In the book of Revelation, we see there are seven Churches and among them, God had a good testimony about two Churches. We see, God had nothing wrong to say about two Churches. They are the faithful ones. One of them is the Philadelphia Church. Like the other Churches, this Church also went through many sufferings, trials, problems and difficulties. But one thing which really encouraged me is that, God had a wonderful testimony for the Philadelphia Church. Let us read Revelation 3:8. ‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.’
Here, we see “You have kept my Word and did not deny my Name”. Holy Spirit is giving this testimony about Philadelphia Church when they were going through difficult situations, sufferings, trials and problems. In the Message version, we see the same verse as, Revelation 3:8, “I see what you’ve done. Now see what I’ve done. I’ve opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don’t have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn’t deny me when times were rough. Verse 9, “And watch as I take those who call themselves true believers but are nothing of the kind, pretenders whose true membership is in the club of Satan—watch as I strip off their pretensions and they’re forced to acknowledge it’s you that I’ve loved. Verse 10, “Because you kept my Word in passionate patience, I’ll keep you safe in the time of testing that will be here soon, and all over the earth, every man, woman, and child put to the test. Revelation 3:8, NLT says, “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
Dear brothers and sisters, God is speaking to us, this morning, “I know your deeds, I see what you have done, I know, I am watching. I am seeing what you are going through”. When we are going through any trials, difficult situations, testing and temptations, dear brothers and sisters, God is still on the Throne. God is in sovereign control of everything. He says, I know. I see your situations you are going through. Message Bible, Revelation 3:8, says “rough times”. The rough times you are going through and I see what you have done. The Holy Spirit is saying to the Philadelphia Church, “I see what you have done. You have kept my Word. You have obeyed my Word and You did not compromise on my Word. When you were going through your difficult times, you have kept my Word. You did not compromise on my Word. You could stand boldly as my witness and that you did not deny my name. This is very encouraging. We need to have this testimony from God. That you have kept my word and did not deny my name. After that, the Holy Spirit is mentioning that now you see, what I have done for you. I have opened a door for you. No one can shut because the key is with me. Also, as in V9, before the devil, I will make them know, that I have loved you. During the difficult times, I will make you a testimony before devil, that I have loved you, before others. And not only that, God is giving the promise for that Church. In verse 10, we see,” because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I will keep you from the hour of testing”. We also see in Deuteronomy 8:2, “Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands”. Yes.
Dear brothers and sisters, God will test us, to know what is in your heart. To know whether you keep His commandments or not. In Jeremiah also, we see a similar verse. Jeremiah 20:12, “Yet, O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous, Who see the mind and the heart; God who tests the righteous to see the mind and the heart. To know whether you obey my commandments and my word. Like we heard from the Philadelphia Church. When they were going through trials, testing and difficulties, the testimony they got from God is that, “You have kept my word, and you did not deny my name”. God was speaking in the testimony of Job too. When he went through difficult times, which really encouraged me. Job 1:22. “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” Job 2:10, last portion,” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” When Job lost his business, lost his children, even when his wife was against him. During that situation, the Holy Spirit is giving this testimony, written in the Bible that, in all these, he did not sin. Even in our difficult times, testing and trials, let us also receive this testimony from God. “Yes, you have kept my word and you did not deny my name”. James 5:11 says, “We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” Here, we see Job’s endurance till his end, and the outcome of Gods dealing in his life. We see in Revelation, the word of perseverance. You have kept my word of endurance. This is the testimony we see here.
Regarding Abraham, we see in Genesis 22:12. “He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” See in what situation and what time, God gave this testimony. In NLT version, “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” When he was in his tough times, he could stand as a witness to God and God gave him a testimony. “I know that you fear God. Now I know you have kept my word. Now I know you love me. Dear brothers and sisters, let us hear that testimony from our God, in our Christian life. As we have seen the good testimonies God gave to Job and Abraham, let us also have this testimony. Let us keep His commandments and glorifying God in our life and be a witness for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit should testify to us, “You have kept my word and you did not deny my name”. In the past, we might have slipped off or we may have loathed other Christians. We could not stand as a testimony, as a witness. We dishonored His name by our life or by deeds or by our speech. Many things. We did not keep His words sometimes, and in those situations, we even complain and murmur. This even happened in my life and so am sharing. But, God is a loving God. In Philadelphia Church, we can see that God, was saying, “I see what you are going through. I see what you have done. I will make them know, that I loved you.
Dear brothers and sisters, God loves us. But only thing we need to do is, come back to Him with a repentant heart. God is there to receive us. God is encouraging me that, we need to come back to God, with a repentant heart. Satan tries to put us down, and may lead us to condemnations. Let us stand for God, to fight against Satan. One encouraging Word, in Micah 7:7-10. “7 As for me, I look to the LORD for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. 8 Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9 I will be patient as the LORD punishes me, for I have sinned against him. But after that, he will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The LORD will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness. 10 Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side. They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying, “So where is the LORD—that God of yours?” With my own eyes I will see their downfall; they will be trampled like mud in the streets.
Dear brothers and sisters, in any situation, don’t let Satan discourage us, saying you have no hope. Here’s an encouraging word, “Do not rejoice over me, oh my enemy. Though I may fall, I will rise! You will see what God is doing in my life. And I will see His righteousness. Here, he’s admitting that, yes, I have sinned. God is there. I have admitted my sin to God. But, God will take care. Do not rejoice over me. Oh my enemy. God is encouraging me, my enemy will see and shame will cover him, who said, “who is your Lord?”. Let us have a testimony before Satan, that we can stand before God. Revelation 3:8 says, “‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.’ I want to have this testimony during my testing times. Yes, I have little power. God is telling this Church, that you have kept my word. You did not compromise on my word. You have obeyed my word. That you have a testimony before me. We can stand as a testimony in each and every situation. And do not dishonor God’s name by our life or by our words.
May God help us, bless us to have this testimony in our Christian life. Amen.
