The Faithful Church in Brookhaven

That's one of my favorites. He will hold me fast. I think you know that that is speaking to Christ persevering in us. And I tell you, the only way we can persevere in Him is if He perseveres in us. Let that sink in. We must persevere in Christ, walk with Christ, serve Christ, be faithful to Christ, but the only way we can is if He perseveres in us. I love that. Well, if you would take your Bible, turn back to Revelation chapter 3. We did read verses 7 to 13 earlier, but we will not cover all of those verses. I'll just give you a heads up. I will explain myself in just a moment.

Now, in the introduction of last week's message, I said that we find ourselves in a familiar place, a similar place, as last year at this time. At the end of last January, I started the process of appointing two additional elders, and through that process, our church unanimously affirmed Jared and Tommy as additional elders. And I said that in a few weeks, we will start the process of establishing organized deacon ministry in our church, and that will lead us to select deacons to serve in that ministry. I also said that deacons and deacon ministry will do two things for our church.

First of all, deacons will help us do what we already do better. Let me restate that. Deacons and deacon ministry will help us do what we've been doing, what we already do better. And then second, organized deacon ministry will prepare us for future numerical and ministry growth that I believe is coming our way. But before I teach on deacons and what deacon ministry is, which will lead us into that selection process, I believe there are certain messages from God's Word that will prepare us for that work. And I did the same thing last year in preparing us for selecting two new elders.

Not only will these messages prepare us for deacon ministry, but these messages are for the purpose of preparing us for other ministry and ministries that are before us this year. Now, last Lord's Day, I taught on Matthew 16, verses 17 to 18, and what I called a mighty expectation for His church. We saw that a true church, a healthy church, has a permanent foundation, a permanent foundation, and that permanent foundation is the person of Christ. And we saw that a true church, a healthy church, also has a sole owner. That is Christ. Christ Jesus is the sole owner. He is the personal owner.

And He actually purchased the church with His own blood. In Christ's life, we must see that this is personal. This is experiential. This is spiritual. This is not informational, theoretical, and hypothetical. Let me explain what I mean. In Revelation, chapter 1, John saw Christ Jesus walking among the seven churches, as Lord over those churches, with the angels or the pastors of those churches in His right hand. So we must see that Christ personally, experientially, and spiritually walks among His churches. And we saw that we are to have a mighty expectation for Christ's church, our church.

Jesus said He will build His church, so we should have a mighty expectation in this work. But we learned of a great mystery in this work. We learned of a great mystery attached to who is responsible for this work. And we must ask a question. Is it the sole responsibility of Jesus to build His church? Let me repeat the question. Is it the sole responsibility of Jesus to build His church? I mean, Jesus said in Matthew 16, 18, "On this rock, I will build my church." But we also must ask another question. Is it our responsibility to build His church? Let me restate that question. Is it our responsibility to build His church?

Jesus said in Matthew 28, 19, "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." So which is it? Well, the answer is yes. Yes, we are responsible to do the work of the church. But our efforts are nil. They are zilch. They are a big fat goose egg unless Christ Jesus builds His church through us.

And the key to Christ building His church through our hard work, through our effort, is that we must do the work of the church, God's way, as seen in the Scriptures, and we do the work of the church, God's way, as seen in the Scriptures, ultimately for God's glory, ultimately for God's glory. And we saw that a true church, a healthy church, has a people priority, simply the church's people. Yes, the work of the church involves many things. It involves money. It involves offerings. It involves organization and leadership and service and even buildings. But the church's people, in Christ's life, this is a fact we must never, ever forget.

The church's people, the church's people and families and children and teenagers and people and families and children or teenagers are the first priority. You are the first priority. So, Grace Life, let's renew our commitment to one another. Let's renew our commitment to our families, to our children and our teenagers. Of course, we should renew our commitment to all that we are and all that we do here in the life of the church. But let's renew our commitment to one another. Now, I will challenge you, if you did not get last week's message, do that.

