The Lord says:
"Hold on strong and persevere! Hold on strong to My Word, no matter what happens around you. Hold on strong to what I have spoken for you to be and to do. Hold on strong to My vision, mission and purpose for you. Keep looking unto Me, the One who is the author and finisher of your faith. Keep looking to My Word, for My Word will never fade away. Your patience and perseverance will eventually pay off."
Beloved of God, hold on strong! Persevere in your faith! Hang on strong in what the Lord has spoken for you to be and to do!
The word 'perseverance' here (in the context of God's words today) can be defined as 'persistence in being and doing what the Lord has spoken, despite the resistance that comes from the enemy'.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV) says, 'Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily and ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.'
Hebrews 12:3 (NKJV) then says, 'For consider Him (Jesus) who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.'
Let us read from New Living Translation (NLT) for Hebrews 12:1-2 now. 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne.'
Hebrews 12:3 in New Living Translation (NLT) then says, 'Think of all the hostility he (Jesus) endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up.'
Beloved of God, if you have become weary, or if you are on the verge of giving up on something that the Lord has spoken for you to be and to do, the Bible has an answer for you. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith! Hold on strong!
Revelation 3:10-11 (NLT) says, 'Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.'
Now, this was the message of the Lord for the church in Philadelphia those days.
Let us rewind a little to Revelation 3:7-8 (NLT) now, 'Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open: "I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me."'
See the words 'obeyed my word' here? And see the words 'I know all the things you do' here? It means the Lord knows all the good that you have done, yes, even the things that you have done in secret for the Lord. The Lord sees, and the Lord will know how to reward you openly. So, keep obeying Him, keep trusting Him, and keep looking to Him, no matter what happens around you in this world. Amen!
By the way, what are the seven churches (the church in Philadelphia was one of them) in the Book of Revelation? These are seven major churches of early Christianity, namely, in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. So, seven in all. Interestingly, unlike the others, the church in Philadelphia was not given any particular rebuke from Jesus!
And what does the 'seven churches' here represent? There are many different views, depending on who that particular Bible scholar or Bible teacher is. But one view is that each church mentioned in the Book of Revelation here represents a period in church history. Each of these periods can be traced to a specific phase in the Body of Christ over time, from the beginning of the church till Christ's return. If you ask me, I would say we are now in the period of both the Philadelphia church and Laodicea church. This is the end-time.
Between these two (Philadelphia and Laodicea), which kind of church are we? We all may want to do some soul-searching and look at ourselves. Let us not judge others. But let us look at ourselves. When I share this, I am looking at myself too. Are we Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13)? Or are we Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)?
By the way, 'Body of Christ' here means God's church as a whole, and we are all members and different parts of this one Body of Christ. Yes, one Body of Christ. Not two, not three, but one Body. You see, we can be kingdom-minded. We are talking about His kingdom here. God's kingdom, not our own kingdom or empire. Not 'my church is better than your church' or 'my church is bigger than your church' kind of mindset. But to see how God sees. To have His kingdom in mind. And in this kingdom, there is only one Head, that is Christ; and one Body, that is His church as a whole, i.e. the Body of Christ.
In Ephesians 4:1-6, the apostle Paul wrote: 'I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.'
In Ephesians 4:11-13, the apostle Paul wrote: 'And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (i.e. equipping the believers for the work of ministry), for the edifying of the body of Christ (i.e. building up the body of Christ), till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...'
The Lord has called some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Collectively, they are called the five-fold spiritual offices. What are their functions? There are two functions: Equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, and edifying of the Body of Christ. You see the words here? The Body of Christ! It means the church as a whole. The Lord has called these to equip and to edify, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In other words, till we come to the maturity in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete ways of the Lord. It can also mean to see what God sees and how God sees His church, His body, i.e. the Body of Christ!
You see, these gifts are given to some of us not to lord over others, or to take advantage of others, or to build our own kingdom. Instead, these gifts are for us to equip and edify (or build up) the believers, the Body of Christ!
In Ephesians 4:14-16, the apostle Paul wrote: '...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ - from whom the whole body (each of us is part of this whole body), joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, and with this, it causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.'
In Ephesians 4:17-19, the apostle Paul wrote: 'This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.'
What the apostle Paul meant here is that we in the Body of Christ should not let ourselves be contaminated by the ways of this world. We may be in the world, but we are not of this world. We are of God. We should instead walk in the ways that the Lord wants us to walk, having our spiritual eyes of understanding enlightened, and to see what God sees and how God sees, even how God sees His church.
