Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Rarely did my grandparents lock the door of their home.
[00:00:06] You would enter their home through the garage door on the side of their house that was always unlocked. And you would go into another side door into their house.
[00:00:19] And if you ever reached down and you felt that the door was locked, it was always an odd feeling because it was never locked.
[00:00:27] But then they had a key hidden in plain sight.
[00:00:33] It was on a nail right beside the door.
[00:00:37] And as I was thinking about that and remembering that, I thought to myself, was that really true? Did I just.
[00:00:45] Is that true? Was that really there? And yes, it's been confirmed there was a key to their door that would, if it was locked, held right on the wall beside the door. And I never thought much of that.
[00:00:59] One time I had a friend with me and the door was locked. And we were actually, we were supposed to be at school and we weren't at school. Just so you know, don't do that.
[00:01:11] And I reached down and the door was locked. And we looked at each. He looked at me like, what are we going to do? And I just reached over and grabbed the key and unlocked the door and went in.
[00:01:21] And I remember him saying, why lock the door?
[00:01:24] And I don't know.
[00:01:25] I have no idea why that door was ever locked. Because the key was right there in plain sight.
[00:01:33] When Jesus comes on the scene in the Gospels, one of the things God is teaching us is that the key to the kingdom is in plain sight.
[00:01:43] While there are those who don't see it, the key to the kingdom is in plain sight.
[00:01:50] And the truth is, those who should have seen it and not missed it very clearly missed it.
[00:01:58] The religious leaders, the Jews in the city of Jerusalem, those who taught the holy scriptures, they knew the law.
[00:02:07] They knew the stories.
[00:02:09] Jesus would even say to them at one time. You search the scriptures looking for eternal life.
[00:02:18] These are they that testify of me.
[00:02:22] You've been looking for me.
[00:02:25] You've been looking for me in the word of God. And here I am in plain sight. The key to the kingdom that you have been looking for.
[00:02:35] God's chosen people in God's city rejected God's people. King.
[00:02:41] They refused to see that Jesus was the seed of Abraham who received all of God's promises. They were given to him. Everything that God promised Abraham.
[00:02:54] Everything that God promised his people in the Old Testament was given to Christ.
[00:02:59] He inherited all of the promises. And for anyone to get the promises, they have to believe in him.
[00:03:07] It's not by flesh, it's by faith in Christ, his life and his death and his Resurrection. We trust in him, and in him we inherit all of the promises of Abraham.
[00:03:22] But the religious leaders, those who represented the Jews as Jesus taught and preached, as Jesus declared, the key of the kingdom is at hand.
[00:03:34] They in no way wanted to believe that it worked that way.
[00:03:38] In no way is the kingdom in this son of a carpenter, this backwoods, itinerant preacher. This can't be the kingdom. This can't be the key of the kingdom. And over and over, you're making illusions, Jesus, that this kingdom is given to gentile dogs.
[00:03:58] That can't be the way that this works.
[00:04:02] And so, infuriated with Jesus, they conspired with Rome to execute him.
[00:04:08] And as we've seen earlier in Revelation, this continues to happen.
[00:04:13] And it's happening in the city of Brotherly love, the first city of brotherly love, Philadelphia.
[00:04:21] The Jews are saying, in no way are these followers of Christ, brothers of ours, in no way are they a part of the kingdom.
[00:04:32] And the same thing they did with Jesus in Jerusalem, they are doing to Christians in Philadelphia and other cities. The Jews are.
[00:04:40] They're turning them into the Romans. They're saying things like, these Christians, they don't believe in any God we know in Rome, we're supposed to worship the Caesar. We're supposed to be giving allegiance to Rome. Well, these Christians, they worship this Jesus of Nazareth, he's no God. They're atheists.
[00:05:01] And also, do you know what happens at their gatherings, their love feast? It's immoral.
[00:05:10] And they talk about eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking his blood. These are cannibals.
[00:05:20] And the same thing that happened to Jesus is happening to believers in Philadelphia.
[00:05:27] Jews are turning them into the Roman government and they're locking the door to the synagogue.
[00:05:33] And in some sense, they think they are hiding the key to the kingdom. But notice, we see first of all, it is the loyal brother who gives the kingdom. Notice, verse 7 to the angel of the church of Philadelphia. Wright. Remember this vision of Christ that John sees on the isle of Patmos.
