Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Little Strength, Open Door, Awesome God Msg 912

Transcript

Little Strength, Open Door, Awesome God Msg 912 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: If you have a Bible near, would you turn to
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Speaker 1: Revelation chapter 3? And you'll find in your worship folder
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Speaker 1: an outline for this morning's message. You may wish to
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Speaker 1: put in the crease of your Bible here as we
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Speaker 1: complete the reading of Revelation 3, verses 7 through 13.
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Speaker 1: Revelation 3, beginning at verse 7. And to the angel
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Speaker 1: of the church in Philadelphia write, He who is holy...
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Speaker 1: who is true, who has the key of David, who
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Speaker 1: opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and
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Speaker 1: no one opens, says this, I know your deeds. Behold,
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Speaker 1: I have put before you an open door which no
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Speaker 1: one can shut, because you have a little power and
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Speaker 1: have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold,
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Speaker 1: I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who
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Speaker 1: say that they are Jews and are not, but lie,
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Speaker 1: I will make them come and bow down at your
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Speaker 1: feet and make them know that I have loved you.
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Speaker 1: Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I
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Speaker 1: also will keep you from the hour of testing, that
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Speaker 1: hour which is about to come upon the whole world
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Speaker 1: to test those who dwell on the earth. I am
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Speaker 1: coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, so that no
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Speaker 1: one will take your crown He who overcomes, I will
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Speaker 1: make him a pillar in the temple of my God,
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Speaker 1: and he will not go out from it anymore, and
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Speaker 1: I will write on him the name of my God
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Speaker 1: and the name of the city of my God, the
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Speaker 1: new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my
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Speaker 1: God and my new name. He who has an ear,
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Speaker 1: let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Speaker 1: If I may again ask you mothers to do this,
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Speaker 1: I would like for you to stand, mothers, as we
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Speaker 1: bow for prayer before this morning's offering. I remember the
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Speaker 1: words of one of our great statesmen, our father, no
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Speaker 1: one is poor who has had a godly mother. Thank
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Speaker 1: you for enriching our lives with the presence of these
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Speaker 1: ladies who stand among us. Thank you for their touch
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Speaker 1: on their children's lives. As we see them among us,
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Speaker 1: we who have lost our mothers to death, live in
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Speaker 1: the memory of the one who bore us and loved
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Speaker 1: us and cared about us and for us. We thank
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Speaker 1: you for each one. We thank you for those ladies
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Speaker 1: who cannot stand but would love to be among them.
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Speaker 1: We remember those who are without children and long for them.
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Speaker 1: And as we pray your richest blessings upon these who stand,
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Speaker 1: we pray your comfort and encouragement to those who have not.
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Speaker 1: You have marked our lives, our Father, from the touch
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Speaker 1: of our mother's hands. You have built within us a
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Speaker 1: love for many things we would not otherwise have were
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Speaker 1: it not for these who have loved us and invested
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Speaker 1: themselves in us. I thank you for the children who
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Speaker 1: are represented among those who are standing. I pray that
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Speaker 1: you will enrich their lives through the touch, the encouragement,
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Speaker 1: the counsel, the wise words, even the reproofs and corrections
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Speaker 1: and discipline of these mothers. Thank you for the determination
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Speaker 1: of a mother, for the willingness to do whatever is
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Speaker 1: necessary to accomplish what should be done. We all are
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Speaker 1: in your debt, our Father, for providing these who have
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Speaker 1: shaped our lives. For these who stand who are already grandparents, grandmothers,
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Speaker 1: we pray that you will use them in the lives
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Speaker 1: of grandchildren, that you will cause them to be for
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Speaker 1: them mentors, friends who have earned the right to be
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Speaker 1: respected through the passing of years. May wisdom be passed
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Speaker 1: down from that generation to this one. Link us together,
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Speaker 1: our Father, with reminders that we are members of the
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Speaker 1: same family and therefore members of one another in Christ.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for our church, a meeting place full of diversity, variety,
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Speaker 1: which pleases you greatly for the difference there is in
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Speaker 1: the body. Thank you for those who serve you faithfully.
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Speaker 1: Thank you for those who represent our country in difficult
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Speaker 1: places today, away from their mothers. And we pray that
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Speaker 1: you would encourage them in the absence from their families.
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Speaker 1: Use our notes and our gifts of encouragement to these
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Speaker 1: many whose lives have been touched and in some way
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Speaker 1: changed because of this recent war. Thank you for our country.
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Speaker 1: We love you for it. And we adore you, our Father,
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Speaker 1: for providing it for us to preserve and to protect
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Speaker 1: and to enjoy. Now we set apart this time of
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Speaker 1: worship as we give to you out of what you
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Speaker 1: have entrusted to us. We give as you have given
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Speaker 1: to us, generously and joyfully and with purity of heart
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Speaker 1: and motive. We commit to you these who stand, all
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Speaker 1: who sit, and all who give, even those who cannot.
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Speaker 1: For your greater glory, we pray these things. And everyone said, amen.
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Speaker 1: As I was growing up, I was the youngest in
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Speaker 1: a family of three. And one of my fond memories
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Speaker 1: is laying on the living room floor on Sunday afternoon
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Speaker 1: reading the comics. I remember my brother who was always
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Speaker 1: doing things far more serious, practicing piano, reading some classic literature.
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Speaker 1: I was reading the comics and always trying to figure
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Speaker 1: out what Pogo meant by what he said. Pogo, the little,
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Speaker 1: you know, philosopher, comic strip character. We're all familiar with
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Speaker 1: one of his lines. We have met the enemy and
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Speaker 1: he is us. I remember reading as a little kid,
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Speaker 1: and I have thought of it several times, a line
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Speaker 1: he gave that I didn't understand then, but I understand now.