Study those passages, internalize those truths, internalize those standards and the call that we have a mighty expectation for His church. Now, this morning, I believe we need to continue along the same lines as Matthew 16, 17 and 18 and the fact that we should possess and live out a mighty expectation for our church. So, in our message, we will be looking at the church at Philadelphia here in Revelation 3 and what is commonly called the Faithful Church in Philadelphia. And that is what our message will be all about, the Faithful Church, the Faithful Church. That leads me to the title of the message, simply the Faithful Church.

And I will add to that title at the conclusion of our message. Now, for the second time, I will not go into the background and the context of the letter to the church at Philadelphia. I preached on the Faithful Church at Philadelphia back on August the 28th, August the 28th of 2024. And when I preached through the seven churches of Revelation, I gave the background and the context of all of these churches. And in that message, I went over these things thoroughly. And if you need that, go and get that message.

But here in this letter, we have one of the two churches that did not receive a rebuke or a correction from Jesus, who was and is Lord over His church. And although the church at Philadelphia was a faithful church, they did face troubles, trials and tribulations. From the Jews in the pagan culture. And Christ, through the Apostle John, called them to remain true, to remain steadfast, to remain faithful in the face of those trials, tribulations, troubles, and all that was before them. Now, when I break down this letter, I see four parts. First, the communication from Christ to the church. We see that in verse seven.

Second, the commendation they received from Christ. We see that in verse eight to ten. Third, the command that Christ gave them in verse 11. And then last, the counsel that Christ left them in verses 12 and 13. And just like with the background, I will not cover all of that outline. I believe we need to spend all of our time this morning on three parts. The communication from Christ to the church, the commendation that they received, and the command that He left them with. So let's get started in the message. Number one, I want us to see the communication they received. We see this in verse seven, the communication they received.

Look at the verse. "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.'" Now, just like with every one of these letters, Christ our Lord identified Himself to the ones receiving the letter. But notice that this is a one-way line of communication between two parties. We have Christ who is Lord over the church, communicating with the church, and specifically this letter was addressed to the angel. Notice that, the angel of the church in Philadelphia.

And this word angel, angleos, in the original simply means a messenger, a messenger from God, one who is sent from God, an envoy, an ambassador, a representative. Scholars agree that these angels or messengers in these churches were the pastors or the central or leading elders in the church. We would simply say the pastor of the church, notice the communication. Christ Jesus, who was Lord over this church, inspired John to write this letter to the church. And this letter was addressed to the pastor of the key elder of the church, who was in turn, who was in turn, addressed this to the church. In Christ's life, notice what we see here.

This is biblical church leadership. God calls and appoints elders to lead the church. And within a body of elders, He appoints and leads one to be a central or a key leader. I use language like this, the pastor is a leader among equals. A leader among equals. But a question, does this make the central or key elder, we would call him the pastor, does that make him somehow super spiritual? Well, the answer to that is no. It is not that the pastor is a super saint, of course, he is to be an example to the flock, yes. But the pastor is the pastor because he's been set apart by God.

And the congregation recognizes that and the congregation sets him apart as well. But look at how the Lord communicates with the pastor of the church and in turn to the entire church. John described who Christ was and is in four ways. First, our Lord says that He is the Holy One. The word Holy speaks of God's absolute holiness. This speaks to the fact that He is completely separate from everything man knows and understands. He was and is completely separate from sin, sinfulness and what we would see as humanity and weakness. He is holy. He is separated from sin, sinfulness and all weakness.

He is perfect in character, perfect in word, perfect in deed in every way. He is holy. We see this in other places in the New Testament. The title of Holy One is used as a title for the Messiah in Mark 1.24 when the demon-possessed man identified Jesus as the Holy One. And in John 6.69 when Peter said that he believed it and followed the Holy One of God. So the one writing to the elder, to the pastor and to the church is God. He is holy. Second, he says that He is the true One. Now the meaning of this word true here, it means to be genuine or authentic, but it means more in a world full of untruth, Jesus is truth.

