Restore our Fortunes O Lord

Sometimes I wake up in the morning aware that I’ve been dreaming and knowing it was a dream where much has happened, even though I can’t remember it in detail.  When we look at Psalm 126 we get the impression that the Psalmist has experienced something very similar and he too would struggle to put everything into words as his feelings are far too profound.

Some have surmised that this is a psalm about the ending of the exile as in some versions verse 1 is rendered: ‘When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion’ (NIV).  However, the more literal translation is: ‘When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion’.  The key thing is that this is a psalm about restoration which means it could be linked to the events of the books of Ezra or Nehemiah or the rebuilding of the temple in Haggai and Zechariah’s time.  One thing we can be sure of is that this is a psalm of unmitigated joy as the Psalmist struggles to find the right words and medium to express himself (v2).  He’s overjoyed because he’s someone who clearly doesn’t take God’s blessing for granted!  We need to note that times of extraordinary and miraculous blessing are not the norm for God’s people.  Yes, we see remarkable and miraculous happenings during the exodus and the conquest of the Promised Land.  But for a lot of that time things were pretty ordinary from day-to-day in Old Testament times.  It could be that the Psalmist troubled by the state of the nation has been praying for a revival, and now it’s here!

Now revival is happening among the Lord’s people others are noticing.  The second part of verse 2 notes that: ‘then they said among the nations “the LORD has done great things for them.”’  When I was studying ‘Revival and its Results’ at college it was interesting to read contemporary secular accounts of various revivals.  Very often they would try and explain it away, but they couldn’t ignore it and they certainly couldn’t pretend it wasn’t happening!  But the challenge here is also for God’s people to acknowledge that.  So in verse 3 the phrase at the end of verse 2 is now rendered as: ‘The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.’  The Lord’s people also acknowledge the Lord’s great work!

But whatever the Lord’s people were involved in, and whatever blessing had already been given, it was very necessary for them to request blessing to continue the work of restoration, and this is what the Psalmist now does.  The Negeb was a dry and desolate place.  Yet it was prone to flash floods which would transform it.  The Psalmist now prays for the equivalent of that in blessing (v4)!  But verses 5-6 also show how realistic the Psalmist is.  He realises that any revival of God’s people’s fortunes must start with them.  The phrase: ‘those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!’ (v5) illustrate that repentance is often the way that the Lord starts to revive his people and indeed that is seen in their history.  Nehemiah’s great reforms started with a serious prayer of repentance (Nehemiah 1:6-8).  If the Lord is going to pour out greater measures of blessing by his Spirit, his people have to be ready for it!

It’s been said there’s three ingredients that are vital for revival to happen.  The first two are prayer and preaching, which is what we’d expect.  Perhaps it is the third that is a greater challenge for the church today, and that is the purity of God’s people!  As there is more and more of a tendency towards easy-believeism in the church today, this is the area that believers need to be challenged on if we are to stand any chance of seeing the extraordinary work of revival in our church and nation today!

Would you like to hear a sermon on this Psalm? New Years Sermon: Restore our Fortunes O Lord!

The Lord Surrounds His People

In the first film of the ‘Lord’s of the Rings’ trilogy, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ the scene is brilliantly set.  By using a voiceover and showing us images of the Shire (the place where the early part of the story takes place) Peter Jackson, the director and one of the writers, sums up everything we need to know in one line.  “Time moves slowly in the Shire, if it moves at all.” In this way, he quickly sets a scene of permanence and security which the book takes many pages to do.

In the same way the Psalmist achieves the same atmosphere in the first part of this psalm.  ‘Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides for ever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and for evermore’ (vs1-2).  One can imagine the faithful Pilgrims looking at the mountain Jerusalem was built on and thinking of the LORD’S (‘Yahweh’, God’s Covenant name) promises to his people.  Apparently, the mountains surrounding Jerusalem hid the city.  So the picture is one of protection and security and reminds us of the blessings in the covenant (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) which were promised to the Lord’s people if they were faithful.