[00:05:54] And it's Jesus, this high priestly king, who's speaking to his churches. He's preparing them to suffer.
[00:06:01] He's preparing them to know what it's like to cling to him and worship and witness as they suffer. And here are the words to the church in Philadelphia as he prepares them.
[00:06:12] Now, this was the city of brotherly love. That's what the word means. And it was named by a king who founded the city in honor of his loyal brother.
[00:06:24] But it was a city of loyalty, the city that was founded upon loyalty, was known for its loyalty.
[00:06:33] Many times Philadelphia was evacuated because of earthquakes and volcanoes.
[00:06:40] And time and time again, the people of the city would return back to the city and rebuild it.
[00:06:47] And we've asked people in New Orleans this question as they've had to evacuate their city over and over and over again for hurricanes, natural disasters, why do you come back here?
[00:06:59] Why don't you move somewhere else? You know, at any moment, you could be wiped out.
[00:07:04] And they would say, because we love our city.
[00:07:08] We love this place. And so the folks in Philadelphia were very loyal to their city.
[00:07:15] It had a population of about 12,000. So it's the smallest city that we've talked about thus far. And we know how that works. In small towns and small cities, there's intense loyalty to one another and pride for your city, and you're loyal to your family and friends. And so this was a city of great loyalty all the way around.
[00:07:39] But now those who are following Christ are saying, he's our chief loyalty.
[00:07:46] And they're being shunned and they're being disowned, imprisoned, cast out of everything that they know.
[00:07:55] But notice as they experience disloyalty, there is one who is loyal to them. Notice the words of the Holy one.
[00:08:05] Now, that is a phrase used of the Messiah, what he is saying to the believers in Philadelphia. You are being cast out of the synagogue. You are being persecuted by the Jews there. I'm the Messiah.
[00:08:18] You want to know who your loyalty should be to? It should be to me, Jesus.
[00:08:23] And notice he says the true one. We could translate that faithful, or we could translate that loyalty.
[00:08:31] So in the city of loyalty, I'm the Messiah, and I'm the one who's really loyal to you, the Messiah, and the loyal brother.
[00:08:42] This also means that if he is the Messiah, he has all power to do everything that he says he will do.
[00:08:50] So you should trust him. You should be loyal to him above anyone else. But what has he promised to do? Notice the text continues.
[00:08:58] Who has the key of David?
[00:09:00] And who opens and no one will shut. Who shuts and no one opens.
[00:09:06] This is a reference to Isaiah 22, verse 22, where there is a servant of the kingdom who has given the key to the king's house.
[00:09:15] And here Jesus uses it to remind them that he has the key to the king's house. Because he's the king.
[00:09:23] He has the keys to the kingdom. In chapter one, he told us that he was dead, but now he's alive. He died on the cross. He had been raised from the dead. And because he has been raised from the dead, he has the keys to death and Hades.
[00:09:43] He's defeated sin and death on the cross and through his resurrection. And so he has authority over sin and death. And here he elaborates on that. What does that mean? Well. Well, I have authority to give you the kingdom, the kingdom that has defeated sin and death. The kingdom where there will be no sin and death. I am the only one who can give that to you, because I am the only one who's defeated sin and death.
[00:10:08] This is what Jesus meant when he said, I am the door, I am the way, I am the path to the kingdom, Meaning no one comes to God's kingdom except through me.
[00:10:21] I am the only way that you can enter the kingdom, and I am the only one who has authority to give it to you. So as you're locked out of the synagogue, realize I've opened to you something better.
[00:10:32] The kingdom of God.
[00:10:35] Notice verse 8. As he continues, we see the loyal brother gives us the kingdom.
[00:10:41] But here we see loyal followers witness the kingdom. Notice, he says, I know your works.
[00:10:48] Now, here he gives no correction or anything negative about the church in Philadelphia. They are just a faithful church.
[00:11:01] And Jesus says, I know that.
[00:11:04] I know of your faithfulness.
[00:11:06] And for that notice, notice, I know your works. So, behold, I have set before you an open door.
[00:11:15] Now, this phrase open door normally refers to evangelism, an opportunity to speak the gospel.
[00:11:23] And here he says, I've given you an opportunity to speak the gospel which no one is able to shut.
[00:11:30] And so the Roman government's trying to shut you up.
[00:11:34] They can't.
