the Lord's economy here, size is not what matters. That's irrelevant. One person can have a greater impact than 5,000 if that one person is allowing the Lord to work through them and the 5,000 are not.

I know you have little strength. Yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. These are perhaps the two most important characteristics for this church, for our church, for any church. Looking for a church? Here's the two most important characteristics, faithful to his word, not denying his name. The idea here is not to do these things with words, but to do them with deeds. We're to live and be true to his word and his character. When it says his name, you know, that means his character, who he is. We need to be true to what his word says and true to who he is.

You know, it's one thing to accept the Lord with our words and say, oh, we follow the Lord now. We're Christians. I'm a Christian. I go to church every week, or I something else. It's quite another thing to live a lifestyle that's consistent with what the Bible says and consistent with the character of Jesus's name. And we should all be trying our most to live such lives. It should be our desire to be pleasing to him. You have kept my word and have not denied my name. Look, one example I can think of. How many of you remember the movie Chariots of Fire, 1924 Summer Olympics?

Eric Liddell. He was the champion runner and he was also a committed Christian. And he believed you shouldn't work on Sundays. I'm not promoting that here. I'm just saying this is what he believed and he was honoring God by that. And when it came time to do the 100 meter qualifying run, it fell on a Sunday. He said, I am not going to do it. It's the Lord's day. I'm not going to do it. And he he didn't make a big stink about it. He didn't go to the newspaper and say, this is unfair. You know, he didn't follow a lawsuit and say, they shouldn't be doing this on a Sunday.

He just said, I'm going to honor God over a man. And he declined to run and he forfeited the opportunity to win that medal. And he did it quietly and without fanfare. He believed that that day was set apart for God. Well, later in the week, it came time to do the 400 meter race and he was getting ready to run and some unknown man slipped him a piece of paper. And on the piece of paper was written the text from 1 Samuel 2 verse 30, those who honor me I will honor. And it 's no secret what happened.

He went on to win that race. He set a new world record, in fact, in the 400 meter. And it was all because he honored God in his heart and with conviction. And we need to honor God with the conviction that he gives us on whatever the topic or issue is. We don't need to necessarily need to agree on everything, but we need to have our convictions and follow them. And that's what honors God when we follow the convictions that he's given us. So let's try to summarize this church of Philadelphia, if you will. They had an open door before them to serve the Lord in some mighty ways.

And they relied on God in everything that they did and they were faithful to Jesus in what he said and what and and what they said and what they did and what they believed. Unlike the church of what's happening now, which was what we looked at last week, the church of Sardis. You remember Sardis, who they were. The Lord said to them this, I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. They look great on the outside. Somebody driving by the church of Sardis, all the lights were on and the parking lot was filled and they had all kind of activities going on.

And they had a reputation of being alive. But inside, the Lord's saying, they're dead. This church of Philadelphia was had little strength. It was maybe not a big church. Maybe its reputation was not as good as the church of Sardis, but they're the ones getting commended here because they were faithful to what Jesus Christ said and did. And they were faithful in what they believed and how they carried it out. They had what it took in the most important area, success here. By God's standards, it's not to be measured in size or numbers or programs or anything on the outside.

Those are all things that impress man, but what impresses God is what's written in our heart and what we 're doing with it. Success God's way, it's based on whether we are true to his word and his character. That's what really matters. Verse nine. We're going to go a little faster now. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan who claim to be Jews, though they are not but are liars. I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. These believers, as we said before, they were probably Jews before they were Christians.

And they were suffering persecution from those who remained in the synagogue. But what this is saying is the so-called Jews of the synagogue weren't really Jews at all. They were going to the synagogue. They were carrying out the motions, you know. They were Jews by name and by blood by ancestry, but they're not really worshiping the God of the Old Testament. If they were really Jews, they'd at least be worshiping the God of the Old Testament. They were pretend Jews. And and the Lord saying, one day they're going to see and understand. They're going to come to the knowledge that the believers have it right, that the believers have been loved by Christ.

And I'm not clear on when they're going to come to that knowledge, whether it's going to be in this life or it could do them some good or after this life where it can't do them any good. I hope it's referring to this life when they would realize the error of their ways and repent and join with the believers. What a pleasure it would be to worship together with someone who was once persecuting you. That is one of the greatest things I think that can happen. Verse 10. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

They've been faithful to the Lord. So the Lord says, I'm going to be faithful to you. And one thing I'm going to do is keep you from the hour of trial. Now you know, people have argued about this for 2,000 years here. What does this mean? You know, does this mean that the Lord is going to protect the church as it goes through the tribulation or does it mean he's going to remove the church uh, before the tribulation happens? And there's two viewpoints here, by the way. I take the second one that the Lord will remove us.

I think that 's the accurate one here. Look, here's how people look at it. There's a command here to endure patiently. And some people say, see, he's telling you to endure patiently. And therefore, when the tribulation comes, you know, you have to endure patiently through these trying times, through this day of the Lord, this fearsome time. He's telling you to endure patiently. The church is going to be here and we're going to have to endure it, but he's going to protect us as we go through it. But I don't view that that way because this command to endure patiently is in the past tense.

He says here, since you have kept my command to endure patiently say they've already done that. He said, since you've done that, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that's going to come upon the world. He doesn't say he's going to keep them safe through it. He said he's going to keep them from it. And that to me means you know, we're going to check out before that happens. It's talking about a time of testing for those who live on the earth. And that's another thing some people say, well, we all live on the earth.