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Speaker 1: By the way, all comic strips are written for fourth
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Speaker 1: grade education, except Pogo, which is ninth grade. Which is
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Speaker 1: why I never really got Pogo's stuff, what he would
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Speaker 1: give it. But one of his lines was, gentlemen, we
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Speaker 1: are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities. I remember looking at it thinking,
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Speaker 1: what in the world does that mean? But I've come
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Speaker 1: to realize how true that is. Stop and think. Most
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Speaker 1: of us spend our time self-serving as we are, lying
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Speaker 1: in front of a closed door of broken promises and
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Speaker 1: disappointed dreams, feeling sorry for ourselves. When we rewind the world,
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Speaker 1: this plan didn't unfold as we had thought it would.
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Speaker 1: Not realizing at the time that that closed door was
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Speaker 1: God's way of turning our attention toward an open one.
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Speaker 1: Which surprisingly is in an area we would never expect.
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Speaker 1: And it is full of insurmountable opportunities. Opportunities so great
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Speaker 1: you can hardly imagine them. But of course time is
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Speaker 1: wasted there. Weeping at the door that's closed rather than
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Speaker 1: finding contentment and challenge through the open door of magnificent opportunities.
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Speaker 1: You see, God is at work doing the surprising. He
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Speaker 1: is forever throwing us a curve. And we who much
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Speaker 1: prefer our plan to his surprises often are too short-sighted
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Speaker 1: to value the changes that he has in mind for us,
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Speaker 1: which will lead us inevitably to real contentment. Our focus
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Speaker 1: is on ourselves and his is on the opportunities that
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Speaker 1: are beyond ourselves, even to imagine. It's like the little
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Speaker 1: slip of paper that was found in the pocket of
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Speaker 1: the Confederate soldier who had been shot. It read, I
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Speaker 1: asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was
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Speaker 1: made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I
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Speaker 1: asked God for health that I might do greater things.
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Speaker 1: I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
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Speaker 1: I asked God for riches that I might be happy.
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Speaker 1: I was given poverty that I might be wise. I
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Speaker 1: asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
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Speaker 1: I was given weakness that I might feel the need
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Speaker 1: of God. I asked for all things that I might
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Speaker 1: enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy
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Speaker 1: all things. I got nothing I asked for, but everything
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Speaker 1: I hoped for. And I am among all men most
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Speaker 1: richly blessed. Once again, Pogo is right. We are surrounded
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Speaker 1: by insurmountable opportunities. But the problem is they are often
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Speaker 1: brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. Strabo, the ancient historian, after
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Speaker 1: studying the little town of Philadelphia in the ancient days
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Speaker 1: of the first century, called it simply an unimportant city
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Speaker 1: full of earthquakes. Oh, there were earthquakes, many of them. Really,
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Speaker 1: too many earthquakes and aftershocks for anyone to have ever
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Speaker 1: kept record of. It's a tough place to live, ancient Philadelphia.
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Speaker 1: It was an impossible place physically to find any sense
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Speaker 1: of peace, but in God's economy, it was in fact
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Speaker 1: the gateway to the east of Asia. You know, none
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Speaker 1: of the contemporaries in that day realized that. They saw
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Speaker 1: it as a good place to be from. They saw
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Speaker 1: it only as one of those little struggling villages that
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Speaker 1: one wondered why it ever even came into existence, given
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Speaker 1: its propensity toward the earthquakes. For that reason, I'm glad
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Speaker 1: the Lord didn't bypass Philadelphia. It's clearly the smallest and
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Speaker 1: the most insignificant of the seven churches mentioned in the
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Speaker 1: second and third chapters of the Revelation. It must have
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Speaker 1: surprised some that Corinth wasn't one of the seven, that
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Speaker 1: Hierapolis wasn't one of the seven, or Colossae wasn't one
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Speaker 1: of the seven. Surely he wouldn't leave out Colossae, or
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Speaker 1: who knows, by then Athens may have had a fine church. Ephesus,
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Speaker 1: it makes sense. Thyatira and all its beauty, of course. Sardis,
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Speaker 1: with its statuesque, unique location, but Philadelphia. Once again, because
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Speaker 1: we are Americans, we tend to think only in terms
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Speaker 1: of our world. When I tell you of Philadelphia, you
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Speaker 1: think of that a town up in Pennsylvania, which could
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Speaker 1: hardly be called a town. We look across the river
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Speaker 1: to Camden and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and we remember
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Speaker 1: the sprawling metropolis of eastern Pennsylvania, the pride of the Eagles.
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Speaker 1: I used a little grace in saying that today. But
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Speaker 1: it's not anything about that. It's nothing about what we
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Speaker 1: think of. Even Merrill Unger in his work on the
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Speaker 1: dictionary describes it as an unimportant place of 15,000 people.
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Speaker 1: But it's one of the seven. In fact, it is
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Speaker 1: one of the churches that there is not one word
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Speaker 1: of criticism, not one condemnation. There isn't a but In
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Speaker 1: the resume, if you will. It's one line after another
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Speaker 1: of commendation, of encouragement. Now, if you look for it today,
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Speaker 1: you wouldn't find it. You'd have to visit Al-Sahir in
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Speaker 1: the language of that country. And that term means city
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Speaker 1: of God. Nice name, but it's still a pretty insignificant place. Unless,
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Speaker 1: of course, you see it. through God's eyes. My whole
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Speaker 1: point is obvious. You see yourself as just another nobody,
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Speaker 1: surrounded by a bunch of somebodies, and you must wonder
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Speaker 1: as you walk your journey if there will ever be
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Speaker 1: anything all that significant accomplished by little old you. If
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Speaker 1: that is your feeling, chances are good you've been living
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Speaker 1: too long in front of the closed doors. The background
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Speaker 1: of this city I find fascinating. The name Philadelphia is
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Speaker 1: from Philos, affection, and Adelphia, brother. There were two brothers.