Yet verse 3 strikes an ominous note.  ‘For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, least the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.’  The Lord may be good to his people, but his people have to be vigilant!  It’s possible this Psalm was written at the time of Nehemiah’s reforms.  He faced opposition from without (Nehemiah 4) but also from within.  Some Israelites were oppressing their fellow countrymen by lending money and charging impossibly high interest so the work of rebuilding the city’s walls was being hindered (Nehemiah 5).  Even when the work was completed and the people had been instructed in God’s law and his covenant, after being away, Nehemiah came back to find that God’s law was being broken and the covenant ignored by some of the people (Nehemiah 13:4-31)!

I can’t remember the number of times people have said to me: “that used to be such a good Bible teaching church 20 years ago!”  So what’s happened?  Did a bunch of heretics suddenly take over its leadership overnight?  Of course not!  If that happened the faithful would notice!  Rather, the teaching of the gospel had been slowly eroded, until one morning the faithful woke up and realise they’re part of a church where the gospel has been lost!  The sad thing is: ‘the righteous’ end up being part of a corrupted church!  So the Psalmist, being a realist, calls on the Lord’s people to be vigilant and guard the truth.  The most chilling words in the New Testament are found in 1 Corinthians 10:1-6.  Here Paul reminds the Corinthian church of the immense blessing that the Israelites experience during the exodus, yet concludes: ‘Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness’ (1 Corinthians 10:5 NIV) as a warning to a proud church!

But the Psalmist takes nothing for granted.  The blessings of the first part at Deuteronomy 28 are followed by a series of curses (vs15-68) warning the people what will happen if they fail to keep their part of the covenant!  So the Psalmist prays for, and doesn’t take for granted, the Lord’s blessing to the faithful.  He prays for protection from those who would try to infiltrate the Lord’s people with bad ideas and he prays for peace (vs4-5).   As God’s people had to then, the church today must guard against false teaching.  Maybe we’ve been privileged with good gospel teaching over the years.  If so, let’s thank the Lord and be humble enough to ask for his continual protection!

Like to hear a sermon on this Psalm? The Lord Surrounds His People!

Our Help is Found in the Name of the Lord

The phrase: “it could have been so much worse” is one that suggests that by some stroke of luck things have turned out much better than they should have done.  But there’s a real   sense in this psalm that David is saying: “it should have been so much worse”.  The difference being, luck was not involved, but God was, and that made the difference!

A possible translation for the phrase ‘Songs of Ascents’ is ‘marching song’ which fits very well with the military theme of this psalm.  It may have been sung with the call and repeat theme we often see in military films featuring American soldiers and their sergeant.  The psalm has two themes and the first is relief.  It’s likely this was written during the early part of David’s reign.  He’s now the undisputed King of Israel, but when Israel’s old enemy the Philistines heard about it they: ‘went out to search for David.  But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold’ (2 Samuel 5:17).  This was a major threat to the nation and David had to retreat!  So there’s a real sense of relief that God has acted in the way he has.  But there is also a theme of praise because God has acted to redeem his people, and proved faithful in an impossible situation.

But what can a psalm like this teach us today in the difficulties we face?  I believe there are three things.  Firstly, David throws down a challenge to the people; will they acknowledge the Lord’s intervention?  The phrase: ‘when people rose up against us’ (v2) suggests a surprise attack!  So the situation was desperate and the people have to acknowledge that if they are to understand the nature of the Lord’s intervention.  Despite David’s undoubted charisma and military expertise he wants them to look to the Lord, not to him!  That’s important for believer’s to do when they see answers to their prayers; otherwise we can get a very unrealistic view of our own abilities!

Secondly, the believer has to acknowledge the desperate nature of certain situations!  In verse 4 the picture David uses is of the flash floods which were common in the desert regions around Israel and could be devastating.  David was never going to be ‘Man of the Year’ in Philistine’s eyes and this verse makes it very clear the Philistines only had one thing in mind, the annihilation of David and Israel!  Yet the outcome was very different.  The language of 2 Samuel 5:20 suggests that the Lord’s intervention was, either literally or metaphorically, like the Philistine army being swept away by a flood!  David was in a defendable position, but defendable positions can be besieged and sooner or later he was going to have to come out and fight.  So he enquired of the Lord (2 Samuel 5:19).  It was such a desperate situation that only the Lord could turn it around.  When we face issues that seem too big and difficult we need to acknowledge that.

Finally, the believer needs to acknowledge that the Lord is faithful.  I can’t help thinking that David, as he invokes God’s covenant name (Yahweh), is thinking of Deuteronomy 28:7.  ‘The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you.  They shall come out against you one way and flee before you in seven ways.’  I suspect he was also thinking of Deuteronomy 20:4: ‘the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’   The point was even if David and Israel were facing the most desperate situation, and verses 6-7 certainly imply that, the Lord would remember his promises to them and to David!  This is why reading the Bible each day is so important.  It’s not about gaining great theological head knowledge, but knowing, in our heart, that God is faithful and we can entrust difficult times to him.  Then we can join with David and say that it’s the Lord who makes a difference and put our confidence in him! 

Like to hear a sermon on this Psalm? Our Help is Found in the Name of the Lord.

Our Help is in the Name of the Lord.

Psalm 123 was obviously written during a time of trouble for Israel.  But what was the cause of this trouble?  Some have surmised the Psalm was written during the Assyrian King Sennacherib’s threat against Jerusalem in the reign of King Hezekiah (see Isaiah chapter 36- 37).  Others feel that it may have been written during Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem’s when he and the people were constantly under threat.  In the end, the time doesn’t particularly matter.  The key thing is that God’s people are under threat are now being ridiculed for their apparent weakness.

My wife Tracy and I love the old ‘film noir’ pictures.  I recall one in particular called ‘Key Largo’ where  Edward G. Robinson plays a notorious gangster who holds guests, the proprietor and his daughter hostage at a hotel on Key Largo.  One is the guests is played Humphrey Bogart.  So the scene is set, we have a hero and a villain and it is just a case of when Humphrey Bogart’s character will act.  That’s very much the case in this psalm.  The Psalmist see’s that God’s people are under threat, but he never doubts that the Lord will act at some point!

In verse 1 the Psalmist looks to the Lord: ‘To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!’  This conveys two things, firstly the Psalmist is giving God his rightful place, and secondly he’s expecting the Lord to intervene.  This is given added emphasis in verse 2 where he uses the illustration: ‘as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.’  In the Ancient Near East hand gestures were important in the relationship between a servant and their master as they were used for summoning the servant for service.  So this illustrates the writer is expectant and alert to the fact that God will act.  He doesn’t know when or how, but he expects it and is watching for it as he’s also expecting to play a part in the Lord’s solution to the problem.  But the illustration of the master – servant / maid – mistress relationship also illustrates his complete dependence on the Lord.  In the last part of verse 2 the writer uses the term: ‘LORD’ which in the original Hebrew text is rendered ‘Yahweh’, the covenant name of God.  And that’s significant as the covenant was made up of God’s promises to Israel, all of which he had kept!  So it illustrates the Psalmist’s supreme confidence, he expects God to answer his prayer!

But the Psalmist does more than just expect God to act.  He requests mercy from the Lord in the face of all the contempt and ridicule that he and others are facing.  I think it’s harder to face ridicule of the Gospel message rather than objections and opposition.  If someone objects to something you say, you can at least reason with them.  But when people just want to make stupid jokes about something that’s precious to you, that’s harder to deal with as it’s far more hurtful!  So the Psalmist is doing the wisest the thing he can, he petitions the Lord in prayer. We could make the mistake of thinking that the psalm ends on a negative note.  After all, the problem is not resolved as we have no indication that the Lord has answered his prayer.  But if we take that approach I believe we’ve missed something very important.  In effect, the writer of the psalm has bypassed the problem.  He has gone over the heads of those who taunt God’s people and appealed to one far greater than the most powerful of enemies as he is: ‘enthroned in the heavens!’ (v1).  The Psalmist looks to the Lord, focusing on him and expecting to be part of the action that he will take.  This is the attitude we to need to adopt in the face of opposition if we are to be effective in our service to the Lord in an age of ridiculed and cynicism!

