THE CHURCH OF THE OPEN DOOR

Sir,

In Revelation 3:7-13, Christ addresses the church in Philadelphia. This church has a special bond with Jesus because though they had little strength they did not deny His name and have kept the word of His patience. To this church Christ says; “I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name,” (Rev 3:8).

Philadelphia means ‘brotherly love’. Prophetically, the time period covered by Philadelphia is the mid 1700s to mid 1800s. During this time there was an extensive spiritual revival in many places around the world. This was a church with little strength, in other words this was a weak church but God gives them the assurance that He has set before them an open door. This church had one secret; though they were weak they kept God’s Word (vs 8). The members refused to give up on their faith in Jesus Christ; no matter what.

God uses churches and believers who know they are weak without His in dwelling strength. He empowers congregations and people who are small in man’s eyes. The Bible says, in 1 Corinthians 2:26-29; “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him.”

In 2nd Corinthians 12:9, when Apostle Paul asked God to take away his weakness, which he referred to as his ‘thorn in the flesh’, God’s reply was; “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I love Paul’s response to this teaching. He said; “Because I know this to be true, because I understand this principle, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. I delight in weaknesses, for when I am weak, then I am strong,” (2nd Corinthians 12:8-10).

God’s tools are often seen as fools. The royals could not understand why Moses left the palace to be an Egyptian slave to save Israel. The young men could not understand why Noah, an old man, put pieces of wood together to build an ark to save the world. The multitude could not understand why the son of God would come to die to save the world.

Dear reader, to be effective tools in God’s hands we have to realise that we have limited strength. We need to be wholly dependent on His unlimited strength. There is no one too small or too untalented that God cannot use.  In the words of Henry Blackbay; “If you feel weak, limited, or ordinary, then you are the best material through which God can work.”

Bopoto Gwinyai
 (7663 8191)

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: