Copyright
© 2019 Michael A. Brown
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The Reward of Proven Faithfulness
To the
angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
“These
are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he
shuts no one can open. I know your
deeds. See, I have placed before you an
open door that no one can shut. I know
that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my
name. I will make those who are of the
synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars – I
will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have
loved you. Since you have kept my command
to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going
to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
I am
coming soon. Hold on to what you have,
so that no one will take your crown. Him
who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and
the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of
heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev.
3:7-13)
WHEN it
comes to giving money to a child, a wise parent does not give the child a large
sum to begin with. S/he will give the
child a small amount and quietly observe how the child spends the money, before
deciding whether the child can be trusted with a greater amount yet.
If the
child simply wastes the money or fritters it away on sweets and fizzy drinks
for its own immediate gratification, then the parent will know that it will
still be a while before the child learns to be responsible with what it has in
its pocket. If it squanders £1, then
there is no point giving it £10 yet, because it would simply waste that larger
amount too. As it grows, every child has
to learn the value of money and not to take it for granted. A wise parent will not act in a way that
allows the child to become spoilt, demanding and self-centred. However, if the child spends its money on
something worthwhile, or puts it aside with the intention of buying something
at a later date when it has saved up enough, then the parent knows that the
child can be trusted with even more.
The principle of faithfulness in
small things
Many
young preachers often daydream of one day having an expansive, influential
ministry. However, God will not give us
one hundred people to oversee and influence, if we have not yet proven that we
are capable of leading ten people in his way.
It would be disastrous, of course.
To dream of having something big, when we have not yet learned to handle
responsibly something small, is simply to betray the fact that we have not yet
learned God’s ways. It’s an illusion…
The
principle of learning faithfulness in small things is fundamental and intrinsic
to the growth of Christian character and to our usefulness to God in the work
of his kingdom:
‘Now it
is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.’ (1 Cor.
4:2)
To be
faithful with something small demonstrates practically the motivation of our
heart, vis. that we love and honour
our Master and will do the best we can for him in whatever he has given us to
do. As we carry out our task(s), we grow
and develop the capacity to carry the level of responsibility pertaining to
what we have been entrusted with, and we respond with a positive attitude and
with integrity in the issues, challenges and situations that we face. We prove our trustworthiness by doing all
things as unto the Lord (Col. 3:23, cf. 2 Tim. 2:20). So we are then trusted with more. Conversely, to be unfaithful with something small
exposes the fact that our heart is not really in the Master’s work. We prove ourselves not to be trustworthy with
what we have been given, and so we are not trusted with more:
‘He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust
also in much.’
(Luke 16:10
AV)
The worthless servant who buried his one
and only talent did not honour his master.
He was unfaithful with what he had been given, so ultimately it was
taken away from him. By contrast, the
servants who received two and five talents, each doubled what they had been
given. They showed themselves to be
faithful in their stewardship, because they evidently loved their master and were
eager to please him. As a consequence,
they were commended and put in charge of many things:
‘His master replied, “Well done,
good and faithful servant! You have been
faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness.’ (Matt. 25:22-23)
‘“Well done, my good servant!” his
master replied. “Because you have been
trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”’ (Luke 19:17)
Similarly, the faithful and wise steward
who loved and honoured his master, and wanted to please him by being faithful
with the responsibilities he had been given, was rewarded with promotion when
his master returned:
‘I tell you the truth, he will put
him in charge of all his possessions.’
(Matt. 24:47)
God works
according to this principle of expansion (or promotion) in the work of his
kingdom as we demonstrate trustworthiness, by being faithful and responsible with
that which he has given us. As one writer put it:
‘It is he who is faithful in things that are least
who may be expected to be found faithful also in things that are greater: and
this evidently is the Lord’s view of this matter… Hence he is calling for “overcomers” whose
general faithfulness to principle, even in small things, will give evidence of
the disposition, the character, to which may be entrusted the
great responsibilities of the Kingdom...’[1]
So God
rewards proven faithfulness with open doors, expansion, progress and growth in
his work. Those who have will be
given more, leading to a higher level of responsibility and wider influence:
‘For everyone who has will be given
more, and he will have an abundance.
Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.’ (Matt. 25:29)
The
oblique reference in this letter to the prophetic passage about Shebna and
Eliakim underlines the importance of this principle in God’s work. Shebna, the overseer of the royal palace in
the time of king Hezekiah, and who was therefore in charge of the keys to the
palace, seems to have been a man of overweening pride who was not faithful in
the responsibilities that he was expected to carry. He misused his position of authority simply
to get rich and carve out a name for himself.
Isaiah called him a disgrace to his master’s house. The One who searches hearts put his finger on
the inner motivations of Shebna’s heart, and exposed the fact that he was not a
genuine servant of the king. His heart
was not in the king’s business. So he
was deposed and ousted from his position.
He lost what he had and another man ‘took his crown,’ as it were (Isa.
22:15-19, Rev. 3:11).
He was
replaced by Eliakim, a man who had evidently already proven in some way that he
truly had the king’s interests at heart.
So the key to the house of David, together with the authority that went along
with this, passed to Eliakim. What he
opened no one could shut, and what he shut no one could open. In his work, God looks for people who have a
father’s heart, and Eliakim had such a heart.
He would be driven like a peg into a firm place and the honour and glory
of his family would hang on him. God
knew that if he placed the burden of his work on Eliakim, then this man would
prove faithful in fulfilling his responsibilities, rather than using his
position simply for self-centred gain and to enhance his own reputation (Isa.
22:20-24). Position and
privilege in God’s work are not given to us for our own benefit, so that we can
line our pockets or make a name for ourselves, but rather so that we can
exercise true spiritual influence and care for the growth and well-being of
God’s people (cf.
1 Cor. 4:15).
A
small but faithful church
Among
these seven churches, this church in Philadelphia is often called ‘the faithful
church.’ It was evidently small in
number: ‘I know you have little strength’
(3:8), so some believe it was the most recently planted of the seven. However, this group of believers were living
lives which were honouring to God and they were being faithful with the gospel
message. They were keeping the word of
God, they were not denying Christ’s name, and they were enduring patiently in
the face of the opposition of the surrounding society (3:8-10). The name of this city, Philadelphia (meaning
‘brotherly love’) perhaps indicates the quality of the relationships that were
developing among them. If so, even
though it was small, the blessing of God would certainly have been experienced
in this community of believers (cf. Ps. 133:1).
Jesus
presents himself to them as the One who is holy and true (3:7). The Greek adjective alethinos translated as ‘true’ in this verse means ‘truthful,’
‘real,’ or ‘genuine,’ and its verbal form aletheuo
means ‘to deal faithfully or truly with someone.’ The Lord was pleased with these believers and
did not rebuke them at all. They did not
need to repent of anything or to correct any disorder in their church’s inward
life. They were doing well: their inward
motivations were good and their spiritual growth was healthy. Because they were small, they had not yet
been able to develop the kind of ministries that the church in Thyatira seems
to have been involved in (2:19), but their heart attitude was right. The Lord could see the genuineness of their
faith and their walk with him, and he commended them for this. They were good ground for the word of God, so
they had potential for expansion and fruitfulness.
The
prophetic promise of growth and expansion
The
ascended Lord Jesus holds the key of David, and he also holds the keys of death
and Hades (3:7, 1:18). He is the One
with oversight and authority over God’s house and kingdom. When he opens or closes doors, no one can
close or open them again afterwards. Even though we may not know what the future
holds, or what may lie ahead for us in God’s work, yet we can trust him to deal
faithfully with us. He will never
fail us or let us down:
‘“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the
LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.”’ (Jer.