Would you like to listen to a sermon on this Psalm? Our Help is Found in the Name of the Lord.

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord.

The fifteen psalms that make up the ‘Songs of Ascents’ seemed to illustrate various stages of the pilgrimages to the various festivals in Jerusalem.  When we get to Psalm 122 it’s clearly about the arrival in Jerusalem.  The first two verses illustrate that the Psalmist, David, is thrilled at the idea of going up to the house of the Lord, which at that time was the tabernacle.  The phrase: ‘let us go to the house of the Lord!’ indicates fellowship with the others on the journey as well as in worship.  But this zeal does not abate once the journey is over as he’s just as the zealous when he gets there.  So this is not just a psalm about good intentions, but rather about seeing them through and maintaining the zeal when the journey is over and it comes to worship!

Verses 3-5 illustrates that Jerusalem was a wonderful place, a really great city and meeting place where the tribes gather to worship at the house of the Lord.  But that wasn’t always the case as in the past, when David conquered it (2 Samuel 5:6-9) it was probably just a collection of houses in a strategic situation rather than the capital that David transformed it into.  This was the city that he’d used to unify Israel not just as a nation but also in worship!  And that is illustrated by the use of the covenant name of God, Yahweh (LORD) in verse 4.  They worshiped God because of who he is.  The covenant existed purely because of God’s initiative when he’d rescued them when they were slaves in Egypt.  Therefore, it illustrated his character.  The word: ‘judgement’ in verse 5 can be rendered ‘justice’ in the Hebrew.  So he was a God who they could always depend on to do right!  So Jerusalem symbolised unity amongst God’s people and spiritual reform!

But David takes nothing for granted, just because things are OK now doesn’t mean they always will be.  So he urges his fellow countrymen to: ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ (v6).  His prayer is simple, that peace and security would continue.  Archbishop Thomas Cranmer who wrote the ‘Book of Common Prayer’ and what became the ‘Thirty Nine articles of the Church of England’ was a major figure during the Reformation in England.  But what isn’t commonly known is that he had further reforms in mind which he was unable to ever get around to due to his martyrdom!  That illustrates that great men of God never assume anything; the Christian faith is a reforming faith based on the unchangeable Word of scripture!  In other words, the church has to be constantly reforming itself in the light of scripture.

And that’s illustrated in the last verses of this psalm as they show that David is praying that genuine fellowship will continue.  The phrase: ‘For my brothers and companions sake’ (v8) illustrates this.  His prayer is that: ‘For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good’ (v9) illustrates he is concerned that pure true religion would continue and the nation would grow because of it.  So, just as David is praying for their next part of their growth, we need to as well if we are looking to the Lord to take us to the next stage of spiritual renewal.

Would you like to listen to a sermon on this Psalm? Let us go to the House of the Lord.

 From where does my Help come?

One of things I do, when I’m thinking about what course of action to take on an issue or preparing a piece of scripture to preach on is to ask myself a series of questions. The answers dictate the approach I’ll take to the particular issue or scripture concerned.  In this psalm the Psalmist does something very similar by asking the question: ‘From where does my help come?’

