Title: Philadelphia Church/Rev 3:7-13
Contents There was a young Jewish man who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1902. While living between World War I and World War II, he fell into Marxism, which fascinated the spirit of the times, and at first became a communist, but soon experienced a huge gap between the ideal and reality, left the Communist Party, and then again Become a German follower of Hitler. But not long after, he could not withstand the tyranny of Hitler's fanatical and tyrannical uniformism again and fled to New Zealand. This book is called “The Open society and its Enemies” and the author is the famous Karl Popper (1902-1994). He said in this book that in order for any of our claims to be scientifically valid, we must have an openness of thinking, so-called "my claims may be wrong" (the only way to listen to others is to think that I can be wrong). This openness has made a decisive contribution to the advancement of science and making the modern society we live in today an open society to some extent.
Recently, the word ‘open’ is the most familiar to us Koreans. Perhaps the ‘open concert’ was the trigger. After that, the word 'open worship' appeared in church services as well. Among the many church names, I came across a sign that read “Open Church” and “Open Door Church.” Names such as 'open restaurant' and 'open space' appeared among trade names, 'open school' and 'open education' were advocated, and even 'open Uri Party' appeared in the name of a political party. Literally, the ‘open society’ has become the myth of the new society. Now, I have come across the words 'open progress' and 'open conservative' in terms of ideology. The word 'open' means openness, and in most cases it is used positively. In the modern history of our country, we have a past when Daewongun caused an irreversible loss of national interest by choosing the 'policy of isolation from the country' that closed the country's doors despite his strong spirit and conviction.
1. The image of the Lord speaking to the Philadelphia church
2. The Lord's Praise for the Philadelphia Church
The church of Philadelphia in the first century set the example of responding effectively to this open opportunity. Look again at the continuation of verse 8. “--I know your deeds, even though you have little power, you have kept my word and have not betrayed my name.” The Philadelphia church was one of the two churches that were not reproached along with the Smyrna church. What kind of church was it that could only receive praise without reproach? The Smyrna Church was a persecuted church. What will the Lord rebuke those who are persecuted and martyred because of Him? But what was the cause of the Philadelphia church? Most biblical scholars speculate that the cause may have been the obedience of the missionary command. Then, the two events that move the heart of the Lord are martyrdom and missionary work. If I am still alive without martyrdom, go do missionary work.
3. The Lord's Promise to the Philadelphia Church
4. Vision of Well-Being Church to be learned from Philadelphia Church
What is the vision of a well-being church that the church in the 21st century should learn from the praised church of Philadelphia in the first century? In short, it must be an open church. The question is, how can our church be an open church like the church in Philadelphia? From this text we can get two answers.
1) We must not miss the opportunity of evangelism toward unbelievers.
An open door here in front of this church means it may close. But today and now that the door is open is an opportunity. We must evangelize without losing the opportunity that is now open. This is because there are not always opportunities to evangelize. It's a story I like, but it is said that there used to be a statue standing in a city called Syracuse, Greece. It is a statue of a human, with thick hair on the front and bald head on the back, but it is said that he had wings on his feet instead of his shoulders. It is said that these words were engraved under the statue. Who made you? - Recipus. What is your name? - Chance. Why do you have wings on your feet - to carry faster. Why is your bangs so thick? - So that people can easily catch me when I come Why is the back of your head bald? - Because once it passes, it's hard to catch it again. That is the nature of opportunity. When it comes to evangelism, never put it off until tomorrow. And preach in every reasonable open way.
2) First, the door of heart must be opened among the members.
1. Please share the reason why the image of the Lord speaking to the Philadelphia church (verse 7) appeared that way.
2. Summarize the Lord's praise for the Philadelphia Church.
3. State the meaning of the Lord's promise to this church (verse 12).