Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Revelation 3. Last week we looked at the first verse,
which was actually verse 7 of the letter to the church at Philadelphia. And this letter was written,
penned by the Apostle John under the inspiration of the Spirit
of God. Because the Scriptures continually
say, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith. The Spirit of the Lord Jesus
Christ who speaks of Him. And it was from, verse 7, said,
Him who is holy, true, and He that hath the key of David, He
that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. And then this church, as all
the churches, was spoken to from Him who is omniscient. He who knows all things." Now,
the thing that whether we believe it or not this morning, there's
not a person that sits in this congregation or any other congregation
in all the world that the Lord doesn't know. He
knows. We may have a sense in which
we think We're hiding something from someone. But we're not hiding
anything from Him. He says, I know thy works. He knows the heart of all men. I know thy works. In John 6.29,
the Scripture says this is the work of God. that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent." The Lord said in this book, the book of the Revelation
chapter 3 and verse 10, He said, Because thou hast kept the word
of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation
which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell
on the earth. I know thy works." When we speak of the works of
a believer, now that's a phrase that we hear, that we read often
in the Scriptures. I know thy works. Good works. Being created in
Christ Jesus unto what the Scripture refers to as good works. When we read or hear of good
works, what do we mean? I know thy works. Well, as we've
said before, as to good, we speak of good works. Our Lord said
in Matthew 19, 17, there's none good but one. That's God. Good. As to works, we speak of
the grace that has been imparted, put within. Good works. It's God's grace that has been
imparted into His people. What are these works? Well, it's
faith, love, trust that manifests itself in obedience to the Lord
Jesus Christ that is referred to as good works. I know thy works. Romans 6.17 says, But God bethanked
that ye were the servants of sin, but have obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you. You've obeyed it from the heart. Now here's the evidence of a
believer. They trust Christ. They believe
Christ. They love Christ in their heart. Now that's an area that no one
sees but Almighty God. That's why He said, I know your
works. We don't know our works. When He says unto us, or says
of us, to His Father, I have manifested Your name unto those
that You gave Me out of the world." They believe Me. They've kept
it. They've kept Your Word. This
is not as man sees. I look and I see some folks and
to me there's some appearance of faithfulness and love and
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But I'll just be honest with
you. I don't know your heart, yet you don't know mine. Only
the Lord Jesus Christ can say of His people, I know thy works. And He told them, He says, Behold,
I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. An open door. What is this door? Well, I know that when I hear
the word door, what's the first thing you think of? Christ, who
is the door. He said, I'm the door. I'm the
way. I'm the life. No man cometh to
the Father but by Me. But when He says, I know your
works, I have set before thee an open door. This door that
is referred to, and I will show you this in just a moment, this
door is the door of the freeness to preach the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the door. I have opened a door. I have sat before you. In Colossians
4.3, Paul says, With all praying also for us, that God would open
unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ for
which I am also in bonds." The Lord said, I know your works. I know that which you do. I know
that which you believe. I know that which you preach.
I sit before you an open door. The blessing bestowed on this
congregation, I'm talking about the congregation in Philadelphia
of which the Lord was speaking, and also the congregation at
Katie Baptist Church, the congregation that is in Crossville, in Ashland,
in Danville, in Cottageville, wherever the Lord Himself has
raised up a place where the Lord Jesus Christ is freely preached
He's the one that has set before you an open door. That is a place to proclaim the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's a blessing that is bestowed
upon a city, a town, a community where the gospel is preached.
They did what they could. The Lord gave them a heart. And
the Lord commended their faithfulness. In the book of Mark, let me read
this to you. Mark 14, verse 3. It says, And
being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he said
it meet, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment
of spikenard, very precious. And she broke the box and poured
it on his head. And there were some that had
indignation within themselves and said, Why was this waste
of the ointment made? That's what they said within
themselves. They just looked and they said it. The Lord knew
it. For it might have been sold for
more than three hundred pence, and had been given to the poor,
and they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone.
