Philadelphia - The Challenge of Opportunity

I’d like to begin today by telling you a story that comes down to us from the ancient Roman Empire. It’s the story of a man named Androclus and its about the challenge of opportunity.

Androclus was a slave—one of the thousands of slaves in the Roman Empire. One day, he decided to escape. He ran frantically into the forest until finally he eluded the soldiers who had been sent out to capture him. Breathless, he burst into a clearing, only to find himself face to face with a huge lion. The lion roared in anger at this intrusion into his kingdom.

Androclus knew enough about lions to know that he was done for. How ironic that he had gained his freedom, only to be killed and eaten by this great animal. Knowing that there was no use in fleeing, he stood stock still and shut his eyes, waiting for the attack of the huge cat.

After a moment, when nothing happened, Androclus opened his eyes. It was then that he saw that the lion was in pain. There was a terrible gash in one of his legs, so much so that the lion could not put any weight on it. Unable to hunt, unable to even walk, this lion was doomed to die.

Androclus was exhausted by his ordeal. He knew that he could go no further into the forest. He was starving as he hadn’t eaten all day. He needed shelter, a place to sleep, and protection from the wolves who prowled the forest at night. It was then that a flash of insight came to him. He would seize this opportunity to help this poor lion.

He slowly approached the great cat, which had lain down again. Tentatively, he reached out his hand and stroked the lion’s mane—the lion purred deeply. Androclus was overcome with pity for the suffering animal. He tore off a strip of cloth from the hem of his tunic and carefully bound up the wound on the lion’s leg. The animal groaned in pain, but let him do it. Finally, the two of them went to sleep, side by side.

Over the next days and weeks, Androclus stayed with the lion. He hunted game and shared it with the great cat as it recovered from its injury. In time, the lion was fully recovered, and the two had become great friends.

One day, as Androclus was leaning over a stream to get a drink, he felt the cold steel of a spear press into the back of his neck. A hard voice said “Don’t move. There’s a good reward for the return of a runaway slave.” With that, Androclus was forced to march back to the city. Taken before the tribunal, he was condemned to die.

On the day of his execution, Androclus stood in the Coliseum. Thousands of spectators roared in anticipation of the bloody drama that was about to unfold. Just then, with a great roar, a huge lion was released into the arena. The animal had been starved and tormented until it was in a state of frenzy. Seeing the lone human standing forlornly in the center of the ring, the beast charged.

The crowd roared. Androclus closed his eyes, waiting for the blow of the onrushing animal, the razor sharp claws and teeth that would tear into him.

Imagine his shock when instead of teeth, he felt the rough tongue of the lion licking his face! He opened his eyes to look into the eyes of his old friend, the lion from the forest.

The crowd and the emperor were so shocked and impressed by what had just happened, that the emperor summoned Androclus and declared that he and the lion were to be freed forever.

The challenge of opportunity. Seize the moment, and you never know what great things can happen.

My family and I used to live in what could be considered to be the outermost outskirts of Philadelphia, PA. Some of the people in our church used to commute the 80 km. into Philadelphia to work each day. Greater Philadelphia is a huge city with a population of over 5 million. But that’s not the city of Philadelphia we want to talk about today.

The city of Philadelphia we want to consider today was a small town that existed about 1900 years ago in western Asia minor (modern day Turkey). It was a frontier town of sorts, because it lay on the outer fringes of Greek civilization. Settled by the Greeks, it served as a sort of “cultural gateway”—a doorway through which civilization passed into the less-developed northeastern reaches of the province.

King Attalus II of Pergamum founded the city, and he was noted for his love and loyalty to his brother Eumenes. Hence, the name for the city—“Philadelphia” in Greek means “the city of brotherly love”.

The city was located on a volcanic plateau. That gave it two notable features. First, the volcanic soil around Philadelphia was very fertile, so it became the center of a great wine growing region.

Secondly, the fact that it was located in a volcanic region made Philadelphia subject to many earthquakes and tremors, and that is still true today. The terrible earthquakes suffered in Turkey last year were centered not far from this very spot.

So the citizens of ancient Philadelphia adopted a rather harrowing routine to cope with this geological fact of life. Whenever the first tremors would occur, they would grab their valuables, and run outside the city into the surrounding fields and vineyards to avoid the toppling pillars and collapsing buildings. There, they would build temporary huts and shelters to live in until the aftershocks subsided. Then they would return to rebuild the city and repair the damage, until the next time, when the cycle would happen all over again.

Some of these earthquakes were much more severe than others. For example, in 17 AD, there was a terrible earthquake which inflicted extensive damage on many of the cities in Asia Minor. The Roman historian Strabo has described it for us in detail. The city of Philadelphia was almost completely destroyed in this earthquake.

However, the Roman emperor Tiberius declared Philadelphia a disaster area and allocated special funds to have it rebuilt. The citizens of Philadelphia, in gratitude, decided to give their city a new name; they called it “Neo-Caesarea” in honor of what the emperor had done.

As you turn in your Bible to Rev. 3, I want you to remember three things about the city of Philadelphia…

• it was a gateway city—the doorway to Eastern Asia

• it was an earthquake-prone city—the people often had to leave home in order to survive

• it was a city that got a new name

Now let’s read the letter that Jesus addresses to this church (Rev. 3:7ff)…

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.

Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus begins the letter as he always does by reminding them of who He is:

He is the one who is holy and true—the word “holy” signifies that he is God; the word “true” means that he is trustworthy or faithful—we can count on Him.

And then he says that he “holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” This hearkens back to an OT reference in the book of Isaiah 22 about a man named Eliakim, who was the servant of King Hezekiah.

Eliakim functioned as a chief of staff—he determined who had access to the king—and thus he was said to have the key of David on his shoulder.

