The Church of the Open Door (Revelation 3:7-13)

Big Idea: Jesus holds the power to open doors of salvation, opportunity, and spiritual growth, and he calls us to remain faithful and prayerful.

Here's a quick trivia quiz for you this morning. You may want to take out a piece of paper to write the answer down. How many doors are in this sanctuary? Don't turn around and count – just take a guess and write it down. How many doors are in this sanctuary? Second, how many doors are in this entire church? Put a number down.

Okay, now exchange your papers with a neighbor. Just kidding; you can mark your own. How many doors are in this sanctuary? Thirteen. That's easy. How do I know? Well, people who are bored with my sermon tell me almost every other week. How many doors, how many chairs, how many lights, how many squares – you name it! Second, how many doors are in this entire church building? Ninety-five – did anybody get that? That was worth coming for this morning, wasn't it?

Did you know that a lot of doors are mentioned in Scripture as well? The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, mentions various doors, each with different meanings. For instance, in Revelation 3:20, Jesus says: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." This is the door of intimacy with Christ. We usually apply this passage in an evangelistic sense, and yet it was written to a church of believers. It shows Jesus Christ's willingness to reach out to believers who have become distant in their relationship with him. The image shows Jesus knocking at a church door, hoping to restore a vital relationship.

Another type of door mentioned in Scripture is the door of salvation. For instance, in John 10:29, Jesus said: "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture." Jesus was teaching the remarkable truth that he is the only way to salvation. Inside that door or gate, there is safety and everything we need.

There's a third type of door mentioned in Scripture – the door of opportunity. For instance, Paul says in Colossians 4:3: "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." The Bible often says that God gives chances to share the Gospel and readies hearts and minds to receive it. Throughout history, people have seen that God provides opportunities for meaningful service and hearts open to the Gospel.

This morning we're looking at the sixth of seven churches in the book of Revelation. This church is located in Philadelphia – obviously, not the one in Pennsylvania. This one was in Asia. It was a city strategically located on the road from Rome to the East, and was a strong fortress city. It was sometimes called "little Athens," because it was full of gods and idols. It was a city of major influence in the area.

In verse 7, Jesus refers to himself as "the one who holds the key of David." What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." He's reminding them of his absolute sovereignty. He has the authority to open and to close the doors to the kingdom. He alone has the power to admit whoever he chooses. All power is his. In those days, keys and locks were a symbol of power. A key was sometimes worn around the shoulder as a symbol of official authority. In the Old Testament, a disloyal official lost the key to David's kingdom, which was given to someone else. But here in Revelation 3, we read that Jesus has the key to David's kingdom. He alone has the authority and the power over God's household.

Commendations

Jesus commends this chuch for two things:

First, their deeds were commendable.

In verse 8, Jesus says, “I know your deeds.” You can imagine the people in Philadelphia were getting nervous when they heard this! After all, Jesus had just finished telling the church in Sardis, “I know your deeds… and you're dead!” But here, Jesus has no words of warning. Their deeds are commendable.

Second, they had kept his word and hadn't denied his name.

Verse 10 says again, "you have obeyed my command to persevere." The church here had recently passed through a time of severe trail, and yet had remained true to the Lord. They remained loyal to the Gospel and the apostles' teachings, even during difficult times, likely due to pressure from the Jews in the city. I doubt many of us have thought how pleased God is when we stand firm in the trenches. When we make daily choices of loyalty and commitment to him, God takes notice and God is pleased.

Scripture is replete with promises to people and churches who remain faithful to him. And this passage is no exception. Because Jesus promises them in verse 8: "I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."

Promises

Jesus makes a key promise in verse 8 between the two commendations: "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." Scholars are divided over what this open door means. Some argue that Christ is referring here to the door of salvation — that Christ is opening the door to his kingdom for those who love him. But others argue that the open door refers to a door of opportunity that Jesus will open for that church.

Most historians believe that the church in Philadelphia was small in number and scope. Verse 8 says, "I know that you have little strength." In 17 AD, the region around Philadelphia was destroyed by an earthquake. Due to the destruction around the city, many people opted to live in rural areas instead. As a result, the immediate population was probably much smaller than it had been. And the church in Philadelphia, although faithful, was not a large one or a strong one.

On top of that, this little church had undergone a time of severe testing. Verse 9 refers to the Jewish opposition to the church. No doubt they were excluding the Jewish believers from the synagogue and falsely accusing the Christians. Despite the opposition, this church had remained faithful. Yet despite their faithfulness, the church had not grown in size or in strength. It's easy to see how discouraging this would have been for the committed believers in Philadelphia who prayed, fasted, taught faithfully, and generously supported the church. Because they were still small, and they were still weak.

But Jesus says that's about to change. He says, "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." It's likely that Jesus is promising to this small and struggling church that he will give them wonderful evangelistic opportunities, and willing ears that will listen and eager hearts ready to receive the Gospel. Jesus offered this church a significant opportunity for ministry, regardless of their size.

In fact, he promises three things to them.

First, he'd take care of their enemies.

Verse 9 says:

I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

One day, these people who were opposing the Christians would acknowledge that they were right after all! Jesus promises that those who persecute his followers will recognize them as God's true people, not heretics.

Second, he'd keep them from the time of testing.

Verse 10 says:

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Christ promises here protection for the church from the time of trouble that will come to the entire world. A worldwide time of testing would come, but the church would be safe. The Philadelphia church's testing was a preview of the final tribulation before Christ's return.

Third, he'd honor them.

Verses 11 and 12 say:

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Jesus will honor these people by giving them a crown of reward, if they remain faithful. Verse 12 says that he will also make them a pillar in God's temple.

Philadelphia, you will remember, was a place that was constantly threatened by earthquakes and aftershocks. Often, the only part of a city still left standing after an earthquake were the huge stone temple columns. Christ promises that he will set believers in his kingdom so securely that no disturbance will ever force them out.

Lessons

Let's talk about the church. I think there are three principles that we can learn from the church in Philadelphia.

First, let's remember that Christ opens the doors. We don't.

Christ has the keys – we don't. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ can significantly open the doors of a church, allowing it to receive blessings beyond imagination. Christ is the Lord of the harvest, and the head of the church.

Have you ever been serving God, and the doors appear to be closed? No matter how hard you try, and no matter what you do, nothing happens. The results are poor. Your efforts are unrewarded. And then, all of a sudden, it's as if the doors swing wide open. You're not doing anything different, but God brings different results. We forget sometimes that we don't have the keys. We don't open the doors. God does. That's lesson number one for the church.

Second, remember that it's up to us to remain faithful, but the results are up to God.

God's purposes often ripen slowly. But the law of sowing and reaping comes into effect: We will reap what we sow. As 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

The lesson is: If the door is shut, don't put your shoulder to it. Remain faithful, and wait until Christ takes out the key and opens it. A leader in our Fellowship noted that most ministry happens quietly, without attention or significant outcomes. Many ministries are not easy or automatic. And sometimes, years of hard labor are necessary before things begin to take off.

When Paul went to Corinth in Acts 18, opposition was stiff, and results were few. God appeared in a dream to Paul and said, "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." And Paul stayed at it a year and a half.

I don't know about you, but somehow I seem to prefer the easy assignments. I seem to like it when, with little effort, the doors seem to fly open, and the results are immediate. The only problem is then I stop depending on God. Our job is to remain faithful, and to pray that God would open up the doors so that our labor isn't in vain.

Third: Pray that God would open up the doors of ministry.

Listen to Paul's request in Colossians 4:3:

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

Do we believe that prayer is central to God's activity in our lives and in the church? Do we really believe that God holds the keys and can open the doors? Do we truly believe that God can respond to our prayers by opening doors and doing more than we can imagine?

God monitors the faithfulness quotient of a church. And when God feels that the time is ready, and the church has reached a state of readiness, God says, "Hold on, I'm going to do what I've wanted to do for a long time, I'm going to open the door!" “I'm going to go before you and multiply your effectiveness, so hold on!”

How filled with worship we should be because of God's sovereignty. How fervently we should pray that God will open the doors at Richview! Because it's only as we pray that God will do so.

So how many doors does our church have? Thirteen in the sanctuary. Ninety-five throughout the entire church. And, I pray, a door that God will open up for ministry – wonderful opportunities to preach the Gospel, and willing ears to listen and eager hearts to receive it.