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Speaker 1: One was a king of Pergamum named Eumenes. The other,
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Speaker 1: his brother, Attalus, looked up to Eumenes and was loyal
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Speaker 1: to him and affectionately devoted to him as his brother.
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Speaker 1: And the older brother, Eumenes, was so taken by his
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Speaker 1: younger brother, Attalus, Attalus' life and devotion, he called him Philadelphus,
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Speaker 1: brother lover. In fact, through his own riches and authority,
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Speaker 1: Eumenes founded this town and gave it his brother's nickname,
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Speaker 1: It never gained the reputation of an Ephesus. It really
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Speaker 1: seemed like, at first glance, it was just another town,
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Speaker 1: but it is, in fact, strategically located. Beyond this small
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Speaker 1: settlement lay the vast empires of Lydia and Mysia and Phrygia.
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Speaker 1: names that mean little to us today, but in those
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Speaker 1: days these were the regions that would be the developed
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Speaker 1: regions of the Greek culture that would spread all of
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Speaker 1: it through the funnel of Philadelphia. It was through Philadelphia's
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Speaker 1: roads that the culture of the Greeks was spread. It
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Speaker 1: was linguistically the channel that would carry the message. It
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Speaker 1: was on the trade route from Rome to farther points
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Speaker 1: of the east. And nevertheless, it was continually rocked by earthquakes.
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Speaker 1: Some of the shocks lasting two years afterwards. 17, it
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Speaker 1: was leveled. The same earthquake that leveled the church at
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Speaker 1: Sardis or the town at Sardis, the city, really destroyed
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Speaker 1: this one and there was an earthquake in this town
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Speaker 1: as recently as 1969. Now you know when I when
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Speaker 1: I give you this background I know some of you
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Speaker 1: want to yawn because earthquakes mean nothing to Texans. If
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Speaker 1: I mentioned hurricanes you'd be on the edge of your
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Speaker 1: seat looking for where that is located especially from Houston
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Speaker 1: or Beaumont or Corpus Christi which is some time raked
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Speaker 1: over by the hurricanes and the powerful wind, or tornadoes
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Speaker 1: around us, but earthquake. I spent 23 years of my
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Speaker 1: life in earthquake country. Some of you have spent time
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Speaker 1: also on the West Coast, and you know there are
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Speaker 1: frightening moments, and then there are frightening moments. Earthquakes are
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Speaker 1: in the latter category. I'll never forget the first one
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Speaker 1: we went through We were in bed. They always happen
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Speaker 1: when you're in bed, it seems. And you're always glad
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Speaker 1: you didn't put bookshelves over your bed when they happen.
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Speaker 1: And all four of our little children came rushing into
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Speaker 1: our room screaming, and the house, it seemed, was beginning
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Speaker 1: to tilt. At least it felt like that to me.
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Speaker 1: And I thought I was having a nightmare. Actually, I was.
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Speaker 1: But it was while I was awake. And it was
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Speaker 1: just light enough for me to see the pool behind
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Speaker 1: the home that was situated just beyond ours. And it
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Speaker 1: looked like... water at the, you know, when you're kids,
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Speaker 1: you slosh up and down and you, it was doing that.
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Speaker 1: And I thought, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus, right now.
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Speaker 1: We had a long chandelier that hung in our dining room.
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Speaker 1: We'd always watch that. Had a funny thing happen one time.
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Speaker 1: I was watching the news one evening on Channel 2
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Speaker 1: out there. It's the CBS channel and it's at the
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Speaker 1: far north end at that time located in the Los
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Speaker 1: Angeles area. And the camera began to shake. And I'm
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Speaker 1: down in the southern part in Orange County and I'm thinking,
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Speaker 1: it's coming. And sure enough, oh, the dog begins to
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Speaker 1: howl and the grandfather clock begins to have funny chimes
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Speaker 1: it rings 14 or 15 I forget what it was
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Speaker 1: and I thought it's happening it rolled all the way
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Speaker 1: down as things creak and move and change this place
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Speaker 1: is given to this kind of existence and of all
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Speaker 1: things in the impossible situation of that kind of topography,
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Speaker 1: that kind of world, the Lord's plan is funneled directly
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Speaker 1: through this little church. That's even as a church is
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Speaker 1: pretty insignificant, but let me tell you why that's true.
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Speaker 1: All of this occurs because of who God is. If
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Speaker 1: a church has a big God, it accomplishes big things.
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Speaker 1: regardless of the church's numerical size, if the church is
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Speaker 1: large and impressive and even influential in the eyes of
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Speaker 1: the world, but it is a little God, it doesn't
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Speaker 1: get a whole lot done. It's not a lot to
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Speaker 1: shout about. This is in the former category. Because that's
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Speaker 1: the way this one who describes himself in verse 7
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Speaker 1: as the one who is holy, the one who is true,
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Speaker 1: the one who is sovereign, who holds the key, Because
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Speaker 1: he is like that. He sees that kind of value.
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Speaker 1: Look at who he is. Listen to his descriptions. He
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Speaker 1: who is holy. That means separate from sin. Transcendent above
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Speaker 1: the corruption of this earth. Without moral blemish. Free of
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Speaker 1: ethical stain. Not given to prejudicial or preferential judgments. He
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Speaker 1: who is holy, so he's awesome in his holiness, this
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Speaker 1: incomparable son of God. He who is true, the word
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Speaker 1: means real, authentic, genuine, as opposed to artificial and spurious
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Speaker 1: and illusory and imitation, a counterfeit. He's none of that.