It’s easy to imagine this psalm being sung on the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The writer is asking a rhetorical question.  The idea of him looking to the hills (v1) is interesting as they could have been the home of leftover pagan shrines (Deuteronomy 12:3-4) or the ‘high places’.  In Deuteronomy chapter 12 we learn that the Ark of the Covenant was to move around Israel, but only to the place that the: ‘LORD your God shall choose’ (Deuteronomy 12:11).  So the ‘high places’ represented heretical worship!  The Pilgrims, approaching Jerusalem, would have seen the Temple Mount, the place where the Ark now resided, as the true place of worship!  So the Psalmist contrasts these two places of worship.  He seeks to serve and worship the Lord in the right and proper way as his: ‘help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth’ (v2).

The Psalmist invokes the name ‘Yahweh’ the covenant name for God, which is a name that reveals so much of his love for his people. In other words, he helps because he cares!  But this is also a personal relationship which is seen in the use of the words: ‘My help’.  This encourages us today as the Christian has a personal relationship with the Lord. He is not some vague or distant deity; rather he has revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ in his word the Bible.  He watches over his people as represented by Israel in this psalm.  The people of God in the Old Testament are often referred to as the ‘Assembly’ which is where we get our word church from.  So God watches over his people, the church, in every day and age, and the encouraging thing is that he will: ‘neither slumber nor sleep.’ So he’s always attentive to his people’s needs.

So this gives the writer of the psalm great confidence. The pilgrimage up to Jerusalem would have gone through some difficult country where there was a real risk of injuring oneself.  But the Psalmist is confident that the Lord will not let his foot slip (v3).  How might we apply this today?  The idea of pilgrimage was to keep focus and achieve the goal of worship at the temple in Jerusalem.  In the same way, if we keep our focus on the Lord we will not get knocked sideways by the next strange fad that is making its way round the churches.  We will be so rooted in God’s Word our focus will be on him alone!  Some of the festivals would have been during the hot summer and the travelling would have been very tiring, yet the nights would have been surprisingly cold!  But the Psalmist looks to the Lord to sustain his people during the difficult journey (vs5-6).  The last verses (vs7-8) emphasise again that the Lord watches’ over every aspect of a believer’s life as he cares about them that much!

Pilgrimage was hard but, for the believer, it was worth it! There will be many things that will bruise and buffet us as we seek to serve the Lord, but we can take encouragement from this psalm. Jesus when speaking to his disciples the night before his crucifixion, knowing that they were going to go through a roller-coaster of emotions, said: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). His words, and this psalm show we have a God and Saviour who cares about us and is with us every step of our earthly pilgrimage! That’s a great encouragement whatever we face!

Would you like to hear a sermon on this Psalm? My Help comes from the Lord.

Deliver me, O Lord!

This month we start a new series on the ‘Songs of Ascents’.  I tend to think of the ‘Songs of Ascents’ as pocket sized psalms as with the exception of Psalm 132 they are very short.  The Hebrew term can mean: ‘marching song’[1] or: ‘going up’[2] and it’s likely these psalms were sung during the pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem.   It’s thought there are 15 of them as there were 15 steps to ascend to the temple.

But Psalm 120 may strike us as an unusual psalm as we generally think of psalms starting in a negative light and changing at some point to end on a positive note.  But Psalm 120 doesn’t and we find the writer in a similar situation at the end of the psalm to the one he was in at the beginning!

A while back I was talking to a former elder of the church I grew up in.  Both of us could recount situations where we’d counselled people only for them to go off and do exactly the opposite of what we’d advised.  The worst of it was that sometimes, when challenged, they would respond by saying we’d told them to do it!  The upshot was we often felt there were people talking about our supposedly bad advice behind our backs.  The Psalmist seems to have a similar problem as he appeals to the Lord to save him: ‘from lying lips’ and: ‘from a deceitful tongue’ (v1).