[00:11:36] You've been shut out of the synagogue for standing for what is true. They're trying to quiet you down.
[00:11:42] Jesus. Messiah. No way. The one crucified. Be quiet.
[00:11:48] Oh, no one, no one can shut the door that I've opened up to you in proclaiming the gospel. So not only has Jesus given them the kingdom, he's also made them the church, a door through which folks enter the kingdom. And this is what Jesus taught in Matthew when he would tell the church, he would say to you, I have given the keys of the kingdom to meaning. I have given you authority, and what that means. As we preach the gospel, we do so on the authority of Christ. And as we proclaim the gospel, we are opening a door for those who believe to come into the kingdom. So not only have I given you the kingdom, I've made you an entrance into the kingdom.
[00:12:31] It's not the synagogue who opens the door to the Kingdom, it's the church.
[00:12:37] But notice he describes you've been faithful. Even though notice I know you have little power.
[00:12:43] So this was a small city, and in this small city, the church would have been even smaller. So it would have been a small group of believers who had been insignificant in the city.
[00:12:56] But notice this insignificant, small church. Notice what they've done.
[00:13:01] You have kept my word.
[00:13:04] You've been faithful to my word. You believe my word and you have not denied my word. In light of the persecution, despite the cost, and you have not denied my name. What's his name?
[00:13:18] Holy and true.
[00:13:20] They have not denied the one who will not deny them.
[00:13:24] They remain faithful to the gospel.
[00:13:27] You see, Philadelphia was also described as a gateway to city from Rome to the rest of the world. And it was to be a small hub of Greek culture. Some people even call it a missionary city. And so you would find all of the popular temples that were throughout Rome in Philadelphia.
[00:13:48] They were to give you a taste of Rome. They were even called Little Athens.
[00:13:54] We might think about in our day, our. Our country is so diverse, it's hard to do this, but we might think about Washington D.C. and the monuments there.
[00:14:04] At one time, we may have thought of New York City that represented the culture of our country. Maybe in the 80s and 90s, the glory years.
[00:14:14] That's a joke. You could laugh.
[00:14:17] But it was a city that represented Greek culture.
[00:14:21] And to know and to understand what Rome was about, you could go to Philadelphia and look around and you see the same temples, you hear the same music, you notice the same entertainment. They represented Rome. And what he is saying here is in the same way your city represents Rome, Little Athens, you as the church, represent the kingdom of God.
[00:14:48] You are a little representation of my kingdom and my city that's coming.
[00:14:55] Even though you're small and insignificant, even though there's a small number of believers there, they're being faithful. And one of the things we learned from this church in Philadelphia is that God uses the insignificant and the weak as the door to his kingdom.
[00:15:15] You see, we're being deceived right now in our country and thinking that for the church to be successful, we got to have the influencers to give us cred.
[00:15:26] We got to have the political pundits to give us a voice.
[00:15:31] That's never how the kingdom has worked.
[00:15:34] You do understand that throughout history, the Church has been most successful when it was a prophetic minority, when the Church suffered, when the Church endured persecution. But they cling to the name of Christ, just like the church in Philadelphia. And in clinging to the name of Christ, there was an open door to the kingdom through the church's proclamation of the gospel. And we know that.
[00:16:01] So don't be deceived. You know that personally.
[00:16:05] Think about the people in your life who've had the biggest impact on you for the name of Christ.
[00:16:13] Was it the influencers, the political pundits?
[00:16:17] Was it the folks on the stage?
[00:16:20] No, it was probably for many of us, a youth leader who had a full time job, worked all week and then was willing to go to camp on the weekend and sleep in a horrible bed, wake up on Sunday morning and then they'll have to spend all week just recuperating their body and go back to their full time job. That happened this weekend here at a student retreat.
[00:16:51] But they did so just so they could tell you about Jesus.
[00:16:55] Nobody, the Christian world will never know about them, but you do.
[00:17:01] You remember them.
[00:17:03] You remember them telling you about Jesus.
[00:17:06] You remember the little old ladies in your church who gathered once a week around their Bible.
[00:17:13] Many of them widows, some of them suffering with cancer, preparing to die. But they had a Bible and they had a prayer list and they prayed and they prayed and they prayed for you to believe the gospel. And they prayed and they prayed for your kids to believe the gospel.
[00:17:31] That's the door to the kingdom.
