Well, good evening, everybody.
Tonight we're in Revelation chapter 3, verse 7. And we'll look at the letter
to the church in Philadelphia. Revelation 3, 7 through 13. We'll just take this a verse
at a time, a phrase and word at a time. And to the angel of
the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith, and these
letters all start this way, to the messenger, the pastor of
the church, write this, and these things saith he, and the Lord
describes himself in different ways to these different churches,
but of course he's all these things to all of his church everywhere,
and we're all, he's teaching all of us who he is by these
descriptions of himself. He that is holy. These things
saith he that is holy. There's nobody like the Lord
Jesus Christ. There is no God like him. There's
one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
and he is the only holy one. We sing that song, holy, holy,
holy, and at the end of the, or at one point in the song,
it says, only thou art holy. And that's the truth. Referring
to all of the persons of the Godhead in that song, but Christ
being a man, the Lord Jesus Christ being as much a man as any man,
yet without sin, it makes us wonder in all of
him, how can a man be the holy God? the Holy Son of God, who is God
with us. He's unique, and what makes the
Lord Jesus Christ almighty to save us as our Redeemer, able
to redeem us, is that it behooved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. The
high priest had to be taken from among the people in the Old Testament. And the Lord Jesus Christ had
to take on our nature that he might be a merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God. Made in the likeness
of sinful flesh and for sin, that he might condemn sin in
the flesh, yet he himself knew no sin. He's the holy son of
God. He looked like us. He got hungry
and ate like we do. He thirsted like us. He grew
weary. His body grew weary like ours. He got tired and he sat down
on the well. But I tell you what, he didn't
speak like we do. They said nobody's ever spoken
like this man does. And that's because he spoke with
authority because he is the ultimate authority. That's because he's
the holy God in human flesh. He spoke like God because he
is God. He said they said he speaks with
authority not like the scribes because he is the authority God
with us Hebrews 4 14 seeing then that we have a great high priest
that is passed Into the heavens Jesus the Son of God Let us hold
fast our profession This is what the church at Philadelphia. We're
going to see as we read it this letter further this is what they're
commended for holding fast their profession being faithful and
to the gospel, not because of them, but because of him. Seeing
we have such a high priest, let's hold fast. It's because he's
so worthy, and also because he causes us to be faithful. He
gives us the grace to be faithful. For we have not an high priest,
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet holy. without sin, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace. You
see what I'm saying? Because he's holy, we can come
to the throne of grace boldly, not because I'm holy, but because
he is, and he's my high priest. He's my representative. He's
the one that had something to offer to God for me, for my sin. To the throne of grace that we
may obtain mercy, mercy for us earned by him, and find grace
to help in time of need. Because he is our holy human
high priest, we can come boldly for grace because he's gone before
us and entered into that holy place, not made with hands, for
us. The high priest represents the
people and has an offering acceptable unto God for his people. He's
not only holy, but he is my holiness. as my representative in which
I stand before God in him, my high priest. And then he that's
true, he that's true. This is who's talking to you.
Here's who's writing this letter to you. He that is true. Again,
he's the only one that is. Paul said, let God be true and
every man a liar. We want to be true to one another.
We want to be true in our dealings and in our character. We want
to be, but how to perform that we find not. We just aren't. We're not true like our Lord
Jesus Christ is true because he's holy. Being holy, he's also
true. He is the truth. Pilate asked
the truth, what is truth? Remember when Pilate asked the
Lord Jesus, what is truth? He said, I've come for this reason
to bear witness of the truth. And Pilate said, what is truth? He's asking the truth, what is
truth? The truth was standing right
before him and he couldn't see it. Included in this is, when
it says he's true, that means he's trustworthy. He's true to
his word. We trust each other to a great
extent. I trust the Lord's people. But
that's only because God has blessed us and made us new creatures
in him. But you can never fully trust
a man except for the holy God man. And we're able to trust each
other to the extent that he makes us trustworthy. And then he's
the one that hath the key of David. This is a reference to
Isaiah 22, 20. listen to the rest he said he
has the key of David and he opens and nobody can shut and when
he shuts nobody can open when he uses that key so what is that
listen to Isaiah 22 20 and it shall come to pass in that day
that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and I will
clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle,
and I will commit thy government into his hand." This is a type
of Christ. The government is on his shoulders,
Isaiah 9. All the government of God's universe.