Why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work
on me. For ye have the poor with you
always, and whensoever ye will, ye may do them good. But me ye
have not always, for she hath done what she could. She is come
aforehand to anoint my body, to the burying. He had opened
a door and had found His people faithful just to hear. You say, well, I'm just here. I'm just here to hear. I have
a heart to hear. You've done what you could. Well,
I just sang a song and I rejoiced in that song that we just sang. He cleanseth me. I was thinking
about that song. He cleanseth me. He cleansed
me. Not me. I didn't cleanse myself,
but He cleansed me and I just rejoiced to be able just to sing
that song. You did what you could. I have
sat before you and opened over and I know your works. I found
you faithful. Faithful. A believer will question
their very heart when they hear that statement right there, ìYouíve
been faithful.î A believer will say, ìFaithful to what?î When
I look at myself, I see no faithfulness within myself. I see doubts and
fears. Faithful. Faithful to trust Him. Faithful to love Him. faithful
to believe Him and faithful to the preaching of the gospel.
The Lord says, I have set before thee an open door and no man
can shut it. Aren't you glad for that? No
man. The Lord encouraged this people
and commended their faithfulness. I know your works. I set before
thee an open door and no man can shut it. He said, Thou hast
a little strength, and kept My word, and hast not denied My
name." What a commendation coming from Him, spoken from Him. Thou hast a little strength. This was not to their discredit.
It was spoken for remembrance of His providential mercy toward
them. Thou hast a little strength.
Possibly little strength numerically. Maybe there was just a few. Possibly
little strength monetarily. Possibly little strength in gifts
and talents, but they weren't lacking in faith and obedience. I would say, by and large, as
you look around, most congregations where the gospel of free grace
is preached, That's just a few. That's just a handful. And I know what the world thinks. Surely you don't think that that
little group, surely you don't think that just that small number
right there, well, what can they do? Well, I know this. Small numbers is not necessarily
a sign of God's blessing, but neither is large ones. By and
large, most congregations, there's some, but you hear of a place
where the gospel has been freely preached, and you hear of a congregation
where there's, you know, 40, 50 people, you think, my, that's
a pretty good-sized group right there. I hear folks talking about
so-and-sos watching television the other day. They said they
had 25,000 members. Does that mean God's blessing?
The Lord says, Thou hast a little strength. You've kept My Word. A little strength. Many are called,
the Scripture says, but how many are chosen? A few. Romans 11 verse 5 says, Even
so, then, at this present time, there is a remnant according
to election of grace. Just a small group, just a remnant.
In Matthew chapter 7, Matthew 7 verse 13 and 14, the
Scripture says, Enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is
the great and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.
And many there be which go in thereat, because straight is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it." Just a few. We hear this truth that's
set forth, just a handful, just a few, just a remnant. Just a
few here and a few there. And we don't stop to realize
the miracle of God's amazing grace that would allow us the
privilege. What's the difference between
that which a few believe and that which the masses believe? What's the difference? I'll tell
you the difference in a nutshell. There's only two messages that's
being preached. Salvation by works, by the works
of man, by the will of man, by the choice of man, or by salvation
by grace, by the grace of Almighty God. That's the only two messages
preached. How many places do you find where
the Lord has been pleased to open a door, where the salvation
of God Almighty is set forth to be totally by His choice,
by His power, by His election, by His grace. Where do you find
it? Not many. He says, Thou hast a little faith
and hast kept My word, not denied My name. Thou hast kept. I looked up that word, kept.
These are words, when the believers hear it, they've kept My word. It's a word that has to do with
faithfulness, consistency. You've kept it. What does the
word kept mean? It means this, you've watched
and had an eye toward. You've kept My Word. You've watched
it. Oh, you of little strength. Oh, I think we can enter into
that, Carl, don't you? I think we can. Little strength. That's the sign of a believer.