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Speaker 1: He is awesome in his truthfulness and Now you're ready
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Speaker 1: for the third. He who, when he opens the door,
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Speaker 1: no one can shut. And when he shuts the door,
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Speaker 1: no one can open, says this. He is awesome in
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Speaker 1: his sovereignty. Awesome in holiness, awesome in truthfulness, awesome in
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Speaker 1: control or sovereignty. It's a fascinating word picture that John
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Speaker 1: uses here, the Lord gives him to use. He says,
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Speaker 1: I am the one who holds the key, who has
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Speaker 1: the key of David. What does that mean? Well, when
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Speaker 1: you have the key of something, you have ownership. And
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Speaker 1: with ownership comes sovereign rights. If you have the key
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Speaker 1: to your house, you have ownership and you have the right,
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Speaker 1: you have the authority in that place where you dwelled.
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Speaker 1: If a thief gets that key or a replica of it,
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Speaker 1: he takes authority over the house and the things within it.
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Speaker 1: In this case, it's the key of David. It's a
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Speaker 1: picture of the eternal kingdom plan. He is the awesome
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Speaker 1: authority over the plan. He has the key. You know,
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Speaker 1: it ties into Isaiah 22. Let me show you a
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Speaker 1: fascinating verse back to the Old Testament. Isaiah 22. In fact,
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Speaker 1: it's verse 22. 22 also. In the days of Hezekiah
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Speaker 1: the king, he had a servant named Eliakim. Eliakim was
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Speaker 1: the son of Hilkiah. Not important, but it is his genealogy.
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Speaker 1: And Eliakim was in charge of King Hezekiah's treasure. And
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Speaker 1: the treasury was guarded under the watchful eye of Eliakim himself.
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Speaker 1: In fact, verse 22 says, the Lord speaks, I will
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Speaker 1: set the key of the house of David on his shoulder.
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Speaker 1: It's a colloquialism for, I will publicly acknowledge he's the
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Speaker 1: guardian of the treasure. And look at what else he says.
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Speaker 1: When he opens, no one will shut. When he shuts,
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Speaker 1: no one will open. Now back to Revelation 3. The
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Speaker 1: Lord says, I am the one who holds the key.
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Speaker 1: The key of the kingdom. And when I open, no
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Speaker 1: one can shut. And when I shut, no one is
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Speaker 1: able to open. I'm in charge. I'm in control. I'm
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Speaker 1: the one who provides this kind of opportunity, this insurmountable,
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Speaker 1: this unbelievable opportunity before you. And at the same time,
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Speaker 1: I also am fully aware and in charge of the
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Speaker 1: closed doors. We like being in charge. We like having
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Speaker 1: the keys. We like owning. But when it comes to
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Speaker 1: spiritual things and spiritual development and the development of our
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Speaker 1: lives personally, that's God's charge. He's the authority there. Truth
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Speaker 1: be told, every person listening to me right now could
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Speaker 1: tell you a story of a disappointing closed door. Every
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Speaker 1: one of us has our story. Every one of us
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Speaker 1: can name even quite likely the details of that door
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Speaker 1: closing or the impact of that door having been closed.
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Speaker 1: It's closed. And because we want that door open or
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Speaker 1: we wanted it to stay open, our tendency is to
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Speaker 1: live in the disappointment, the sadness of the closed areas. Well,
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Speaker 1: we would love it if Philadelphia had no earthquakes. People
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Speaker 1: who live there would want that perhaps more than anything.
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Speaker 1: We would love it if the place where we live
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Speaker 1: didn't have this or did have that. Those doors have closed.
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Speaker 1: We would love it if our lives did not have
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Speaker 1: certain memories that are now closed, opportunities that were once there,
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Speaker 1: but they've closed. If you're not careful, your world will
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Speaker 1: wind up being a world of pity parties over what
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Speaker 1: might have been. Rather than looking for the surprise open door,
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Speaker 1: and almost without exception, when one closes, there's a surprise
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Speaker 1: connected to an opening, and it's in an area you
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Speaker 1: would have never, ever guessed possible. I think the people
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Speaker 1: of Philadelphia were faithful, but maybe didn't even realize what
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Speaker 1: an open door there was for them as the gateway
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Speaker 1: to the east. You talk about application for this little
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Speaker 1: church called Stonebriar Community Church. You read through this and
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Speaker 1: you think this is written with us in mind. He
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Speaker 1: who is holy, he who is true, he who is sovereign,
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Speaker 1: four and a half years ago called into being a
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Speaker 1: body of people who would gather together and join arms
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Speaker 1: and hearts and hands and focus to move into an
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Speaker 1: area with insurmountable opportunities. Insurmountable in the flesh, but not
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Speaker 1: to God. And so this one who is all of
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Speaker 1: these things I've described, holy and true and sovereign, begins
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Speaker 1: verse 8 by saying, I know. Isn't that a comfort?
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Speaker 1: I know. all about you. I know your deeds. But
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Speaker 1: what specifically was true of them? The one who is
28:56
Speaker 1: holy and true and sovereign first describes them as a
29:02
Speaker 1: church of enormous opportunities. I put before you an open
29:07
Speaker 1: door which no one can shut. Ancient Philly was the
29:15
Speaker 1: crossroads of three entire regions yet to be fully cultivated
29:20
Speaker 1: and developed. It was through Philadelphia the language, the lingua
29:25
Speaker 1: franca of Greek would pass. And spiritually, what a marvelous
29:34
Speaker 1: opportunity they had in carrying the message. I want to
29:40
Speaker 1: add before I move to the next one that you
29:43
Speaker 1: have before you enormous opportunities. But if you are not careful,
29:48
Speaker 1: if you gauge your life by what is seen and
29:52
Speaker 1: by the counsel of most other people or what you
29:55
Speaker 1: find in the media, If you shape your life according
29:59
Speaker 1: to this world's counsel, you will spend your time disappointed.