And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He's
the everlasting father in that same phrase, that same verse,
I believe in Isaiah 9. He'll be a father, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah and the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulder. So he shall open and none shall
shut and he shall shut and none shall open and I shall fasten
him as a nail in a sure place and he shall be for a glorious
throne to his father's house." That's clearly describing our
Savior. And that key, he has the key
of David. And what that simply means is
all authority. He shuts and nobody can open
because nobody has the authority to open what he shuts. And when
he opens, nobody can question him or nobody can stay his hand
or say unto him, what doest thou? A door is mentioned in verse
eight of the next verse here in this letter. we'll talk about
that but that's uh when you when he's talking about the key here
clearly the door you know has reference to that and uh a door
just simply means access we know what a door is for it's to to
go from one place to another out of my bondage, sorrow and
night. Jesus, I come into that freedom, gladness and life. You
got to go through the door and Christ is the door. A door is
entrance. Christ is the door and he is
the only access to God. There's one way to God. There
was one door in the ark. One way into the favor, the presence
and favor of God, which is in Christ Jesus alone. The love
of God is in Christ. We've got to enter into him.
We're put in him by the father. No man cometh unto the father,
but by me, he says. By me, the door. He opens hearts
with that key. Like he did Lydia's in Acts 16. And nobody can shut. Nobody can
shut. Even we ourselves can't mess
it up when he opens our hearts. We can't shut our hearts against
him. He's coming. If he's determined to have us,
he's gonna have us. and he holds us in his hand and
nobody can pluck us out. He closes, he shuts his hand
around us. He shuts a hedge around us and
no man can open. No man can pluck us out. We can't
even get out if we wanted to. We don't want to by his grace.
We can't escape the love and grace of God. and don't want
to. He shuts up his grace to sinners
though, he shuts out as well as shuts in to those who are
reprobating his sight and no man can open, no man can open. God said concerning Pharaoh,
listen in Romans 9 17, the scripture saith unto Pharaoh even for this
same purpose have I raised thee up I might show my power in in
thee and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth
therefore he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy he opens the
door of mercy and he shuts it whom he will he hardness but
for his people this is who he is for his elect that he's chosen
his eternally loved ones his redeemed ones Christ it says
in Romans 5 1 therefore being justified by faith we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have access
he's the door open to his people we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand that's the only way we're getting in
is if he brings us to God brings us in justified by faith and
has peace with God through him. And there we stand having access
by faith into this grace where we stand and we rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. We praise his name and rejoice
that he's brought us in. So when we see the faithfulness
of this church in the rest of this letter, we see why they
were faithful. The reason is in him, not them. When we look at who he is, as
he describes himself here, we see the reason for faithfulness
is not in the sinner, but in the Savior. He's worthy of all
of our service and zeal. He's worthy of all of our love
and devotion and praise. But as worthy as he is, even
though we could never honor him as we ought in anything except
for him in us he's got to he's got to do a work for us and he's
got to do a work in us and the work is is he dwells within us
his spirit it's christ who is to be adored and it is christ
who enables us to adore him it's christ who causes us to fall
in love with him in so much that we we've got to say with paul
in galatians 220 i'm crucified with christ Nevertheless, I live,
but not I, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me. That's true of these
believers in Philadelphia, and I pray true of us. Now, verse eight, every letter,
he says, I know, I know thy works. I know thy works and behold,
I've set before thee an open door. Remember he got that key,
he opens, nobody can shut, nobody can shut it. For thou hast a
little strength and has kept my word and has not denied my
name. The Lord begins his words about
the churches themselves. He introduces himself in these
different ways, identifies himself by these wonderful titles and
names. And then when he begins to speak
to the church, the body of the letter, if you will, they begin
this way every time. I know that works. I know what
you're doing. I know, I see that word works there means business.
The business you're conducting, it means what you're occupied
with, your occupation, what you're occupied with. So he says, I
know what your business is. You're in the business. of preaching
the gospel and glorifying my name, feeding my sheep, and he
commends them for it. Christ said, when he was on this
earth, I must be about my father's business. And the question is, are we?