He sees too much struggle in himself. He admits it. Little
strength. But I'll tell you this, thanks
be to God, He'll say this, there is strength there, but it's not
of my own doing. It's the Lord that worketh in
you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Little strength. Thou hast kept My Word." You've
watched it and you had an eye toward it. I behold, by the marvelous
grace of Almighty God, some that God's kept and kept and kept. And He's kept them in Him, by
Him, and He's kept them watching. And He's kept them with an eye
toward Him. Why? He wouldn't let them go. kept by the power of God. Thou
hast kept My Word, taught by the Spirit of God." No one, no
one could convince the faithful at Philadelphia to deviate from
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me ask you this. Have you been taught His Word? Thou, He says, has kept You kept
My Word. You kept My Word. Has He taught
you by His Spirit the truth of your inability? Has He taught
you that? Has He taught you that there
is none good? None! None! Has He taught you
truly what it means to be dead in trespasses, in yourself, that
you're dead? Has He taught you of election
in the Lord Jesus Christ? That He Himself chose according
to His purpose? That He set His affection on
you? That He chose you? The Lord says,
You haven't chosen Me. Man says, I chose the Lord. The
Lord says, No, you didn't. I chose you, He says. Has He
taught you that Word of His unconditional election in you? Unconditional
in you. Nothing in you. Has He taught
you of particular redemption? The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
lay down my life for the sheep. For the sheep. That's who I lay
down my life for. For whom did Christ die? He laid down His life for all
that the Father gave me. As He taught you His Word of
irresistible grace, My sheep hear My voice. And what do they
do? They come. They come. As He taught you of sovereign
preservation, that He keeps His people through faith by His power,
He said, You've kept My Word Why have they kept His Word? Because He has kept them. He
taught them. Can anybody convince you any
otherwise? If they can. If I can convince
you that Almighty God is not God. If I can convince you that
God Almighty is trying to do something, If I could teach you
that God Himself, which is a lie, that God is wanting to save men,
trying the best He can to get them, and they are able to resist
Him, if I could convince you of that, God has never taught
you anything. You are blind. And if I believe
that, I am too. Thou hast kept my word. His words
kept because we believe it. And He said, And you have not
denied My name. Now listen, there's another word
that we want to understand. You've not denied My name. The word denied there means refused. You've not refused My name. Matthew
10.33 says, But whosoever shall deny Me, refuse Me. I'll not have that man rule over
me." A lady back in Louisiana years
ago said, I've told you this before, in hearing of the God
of all grace, this is what she said, she said, that God that
you're preaching right there, sovereign, electing, choosing,
that God right there is my devil. I said, well, then you better
get ready to meet that God then. Because I'm telling you, this
is the God of the Bible. He said, you've not denied my
name, refused my name. Whosoever shall deny me, refuse
me, and say this, I'll not bow to that God. No, give me the
God of my free will. That's the God I'll bow to. Well,
I'll tell you this. He said, if you deny me before
men, Him, you, I also will deny, I will refuse you before my Father
which is in heaven. For Christ to be denied before
men in this life as sovereign God, God of creation, providence
and salvation, is to assure, if you die in that rebellion,
based on this word, I assure you that He shall deny you before
the Father. and you will have no mediator. You will have no advocate. You
will have no Savior. It is required in stewards that
a man be found faithful. Faithfulness is honored
by the Lord Jesus Christ because faithfulness is a mark of regeneration. faithful. Then in verses 9 to
11, the church at Philadelphia is given the Lord's promise of
acceptance by Him, protection by Him, recognition before the
world's religion. Those in rebellion are going
to be exposed. It says in verse 9 to 11, Behold,
I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are
Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come
and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved
thee. Because thou hast kept the word
of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,
which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell
upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly, hold
that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown. He says, first of all, I will
make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews
and are not. Those that are in rebellion before
the Lord Jesus Christ, the synagogue of Satan, as I said before, the
synagogue of Satan is that place that preaches Satan's thoughts,
his thoughts exhibited set forth and proclaimed back in the Old
Testament when Satan said, I will ascend. I will be like the Most
High. I will. The synagogue of Satan
is where man's will is set forth. Is that too plain? Is that too
hard? It's either God's will or my
will. God's will is what is set forth
where the gospel of free grace is set forth. I will make them
of the synagogue of Satan. I will make them come and worship
before Thy feet. Now let me be perfectly clear
here. No one is worshipped but the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says in Philippians
2.10 that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things
in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth, that every tongue
should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. But what does it mean when He
says, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet? Well, it means, in the presence
of. When it says, before thy feet,
in the presence of or in the sight of. I will make them come
and worship. Bow down. Every knee shall bow. And he says, they will come and
worship before thy feet, in the presence of thy feet, and they
will know that I have loved you. They'll know it. Now, Jeremiah
31 says, ìYea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore,
with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.î Iíve loved you. The sheep
know that the Lord has loved them, and Iíll tell you how they
know it. And I thought that was a good
question. How do I know that He loves me? He says, I love
my people. I've loved you with an everlasting
love. But you know, I got to thinking
about that. I thought, how do I know that
He loves me? I know He loves His people. But does He love
me? Now, that's a good question. The sheep, the regenerated sheep,
those called out of darkness, know that He's loved them. You know why? because they love
Him. There's the sign right there.