He in His very being, Jesus is truth. Therefore in thought, word and deed, He is the perfect revelation of everything that is genuine, everything that is authentic, everything that is true. So Jesus is holy and Jesus is true. Third, he says that He is the promised Messiah. This phrase, "Key of David," this speaks of the office of the Messiah of God. King David was the God appointed, God anointed ruler of God's people, Israel for an appointed time. And in the Old Testament it was prophesied that God's promised Messiah would come from David's house, come from David's bloodline, we would say family tree.

We saw this in what we studied on Christmas Eve and our Christmas Eve service. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to the Messiah, Gabriel told her that she would give birth to a son and she was to name him Jesus. And he said, and I'm quoting, "And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David." So he said that he was and is the promised Messiah of God. And then fourth, he says that he is the all-powerful one. And look at how the Lord said this.

In verse 7, John said, "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia are right." 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. And we need to see that when our Lord said he opens what cannot be shut, and he shuts what cannot be opened, this speaks of the great power of Christ Jesus as Lord and God over his church. Simply what Christ our Lord wills to do, what he says he will do, that will certainly come to pass. No person or power can hinder or stop Christ. He is God.

So here we have some very powerful and much-needed communication from Jesus to the pastor of this church and then ultimately to the entire church. And in this communication, he described himself or revealed himself as the Holy One, the true one, as the promised Messiah of God, and as the supreme all-powerful Lord over his church overall. Now, our Grace Life, look at how this relates to us today. Our Lord is holy. Our Lord is true. Our Lord is the promised Messiah seen all throughout the Old Testament prophecies. And he is the supreme Lord over our church. He is the supreme Lord overall. So we should have a mighty expectation.

No matter what comes against our church, no matter what we may struggle in in our church. No struggle, no problem, no persecution is a surprise to our Lord and no thing has any power against our church. And this should be very calming for us. This should bring about great security in us spiritually. This should create great hope in us and a great excitement in us, you see? But this does not mean that we just sit back and do nothing and just trust in him as our all-powerful Lord and Savior because we do have responsibilities here. So the communication from our Lord to us. And then next, number two, the commendation they received.

The commendation they received. Let's look at those verses again. He says, "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. 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 you, before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.

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." Now if we pay attention, we can see that almost half of what John wrote to this church was in the form of a commendation, acknowledging good in them. We know this acknowledgement of good was accurate because at the beginning of verse 8, Jesus says, "I know your works. I know your works. And if he is God and he was, if he is God and he is, well he certainly knew their works." And look, church, our Lord knows our works.

He knows who we are as a church and he reveals our works and who we are. How? Through his word. In time, through his word. And look, it is my job as the pastor to preach the word and to let God reveal our works according to his word, you see? And that's what we do in the life of our church. We study God's word and let God's word tell us who we are and who we should be. And it is our job as a church to adjust ourselves to God's word when he reveals who and what we are. And we will see that within this commendation, we can see certain observations about this congregation and certain promises made to them that correspond to their circumstances.

Now John MacArthur breaks these verses down in realities. And Morn Wiersby points out three promises. I'm really borrowing how those two men break down these verses. Some of you do some study on your own and you'll run across that. But let's look at these realities. First, Christ revealed that they were weak. Now the New American says they had little power. The King James says little strength. But we need to be very careful here. This was not a correction of any kind, but an observation which was accurate and seems to be favorable.

Most commentators I have read believe that this was a small congregation and that the congregation was made up of mostly lower class or poor people in the city. So they did not have much clout or respect or influence among the people of the city. You may not realize it, but the Corinthian church was comprised mostly of lower class or poor people as well. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, 26 that not many of them were wise or mighty or noble according to the flesh. So the believers in the church at Philadelphia were weak. Whether from being a small congregation or from social position or both, we see that they were a weak congregation.

Second, Christ revealed that they kept his word. Now this is simple but needs to be seen. As a church and as a people, they kept God's word. And the construction of the language here says that they kept his word not just in easy times but in difficult times. The construction of the language tells us that they kept his word continuously. So notice these believers, this church was weak, but they were strong. They were strong in that they kept God's word continuously. Now, Grace Life, there is a tremendous lesson here for us. And I need this more than you may know.