30:05
Speaker 1: You will spend your time weeping rather than rejoicing in
30:10
Speaker 1: an open door that's set there for you. This is
30:14
Speaker 1: a church of enormous opportunities. It's also a church of
30:17
Speaker 1: small size and limited resources. You have a little power.
30:22
Speaker 1: See in the middle of verse 8? A little power.
30:25
Speaker 1: Micron dunamin. Micro means little. Dunamis, we get our word
30:31
Speaker 1: dynamic from it. You have a little dynamic. Only a little.
30:37
Speaker 1: This is not a mega church, some large towering assembly
30:43
Speaker 1: that dominates the landscape. This is a little struggling work.
30:47
Speaker 1: This is a gathering, a little group of people. It
30:52
Speaker 1: wasn't a super church. By the way, never think Size
30:57
Speaker 1: means necessarily successful. Otherwise, the cults are winning. Never think
31:08
Speaker 1: that in order for something significant to get done, it's
31:11
Speaker 1: got to be big. I wish we would forever give
31:16
Speaker 1: up the idea from now on in any part of
31:18
Speaker 1: our life being the biggest in anything. Talk about setting
31:24
Speaker 1: yourself up for discontentment. In God's economy, the limitations give
31:29
Speaker 1: him the platform on which to work. He does his
31:34
Speaker 1: best work in ordinary people like us, just garden variety folks.
31:43
Speaker 1: He's able to do above what we could imagine. Let
31:47
Speaker 1: me give you an example. Ever heard of the name
31:51
Speaker 1: Hugh Latimer? Hugh Latimer is a well-known name in England.
31:56
Speaker 1: He was led to Christ by a nobody, a man
31:59
Speaker 1: of no account, known simply to his fellows as Little Bilney, B-I-L-N-E-Y, nobody.
32:07
Speaker 1: Bilney had found Christ through the reading of the writing
32:10
Speaker 1: of Erasmus. At that time, Hugh Latimer was preaching in Cambridge.
32:15
Speaker 1: Bilney went to hear him and was captivated by Latimer's
32:19
Speaker 1: ability to speak. He began to pray to the Lord
32:22
Speaker 1: for the privilege of leading Father Latimer to Christ. In
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Speaker 1: those days, Latimer was the champion of Rome. Bilney, in
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Speaker 1: his earnest prayers, urged that while he, little Bilney, was
32:34
Speaker 1: a nobody, Father Latimer was really somebody. If Father Latimer
32:38
Speaker 1: were to be saved, the impact of his testimony would
32:41
Speaker 1: be felt far and wide. The Lord granted him his request.
32:46
Speaker 1: Bilney was not just feeble, he was faithful. He went
32:51
Speaker 1: to the church where Latimer was preaching, waited until the
32:53
Speaker 1: popular prelate came striding down the aisle, and then caught
32:58
Speaker 1: hold of his robe and gave it a tug. He said,
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Speaker 1: Father Latimer, I want to confess my soul to you.
33:08
Speaker 1: Back they went to the confessional where Father Latimer had
33:11
Speaker 1: poured into his ears a confession the like of which
33:14
Speaker 1: he had never heard before. Bilney confessed to the astonished priest.
33:18
Speaker 1: All the aching hunger of his heart, a hunger no
33:21
Speaker 1: priest or penance or sacrifice or sacrament, no ritual or
33:26
Speaker 1: resolve was able to heal. He told of the coming
33:30
Speaker 1: of Erasmus, of the purchase of his book, and how
33:33
Speaker 1: he found peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
33:37
Speaker 1: I went to the priests, he cried, and they pointed
33:40
Speaker 1: me to broken cisterns which could hold no water. I
33:44
Speaker 1: found they only mocked my thirst. Then I came to Christ,
33:47
Speaker 1: and he saved me. Now I have peace with God.
33:50
Speaker 1: Father Latimer was assaulted on all fronts. He knew only
33:54
Speaker 1: too well what little Bilney was saying. He had experienced
33:57
Speaker 1: the same aching void in his own soul. The most
34:01
Speaker 1: honest man in England had been confronted by the most
34:05
Speaker 1: faithful man in England. He rose from his seat of
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Speaker 1: the confessional, walked around to where Bilney was pouring out
34:10
Speaker 1: his heart, knelt down beside him, and accepted Christ personally.
34:15
Speaker 1: His own conversion shows what can happen When there's a
34:19
Speaker 1: faithfulness wedded to weakness. Hugh Latimer was known as the
34:25
Speaker 1: most honest man in England. He was the idol of
34:27
Speaker 1: the common people. The bishop of the church. Chaplain to
34:31
Speaker 1: the king. Ultimately burned at the stake in Oxford. For
34:35
Speaker 1: his refusal to bow to the whims of the court.
34:39
Speaker 1: On no account would he change his mind regarding Christ.
34:43
Speaker 1: He was burned along with Bishop Ridley. As the persecutors
34:48
Speaker 1: lighted the fire beneath their feet, Latimer turned to the
34:52
Speaker 1: bishop in London and said, we shall this day, my Lord,
34:55
Speaker 1: light such a candle in England as shall never be extinguished.