29:11)
So,
although we may be small, we should never despise the day of small things
(Zech. 4:10), because when we live right and are faithful in small things, God
sees the potential for growth, fruitfulness and expansion. To be small is not a problem for God, because
small and healthy will invariably grow. The
day of small things is God’s training ground for greater things in his
purposes. We are learning lessons which
are essential for the next level. So we
will not remain forever small; growth and expansion will surely come. In fact, a small but growing church is in a
better place than a larger church which has stagnated and stopped growing.
God’s
will, vision and purpose is always to build and expand the work of his kingdom,
and when he sees believers who are living right, whose heart motivations are
right, and who are being faithful in what they are presently doing, he sees
people through whom he can expand and grow his work. Those
who have will surely be given more.
These
believers in Philadelphia were in the right place for growth and expansion, so
Jesus told them prophetically that he was setting before them an open door
(3:8). It takes some believers a long
time to learn the lesson that, in the final analysis, it is God who opens
doors, not people, however godly they may be.
To try to open doors in God’s work when they are not open is simply to
waste our time and energy. It’s a vain
hope! But for this small church
community, the time had come for growth and expansion. God was intending to build his work through
these believers, and he was going to give them new opportunities for effective
work and ministry (cf. 1 Cor. 16:9).
They would move up to a new level, carrying greater responsibility and
influence in his work, and would see much fruit as a result. As Gentile believers, they were inheritors of
God’s covenant promises through Jesus the Messiah, and he told them that breakthrough
was coming among the local Jewish community who no doubt had until that time
been opposing their gospel message (3:9, cf. Isa. 56:6-7, 60:14).
Like
everyone else in this area of Asia Minor, these believers in Philadelphia would
have been used to the regular occurrence of earthquakes. Life was unstable. Running out of their homes for safety, and
then having to re-build damaged buildings (or move elsewhere) when the
aftershocks had finally stopped, would have been necessary from time to time
(cf. 3:12). So building and re-building
was something they were used to. It is
appropriate therefore that the motif of building permeates this letter, brought
out by the use of words such as key, door, pillar, temple and city (3:7,8,12). God is a builder. He gives increase, makes things grow, and
builds believers in Christ and their ministries (1 Cor. 3:7,9). His vision and purpose is to build and expand
his Church and its ministry in this world, and the gates of Hades will not
overcome it (Matt. 16:18).
The
city of Philadelphia was situated near where the regional borders of Mysia,
Lydia and Phrygia met together, and it would therefore have had strategic
importance as a gateway for the geographic penetration of the gospel both
northwards and eastwards. So this small
church now had the potential of becoming a centre for effective and fruitful
missionary work in these as yet unreached areas, if they would grasp this new
God-given opportunity and walk through the open door that he was placing before
them. And as they expanded faithfully
into this new ministry that God would give them, they would see a fresh release
of God’s presence and power working with and through them. They would grow stronger and develop further
in their capacity to carry a work of God, they would grow numerically, and God would
bless and honour their efforts by building his kingdom through them. The Lord gave them a promise that, as they
moved forward, they would know his protection in a time of widespread trial
(3:10).
An
indication of just how strongly established the ministry of this small but
faithful church eventually became, can perhaps be seen from the fact that it
was the last church in Asia Minor to fall when the Ottoman Turks conquered the
area in 1390 AD.
Holding
on to what we have through continued faithfulness
As we walk through an open door and
expand into a new level of responsibility that we have been entrusted with, the
key to knowing God’s continued blessing on our lives and work is to make sure
that we maintain the same kind of inward heart motivation, attitude, integrity
and trustworthiness that we displayed in our previous level. Continued
faithfulness leads into continued blessing and expansion.
