To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 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. 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. 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. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. (Rev. 3:7-11)
The church at Philadelphia receives no rebuke from the Lord but only a commendation and a promise. When we are aligned with the Father’s heart we can expect the same. Let’s look to see what they did have. First of all, this church was faithful. Apparently it was not a large church full of resources and influence but it was a church that had continued to serve Jesus with good deeds, they have kept his word and been obedient to his commands, and had not denied his name even in the face of Jewish opposition or criticism. They had endured patiently and that fact caught the Lord’s attention in a big way.
Endurance and patience are spiritual qualities of the mature. It is easy to stay passionate and faithful when everything is going your way. When churches are growing and God is prospering his people the kingdom looks bright. When persecution is a short-lived event then people shake it off like a bad storm and move on feeling triumphant because they survived. The hard thing in the kingdom of God is grinding out a life of faith when the persecution keeps coming and you are not seeing massive breakthroughs. It is easy for discouragement to set in when God hasn’t answered the prayer or brought the solution as quickly as you thought he would. It’s even tougher if you see other churches or other believers prospering and having quick victories in their lives while you continue to slog it out.
The praise and the promise for Philadelphia came because they had continued to do what they could with little strength or power even in the face of constant discouragement. They were faithful and had endured. Because of that Jesus, determined to open a door for them that no man could close. Because they had endured long he was giving them success that would last long time…an open door for evangelism, ministry, or blessing. Not only that but he was going to protect them from trials that others would soon face because they had already faced their trials. In addition, he would cause those who had persecuted them to come and acknowledge that these believers were true children of God.
The principle in this is that those who must wait another season before prayers are answered are given a greater blessing if they endure the season with faith. The question of Job is whether God is worthy of our worship and service regardless of our circumstances or only if we always get what we want. Job answered that he was always worthy and because of that he was blessed more in the end than in the beginning.
Some believers wait for healing, others wait for pregnancy, others wait to be release from re-education camps in China, others wait for a child to come home. If they wait in faith and continue to serve and obey God will surely honor that faith when some kind of open door that no man will be able to shut. God declares, “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Sam.2:30). Patient endurance and faithfulness honors God. Be sure, he will honor you as he honored those in Philadelphia. Be blessed.