He said, as the father hath sent me, so send I you. If he must
be about the father's business, then what are we doing? He said,
I know what you're occupied with. Think about that word, occupy,
your occupation, what you're occupied with. Luke 19, 12, he
said, therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
for himself a kingdom and to return. This is about the kingdom
of God. And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10
pounds and said unto them, occupy till I come. What are you occupied
with? What is that a picture of? Well,
what has he told us to be occupied with? Preach the gospel to every
creature. As my father sent me, so what
did the father send him to do? Of course, to redeem his people,
but to preach, he said, to pilot, to bear witness of the truth.
That's the part we're in on. By his grace, he uses these feeble
means, but we're gonna talk about that in a minute. You have a
little bit of strength. Talk about that in just a minute here,
Lord Willen. But faith that saves, here's the thing. It's not that
works have anything to do with salvation, we know that. We're
saved by grace through faith, not of works, lest any man should
boast. But faith, that faith that saves
is shown by works. The book of James, the whole
book of James is mostly about that. It's shown by what faith
without works is dead. So it's not that works have anything
to do with salvation, but the faith that works does. If we
are not proclaiming the glorious gospel of Christ, we're not a
church. Our faith is gonna show up in
that if nothing else. We're gonna declare him and rejoice
in him alone. We're the circumcision who worship
God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh. If we're not proclaiming the
gospel, we're not a church, we're a graveyard. Think about what
religion is all about. And I want you to notice that.
Think about what religion is all about. It's all about how
many. We're reaching the world. How many, how many? And notice
this. The Lord says, I know what you're
doing. And he never says anything in any of these letters about
how many there are of them. Not one time. The first question
religion asks, and I've been asked it many times, how many
y'all got down there? How many members you got? That's the first
thing they ask. God scrutinizes these churches
down to their very souls and tells us all that's commendable
and all that's a problem, and yet we have no idea how many
members any of these churches have. That's not the point, is it?
Clearly not the point. Now look at the simple, beautiful
things that are true in a church for which the Lord has no rebukes.
Not one rebuke in this letter to the church at Philadelphia.
So what was so wonderful about them that the Lord didn't have
one thing to say against them? Wow, they must have been setting
the world on fire. Nope. No, they just simply by
God's grace were true to God's word, the gospel. They were true
to his word and they had not denied his name or his character. But look first for a minute here
in verse eight about this open door. I've set
before you an open door and then we'll talk about how he said,
you've kept my word and you haven't denied my name. Boy, that's instructive. That's a church that God has
no rebuke for. You've kept my word and you've
been true to who I am, my character. You've said that which is right.
You remember what God said to Job's friends? You've not spoken
that which is right concerning me as my servant Job has. That's being true to his name. Beautiful, simple, how gracious,
look at this open door, how gracious God is to guide us and lead us
where to go and what to do. Can you tell the difference between
an open door and a shut one? While I've been preaching this,
that door came open in the front of the church and I saw that
it was open. I saw that it wasn't. And somebody
went and closed it. Now it's shut, I can see that
it's shut. That's not hard to tell. It's not hard to tell. How many times have we seen the
Lord open doors and shut others? And how many times have we been
so foolish that we've tried to bust down a shut door and not
had the good sense to go through an open one? I can think of examples
of both in my own life, just off the top of my head. The Lord
makes it clear to His church what He would have us do, even
down to details and specifics. He just does. He does. We wait on Him, and He opens
doors and He shuts doors. And how simple that makes it
for us. He doesn't leave us in doubt
about things. We know that our purpose is to
preach the gospel of Christ and Him crucified, which is the only
hope for lost sinners and the only way to feed his sheep, which
he told us to do. Sinners need to know and sheep
to be reminded that Christ alone is himself. All of our righteousness
before God and his precious blood is the only sacrifice God will
accept for sins. We need to see all of the beauties
and glories of Christ in His word, that's why we come together
to learn of Him, to take His yoke upon us and learn of Him
and find rest to our souls. We need to see all of His beauties
and glories in His word and always look to Him alone, see Him in
every text, we don't see Him in the text, it's because we're
blind, it's because we don't see the text, we don't understand,
God hasn't given us eyes to see. He is always in every situation
the one thing needful. So that's an open door right
there, we know we have that. Listen to Colossians 4 to continue
in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving with all praying
also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance."