The nature of the problem is highlighted in verse 1.  The phrase: ‘I called to the Lord’ has a past and present tense in the Hebrew which suggests the problem has been going on for some time.[3]  Perhaps, every now and again, the psalmist thinks that the malicious gossip has died down only for it to resurface again!  Yet he prays confidently expecting the Lord to intervene.  He may be troubled, but he knows that when deceitful things are said behind his back there’s very little he can do about it.  So instead the Psalmist looks to the Lord to vindicate him by asking the rhetorical question: ‘What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? (v3).  There’s a sense that even if he’s under attack, the: ‘shape arrows’ (deceitful talk), which are aimed at him, are, in actual fact, being turned back on his attackers (v4)!  As Christians we will undoubtedly find ourselves in the same kind of situation from time to time, but the wisdom of the Psalmist is to leave it with the Lord rather than continually worry about a situation we can do very little about!

Yet the Psalmist is realistic enough to know that he appears isolated.  After all, the Lord is not under any obligation to act as a ‘Fairy Godmother’ and wave a wand so all our problems disappear.  The mention of Meshech and Kedar in verse 5 is interesting as both places are far apart and outside the borders of Israel.  As the Psalmist can’t literally be living in both and as they were barbarous and pagan places, I suspect the Psalmist is experiencing a sense of spiritual loneliness which is typified in verse 7 where he wants peace and yet those against him are for all out war!  In other words the slanderous attacks on him may be coming from people he would expect to be on his side!

In the end this might seem a very strange psalm for Pilgrims to sing as they’re going up to the temple in Jerusalem.  Surely they’d want something a bit more uplifting.  But basically it reflects the Pilgrims / Christians experience.  We, just as they were for being zealous, will be singled out for ridicule and slanderous things will be said about us and our faith!  But what a joy it was for them to come together in pilgrimage, as it is for us today in fellowship, with God’s people!

Would you like to listen to a sermon on this passage? Deliver me, O Lord!

[1] Eric Lane, Psalms 90-150, The Lord Reigns (Fearn, Christian focus, 2006) 143.

[2] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms volume 3, Psalms 107-150 (Grand Rapids, Baker Books 1998) 1068-1069.

[3] Craig C. Broyles, New International Biblical Commentary, Psalms (Pleabody, Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers Inc, 1999) 447.

‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me’ (Revelation 3:20).

If the biopic of Ed Wood is to be believed, the man was an eternal optimist!  However, he is remembered as one of the worst film directors of all time which is typified by his ‘masterpiece’ ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’.  The level of ineptitude is amazing; a plot that makes no sense, inane dialogue, people running through a set in different directions to try to disguise it’s the same set, scenes changing from night time to broad daylight for no apparent reason.  If that’s not bad enough, Bella Lugosi who had started shooting the film died during the production, but rather than reshoot his scenes, Ed Wood decided to use existing footage and cast a new actor in the same role.  But the replacement was taller and looked nothing like Lugosi, so he spent the entire film with his cape covering half his face to try and disguise the fact!  Yet Ed Wood continued to make films oblivious to the fact that the critics slated them.  The Church at Laodicea had a similar problem, they were a delusional Church!

Laodicea was a well to do place and the Church clearly thought highly of itself (v17).  But Christ reserves his most scathing criticism for them!  The area was noted for its springs of tepid water that ran over limestone.  The water was not fit to drink and would make you sick.  The King James Version has Jesus’ memorable phrase: ‘I will spue thee out of my mouth’ (v16).  They were apathetic and are summed up in an accusation that the Church is neither cold nor hot’[1] and that makes Christ sick!  Steve Wilmshurst notes: ‘it seems that they pose no threat at all to the world or to the enemy of souls.  In a sense, that is the worse criticism there can be made of the Church – that it bothers no-one.’[2]

Unfortunately Churches can be apathetic in certain areas today.  Churches can rely on the experience culture.  For them it is all about what’s happening now rather than the eternal truths of scripture.  Or how about a ‘Social Gospel’, obviously there’s nothing wrong with helping the poor and needy, but if that becomes your all embracing action and message there’s problem!  Even Churches that prize the Gospel highly can be guilty of having a critical spirit and looking down on other Churches by being all too ready to point out their faults while overlooking their own!

