Thursday, August 13,
2015, 5:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “To Be Like Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 3:7-13 (NASB).
Open and Shut (vv.
7-8)
“And
to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
He
who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will
shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
‘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.
Jesus Christ is the speaker. He is holy (pure; righteous)
and true (not a liar like men/women). He holds the key of David, i.e. he is the
one who decides who will enter his kingdom and who will be rejected. Man has no
power within himself to earn his way into heaven. His good deeds will never
outweigh his bad deeds. Only through genuine faith in Jesus Christ can we enter
God’s eternal kingdom. And, no man on the earth, and no evil spirits in this
world can shut the doors of heaven in anyone’s face, though many may try. Jesus
Christ is the only one with the power and the authority to ultimately determine
who goes to heaven and who does not, i.e. he is the one who opens and shuts
heaven’s door.
So, for whom is this door open, which no one can shut? It is
for those who have little power in themselves, but who have kept (obeyed) God’s
word, and have not denied his name. So, what is this saying? It is saying what
Jesus and the apostles taught with regard to faith in Jesus Christ and our
eternal salvation. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny
self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey)
Jesus. He said if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self), we
will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives (die with Christ to sin),
we will gain eternal life (Lu. 9:23-25). He said his sheep know his voice, they
listen to him, and they follow him (Jn. 10:27-30).
The apostles taught the same. Jesus died that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24). Jesus died that we might no
longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave himself up for us (2 Co. 5:15).
He died that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who
walk not according to the flesh, but who conduct our lives according to the
Spirit, for if we walk according to the flesh, we will die, but if by the
Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (Ro. 8:1-14). The way
we come to know Christ is by putting off our old lives of living for sin and
self, by being transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and by
putting on the new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness” (See: Eph. 4:17-24). If we say we have fellowship with God, but we
continue to conduct our lives according to our sinful flesh, we are liars (1
Jn. 1:6).
Opposing Forces (v.
9)
Behold,
I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and
are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them
know that I have loved you.
So, what is this “Synagogue of Satan”? A synagogue is a Jewish
congregation, a place of worship for Jews, or a building that is used for
Jewish religious services (M-W Dictionary). The Jews, prior to Jesus’ death and
resurrection and ascension into heaven, were God’s chosen people. So, the implication
here is that these were people who claimed to have a relationship with God, but
they were actually servants of Satan, and their places of worship and the congregations
themselves were of Satan, and not of God. For the Jews who did not accept Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Messiah, they would be ones who would think they were
worshipers of God, but they are truly Satan’s servants, because they deny Jesus
as their Messiah. For those who claim to know God because they claim to believe
in Jesus Christ, but who deny him by their words and their actions, the same
applies.
For instance, many people think they are Christians because
they were brought up in the institutional church, or because they believe their
nation is a “Christian” nation, or because their parents claimed to be
Christians, or because they went through some religious training. Many people
see Christianity as a religion and not as a relationship with God. Others
believe they can voice a prayer or have some emotional experience or make some
intellectual assent to who Jesus is, and to what he did for us in dying for our
sins, but believe God requires nothing of them in the way of repentance,
obedience or submission to God. They may claim to know God, but by their very
lives they deny him, for they never truly came to the cross of Christ, died
with Christ to sin, nor were they resurrected with Christ to newness of life to
be lived (walked) in Christ’s righteousness and holiness. In other words, they
are not “born again” of the Spirit of God, but are Christian in name only.
There is no middle ground with God, not that we must live in
sinless perfection, but that we are either for Jesus Christ or we are against
him. In other words, if we claim to have fellowship with God, but we continue
(are on a course) to walk (conduct our lives) in darkness (according to our
sinful flesh), we are liars, for we don’t really know God. If we say we know
God, but we don’t keep (obey) his Word, then we are liars. We don’t really know
him. Again, I don’t believe this is speaking of sinless perfection, but it is
speaking about how we walk, i.e. how we conduct our lives, either according to
the Spirit or according to the flesh.
There are many who claim to know Jesus Christ, but who were
never crucified with Jesus to sin, because they have come to believe the lie
which says God does not require death to sin, although scripture teaches he
does. And, so, they end up opposing God and his word, and his teachings on the
crucified life, and thus they end up opposing those who are following Jesus
Christ with their lives, and thus they become servants of Satan in following
after the flesh, and by opposing God’s Word and his messengers. Yet, if the
Lord has opened a door of ministry for us in sharing the gospel of our
salvation, no human being nor any evil force can prevail against it. If our
testimony is hindered, it is because God has allowed it, and he has the power
to work through that situation for his glory. God often advances his kingdom
through the church being under great persecution.
As well, if the Lord has opened an opportunity for you, even
if you have to wait a little while for it to be fully realized, don’t get
discouraged when opposition comes against you, or if doubts begin to enter your
mind, and/or if all the “what ifs” in the world begin to flood your thinking.
Believe him. Trust him. And, step out in faith and do whatever it is he has
called you to do, believing that he will make the way for you, and that he will
supply you with all you need to go in that direction. Trust him, too, with all
the hurdles along the way. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is
completely faithful in all that he does, and he will accomplish his will and
his purposes in our lives and through our lives for his glory.
The Hour of Testing (vv.
10-13)
Because
you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour
of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test
those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so
that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in
the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and 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. He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
It appears that the Greek word translated here as
“from” literally has more to do with the Lord Jesus keeping (preserving;
holding on to) us from within (under) the trial and extending to its outcome
(Source: biblehub.com). This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it says
that God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, but when we are
tempted he will also provide a way out so we can endure it. There is a sense of
being able to endure the trial or the persecution because we are being kept by
Jesus Christ. So, I believe this is speaking more of preservation under and
deliverance from within the trial itself rather than a literal escape
(exemption) from trial. We are not promised exemption from trial, tribulation,
persecution or temptation throughout the NT. In fact, we are told we are
destined for them, but that Jesus will give us all we need to endure and to be
victorious to the end through them (See: Ro. 5:3-5; Phil. 3:7-11; 1 Pet. 1:6-7;
4:12-17; 1 Thess. 3:1-5; Jas. 1:2-4; Matt. 5:10-12; Lu. 21:12-19; 2 Co. 1:3-11).
So, who is this promise for? It is for those who have
kept the Word of Christ’s patient endurance, which appears to be the gospel of
our salvation, which definitely teaches that we must endure, continue, abide,
hold on to, and remain in Christ and in his Word if we want to have the promise
and hope of eternal life with God in glory (See: John 8:31-32; Romans 11:17-24;
I Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; Hebrews 3:6, 14-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; I John 2:24-25). If
we do not remain in Christ and in his Word, but we “jump ship” when the going
gets tough (See: Matt. 13:20-21), then we don’t have that promise. So, we must
hold fast to what we have, so we don’t lose our crown. We must endure with
Christ to the very end, but not in our own power and strength. If we are
willing, and we submit our lives to Christ Jesus, it is Christ who sustains us
and who carries us through, and who completes us in Christ.
We who overcome (present and continuous), i.e. we who
endure to the end in the power and strength of the Spirit of God within us, and
who do not jump ship and desert to the enemy, but who resist Satan, flee
temptation, draw near to God, and who continue in Christ to the end, we will be
set free from these flesh bodies which war against our souls and we will no
longer suffer the temptations of the flesh which try to draw us away from God,
but we will be steadfast, secure, and never moving or even being tempted to
move away from the hope of our salvation. Oh, how I long for that day when we
no longer have to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us, but when we are
truly at rest in our eternal home.
To
Be Like Him / An Original Work
March 16, 2014 / Based off Scripture
Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.
Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.
Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!
When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.
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