We're all going to go through the testing, but you know, the King James I think says those who dwell on the earth. And if you do a study all through Revelation, I don't have time to do that now, but if you look at those who dwell on the earth, it's always talking about unbelievers, not believers. And you can go home and follow that through and you'll find out that that's the case. And so there's a time of testing that's going to come upon the world. And those who are unbelievers are going to go through this trying time which we call the time of tribulation.

The believers are going to be kept from that hour because the Lord is going to return before then and remove his church. And this just there this just one small verse that touches on that topic. We don't have time to do a whole study on that. A lot of other verses that correlate with it. Verse 11. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. Look, here's another verse that's you know, often times goofed around. There's a there's a bunch of people out there that believe that the Lord already returned.

They believe that the things written in Revelation already took place. And the belief is called preterism, p r e t e r i s m. Preterism. People believe it. They're called preterists. Um, I could think of some other names for them, but they believe that the Lord already returned, that everything we're reading about here in Revelation already was fulfilled in the year AD 70 when Jerusalem fell. And the one of the things that they like to say to bolster their argument. And you'll see this all of them all through Revelation, Jesus said, I'm coming soon.

I'm coming soon. See, he's coming soon. And it's been 2,000 years. So either this is wrong and he's not coming soon or if he was coming soon, he must have already come. And that's one of the arguments for preterism. I'm not sure how they can be so silly by the way, but the word soon here, it really means quickly. If you look in the King James some other versions, I think you'll see quickly. And I don't think the NIV um, did it justice by using the word soon here. But it refers to this. It refers to suddenly and unexpectedly and like a thief in the night.

When the Lord says, I'm coming soon, he means that it's really quickly or suddenly. That's the meaning of the word, unexpectedly, when you least expected. And certainly Jesus said that enough times. He's going to pop in and retrieve his church when we are least expecting it. We're not going to be sitting around waiting for him. You know, I read about some people that uh, you know, went to Jerusalem a few years ago. The leader of the group said the Lord's going to return on a certain date and a certain time and he's going to return over there.

He they wanted to be there, you know? And they all went over so they could be in Jerusalem when the Lord returned. And I just had one question. I was trying to figure out why they got round trip airplane tickets. I mean, they could have saved money, you know? And just got them in one direction. He's not going to be coming when we're expecting it. We're not going to know about it in advance. We're not going to be sitting around waiting for him saying, up, this is the day. Let's get up and pray all day and let's put the Bible on the coffee table just like we do when the pastor comes over so that when the Lord returns, you know, he can think that we're we're ready for him.

He says here he's coming suddenly, unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. And Jesus said that himself enough times. If we don't get it, we need to bang on our head some. He says, hold on to what you have. In other words, consider what you have. Look at this church, what we said they had. They had an open door to serve the Lord in mighty ways. They relied on the Lord in all that they did and they had um, they were faithful to him and the what they believed and what they said and what they did.

And this says here, hold on to those things. Keep doing those things. Why? So that no one will take your crown. It's not doesn't mean someone's going to come along and swipe the crown off your head, by the way. We're encouraged that our crown not be given to someone else because we give up partway in the Lord wants us to finish the race. And the greatest danger we have to losing our crown, the greatest danger comes from within ourselves. Look, Proverbs. I'm looking it up here in the NIV because um, it's a little different, but Proverbs 4:23 says, keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.

We'll read that in a little bit different translation here in the NIV. Proverbs 4:23. Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. Your heart. Look, your heart is where it's all at. And the Lord calls us to finish the race. To finish the race, Paul talked about finishing the race as he was getting near the end of his life that he could see that finish line. And Jesus saying here, hold on to what you have. Don't let anyone swipe it. Don't let anything take you off the path when you can see the finish line up ahead.

That's the time to to run faster, to sprint. To cross the line a victor. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God. And I will also write on him my new name. Look, those who overcome are going to be like pillars. And what does a pillar do? It stands on the foundation and it holds up the building.

And if there's an earthquake, by the way, it's also the last thing left standing. And if you go over to the Middle East now and you go around to some of the ruins that are left of different temples and things where where there are ruins if anything's left standing, it's the pillars. Sometimes the building is long gone, but the pillars are still there. A lot of analogies here to this town of Philadelphia. I think they got the analogies when he wrote this letter to them. I think they understood. And the reason I give so much history of Philadelphia is so that we could do it also.

Him who overcomes, I'll make a pillar in the temple of God, the temple of God being the church. Those who overcome will be pillars in the church, if you will, the body of Christ. Never again will he leave it. That is the church, the body of Christ when we're with him in heaven. Never again will he leave it. This was a town where they wrote your name on the pillar if you were an important person. So they had lots of pillars with lots of names on it. And they had to think about this. Wow, we're going to be actually become a pillar in God's temple.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Hope from the Word. We're currently in Pastor Bill Lubkeman's Through the Bible series. If you'd like to hear this message again, you have several options. Visit our website at ccmarlton.org and download the Hope FM app to your smartphone or tablet or look for us wherever you find your podcasts. You can also request a CD copy by calling 856 983 1662. Again, that's 856 983 1662. If you've been thinking about visiting Calvary Chapel of Marlton where Bill serves as pastor, we'd love to have you. Our service times are on Sunday mornings at 10.

We also meet midweek on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. You can also live stream from home when you visit our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel of Marlton. For more information, go to ccmarlton.org. We hope to see you soon. Before the day is done, we'd like to connect with you, share a praise report, prayer request, or what you're learning from this series. You can easily email us from our website, ccmarlton.org or just call us at 856 983 1662. There's more to come from Bill's Through the Bible series and we'll have that for you next time on Hope from the Word with Pastor Bill Lubkeman.

This program is brought to you by Calvary Chapel of Marlton.