In the same way, Jesus has the key of the kingdom. He alone has the authority to open the door into the kingdom of God. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

Next, Jesus reviews the church’s performance in v. 8…

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.

First, let’s look at the church’s performance. (Philadelphia is one of the two churches that Jesus did not rebuke. The other one was the church at Smyrna.)

Jesus has three things to say about this church’s performance:

• “I know that you have little strength”. Their weakness was evident. This was not a large church, and it was not a strong church. They had but little strength. And Jesus does not rebuke them for that. Their weakness is not a problem, because God does not rely on our strength to get his work done.

• Then he says “yet you have kept my word”. Their weakness was evident, but their walk was excellent. They had been faithful, they had been obedient, they had stayed true to the Gospel that Jesus had given to them. God never calls us to be successful; he calls us to be faithful; he calls us to be obedient to His word.

• Then he says “you have not denied my name”. Their walk was excellent and their witness was eloquent. There is a hint here that the church at Philadelphia may have gone through some tough times; perhaps they had endured some persecution. We know from verse 9 that there were people in the city who opposed them. But the church at Philadelphia had hung in there, they had a good witness. They had not denied the name of Jesus.

One of the most amazing things that I have ever seen is how God can change people who are antagonistic to the gospel. Just recently I read the story of a young woman in the United States who was a rabid feminist, a lesbian, a bitter opponent of Christianity.

She served in the leadership of the National Organization for Women. She was a political organizer and many times squared off against Christians who were holding pro-life protests outside abortion clinics. She wore a bulletproof vest in such encounters and sadly, she said she had absolutely no respect for the many Christians who allowed themselves to be caught up in the hatred of such confrontations.

But even as she was involved in such high profile activities against God and against Christians, she found herself to be strangely drawn toward the message of the Gospel. And it wasn’t because of the Christians—she still had no respect for them. It was because she had no peace in her heart, and she became convinced that Jesus was the only answer.

To make a long story short, she became a Christian. And now she is employed on the staff of Focus on the Family, involved in their ministry to the homosexual community. You can read about her story in the ________ issue of Chrisianity Today in our library.

Jesus reassured the church at Philadelphia that they would see even their enemies persuaded because as it says in Proverbs 16:7…When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

And furthermore they would be preserved from the coming hour of trial. This refers to that period of time at the end of the age which is spoken of in prophecy when God will pour out his wrath on the sinfulness of man. We call it the Tribulation Period and it will be a time of great suffering and terror. The church will be preserved from that.

Jesus goes on to speak of the church’s reward in v. 11-13

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

This is the keynote of the book of Revelation, and it gives us a new urgency. Christ is coming soon and we need to hold on to what we have—the truth of the Gospel. Now is not the time to become distracted, to water down our message, or to wander away from our mission as a church.

Jesus promised that if they stayed true—if they overcame—he would make them pillars in the temple of God; the house that God is building. And never would they leave it. Picture how the citizens of Philadelphia would have heard this. They were used to living in a city where at any moment, the pillars would topple over in an earthquake and cause them to leave and flee for their lives outside the city. Jesus gives them here a new security. The safest place to be is right in the center of God’s will.

And then he gives them a new identity v. 12…

I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Remember, the city of Philadelphia received a new name out of gratitude for the emperor who helped them rebuild.

In a similar way, when we become Christians, we receive a new name, and a new identity. Christ has rebuilt our lives for us and our citizenship now belongs with him in heaven. We have a new identity.

So that’s the message that Christ gave to the church at Philadelphia 1900 years ago. But what is its relevance for us today?

Well, we’ve been thinking about the challenge of opportunity. And just as God placed before that church an open door, I believe He has placed before our church an open door. I believe he has brought us to a golden moment of opportunity when we can make a real difference for Christ here in Mississauga.

Just this past week, I was looking at the plans for expanding our facility which were drawn up back in 1992. That whole project seemed to hold such promise, such potential. But, as you know, those expansion plans were never carried out. The Lord prevented them from ever coming to fruition.

And as we moved into the next few years, our fellowship went through a time of great difficulty. They were years of chastening and pain. Where once we were strong, now we were made weak. Where once we were confident, now we were distressed. Where once our chapel was full, now it seemed to be faltering.

And I wonder if God didn’t allow all that to happen to teach us something about ministry and about our relationship to Him?

To teach us that unless we are emptied of ourselves; unless we become broken bread and poured out wine, we can do nothing for Him. Unless we come to him in weakness and cry out to Him to visit us, He can do nothing at all for us.

The Lord says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”

Have we learned that lesson? Have we really learned the lesson of weakness? Perhaps he didn’t allow us to move forward in the early 90’s because to do so would be to have done it in our own power. With our own resources. In our own strength.

God loves to bless churches where it is obvious that what’s happening is because He’s making it happen, not us.

I believe that the troubles of the past are behind us, and as that great theologian Yogi Berra once said “Our future is ahead of us.” We have a window of opportunity to move forward and attempt great things for God.

Oh, we are weak! Our weakness is now evident—plain for all of us to see—just as it was evident in the church at Philadelphia. We are not a strong church… we have many weaknesses. But that’s good news! Because God loves to work with people who are weak and who aren’t ashamed to admit it.

Will you join with me in praying that God would guide us as to what He wants us to do in the days ahead? Can we cry out together for his blessing? Can we be like Jacob who wrestled with God and said “I won’t let go of you until you bless me?” Remember, Jacob ended up with a limp for the rest of his life because he did that. But it was worth it to have God’s blessing on his life! Better to limp with the Lord than to run on your own.

Dear people of Erindale, I believe that God has great things in store for us. There’s an open door before us. But we can only move through it on our knees, in weakness and humility and dependence—looking unto Jesus to be our strength. That’s the challenge of opportunity.