The remedy for the Church in Laodicea was to see themselves as Christ saw them. Laodicea was noted for its eye ointment, and that’s the origin of the reference to: ‘salve’ (v18).  Only them would they see their apathetic state.  The area was also known for black wool which was a major part of the town’s wealth.  The solution to their poor spiritual state was to look to the riches and holiness Christ offered which is represented by the offer of white clothing. Verse 20 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.  It’s not about Christ knocking on the door of an unbeliever’s heart but reconnecting with one that has grown cold in its love for him! ‘The idea is of the supper in Eastern lands, which was the best meal of the day, a leisurely and lingering affair.’[3]  The picture is of the kind of meal you have with a friend where, by the end of the meal, you feel you know them so much better!

Verses 21 and 22 highlight Christ love, not just for the Church in Laodicea, but the universal Church which are represented by the ‘Seven Churches’.  Those at Laodicea could overcome this spiritual malaise and share in what Christ had attained (v21).  Jesus loves his Church, he laid his life down for her (Ephesians 5:25-26) and never gives up on her.  Whether our Churches are big, small or weak in the eyes of the world, if they’re faithful Christ will continue to walk among them and have fellowship with them (1:12-13).  Now that’s real encouragement whatever we face as Churches!

Would you like to listen to a Sermon on this passage? Why an Apathetic Church makes Christ Sick!

[1] Leon Morris, Revelation (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1969) 82.
[2] Steve Wilmshurst, The Final Word, The Book of Revelation Simply Explained (Darlington, Evangelical Press, 2008) 48.
[3] Richard Books, The Lamb is all the Glory, The Book of Revelation (Darlington, Evangelical Press, 1986) 52.

“I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8).

There was something gratifying when Leicester City won the Premier League a few years ago.  Here was a football club whose entire squad did not amount to anywhere near the price that is usually paid for a top player in a transfer deal.  Yet, completely unexpectedly, they managed what seemed unattainable.  One can only surmise that it was done through hard work and a considerable self- belief.  The little Church at Philadelphia was going to achieve something incredible to!  However, this was not going to be through their own efforts, but rather, by what Christ was going to do for them.

In verse 8 Jesus promises great opportunities for them with the phrase: ‘I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.’  What makes this so significant is that if you’d been visiting Philadelphia the Church was highly unlikely to be listed in the guidebook.  This was a small and weak looking Church which would have seemed insignificant!  But it was a faithful Church as this is the only other Church, alongside Smyrna which Christ finds no fault with![1]

The phrase: ‘I have set before you an open door’ is not dissimilar to two other similar passages which are found in Acts 14:27 and Colossians 4:3.  In both cases, it is used to illustrate there would be great opportunities for the Gospel.  But, how were these opportunities going to come about for a Church which lacked a voice in its community, and would generally have been dismissed as irrelevant? Strangely enough, the answer is most likely to be found in the opposition they were facing.  Verse 9 refers to Jewish opposition, with the use of the phrase: ‘synagogue of Satan’. Remarkably, however, Jesus claims: ‘I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you’ (v9).  As remarkable as it might seem, this opportunity meant the conversion of many who were previously giving the Church a really hard time!

If the language seems harsh, it is for good reason.  Although it does not play well with people today, there is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus Christ alone (as stated in Acts 4:12): “salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which they must be saved.” Jesus himself also said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  The Church in Philadelphia had believed this, and stood faithfully by this truth, as a result of which they were going to see others turned to Christ!

But persecution was coming.  The phrase: ‘the whole world’ in verse 10 almost certainly refers to the Roman world which they were part of.  Yet, once again Christ was going to protect them, and the persecution would be limited.  But there was also blessing to be gained.  The rather odd phrase: ‘a pillar in the temple of my God’ (v12) is a picture of permanence and security.  Jesus is almost certainly using the history of Philadelphia in this rather strange illustration.  In AD 17 there had been a major earthquake and ever since many people had been reluctant to move back into the city.  So those who lived in Philadelphia would have lived in the state of insecurity – hence this emphasis on permanence.  In the end, whatever their apparent smallness and weakness as a Church, they were secure in Christ.  Verse 13 illustrates they were to take these promises to heart and live in the light of them, as their security was in the sovereign Christ: ‘the living one’ (1:18). For us, in our ever-changing world, we too can find the same security in Christ.