You see that? You see, it has everything to
do with the gospel. It has to do with Christ being
declared to speak the mystery of Christ, a door of utterance
to speak His mystery, the mystery for which I am also in bonds
that I may make it manifest, that I might make it clear We
use great plainness of speech, seeing we have such a hope in
Christ. As I ought to speak, make it
manifest as I ought to speak, speak plainly and clearly and
boldly, walk in wisdom in you now, as I preach, you walk in
wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time, let your
speech. He's been talking about, pray
for me that I might preach clearly and boldly the mystery of Christ.
but let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt,
that you may know how to answer every man." We're all witnesses
of the Lord Jesus. You see, though, how that passage
has everything to do with Christ and his gospel? The door, the
open door, has to do with Christ and his gospel. The Lord He used
to open doors for me when I was much younger. When I lived in
Texas, he would open doors for me to preach at different places
around the country. As men were traveling, they would
call and ask me to preach. And I'd say, what an honor. Yeah, I'll come. If the Lord
will give me something to say, I'll preach. And to teach the
adult Bible class in New Caney there, the Lord opened those
doors. I was asked to do it. The Lord opened the door one
day for me 17 years ago to come to Tennessee. And here we are. Are we true? Are we faithful to his word and
to his name? His word and his holy character,
I pray so, and may he keep us, may he keep us. He's opened the
door for us, for all of us here. to preach and to broadcast the
messages around, there are people around the world that listen
to them. And speaking of Paul and those
who traveled with him, it says in Acts 16, six, when they had
gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden
of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. I don't know what
the circumstances were, but somehow or another, the Holy Spirit said,
you're not going to, you're not going to preach in Asia. after
they were come to Misia they assayed to go into Bithynia but
the spirit suffered them not. God shut the door and they passing
by Misia came down to Troas and a vision appeared to Paul in
the night and there stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him saying
come over into Macedonia and help us and after he had seen
the vision immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia assuredly
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto
them Yeah, that was pretty clear. The Lord gave him a vision in
the night. Well, you know what? I don't
expect the Lord to give me visions in the night now. He doesn't
do things that way right now. But let me ask you this. You
think God is any less able now to lead his church in the way
that he would have us go? And look at the open door we
have right here, right now. That's what's important. Primarily
that door right back there, that door I'm looking at at the front
of the church up there. That's a symbol of the open door
that God's given us right here. God has opened that door at the
front of that building. You can walk through it anytime
you want to and hear the gospel. Anytime the gospel's being preached.
It's an open door that we can come through and hear from God.
May he make us faithful to his ministry here, his word and his
name. listen to that he said you've got a little bit of strength
well that's a rebuke chris no no he's not rebuking them here
this is an encouragement you've got a little bit of strength
and i'm going to open it i've opened the door for you because
of it the lord gives you the strength and then because you
have a little strength he opens the door for you to go through
to do whatever it is he'd have you do You know, a little strength. You say, that sounds like a rebuke.
You remember how the Lord wouldn't even use Gideon's and his army
as it stood at the beginning? Because they had too much strength. They had too much. It was not
until it was impossible for them to win that God opened the door
and said, go. Gave them the victory. He gave
them the victory when it was impossible for them. And not
until, That's why a little strength, that's key. That's what God uses.
He uses little strength. And of course he gives even that.
If you just have not enough, that's what the Lord blesses.
He blesses not enough, he blesses a little, he gives that. But
listen, as he did with the loaves and the fishes, how much have
you got? Well, it ain't enough, give it to me. That's what we're
talking about here, a little strength. And the multitude is
fed by His power and grace, not by our resources. That's the
point. He's gonna get the glory, not
us. Who is sufficient for what happens here? Paul said, we're
the saver of life unto life to some and death unto death to
others. And who is sufficient for these
things? Not me. Not you either. Our sufficiency
is of God. And so having the little bit
of strength he gives us, that's an encouragement. And he said
this, you've kept my word. You see how it always comes back
to that? Every letter, it's about Christ the word and Christ revealed
in his holy word. To keep means to attend to carefully
and to guard. And both of those are important
now to attend to carefully. The word of God is how God has
revealed himself to us and how he saves sinners. We need to
know how God saves a sinner. And it's by his word. If the
word of God be corrupted and perverted, then there's no hope
for sinners. To attend to carefully. That's what Solomon was talking
about in Proverbs 2.1, my son, if thou will receive my words
and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine
ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding. That's to attend to carefully,
apply your heart to this, to the gospel. Don't just listen
and come as a ritual, you know, we've got to go to church, you
know, and hear what the preacher says and agree with it and say,
that's a nice sermon. No, we're hearing from God. And we're to incline our ear
to his wisdom and apply our heart to his understanding and ask
him to show us. Yea, if thou criest after, listen,
if you cry after knowledge and lift us up thy voice for understanding,
if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for
hid treasures then shalt thou understand the fear of the lord
the lord's going to cause you to to desire it above all else
like job your word is more to me than my necessary food job
said and the lord will bring us to that place if he's going
to reveal his truth, his gospel to us, Christ, and you'll understand
the fear of the Lord and you'll find the knowledge of God when
you seek as for hid treasure and cry out for it. And then
it means also to guard, to guard. It is to reject and expose anything
contrary to the simplicity the all-inclusiveness that's in Christ
Jesus. To guard the word really is simply
to declare it because the truth is what exposes error. The way
you reject error is by proclaiming the truth. And what's the use
of always telling people what's not true? It seems like there
are some whose purpose in life it is to tell everybody what's
not the gospel. I know some folks like that.