They love Him as He's revealed in Scripture. Sovereign. They know it, Brother Scott.
The reason I know that is 1 John 4, verse 19 says, We love Him
because He first loved us. If a man or woman is given a
heart that bows to the Lord Jesus Christ as He's revealed in this
Scripture, and loves Him, believes Him, trusts Him, casts Himself
upon God's mercy. Lord, have mercy on me. Oh, Lord
God, don't pass me by. Lord, reveal to me Yourself.
In myself, I'm nothing. For man loves Him as He is revealed. It's because the Lord Jesus Christ
is everlastingly loved Him. The unregenerate in the judgment
will know that Christ loves His own. They'll know it. They will know it. In Matthew 25, verse 31, the
Scripture says, When the Son of Man shall come in His glory,
and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the
throne of His glory, And before him shall be gathered all nations,
and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided
his sheep with the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. You know who is going to hear
that? Everybody. Everybody. He says, I make them
of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not.
They do lie. Behold, I will make them to come
and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee. They will know that the sheep are God's elect. They will know Him to be the
sheep's, the elect's, substitute. 1 John 3, 16, Hereby perceive
we the love of God, because He has laid down His life, the Scripture
says, for us. How does the sheep know that
He laid down His life for them? Because they love Him. They love
Him as He set forth in Scripture. that a man or a woman believes
Christ to be God's Messiah, His elect, chosen substitute for
His people. To believe Him as He set forth
as God's sovereign, saving substitute for the sheep is everything. on the Lord Jesus Christ has
a whole lot more said than that than men give credence to. Verse 10 says, Because I have
kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the
hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try
them that dwell upon the earth. Here we behold His faithfulness
and His security. those who are His in covenant
mercy, because thou hast kept the word of my patience." The
literal translation of that is, because thou hast watched. That is to say, you've had an
eye of faith toward the word of my constancy toward you, my
patience toward you. Or, because you have been faithful
to the gospel. the gospel of Christ, I also
will keep thee. I also will have a watch toward
you. Because you've kept, I shall. Psalm 33, 18 says, Behold, the
eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that
hope in his mercy. He says, Because I have kept
the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour
of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them
that dwell upon the earth. The hour of temptation or the
season of trial is what that means. He is saying, I will keep
you from apostasy. This world, the trials of this
world, try the true nature of all men. In Matthew 13, I'll
just quote this for the sake of time, but there was a parable
about a sower. It says a sower went forth to
sow. And some of the seed, the Scripture
says, fell upon stony places that had not much earth, and
forthwith they sprung up quickly because there was no deepness
of earth. And when the sun was up, and
the Lord later explained this to be trials, adversity, problems
of whatever nature, within and without adversity, they were
scorched and because they had no root, they withered away or
they quit. They just quit. But it says,
But others fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some
a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He says, Because
thou hast kept the word of my patience. And you know and I
know if man keeps the word of his patience it is because God
has kept him. Let us ever be mindful that if
we endure to the end is because God has kept us. No man is going
to share in the glory of Almighty God. Salvation is totally of
the Lord, all of grace. But he says, ìBecause I have
kept the word of my patience, I will keep thee from the hour
of temptation, which shall come upon all the earth, the world,
to try them that dwell upon the earth.î Now, unto Him, Jude 24
says, that is able to keep you from falling. You know what the
insinuation there is? It's that if God doesn't keep
them, man, He will fall. He shall fall. To keep you from
falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory
with exceeding joy. Behold, verse 11, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast,
that no man take thy crown." He is coming. I can tell you
right now, at this moment, He is coming. Seize and hold fast. Seize and hold fast what? Just
look back at verse 3 of this chapter, Revelation 3, 3, where
He says, Remember, and He was writing to the church at Sardis,
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold
fast and repent." Remember how you received it. A believer says,
I know how I heard it. I know how I received it. I received
it by grace, by His power, by His mercy. He says, seize and
hold fast. How you heard what you heard. By grace. By faith, faith in
the believer gives present light to future surety. He holds me
now, he shall hold me then. Hold fast the Spirit of God and
His blessed promise to our heart of the Lord's sure and certain
return admonishes us. Persevere. Keep on. Knowing all along that He's the
one that keeps us. That's an amazing thing. He tells
us to hold fast and we know that He holds us. And a believer continues. Him, verse 12, that overcometh,
will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and He shall go no
more out. And I will write upon him the
name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is
New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And
I will write upon him my new name." Here is the divine promise
of comfort to those who overcome. He will make that one who overcomes. as a support. When it says, He
that overcometh will I make as a pillar in the temple of my
God, that's not a support for the temple because God's temple
needs no such prop to hold it up. But a pillar that is as a
monument of the free and powerful grace of Almighty God, a in the
sense of being set forth as a miracle of God's grace.