35:01
Speaker 1: An unknown little guy gets the attention of another and
35:06
Speaker 1: through him impacts the country. They're small in resources and size,
35:14
Speaker 1: but the opportunity to impact was enormous. It was a
35:17
Speaker 1: church of biblical fidelity. He says, you have kept my word.
35:21
Speaker 1: They were fiercely committed to it. They taught it. They
35:25
Speaker 1: fought for it. They believed in it. And they, most importantly,
35:28
Speaker 1: obeyed it. And he says also, you have not denied
35:34
Speaker 1: my name. Perhaps there was persecution that arose, and they
35:38
Speaker 1: were told to recant, and they wouldn't do that. By
35:41
Speaker 1: the way, are you in a place where it's hard
35:43
Speaker 1: to witness? You don't live in a Christian neighborhood, most likely.
35:49
Speaker 1: I don't know what a Christian neighborhood looks like, but
35:52
Speaker 1: maybe there are some. You don't more than likely work
35:56
Speaker 1: in a Christian place. You may, but you'd be the exception.
36:00
Speaker 1: You go to a school. A school is not a
36:01
Speaker 1: Christian school, most likely. Our contexts are non-Christian contexts. What
36:09
Speaker 1: a marvelous opportunity to get connected to those outside the
36:13
Speaker 1: family circle. of God and then not deny the name
36:16
Speaker 1: of Christ. What privilege it is. One of my mentors,
36:22
Speaker 1: Howie Hendrick, says, I give the average Christian about three
36:25
Speaker 1: years to rid themselves of all non-Christian contacts. You still
36:31
Speaker 1: connected to the lost world? I mean, deliberately? Still have
36:36
Speaker 1: relationships of friendship and connections of importance with them? Do
36:41
Speaker 1: business with them, perhaps? That was their opportunity. Well, what
36:47
Speaker 1: does the Lord promise a group like this? Remember last
36:50
Speaker 1: time I told you the I wills introduce the declaration
36:54
Speaker 1: of promises? Look at the I wills. Verse 9, I
36:56
Speaker 1: will cause. The middle of the verse, I will make.
37:01
Speaker 1: Verse 10, I will also keep. Verse 12, I will make. Again,
37:07
Speaker 1: I will write on him. These I wills are promises
37:10
Speaker 1: we're reading that the Lord gave to the church at Philadelphia. First,
37:16
Speaker 1: I will cause your enemies to be humiliated. Look at
37:20
Speaker 1: how it reads. I will cause those of the synagogue
37:23
Speaker 1: of Satan who say they are Jews and are not.
37:27
Speaker 1: They lie. I will make them come and bow down
37:30
Speaker 1: at your feet and make them know that I have
37:31
Speaker 1: loved you. How did he do that? We're not told.
37:35
Speaker 1: We're told only that there was a group that fiercely
37:37
Speaker 1: contended with these Christians and somehow the Lord brought them
37:41
Speaker 1: down to a place of humiliation before God. these believers,
37:46
Speaker 1: and it was when they realized how much the Lord
37:49
Speaker 1: loved them. It brought them to their knees. Put in
37:53
Speaker 1: the margin of your Bible Proverbs 16, 7. Proverbs 16, 7.
37:59
Speaker 1: When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even
38:02
Speaker 1: his enemies to be at peace with him. I've seen
38:05
Speaker 1: that occur over and over again in my lifetime. This
38:10
Speaker 1: church has such an effective ministry that He causes those
38:14
Speaker 1: who were once enemies to come before them. The second,
38:20
Speaker 1: verse 10, the Lord will keep all believers from maximum
38:24
Speaker 1: trials because you have kept the word of my perseverance.
38:28
Speaker 1: He offers a promise that is transcending throughout from then
38:34
Speaker 1: on through time. I will keep you from the hour
38:37
Speaker 1: of testing. I believe that the hour of testing is
38:41
Speaker 1: a reference to the tribulations. And broadly speaking, I believe
38:45
Speaker 1: he's saying that those who are believers will be taken
38:48
Speaker 1: from this earth before that unfolds on the earth. See
38:53
Speaker 1: how he says to test those who are to dwell
38:56
Speaker 1: on the earth? The word means inhabited earth, people who
39:02
Speaker 1: live their lives on this planet. I will keep you
39:06
Speaker 1: from that time of testing. So he promises to. Protect
39:10
Speaker 1: us from maximum affliction, which will occur. Don't worry about
39:15
Speaker 1: going through the worst times yet to come. As a believer,
39:19
Speaker 1: you will be taken from this earth before such a test.
39:23
Speaker 1: He says, I'm coming quickly. Hold fast, lest anyone take
39:28
Speaker 1: your crown, meaning don't lose the rewards. He said, I
39:31
Speaker 1: will make you a pillar. Here's a third promise. He
39:34
Speaker 1: will make us strong and secure. That's what pillars represent.
39:39
Speaker 1: Strength and security. I will make you strong and secure.
39:44
Speaker 1: And finally is a promise of new ownership. Look at this.
39:49
Speaker 1: I I will write my name on him, the name
39:52
Speaker 1: of my God, the name of the city. There will
39:54
Speaker 1: be a new citizenship, a new name will be given,
39:57
Speaker 1: a brand new identity. That meant something to the people
40:00
Speaker 1: of Philadelphia. Their name would change several times. It changed
40:05
Speaker 1: to Neo-Caesarea after the passing of time, thanks to the
40:11
Speaker 1: help Tiberius gave them as they rebuilt their city, Neo-Caesarea.
40:15
Speaker 1: And then it later was named Flavia. After the family
40:18
Speaker 1: name of the emperor Vespasian, Philadelphia not only has gone
40:23
Speaker 1: through earthquakes, it's gone through name changes. And he says,
40:26
Speaker 1: I'll give you a brand new name and it'll be
40:28
Speaker 1: the name of my God and your identity will be mine.