[00:17:34] And if you're looking for it in the big, if you're looking for it in the most significant, powerful, you probably won't see it in plain sight.
[00:17:45] Consider who has had the greatest impact on your life. And then think about our lives. Think about your life.
[00:17:56] I look around this room right now and we say this a lot. We are in a warehouse, a just janky warehouse all around us. And then look around this room.
[00:18:14] We shouldn't be here. This many people shouldn't be here. We need some carpet, some walls, some real walls that the mouse can't, the mice can't get in.
[00:18:29] But if you're looking for the kingdom, I'm looking for the kingdom in Richmond, Kentucky. This is probably not the first place I show up. I drive up to the pink metal walls and I drive somewhere else. This looks like a horror film. I'm not going in there.
[00:18:46] And yet this is what God uses. But think about your life.
[00:18:51] So often we think, my job, what gifts do I have?
[00:18:57] My lot in life. What do I have?
[00:19:01] Oh, you have the word of God and you have the name of Jesus.
[00:19:04] This church kept the word and did not deny Jesus. So keep the word and don't deny Jesus. The world around Us right now is an open door to the gospel.
[00:19:15] People everywhere.
[00:19:17] I went to the eye doctor two weeks ago and the person beside me just yammered and, and yammered and yammered about world events and everything, over and over the world. Just wants to talk about everything. Folks want to open up about how miserable their life is. And we have such an open door to the gospel. And it's very simple. Just look at folks and say, can I pray for you?
[00:19:41] You seem to be going through something right now. Can I pray for you?
[00:19:45] Do you have any spiritual beliefs? How are you going to handle this?
[00:19:49] Do you go to church anywhere? I got some folks at church who would walk with you through this situation.
[00:19:55] We have an open door to the gospel. And this is the kingdom that. This is the door of. The kingdom that Jesus uses. Small and insignificant. And when we are faithful, notice what the loyal brother will do for us. First of all, he will stand with you as witness. As a witness.
[00:20:11] Notice verse nine.
[00:20:13] Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. They're claiming they are Jews by their flesh, but they've rejected the Christ. And like Satan, they oppose Jesus and they oppose his church. And so he says, they are a synagogue of Satan and and also their allegiance to Rome, they are wicked.
[00:20:38] He says, behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet. Now remember we said, to know revel, you've got to know your Old Testament. Here is a picture of Joseph's disloyal brothers who sold him into slavery.
[00:20:56] And yet Joseph is the one who's raised up as a ruler. And what do they do? They come and bow before his feet.
[00:21:04] And Joseph would say what you meant for evil. God would use for good the same thing he's telling these believers. You suffer at the hands of these Jews. They're going to bow before your feet. And many believe that this refers to a time in which those who are ethnic Jews will believe the gospel and will flood into the church.
[00:21:24] You will be used as a doorway to see that happen. Isaiah 60, verse 14 says, the sons who afflicted you, they shall come bending low to you, and all who despise you shall bow down at your feet and shall and they shall call you the city of the Lord, the Zion of what? The Holy One of Israel. Those who persecute you, who claim that they are God's people by the flesh they will come and they will acknowledge. No, it is by faith in Jesus, this Holy One, who is lifted up and Notice what else they will know. They will learn that I have loved you. Here's another picture, all the way back to Genesis, when. When God's promises are moving from Abraham to Isaac. And then we say it's supposed to go to Esau, but who's. Who do the promises go to? Jacob the Younger. It's not supposed to work that way.
[00:22:16] And he said, there's a day coming where those who say, you're not the brother who should receive the promise, they will acknowledge, no. Yes, you are. God set his love on the Gentile. That's not the way it's supposed to happen.
[00:22:29] But they will acknowledge that it is. They will see my covenant love has been set on you. How do we summarize this point? If you stand with Jesus, he will stand with you.
[00:22:41] If you stand with Jesus, he will stand with you. He will vindicate everything you stand for, if it's for him and in his name and according to His Word. You don't have to worry about vindication. Jesus will do it.
[00:22:58] I have two kids that work at the same place, and it's not obvious that they are siblings.
[00:23:10] Some of you know my wife's on Facebook. Search your name, you'll see a family picture, and you'll see why I just said that.
[00:23:18] And new folks who come to work there, they don't know that they're siblings.
