The Faithful Church (Rev. 3:7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 03/16/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Faithful Church

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Revelations 3:7

 

            Message of the verse:  “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:”  (NAS95)  “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He is the one who has the key of David. He opens doors, and no one can shut them; he shuts doors, and no one can open them.”  (NLT)

            Jesus describes Himself as the One who is holy and true, and these are qualities of God alone, which is who Jesus Christ is.  Only God can be holy and true, for fallen man could never be holy and has a hard time being true, even after he has been regenerated.  Jesus goes on to say that He has the key of David, the One who opens and no one can shut, and the One who shuts and no one can open.  There is a story in the book of Isaiah that helps to explain this part of the verse.  Isaiah 22:15-25 gives the account:  15 “Furthermore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, told me to confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and to give him this message:  16 “Who do you think you are, building a beautiful tomb for yourself in the rock?  17 For the LORD is about to seize you and hurl you away. He is going to send you into captivity, you strong man!  18 He will crumple you up into a ball and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain, broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master.  19 “Yes, I will drive you out of office," says the LORD. "I will pull you down from your high position.  20 And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you.  21 He will have your royal robes, your title, and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.  22 I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. He will open doors, and no one will be able to shut them; he will close doors, and no one will be able to open them.

23 He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a tent stake.  24 He will be loaded down with responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family."  25 The LORD Almighty says: "When that time comes, I will pull out the stake that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Philadelphia means brotherly love, and it is evident that those who attended this church did love not only the Lord and their brothers in the Lord, but they also had a love for the lost.  In committing to go and speak to those kids who are in jail I believe that I need the Lord to fill me with His love for them, it is not enough to just tell them about the love of Christ, but I must show them the love of Christ in action. 

 

The Word of God was a challenge to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord to forgive my sins, and also to cleanse me so that I can serve Him with a clean heart, and so I can be able to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches, as I am a part of the church.