40:31
Speaker 1: Here sets some somewhat insignificant feeling and looking people who
40:36
Speaker 1: are discovering from God's promises encouragement and hope. Great hope. Now,
40:44
Speaker 1: He who has an ear, let him hear what the
40:46
Speaker 1: Spirit says. That's us. What do we hear from this?
40:51
Speaker 1: I think a couple of things. A couple of, I think,
40:54
Speaker 1: relevant applications for us, and then I end with a
40:57
Speaker 1: story that I don't think you'll ever forget. Here's the
41:01
Speaker 1: first principle that I get from this. Insurmountable opportunities turn
41:07
Speaker 1: our attention back to God away from ourselves. They turn
41:12
Speaker 1: our attention back to God And that ignites vision. If
41:19
Speaker 1: there is one thing Stone Brow Community Church must have
41:24
Speaker 1: to step into the future that is before us, it's vision.
41:29
Speaker 1: A vision for this area immediately and through this area,
41:34
Speaker 1: ultimately other parts of our world to be touched. And
41:39
Speaker 1: insurmountable opportunities do that for us. They turn our attention
41:43
Speaker 1: away from ourselves. And back to our God. Let me
41:46
Speaker 1: add here, we don't want to limit God. We don't
41:49
Speaker 1: want to miss His plan. He has some things for
41:53
Speaker 1: us that are beyond our comprehension. And so we need
41:57
Speaker 1: to be ready for what that might mean in the future. Second,
42:04
Speaker 1: insurmountable opportunities force us to trust God completely. And that
42:13
Speaker 1: prompts faith. Walking by faith is not a nice idea
42:18
Speaker 1: or one of many options. It is the plan for
42:22
Speaker 1: God's people. We don't want to question him and we
42:27
Speaker 1: dare not doubt his promise. He's given us his word
42:32
Speaker 1: that we are faithful to him and if we walk
42:35
Speaker 1: with him and if he remains awesome in our eyes
42:39
Speaker 1: and if we serve him in purity and truth, he
42:41
Speaker 1: will open doors that are beyond our comprehension. He promises
42:46
Speaker 1: he will not leave us through the whole time. Now
42:50
Speaker 1: the story. In 1989, an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened Armenia.
43:01
Speaker 1: You may remember it killed over 30,000 people in less
43:05
Speaker 1: than four minutes. In the midst of utter destruction and chaos,
43:11
Speaker 1: a father left his wife securely at home, and rushed
43:15
Speaker 1: to the school where his son was supposed to be,
43:20
Speaker 1: only to discover that the school building was flat as
43:24
Speaker 1: a pancake. After the traumatic initial shock, the dad remembered
43:32
Speaker 1: the promise that he had made to his son. He
43:35
Speaker 1: had said to him, no matter what, I will always
43:38
Speaker 1: be there for you. Tears filled his eyes. As the
43:45
Speaker 1: father looked at the pile of debris that was once
43:48
Speaker 1: the school, it looked hopeless. He kept remembering his commitment
43:56
Speaker 1: to his son. And by the way, that became at
43:59
Speaker 1: that moment the father's insurmountable opportunity. Listen to what he did.
44:05
Speaker 1: He began to concentrate on where he had walked his
44:07
Speaker 1: son to class at that school that morning. remembering his
44:13
Speaker 1: son's classroom would be in the right back corner of
44:17
Speaker 1: the building, he rushed there and started digging through the rubble.
44:23
Speaker 1: As he was digging, other forlorn parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying,
44:29
Speaker 1: my son, my daughter. Other well-meaning parents tried to pull
44:34
Speaker 1: him off of what was left of the school. It's
44:37
Speaker 1: too late, they kept saying. It's of no use, they're dead,
44:43
Speaker 1: you can't help, go on back home, face reality, there's
44:47
Speaker 1: nothing we can do. You're just gonna make things worse.
44:52
Speaker 1: To each parent, he responded with one line, are you
44:56
Speaker 1: going to help me now? And then he proceeded to
45:00
Speaker 1: dig stone by stone. The fire chief showed up, tried
45:05
Speaker 1: to pull him away from the school's debris. Fires are
45:09
Speaker 1: breaking out. Explosions are happening all over. You're in danger.
45:13
Speaker 1: We'll take care of things. Go on home. To which
45:16
Speaker 1: this loving Armenian father asked, are you going to help
45:21
Speaker 1: me now? The police then came and said to him,
45:26
Speaker 1: you're angry, you're distraught. It's all over. You're endangering others.
45:31
Speaker 1: Go on home. We'll handle it. To that he replied,
45:35
Speaker 1: are you going to help me now? No one helped. Courageously,
45:40
Speaker 1: the man proceeded alone because he needed to know for
45:43
Speaker 1: himself if his boy was alive or dead. He dug
45:47
Speaker 1: eight hours, 12 hours, 24, 36 hours. In the 38th hour,
45:59
Speaker 1: he pulled back a boulder and he heard his son's voice.
46:04
Speaker 1: He screamed his son's name, Armand, Armand, he heard back. Dad,
46:10
Speaker 1: it's me, Dad. I told the other kids not to worry.
46:16
Speaker 1: I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me,
46:19
Speaker 1: and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised,
46:23
Speaker 1: no matter what, you'd always be there for me. You
46:25
Speaker 1: did it, Dad. What's going on in here? What's going
46:30
Speaker 1: on in there? How is it, the father asked. Well,
46:33
Speaker 1: there are 14 of us left out of 33. We're scared,
46:37
Speaker 1: we're hungry, we're thirsty, and we're Glad you're here. When
46:41
Speaker 1: the building collapsed, it made a wedge like a triangle,
46:44
Speaker 1: and that saved us. Come on out, son. No, dad.