[00:23:25] And they'll get in conversations with people, and they will begin to talk about their sibling, and they'll say, whoa, whoa, hold on.
[00:23:32] Just so you know, that's my brother.
[00:23:35] Yes, he is crazy.
[00:23:40] Same thing Jesus is saying here.
[00:23:43] It's not obvious that we're Jesus's brothers and sisters.
[00:23:49] Small, insignificant, flawed, sinful, rebellious at times. It's not obvious those are my brothers and sisters. But he says, if you stand with me, I will stand with you. And the writer of Hebrews in chapter two says, he is not ashamed to call us brothers. He's not ashamed to call us sisters. He knows everything about you. And he says, I will stand with you no matter what if you stand with me. So the question is, if he's not ashamed of you, why are you ashamed of Him?
[00:24:26] Consider that this week, as you fear rejection, as you think I'm the only Christian, I'm the only one that's going to speak out here. Why would you be ashamed of Jesus who's not ashamed of you? He will stand with you. Notice he will also keep you. Verse 10, because you have kept my word about patient endurance. And this refers to hope and suffering. You just cling to the Word of God, as you suffer, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the world to try those who dwell on the earth. As Revelation will unfold, we will begin to see that God unleashes judgment on the earth. We just read from Hebrews at the beginning of the service, God will shake the earth and everything that's not attached to him will be judged, will fall away.
[00:25:14] And here he's pointing to this judgment that will come now. The word keep. This is where some people believe that there is a rapture before the Tribulation. Not just based on this verse, but some people believe that it can actually be translated keep through. And it's okay if you believe that. I just don't. I'm going to tell you why right here.
[00:25:37] The word keep can also mean keep through.
[00:25:41] And it's very similar to the language that Jesus prayed when he was talking to the Father about his disciples. And he says, father, I pray that you don't take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
[00:25:56] So as they live in a world where there is tribulation, where there is suffering, I don't pray that you take them out of the world, but you keep them latched to me.
[00:26:07] And Jesus would even say that all that the Father gives him draws to him. I will lose none in the day of suffering.
[00:26:17] We, even as we read Revelation, there will be believers who will be martyred.
[00:26:21] And he says, when you see those things, don't think they are being lost.
[00:26:27] Remember the church in Smyrna. You're going to. You're about to go through tribulation, but you remain faithful and God will keep you. You will not. This is the point. Lose the kingdom, you may lose everything else, but you will not lose the promise of the kingdom. And this is why he says, I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have. What do you have?
[00:26:51] You have the promise of the kingdom. So as everything else is taken away from you, you cling to what you have. You. And you cling to the kingdom so that no one may seize your crown.
[00:27:05] Here the picture is that we hold fast to the promise of the kingdom. And as we're holding fast to the promise of the kingdom, it is actually God who is holding us.
[00:27:16] However you think this is going to work out, when you suffer, when you go through tribulation, the point is, cling to the promise.
[00:27:26] And as you're clinging to the promise, and it doesn't look like God's holding you, are you clinging to the Promise. If you are clinging to the promise and not denying the name of Christ, it is God who is holding you.
[00:27:39] It's the same picture we see of kids often when they. They get scared.
[00:27:44] I've witnessed this with my kids at the ocean. Things get out of control at first. They're very courageous. Things happen. They get scared and they turn around and they reach for my hand.
[00:28:00] It is not the child's hand that is keeping them safe, because when they reach for their father's hand, what happens?
[00:28:09] Their Father reaches down and grabs them and so often picks them up.
[00:28:16] And what Jesus is saying here is when trials and tribulation come, it will not be your strength that holds you.
[00:28:25] It will be your faith to continue to cling to me, your Father, and your Father, who will hold you through no matter what you face.
[00:28:34] The perseverance in this world is to hold on to the one who is actually holding us, not trusting in our own strength.
[00:28:44] And the warning here is when difficulty comes, however you think this is going to work out, when difficulty just comes in life in general, you're going to face tribulation. This week, the tendency is for us to reach back and grab something that's not God, to act according to our own wisdom and our own strength.
[00:29:10] We live in a world right now that idolizes security, idolizes safety.
[00:29:18] And if I just ask you today, where do you find security?
[00:29:23] Now you're at church, you'd probably say Jesus today.
[00:29:30] But if we gave out truth sermon, we're not going to do that.
