Welcome to Ocean Water.
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Today marks the 264th teaching that I've done
through scripture, all for free because my life verse
is 1 Corinthians 9, 18.
Paul writes, what then is my reward,
just this, that in preaching the gospel,
I may offer it free of charge.
I hope my teachings are a blessing to you in your life.
Now today, we're gonna be in Revelation chapter 3,
verses 7 through 13.
And it reads like this.
Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia.
This is a letter to the church of Philadelphia.
The Holy One says, the true one,
the one who has the key of David, who opens
and no one will close and who closes and no one will open.
I know your works.
Look, I have placed before you an open door
that no one can close because you have little power.
Yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Note this, I will make those from the synagogue of Satan
who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying.
I will make them come and bow down at your feet
and they will know that I have loved you.
Because you have kept my command to endure,
I will also keep you from the hour of testing
that is gonna come on the whole world
to test those who live on the earth.
I'm coming soon, hold on to what you have
and see that no one takes your crown.
The one who conquers, I will make a pillar
in the temple of my God and he will never go out again.
I will write on him the name of my God
and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem,
which comes down out of heaven from my God and my new name.
Let anyone who hears listen to what the Spirit says
to the church.
Now there's a lot that's very appropriate
for all that's happening in our world right now.
There's wars, there's rumors of wars,
we're looking at the fulfillment
of all of that discourse in Matthew 24.
Now again, this teaching is part of the greater message
to the churches that are listed in Revelation
and this one's written to this church in Philadelphia.
Now in this passage, Jesus identifies himself
as the one who's holy and true, who holds the key of David.
He opens doors that no one can shut
and shuts doors that no one can open.
Now this reference to the key of David
can symbolize God's authority
and the promise of access to his kingdom and his rules.
Now the message commends the church in Philadelphia
for a few things.
One was their faithfulness, their perseverance,
even though they have limited strength.
Now despite facing opposition and difficulties,
they've not denied Jesus's name.
They're commended for this.
As is every church in Revelation for enduring hardship.
We think of following Jesus as being easy.
It's not.
Don't let anyone tell you that.
Following Jesus is difficult.
It's hard.
Jesus refers to it as the narrow path,
as the way that leads to life.
Now this verse shows us that we can have the assurance
of God's protection and deliverance if we are faithful.
Jesus promises to make those from the synagogue of Satan
who claim to be Jews but are not
bow down at the feet of faithful believers.
Now how all this plays out exactly, I'm not sure.
The synagogue of Satan here refers to a group of individuals
who opposed and persecuted the Christians in Philadelphia.
They're described as claiming to be Jews but are not.
People aren't everything that they say they are.
They are by the fruit of their life,
by what's backed up by their life.
Now in this context it's possible that this phrase
refers to people who are ethnically Jewish
but actually opposed the followers of Jesus
participating in persecution or other actions
against the Christian community.
Now Jesus is making a reference here to the hour of testing.
We all have an hour of testing in our life.
Here it referred to the period of trial and tribulation
that was mentioned at the church in Philadelphia.
Here's a verse that's relevant to it.
He says, because you've kept my word about patient endurance,
you see endurance is always patient
because you wouldn't need endurance
unless it was something that was really long
and really hard and really difficult to get through,
just like in our lives.
In this context the hour of testing is interpreted
as a reference to a future time of great tribulation
and difficulty that will affect the entire world.
Is that happening now?
Well we don't know.
Jesus says you don't know the day or the hour of my coming.
But it is a period where God will allow testing
and difficulty all as part of his divine plan
to purify his people.
Now the promise in this verse is that because
the church in Philadelphia had been faithful
and they had been patient in their endurance,
that they'll be kept from this global trial
and spared from its worst effects.
This assurance can be seen in the form of protection.
God, there's a layer of protection that we get
when we're faithful to following God
and following Jesus in our life,
especially during times of upheaval.
Now the message ends with the call to hold fast
to what they have so that no one takes their crown.
Again, this is like the third or fourth time
this has been mentioned in the book of Revelation
that we're encouraged to remain steadfast
and not to waver in the face of difficulty.
This message needs to come through loud and clear
to us in our life.
Life is hard, but God will be with us.
Life is difficult, but God will walk by our side.
There are gonna be things that you feel like quitting
and giving up on, but you have to hold on
and you have to keep pushing
and then God will come through on your behalf.
You know, God's plan is always better than our plan.
Have you ever asked God into your life,
say, God, I just surrender my plan, I want your plan.
I invite you to do that with me right now.
Just say, God, I give you my plan for my life.
I want your plan for my life.
Please help me now as I surrender my life to you.
In Jesus' name.
Thanks so much for being with me today.
Until next time, I hope you have a beautiful day.