46:49
Speaker 1: Let the other kids out first. Because I know you'll
46:51
Speaker 1: get me, no matter what. I know you'll be there
46:56
Speaker 1: for me. When I read that story several years ago,
47:02
Speaker 1: I thought, first of all, if that ever happened in
47:08
Speaker 1: my family, Would I be that faithful to my promises?
47:13
Speaker 1: Then I couldn't help but focus on our God who
47:18
Speaker 1: is that faithful. Men and women of this growing and
47:26
Speaker 1: unique church, I want all of you to know that
47:29
Speaker 1: our God is faithful. He will keep us. He will
47:35
Speaker 1: use us. He will intensify His use of this ministry.
47:45
Speaker 1: We can trust Him. We must trust Him. We must
47:49
Speaker 1: believe that He has for us a vision that will
47:54
Speaker 1: require the kind of faith in Him that is unusual
47:59
Speaker 1: in a day that focuses on closed doors. It occurred
48:04
Speaker 1: to me that when verse 13 ends as it does,
48:08
Speaker 1: it's saying that to us. We who have ears, let
48:11
Speaker 1: us hear what the Spirit is saying to this church. Yes,
48:16
Speaker 1: to that church, but to this one. Who knows what
48:22
Speaker 1: avenues will open yet future for us? Who would have
48:28
Speaker 1: ever guessed it four years ago or two years ago?
48:36
Speaker 1: We are in the midst of some of the best
48:40
Speaker 1: work God is doing. As we hold it loosely, we
48:45
Speaker 1: want to believe fully in our holy and truth-talking sovereign God.
48:55
Speaker 1: And a closed door here only means an open one there.
49:00
Speaker 1: Just don't hesitate. Let's take it by faith and move
49:05
Speaker 1: through it. And he will honor that. He will honor that.
49:15
Speaker 1: Will you bow your heads, please? I've spoken to you
49:20
Speaker 1: of the church, and I realize that I'm talking to
49:25
Speaker 1: people who live in a very real world, and your
49:28
Speaker 1: world may have, if you will, collapsed recently, leaving you
49:34
Speaker 1: wondering if there really is a future worth caring about.
49:42
Speaker 1: Everything for the Christian starts at the cross. Everything starts there.
49:47
Speaker 1: Never forget that. The journey to wherever always begins at
49:52
Speaker 1: the cross. We announced earlier that six of our little
49:57
Speaker 1: second graders came to Christ today. That's the same way
50:02
Speaker 1: we're going to come to God is through that same
50:05
Speaker 1: cross that they passed. Our sin is the closed door.
50:12
Speaker 1: Our distance from God closes us off. Our continued lives
50:20
Speaker 1: live for the selfish purposes distance us even further. And
50:26
Speaker 1: now we have this wonderful open door to turn to
50:33
Speaker 1: at the cross where Christ paid the full penalty required
50:40
Speaker 1: for your sins and mine When he died. He paid
50:45
Speaker 1: it all. On our behalf. Leaving us with. The opportunity
50:52
Speaker 1: to walk through that door. By faith. To his son.
50:58
Speaker 1: The Lord Jesus Christ. Come today to him. What a great.
51:07
Speaker 1: What a great gift. To give to your mother. Who
51:12
Speaker 1: no doubt has had a heart for it. Spiritual things
51:15
Speaker 1: throughout your life. Today's your day. In honor of her
51:23
Speaker 1: to give your heart to Christ. We have very carefully
51:30
Speaker 1: trained men and women in our church. A part of
51:33
Speaker 1: our soul care ministry. They wear little burgundy colored badges
51:39
Speaker 1: with their names on it. They're dotted out throughout this. congregation.
51:45
Speaker 1: As you leave, you may see one. You may want
51:46
Speaker 1: to talk to one of these individuals. Or our prayer
51:49
Speaker 1: room is available always. Before you give your gift to
51:54
Speaker 1: this necessary ministry we've begun for the military, I want
51:59
Speaker 1: you to think of giving yourself first as the gift
52:02
Speaker 1: to God. Our Father, we always come very soberly to
52:09
Speaker 1: this closing time We realize that this is the closest
52:14
Speaker 1: some will ever come to a knowledge of you, living God.
52:21
Speaker 1: This is the nearest and dearest they may ever be
52:25
Speaker 1: to Christ. I pray that you'd soften their hearts and
52:29
Speaker 1: bring their wills into line with yours and bring them
52:34
Speaker 1: to yourself. Something that none of us can do for
52:37
Speaker 1: anyone else. Give them the new birth today. May they
52:42
Speaker 1: acknowledge their lostness and turn by faith to you and
52:49
Speaker 1: your greatness and forgiveness. Now to him who was able
52:54
Speaker 1: to guard us from stumbling and to present us faultless
52:57
Speaker 1: before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to
53:02
Speaker 1: the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty,
53:06
Speaker 1: dominion and power now and forever. We ask through Christ
53:12
Speaker 1: our Savior and all of his people said, Amen.
53:18
Speaker 2: The preceding message, Little Strength, Open Door, Awesome God, was
53:24
Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2003, 2006, and 2024. And the sound recording
53:26
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R.
53:28
Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
53:28
Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
53:39
Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited. In the preceding message, Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
53:46
Speaker 2: is grateful to Kregel Publications for permission to quote from
53:50
Speaker 2: the book Exploring Revelation, copyrighted in 1987 by John Phillips.