By Eric Sponheim

PHILADELPHIA

Rev 3:7-13

“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.  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.  Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing 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.”

The church in Philadelphia was weary and weak.  They had been through numerous spiritual battles, but they were continuing to seek God and be obedient to Him despite their weariness.  They were persevering in spite of the opposition, but many were just hanging on.  The opposition had been fierce and they didn’t have much left. 

Jesus was encouraging them to hold on, help was on the way.  As opposed to the church in Smyrna, their breakthrough was on its way.  Things were going to get better, but they needed to endure until it did.  To give in now would have made it all for naught. 

Hold fast to what you have.  Hold fast in the midst of the trials.  Just because life is hard and the trials seem to keep coming one after another, does not mean you have strayed from God.  Now there are troubles that come as a result of our poor choices, but that’s not what is being addressed here.  Have you been seeking God and doing your best to walk with Him?  Are you seeking to obey Him; but it seems like every time you do what He directs you to do, it results in more challenges and troubles?  Are you left scratching your head, wondering, “What did I do wrong?”  Nothing, God didn’t promise that the obedience would lead to immediate “good” results.  More than likely, you are on track, but the enemy wants to do everything he can to get you to give up and throw in the towel.   In John 16:33, Jesus said that we would have trials.  In John 15:20 Jesus said “A slave is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”  Take heart and know that the trials and challenges we face are part of our testing and refining process. 

It is easy to compare our lives with other professing Christians.  So many seem to have a nice comfortable life.  We ask, “Why is their life easy, while ours is so challenging?”  Well, there could be several possibilities.  Maybe they have been through the trials and persevered and come out the other side, where the challenges no longer phase them.  Maybe they never chose to dive into a deep relationship with God, they have chosen to keep their relationship with God on an “infant” level.  Many professing Christians have chosen to be unwilling to fully surrender to the Lord, they want the perks of being a Christian without the costs associated with it.  

We need to overcome the desire to give up because the battle has been hard.  We won’t have victory if we give up.  We need to remember that we have victory through Jesus.  As trying as the challenges and battles are that we face, and no matter how long they take, we need to continue in the fight until the victory comes.  One does not get the victory by dropping out of the fight.  As the saying goes, “It is always darkest before the dawn,” so it can be in our spiritual battles, too.  When things seem like they can’t get any harder, we need to continue to push through, as the victory is close at hand.  Do not quit, do not give up, no matter how difficult it is.   

Nutshell – We need to overcome the desire to give up because the battle has been hard.  We won’t have victory if we give up.