[00:29:36] Not going to do that here. That's not a part of this cult. Maybe another one.
[00:29:41] We're not a cult.
[00:29:43] Some of you are like, well, wonders, just for just a moment, look in your heart of hearts, where do you find security?
[00:29:56] I'm a Christian, but, man, I wish this government thing would figure. I wish they'd figure it out.
[00:30:03] I wish there'd be more stability in the economy or my bank account.
[00:30:10] When everything goes down, who do you look to? Maybe it's a person, a leader, a spouse.
[00:30:16] Where do you really find security?
[00:30:20] What Jesus is saying is there are going to come times in the context of the church, and the danger is you're going to look to those things to save you. And they can't and they won't.
[00:30:32] So don't let go of me because I'm the one holding you and I will hold you through whatever you suffer. And so how do you hold fast? We talked about it throughout the whole book. You continue to worship and witness when you read bad news, when you hear bad news when world events scare you.
[00:30:54] Natural disasters, earthquakes, political leaders who are out of control, wars, rumors of wars. All the things that Jesus said are going to happen, you worship.
[00:31:08] That's what it looks like to hold fast to the promise. Oh, yeah, the world's falling apart, but Jesus is ruling in heaven. And I worship him.
[00:31:18] I exalt his name. That's how you hold fast. And you witness the people around you are losing everything. And you say, no, I can't lose anything in Christ.
[00:31:29] Believe in Christ. Jesus is Lord. That's what this time of suffering is proving.
[00:31:36] He said, there's nothing that's going to last but the kingdom of Christ. And you can't lose the kingdom.
[00:31:43] Notice he says he will stand with us, he will keep us, and then he will give us a new city.
[00:31:50] The point is, you lose your city, now you get a new one in heaven. Verse 12.
[00:31:56] To the one who conquers, who holds fast, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. When we believe the Gospel, the Spirit connects us to God through Christ. He connects us in this union with Christ and with one another, the church. And here he talks about this temple of his God, which ultimately is the presence of God. Get this, in the church, the temple forever. We even read in Revelation. We even read in this book, there will be no temple because God will be there. But we will be connected to God, his presence forever as the temple of God forever. But notice, I will make you a pillar. I will establish you around Philadelphia. There would have been earthquakes and everything's in rubble. But what would you see left standing? The pillars of the temple.
[00:32:45] You will be a pillar that will never be shaken because you are connected to God. When you believe in Christ and notice he says shall never go out of it, meaning you never have to evacuate this city. You'll never be locked out of it forever. You will be united to God in his presence. And you will never have to leave.
[00:33:06] So you may lose things now. You're not going to lose that kingdom.
[00:33:11] How do we know? Well, on these pillars in Philadelphia, there would have been names of leaders, emperors, and even names of the city gods that protected them.
[00:33:23] And so you are meant to look over at this pillar and you see the name of God on it. Zeus.
[00:33:28] Zeus is the one who kept this pillar standing.
[00:33:32] And they hoped that Zeus would keep the city standing, but it didn't happen.
[00:33:37] He said, you will be a pillar in the kingdom. And notice I will write on him the name of my God.
[00:33:44] So how do we know that that we can't lose the city that Christ is giving us. The Father's name is at stake throughout this section. He says, my God, My God, he's kind of throwing shade at Zeus.
[00:34:00] And the gods that are meant to protect the city, they can't do it. But my God, which Jesus? It is God the Father.
[00:34:08] And when you believe in Jesus, God the Father gives you the inheritance. He gives you the kingdom.
[00:34:14] And his point is, he's not going to take it back.
[00:34:17] He's not going to take it back now. He's not going to take it back a million years from now. Why his name's at stake.
[00:34:24] Because he promised you, if you believe, in the name of the Son, I will give you this kingdom and you'll have your sins forgiven and you'll live in My presence forever. And God's not a liar.
[00:34:36] If God lies, he's not the holy God we worship.
[00:34:41] But he's holy and he's righteous. He's not going to take it back if you believe in the name of Christ.
[00:34:49] So the Father's name at stake, but the name of the city is permanent. Notice the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down from my God. So who gives you this city in this kingdom in which you are a pillar in the temple? God.
[00:35:06] Roman government can't give it to you. The synagogue can't give it to you. God does. It comes from heaven.