That's not how God saves sinners, by you going around telling people
what isn't true, and how heretical it is, and how horrible these
people are that say it. Okay, what did God say? Let's talk about that. That's
how you expose error. God saves sinners by the preaching
of the truth. You've heard this illustration
a hundred times, but I can't think of a better one. If you
want to know whether a stick's crooked or not, put up one that
you know is straight down next to it, and you'll see. You'll
see the difference. Proclaim the gospel of the truth
of Christ declared with great plainness of speech. That will
itself guard us from error. The truth defends itself. We
are guarding the truth by declaring it faithfully, and it's guarding
us. For Christ is, by means of the
gospel, that's what'll keep us from error. Then the next part
is the same way. The way to not deny the name
of the Lord, the character of the Lord, is by proclaiming exactly
who he is as he's revealed himself in his book. That's how you do
that. He's sovereign, and he saves
who he wants to save now, whether people like that or not. They
say, well, if I make a decision, he's got to save. You can make
all the decisions you want to. God's gonna have to make a decision
if you're gonna be saved. He's the one that decides the
matter. He's the judge. And this phrase in this verse
is spoken in the negative sense. Did you notice that? That you
haven't, The way that he phrased it there is you haven't denied. Let's see, where is it at now?
I've lost my place here. Chapter three, he said, it has not denied my
name. Why didn't he just say you've
been true to my name? He says it in the negative sense, right?
You haven't denied. You know why he says it that
way? Because most people don't. do
deny his name. They don't like the truth of
his sovereignty, and therefore most people deny his name. That's
why he words it that way. He said in John 5 21, as the
father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the
son quickeneth whom he will. That just means he gives life
to whoever he wants to. For the father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment, all decision making, the deciding
of the case to the son, not you, that all men should honor the
son even as they honor the father. He that honoreth not the son
honoreth not the father which hath sent him. God and his son
decide who lives spiritually and physically and who dies. And that's not the false Christ
that most religious people worship, and so they deny the name of
the true God. And his son, his very character
as the sovereign redeemer, he's the almighty, successful redeemer
of sinners. He came and redeemed everybody
he came to redeem, every one of them. He said, I'm not gonna
lose a one, and he didn't. His precious blood redeemed all
for whom he shed it on Calvary, and people don't like to hear
that. because all of a sudden it's not up to them anymore.
Well, guess what? It never was. It never was. That was a pipe dream and a foolish
one, an anti-Christ one. Religious people prefer a false
Christ who leaves it to them to decide the matter of salvation.
And so they deny his name. Jesus they did not his name is
Jesus and they say Jesus Jesus they deny his name Jesus because
you know what it means He shall save his people from their sin.
You're not going to give him a choice He's not going to give
him an opportunity. He's going to save them and they
deny that name Without even realizing that they're doing it, but God
said to this church. You haven't done that What a
wonderful letter to get from God. Can you imagine if God wrote
us a letter like that? Well, I want that to be us, don't
you? Oh, you haven't denied my name.
Bless God by his grace. His remnant, according to the
election of grace, haven't denied the true Christ. They have not
bowed the knee to Baal. They haven't bowed the knee.