Like to listen to a sermon on this passage? A Church that has an Opportunity.

[1] This is probably why the phrase: ‘key of David’ is used in verse 7.  The phrase occurs in Isaiah 22:22 where the faithful Eliakim displaces an unworthy official and is given by the Lord authority to open and shut just as Christ has here.  Michael Wilcock, The Message of Revelation, I saw Heaven Opened (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1989), 55.

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God” (Revelation 3:1-2).

The danger of projecting an image is people seeing through it and finding out one’s not living up to it.  When Jonathan Aitkin brought his case for liable against a newspaper and Television program his defence was he would depend on: ‘the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play.’[1]  However he’d lied and he was found guilty of perjury.  He lost his marriage, his fortune and his freedom.  There’s a happy ending as he eventually found peace and fulfilment in Christ.  But imagine how the Church at Sardis felt when Jesus basically says to them: “I’ve found you out!”

Visibly Sardis was probably a large lively Church.  No doubt the equivalent Church today would have the latest technology, a lively worship band and a charismatic Pastor, who, as their website says, gives ‘inspirational and empowering messages!’  But the problem was Christ had seen through them (v1).  The truth hurts at the best of times, but to be told: “you are dead” must be a devastating blow!

So what was wrong?  We cannot be sure, but we have some clues.  Firstly, although Sardis had a temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, making it was as pagan as any city in Asia Minor, there’s no mention of any opposition!  Persecution is a notable feature, in these letters to the Churches.  Could it be their ‘inspirational’ Pastor, served up feel good messages that didn’t challenge anyone?  The second clue is found in the introduction of the letter which refers to: ‘the seven Spirits of God’ (v1, see Isaiah 11:2).  The Holy Spirit is essential in the preaching of God’s Word for a Church to have life, so it’s not stretching logic too far to suggest the Church was spiritually dead![2]  However empowering their Pastor’s messages appeared to be, they were the words of man, not God!

So Jesus urges them to: ‘Wake up’ and remember their first experience of the Gospel (v3).  They had received new life in Christ, but now they were killing any chance of spiritual growth!  Being on the side of a hill, Sardis was virtually impregnable from three sides.  The road leading into the city was well fortified.  Yet twice in its history the city had been caught unprepared and was conquered by stealth.[3]  The Church was so oblivious to their situation Jesus was going to come against them: ‘like a thief’ (v3) and catch them completely unawares which sounds ominous for the future of the Church.  But as before, Jesus has a promise for the faithful.  The phrase: ‘in white’ (v4) represents the holiness that Christ will give to those who have not ‘soiled their garments.’  What’s wonderful is that others in the Church could join them (v5).  The second part of the verse does not suggest that believers can fall away.  We have lost the idea of this today, but the Bible is often written in corporate terms referring as it does to the ‘people of God’.  So this does not mean individuals will be excluded from: ‘the book of life’ but that the future of the Church was on distinctly dodgy ground (v3).

Once again the passage ends with: ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches’ (v7).  This is surely a warning to a Church in any day and age to take a hard look at itself and to assess whether its works are: ‘complete’ (v2) in the eyes of Christ, because what role can we possibly serve if he finds us lacking where the work of the Holy Spirit is concerned?

Would like to listen to a sermon on this passage? A Church that’s all Style but no Substance!

[1]  Michael White, Political Editor, The Guardian, Tuesday 11 April 1995
[2] Steve Wilmshurst, The Final Word, The Book of Revelation simply explained (Darlington, Evangelical Press, 2008) 51.
[3] Leon Morris, Revelation (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1969) 75.