Our strength is not in our number, but in our faithful obedience to God's word as a church. Let me restate that. Our strength is not in our number, but in our faithful obedience to God's word as a church and as a people. Of course, there is a strength that comes in having more and more believers, more and more mature believers in a church. But we must not strive for a strength in numbers and size and clout in the community at the expense of a strength that comes from being faithful and obedient to God's word. You see? So, Grace Life Church, let's be faithful. Let's be faithful and obedient to God's word.

And let's let God take care of the size of our church. But, but, we are to go out and reach the lost. We are to fulfill the Great Commission, and we are to go out and reach the lost and fill up this sanctuary with the lost who come to save and faith in Christ. But then third, he revealed that he did not, that he revealed that they did not deny his name. This means that when they face pressures and even persecutions, trials and tribulations which could have led them to deny the name of Christ, they denied. So, notice how this builds.

These believers were weak, but they were strong that they kept God's word, and they did not deny the name of Christ. When they were tempted to deny God's word and Christ's name, they did not. So, notice how they seem to be stronger and stronger. And then fourth, Christ said they persevered. Here the New American uses the word persevere. The King James says, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience." And it was not that they kept obeying God's word patiently. This means they obeyed God's word with endurance.

Through good times and bad times, through easy times and hard times, they persevered in their circumstances and they persevered patiently or with patience. So, these weak, but obviously strong believers kept God's word. They did not deny the name of Christ and they persevered and they persevered and they persevered patiently in the difficult times and circumstances that they faced. And church, this is one thing that blesses me as your pastor. I see you persevering in Christ and in the work of the church. You see, this blesses me as your pastor. I see you persevering in Christ and in the work of the church, even when others may not and do not.

And I see a spiritual patience being developed in you through your consistent perseverance in Christ and in the work of the church. I see a spiritual patience being formed in you. And your perseverance and your patience in the perseverance is fuel for my perseverance. You see? And I know the elders would say the very same thing because they have. So, notice what we see here. In this letter, we see a great and good description of this church and these believers. We see a great commendation. We see an acknowledgement of the great good within them.

And before we get into the promises that our Lord made to this church, we need to make sure we really see what we have here before us. Here we have a description of a strong church. This was a healthy church. This was a spiritually healthy and prosperous church. This was a church that our Lord could use and He did. Now, before we continue in the commendation and the three promises we have here, I want to say what I see when I look back over the past year. Church, when I look back over 2025 and even past 2025, I see a church and a people who have kept the Word, not denied His name, and persevered in Christ and in the work of the church.

As your pastor, I am commending you. And not that we have been perfect in these things, no. But we have, you have, we have been faithful. Faithful. Now, let's continue in the commendation and notice the promises our Lord made to this faithful church. We see three. First, He promised an open door of ministry. Look back at verse 8. "I know your works, behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut." Now, notice something critical that we see here. This was an earned opportunity of service to the Lord. Let me restate that. Obviously, this was a grace gift, but this was an earned opportunity of service to the Lord.

They had been faithful to Christ, as we have seen. So, He was being faithful to them by giving them an opportunity in the future, which was an open door of ministry. And there is more here that we need to see. The idea or picture or reality of an open door of ministry was spoken of often by Paul. To be specific, Paul spoke of an open door of ministry four times. In Acts 14, 27, in 1 Corinthians 16, 19, in 2 Corinthians 2, 2, and in Colossians 4, 3-4. Listen to what Paul said to the Colossian church in Colossians 3, or excuse me, Colossians 4, 3-4.

He said, "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, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." So, because of their faithfulness to Christ and Christ's faithfulness to them, He thus Christ promised this church an open door of ministry. And this open door speaks to us in a big way, as we will see. And second, He promised that they would have vindication from their enemies. Look back at verse 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." Now, their difficulty with the Jews was a problem that the church at Smyrna faced as well. But the Christians in Philadelphia were able to enjoy something that the Christians of Smyrna did not. Verse 9 tells us that Jesus promised that these Jews would come and bow down at their feet. But what does this mean? Some scholars say this means the Jews would believe savingly in Christ, and they would worship Christ as these other Christians did.