He said, I've reserved unto myself. the remnant according to the
election of grace and they haven't bowed their knee to a false god
a false christ oh and then verse nine behold i will make them
of the synagogue of satan which say they are jews and or not
but do lie behold i will make them to come and worship before
thy feet and to know that i've loved you Very simply, right
now, God's people are despised. There are relatively few of them
in this world. They don't typically have the
resources in this world that false religion has. But one day,
God's gonna make known to everybody who he loves and who he don't. And that's what matters. That's
all that matters. I'm gonna show everybody that
I've loved you, the despised ones. the remnant, the leftovers,
the off-scouring of this earth. I've loved you and not them. I'm gonna show everybody that.
Isn't that beautiful? That's what matters now. Thou
preparest a table, David said, before me in the presence of
my enemies. That's what this is like. He's
gonna spread a feast before us and our enemies are gonna see
that. And they're gonna know that we're the ones he loves.
As pitiful and hell-deserving as we are, we're the ones that
God loves. Boy, that's beautiful. We sit
at his table now. We sit at his table, though lame
on both of our feet. And whom shall we fear? Whom
shall we envy, sitting at his table? We are beautiful for situation. And thank God for it. Verse 10,
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. Now, he either
is gonna, as we pray, Lord, lead us not into temptation, but he
does say here that it's gonna come upon all the world, so it
sounds like we're gonna be tried, but he's gonna keep us from falling
in the trial. He may keep us, it may mean that
he'll keep us from the trial. He does that too, it's probably
both. He keeps us from trial that he knows we can't bear.
And he keeps us in the trials that he gives us in his wisdom
and good providence that he sends our way. He keeps us in those
trials, though we suffer through them. And the simple truth here
is we keep his word because he keeps us. And because we keep
his word, he keeps us from falling to temptation. So it's all his
grace, isn't it? This is why we persevere, because
we're preserved. We're kept by the power of God
unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. And then verse
11, I love this. Boy, behold, I come quickly. Hold fast. that which uh hold
that fast which thou hast that no man take that crown listen
what a beautiful beautiful letter from the lord i'm coming soon
i'm coming quickly hang on hold on lay hold of christ and don't
let go it's not going to be long now And I always think about
this, you know, you say, well, we don't know that he might not
come for 10,000 years. He's coming for you sooner than
that. I guarantee you that he's coming for you real soon. He's
coming for me in just a couple of, just a few years left, just
a little while. And he's going to come for me.
We just have to hold fast for a little while longer. He's promised
to keep us from falling. He just got through saying, I
also will keep thee from the trial and in the trial. And so
hang on. And you know what we're hanging
on to? We're holding fast to him who is our rock and our salvation. So he promised to keep us from
falling, and we're encouraged and exhorted here to stand fast.
You remember Ephesians 6, 10 through 18, put on the whole
armor of God, and having done all, stand. You can read that
if you'd like to, Ephesians 6, 10 through 18. You know what
we say when he says, I'm coming quickly? You do, don't you? Even so come, Lord Jesus. And then verse 12, him 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. Remember, we've read a couple
of times already when it says him that overcometh, he says
that in a couple of these letters, and we've quoted that verse where
it says, who is he that overcometh? except he that believeth on the
Son of God, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's how
we overcome. By grace, through God-given faith
in the Son of God, we overcome. And to him that does, to him
whom I've given my grace and the gift of faith, a pillar,
I'll make you a pillar. That's the picture here because
of what comes after that. You see how it says we go no
more out? We're a pillar in the temple
of God in that sense. We're a fixture there. We're
not ever coming out. We're not ever going out. Remember
what David wrote in Psalm 27, for one thing have I desired
of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty
of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. And he says, he's
gonna make us a pillar, a fixture, so that we go no more out from
his temple, from his presence. That's the one desire that believers
have, to be with him. Oh, it's far better, Paul said,
I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ. Not have a mansion on the hilltop,
to be with Christ, which is far better. The Lord promises it
to us in this verse in our text, that we will, the one thing that
David desired, to dwell in his house and to inquire in his temple,
God promises us that in this letter. And then the last part,
a new name. The name of God is written on
us. It's written on us, but it's
not a new name for us. It's His name. It's written on us, but it's
His name. We wear His name. That just means we belong to
Him. We're His. I love that song. His forever,
only His. Who the Lord and me shall part,
Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ hath filled this sinner's
heart. Oh, to lie forever here, doubt
and care and self-resign while he whispers in my ear, I am his
and he is mine. Amen.