Let me show you that. Ephesians 2, verse 5 to 7. The Scripture says, Ephesians
2, 5, Even when we were dead in sins, have quickened us together
with Christ, by grace you are saved. and hath raised us up
together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus." And here's the pillar that he speaks of. That in the
ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. That in the ages
to come, he might set forth you as a pillar of His mercy and
grace, a monument, a trophy of His grace. Back in Revelation,
verse 12, I'll make a pillar in the temple of my God. He shall
not go out anymore. This is an inheritance that fadeth
not away. There is no possibility of us
ever falling. If Almighty God has called a
man, called a woman out of darkness, giving Him a new heart, new spirit. We're kept, we're kept, we're
kept by the power of God. No foe can ever draw us away
as Satan drew away the third of the angels that fell out of
heaven. Eternally kept by God Himself. And upon everyone that
overcomes shall be written, He says, I will write upon you.
Graven! And here's what's going to be
written on you that overcomes. Number one, the name of my God. The name of my God. That sets
forth us as being adopted. The name of my God. Romans 8, 15 says, For ye have
not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received
the spirit of adoption. whereby we cry, Abba, Father." My son called me up. He calls me and he says, Dad,
you know why he calls me Dad? Because I'm his dad. That's the
reason. Now, if I have adopted a son,
legal, Gone through the courts. Made him my own. He's my adopted
son. Legally mine. I paid his debts. Whatever was required. Do you
know that that boy right there called me up? He's taken my name. Called me up and he says, Dad,
you know why? Because he's mine. I adopted
him. paid the price, whatever, He's
mine. He's my responsibility. The Lord
said, for him that overcometh, I'll make a pillar in the temple
of my God. He shall not go out anymore.
I will write upon him the name of my God, my Father. He's my Father, the Father of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. is to those that overcome in
Christ, the overcomers, those chosen, placed, bought, paid
for. He says, Your Father. And also the name of the city
of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God. The overcomer in this life shall
be a graven citizen in the city of God. with all the privileges
thereof." He is born from above, called
with a heavenly calling, and all the glory of His citizenship
will be from God Himself. And then thirdly, He said, I
will write upon Him My new name. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. I will write upon Him My new name. I looked up the
word new. It means acquired. My acquired
name. Now, how can anything be said
of the Lord Jesus Christ as being new or acquired? But that's what the Scripture
says. Only in the sense of His incarnation. John 1 says, ìIn
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.î And verse 14 says, ìAnd the Word was made flesh.î
That word ìmadeî there means ìcaused to beî or ìcame into
being.î And His new name, His acquired name, His name is Immanuel. God with us. ìI will cause that
one that overcometh, Iíll write upon him the name of my God,î
heís adopted, ìthe name of the city of my God, New Jerusalem,
and I will write upon him my new name.î He will say, ìIím
God with you, Immanuel.î ìHe that hath an ear, a new ear,
an ear from hearing here. Let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. And may the Lord be pleased to
write upon our heart what He says to this church this morning.