Others say this means that they would finally pay respect or honor to the church and the believers of the city. But we actually do not know what this means. And if you do some reading on your own, you'll see some different opinions. Now, to me, the Bible scholar Albert Barnes helps us here. Barnes says, and I'm quoting, "The truth thought here is that it is in the power of the Lord Jesus so to turn the hearts of all the enemies of religion that they should be brought to show respect to it, so to incline the minds of all people that they shall honor the church or be at least outwardly its friends." Simply what we have here is this.

Christ promised them that they would be vindicated before their enemies. Whether it was respect given or conversion to Christ, either one would mean vindication. And look, there is a tremendous lesson here for us as well as we see. Third, he promised that they would be spared a test or tribulation. We see this in verse 10. Now, the meaning of this verse is debated because this refers to the debate over the rapture of the church. The argument and debate here is around whether or not the church will go through the tribulation or be raptured before. Actually, some do not even believe in a rapture.

So the pre-tribbers, the mid-tribbers, the post-tribbers have a view here and the all-mill and the post-mill guys have a view here. But for the sake of time, I will not get into the different views. But I will point out the main point of the verse no matter the view. Simply here in verse 10, Christ promised divine protection as a result of their faithfulness. This hour of trial was ordained of God in the appointed time of testing for all. This was all ordained of God. But Christ promised the church in Philadelphia that he would care for them no matter what.

Simply Christ, who was and is Lord over this church, promised the church that he would faithfully guide and guard his people in and through the hour of trial. So notice the promises made by our Lord to this church. He promised them that they had an open door of ministry. No person, no power, no thing could close that door except them. And he promised them that they would be vindicated before their enemies and that he would care for them and protect them through the great trial that was to come upon them. Now, what does all of this mean to us? First, I believe that we have an open door of ministry before us.

And our Lord is Lord over the opportunities of ministry associated with this open door. Let me repeat this. I believe that we have an open door of ministry before us. And our Lord is certainly the Lord over the opportunities of ministry associated with this open door. You might say, "Pastor Chris, that's a little audacious." You're being a little arrogant. Look, Grace Life, if we do not have an open door of ministry before us, we need to quit. Let's just go to the lake. If we don't have an open door of ministry before us, then we just need to just quit and go to the lake, stay home.

But if we do have an open door of ministry before us, then we have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to go through this door and we have a heavy, we have a weighty responsibility. We have a heavy and weighty responsibility to be faithful because look, we can blow it if we are not faithful. I believe God can and will close this door of ministry before us if we are not faithful. Two more lessons here. Vindication. Look, saints, we let God vindicate us. We let God defend us. Whoever would set themselves up against us as our enemies are no match for God. And I trust God to vindicate us because He is Lord over our church.

Vindication is His business. We are to just be faithful. And as far as the Second Coming is concerned, Jesus is coming back and we will all face Christ and give an account for how faithful we have been to Christ and to His church, you see. And the thought of giving up on the church because things get hard, the thought of going to an easier church because things get hard, that just makes me sick to my stomach. And I hate the idea of standing before Christ at the judgment seat as seen in 1 Corinthians 3, 11 to 15, and have my works be burned up as wood, hay, and stubble because I was not faithful when the church got hard.

So the commendation and some wonderful promises. And then last, number three, the command they received. We see this in verse 11, the command they received. Look back at the verse. I am coming soon, hold fast to what you have so that no one may seize your crown. Now remember, this church and these believers were faithful in every way. Were they perfect in their faithfulness? No. But, but they were faithful in their faithfulness. You see? You see that church? They were not perfect in their faithfulness, but they were faithful in their faithfulness.

And even though they did not receive any correction, they did receive a command that pertained to their future and their open door of ministry that was promised to them. And there are two details that I want us to see in the command. First, he told them that he was coming quickly. Now this was, and he is obviously referring to the previous mentioned trials and tribulations that were before them. And notice that Jesus said that he was coming quickly. The King James, the new American, says the word quickly. The English standard uses the word soon. Simply he told them that he was coming soon.

