Today, Thursday March 03
Who Can You Trust? Revelation 3:7-8 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens": I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
Jesus reminded everyone of the seven churches that “He knew their works…”. The Lord knows if we are serving Him with good works or if we are serving ourselves, the flesh and yes, even the devil in some cases. We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The Lord also knows the quality of our works! What are our motives behind them and are we depending on the Holy Spirit or our own flesh?
The question in my mind today is, who can you trust? It seems that it is getting more difficult to know who to trust these days. You definitely can’t trust someone who lies to you! I believe the Church in Philadelphia is representative of the church in our world today! A world that is in total confusion and chaos, overcome with tremendous insecurity and fear! This letter to the sixth church reminds us that there is Someone whom we can put our total trust in and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ presented Himself to the church at Philadelphia as "He that is holy." This is tantamount to declaring that He is God, which, of course, He is. Jesus Christ is holy in His character, His words, His actions, and His purposes. As the Holy One, He is uniquely set apart from everything else, and nothing can be compared to Him.
But He is also the One who is true—that is, genuine. He is the original, not a copy; the authentic God and not a manufactured one. There were hundreds of false gods and goddesses in those days (1 Cor. 8:5-6), but only Jesus Christ could rightfully claim to be the true God.
It is worth noting that when the martyrs in heaven addressed the Lord, they called Him "holy and true" (Rev. 6:10). Their argument was that, because He was holy, He had to judge sin, and because He was true, He had to vindicate His people who had been wickedly slain.
Not only is He holy and true, but He has the authority to open and close doors. The Lord Jesus Christ assured His disciples just before He ascended back to heaven, with these words in Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.”
It is not the size or strength of a church that determines its ministry, but faith in the call and command of the Lord. "God's commandments are God's enablements." If Jesus Christ gave them an open door, then He would see to it that they were able to walk through it! Martin Luther put it perfectly in his well-known hymn:
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing.
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
My friend, you can totally trust the Lord Jesus Christ today to lead and guide you, to strengthen and sustain you, and to be your shield and protector! It’s my prayer that you will put your faith and trust in Him today!
God bless!