[00:35:13] And so what we will inherit as believers is nothing that we create here or we build here. It is a city that will come down and make everything here new. You will inherit that city, and in that city, you will be a pillar in the temple of that city. And notice the city's name, the New Jerusalem.
[00:35:38] And then on this city's name or on us, in the city is Jesus's name.
[00:35:44] So it is a city that is marked out by pillars that are marked out by Jesus.
[00:35:49] In AD 17, there was an earthquake that left Philadelphia in rubble. And again, people came back and built it up, and they named the city Neo Caesar.
[00:36:00] It wasn't named Philadelphia.
[00:36:03] It was named after the Caesar that rebuilt it.
[00:36:06] And then in AD 60, they named it Flavia after an emperor.
[00:36:12] And at that point, the citizens of the city said, enough's enough.
[00:36:16] We're not Neo Caesar, we're not Flavia, we're Philadelphia, we're Philly.
[00:36:24] You can't change our name.
[00:36:26] That's who we are.
[00:36:28] What he's saying here is the city that you get from God will have a name that never changes.
[00:36:37] Why? Because on this city is the name of God. And God's name doesn't change. So you won't lose this city. It is a permanent name forever.
[00:36:46] The name doesn't change.
[00:36:48] But notice also he says, here you have the name of God written on you.
[00:36:54] You have the name of the city written on you. That doesn't change.
[00:36:58] And then Jesus says, am I on new name? Meaning I will give you a new name.
[00:37:05] And so the pillar in the city, you have the name of the Father, you have the name of the city written on you. That doesn't change. And you have the name of the Son.
[00:37:14] And we go back to the beginning.
[00:37:16] What's the name of the Son?
[00:37:19] Holy and true.
[00:37:22] He fulfills all of his promises.
[00:37:24] But one of the promises that he fulfills for us is when you believe in him, he gives you his name, so in him you become holy and true.
[00:37:33] That's how you get in the kingdom, is when you believe in Christ, you trust in his death for you. And so now you've been crucified.
[00:37:44] His crucifixion is your crucifixion. His righteousness is your righteousness. When you believe in him, you are justified. It is as though you've never sinned and you've always obeyed. You get Jesus credentials in the kingdom, you have his ID card.
[00:38:01] So no one's going to toss you out of this kingdom.
[00:38:04] And so, as we wrap up Here, gospel security 2 million years from now is wrapped up for you in two questions.
[00:38:12] Is God a liar?
[00:38:15] No.
[00:38:16] So when you doubt the promises of God, when you wonder, is God just going to have enough of me? Is he going to be fed up with me?
[00:38:26] He's not a liar.
[00:38:29] And also, what's the name of Jesus worth in heaven? It's worth everything.
[00:38:36] He is the Lamb of God that was slain, that is worshiped. And so a million years from now, 2 million years from now, 3 million years from now, you will walk around heaven stamped with the name of Jesus, meaning you can't be tossed out.
[00:38:53] And so when you doubt now, what we're supposed to do in Revelation is we're to join heaven and worship Jesus.
[00:39:01] I sin, I fall. I fell.
[00:39:06] Oh, do not doubt the promise of God for you in the Gospel, he died for you. You're covered in his righteousness. So what do I do? Well, I look to heaven where his name is exalted. And he's exalted as the one who's defeated sin and death. And so I remember his name. Oh, God, he's going to be faithful to Jesus name forever, and so I can't be tossed out.
[00:39:26] And he loves the name of Jesus. Your eternal security is wrapped up in the fact that God has stood, staked his name on you, and he's not a liar.
[00:39:40] And the Father will never, ever, ever stop loving Jesus. And in him you have his name, so you know what that means. He will never, ever, if you believe in him, stop loving you, ever.
[00:39:56] And that right there is the power of to speak his name right?
[00:40:02] You can't lose.
[00:40:05] If God loves you, if God delights in you, who cares what the world thinks about you?
[00:40:12] Who cares? We're sustained by the love of God. And he says, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. You have a city in this kingdom in which you are secure forever. Sin and death will not cast you out. But do remember, all that you grasp now and all that you hold tightly to now is decaying into dust that will slip away. But the kingdom of Christ will last forever. And in Christ it is your kingdom and it will never be taken away.
[00:40:43] Sin and death may have locked the door, but our King and brother, holy and true, he stands holding the key in plain sight.
[00:40:55] When you believe in him, he'll stand with you.