And look, church, we will all stand before Christ soon. Your life is nothing but a vapor. Your life is nothing but a vapor. My life is nothing but a vapor. We will all stand before Christ soon and give an account for all of these things. But then second, he commanded them to hold on to what they had. Now right here, we finally get to the actual command. And the command wasn't as simple. Christ commanded them to remain true to the work that Christ was doing in them and to their faithful obedience to them in all of these things. And notice the consequences if they were disobedient to the command to remain faithful.

If they did not hold true, they would lose their crown. Do you see that? But what is this crown? What does this mean? This crown is not the crown of salvation. No man, no person can lose their salvation. This crown was not the crown of their salvation, but the crown which is life, which is the little reading in the original language. This crown refers to a reward for faithfulness and obedience. This crown is a crown for faithful service to the Lord who is Lord over the church, their church. Vincent in his word studies really explains this well.

He says, and I'm quoting, "The idea is not that of one believer stepping into the place which was designed for another, but of an enemy taking away from another the reward which he himself has forfeited." Barnes says, and I'm quoting, "That by negligence or unfaithfulness in duty, we may be deprived of the glory which we might have obtained if we have been faithful to our God and Savior." And Paul says the very same thing in Colossians 2.18. Paul says, "Let no one disqualify you." Let no one disqualify you insisting on a sedatism and worship of angels going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind.

Here Paul warned the believers in the Colossian church that they could disqualify themselves if they fell into false teaching. He warned them not to let anyone disqualify them, meaning that the enemy could and would disqualify them by tempting them and leading them to fall into false doctrine. So here in this command, our Lord called them to hold on and to hold on so as not to allow the enemy to take away the crown that was meant for them through their obedience and faithfulness.

Simply, if they did not hold on to Christ in this command, in obedience and faithfulness, they would lose their crown, they would lose their reward for faithfulness, they would actually allow the enemy to rob them. Two things I want to say here, church. The first is in the form of a question and the second is in the form of a challenge. How many true believers, whether by negligence or unfaithfulness, or the influence of false teachers and false teaching, have lost out on the reward for being faithful in a true church and a faithful church? Let me restate that.

How many true believers, whether by negligence or unfaithfulness, or by the influence of false teachers and false teaching, have lost out on the reward for being faithful in a true church and a faithful church? They lost their glory. They lost their reward. And when they stand before the judgment seat, this part of their life is nothing but wood, hay, and stubble. And sadly, I've lived long enough and been in ministry long enough to have a list of true believers that I have seen do this. And the challenge for us, grace, life is this. In the years to come is to be faithful.

You see, the challenge for us, grace, life, in the years to come is that we be faithful. Look, saints, do not give up and go on to an easy church. And they're out there. Be faithful. And if we are faithful, if we live out these things with a mighty expectation, there is a reward in this life and the life to come. Now, I want to close by revisiting the title of our message. This is all about the faithful church. But to be more specific, this is all about the faithful church in Brookhaven. You see, the faithful church in Brookhaven. And I close by asking a question, making a statement and issuing a challenge.

Question, have we been faithful for the past 15 years? Have we been faithful for the past 15 years? This fall, my mark, 15 years of being the pastor here for me. Have we been faithful for these past 15 years? Here's my statement. Yes, we have been faithful. Perfectly faithful? No. Perfectly faithful? No. But we have been faithful in our faithfulness through the years. Let that statement sink in. We have been faithful in our faithfulness through the years. And I end with a challenge. The challenge is to be faithful in our faithfulness and being faithful in the church.

You see, the challenge for us is this, that we be faithful in our faithfulness and being faithful in the church. And let's commit ourselves and recommit ourselves with God's help now to be faithful to Christ in the work of His church, our church. So when we get to the end of it all, the Lord says, "You are faithful in a faithful church in Brookhaven." Let's pray and commit these things.