With the passing of years and decades in a
life of ministry, it is not uncommon for us to lose our cutting edge and
effectiveness, and to no longer be the person we once were. Allowing ourselves to become complacent;
becoming proud over what we have achieved; cooling off in our zeal and taking
our foot off the pedal, because we think we have done our part now;
surrendering quietly in our heart to the temptation to use God’s work simply to
make our living from it and live a comfortable life, all lead to stagnation,
coldness of heart, a wrong focus in life, a weakened reputation in the eyes of
others, and they hinder further growth taking place. The danger then is that we may fail to hold
on to what we have been called to, and God has to look elsewhere for someone to
do the work that he would otherwise have accomplished through us. Someone else takes our crown (3:11).
The
key to overcoming these carnal tendencies is perspective: keeping fresh our
forward look to the return of Christ.
He is coming soon (3:11) and our opportunities for serving him in the
here and now will then be over. Time is
short and passing quickly, so we cannot afford to give place to attitudes of
heart that will prevent us from continuing to serve him faithfully. Anticipating the bridegroom’s return keeps
our affection towards him warm and our hearts humble as we serve him. We want to live a life that pleases him and
to fulfil his purposes for our life.
It was this perspective that the wise and
faithful steward maintained for many years.
He worked faithfully for his master day by day, keeping one eye
constantly on his soon return. With a
determined heart, he stayed in his master’s purpose for his life and continued
to be faithful with the specific responsibilities which had been entrusted to
him. He held on to what he had, and so
he did not forfeit his reward when his master returned (3:11, Matt. 24:45-51).
Honoured
as a pillar of strength
As we continue to walk closely and
obediently with God in life and ministry, we grow both in terms of inward
spiritual character and maturity as a servant of God. The person who was once small and had little
strength, grows, develops and becomes much stronger as s/he learns to bear more
weight and responsibility in God’s work.
Becoming a pillar of strength in God’s work speaks of solidity of faith,
stability and reliability of character, and the strength to carry load in the
exercise of godly spiritual influence over others (3:12).
It is natural to want to make our mark in
life and to be remembered for something that we were or did, just as this small
community of believers in Philadelphia are remembered for their
faithfulness. However, there is never
any need for us to seek to make a name for ourselves in God’s work. To seek popularity or the limelight because
we are insecure; to try to climb ladders within a church, denomination or
organization; or to jockey for positions we desire to have, thinking that that
is how success, spiritual influence and reputation come in the work of God, is
carnal thinking and is actually counterproductive in God’s work. The danger is that it leads to the wrong
people being in the wrong positions, and thereby hinders what God could
otherwise do in and through that church, denomination or organization. God
knows our hearts and he does not honour carnal human motivations in his work. For him to truly have his way and fulfil his
purposes through us, self-ambition has to be crucified with Christ and put out
of the way. It has no place in the
kingdom of God.
It is our demonstrated trustworthiness,
our continued faithfulness in ministry, our perseverance through difficulties,
the maturing of our spiritual character, and our proven heart for people and
for God’s work, which open doors for us and eventually make us into seasoned
pillars of strength in God’s work by which we become known, respected and
honoured by others.
This is why we honour those who proved to
be great servants of God. To list names
such as John Wesley, Hudson Taylor and Andrew Murray doesn’t even begin to
scratch the surface of heaven’s honour roll.
There are thousands upon thousands of them, men and women from every
nation and tongue on earth, whose names and reputations live on. We honour them not simply for how God used
them, but also because of what they were in God: their heart for him, their
godly character and their faithful commitment to his work over a lifetime. Believers who became great in God and made a
name for themselves in his work, were always people who proved themselves
faithful in the time when they were relatively unknown and had only small
things to oversee and take care of.
When they read this letter, the believers
in Philadelphia would have recognised the play on the word ‘name’ in verse 12,
since their city had changed its name no less than three times since the reign
of Tiberius. In ancient times, the names
of the local gods were inscribed on pillars, and to have one’s own name
publicly written on a pillar was considered to be a social honour, a memorial
which would bring widespread recognition.
We are known by the name of him to whom we belong, so as we continue in
faithfulness over a lifetime, God stamps our lives and ministries with his
three-fold seal of ownership, approval and honour, writing on us his name, that
of the New Jerusalem as the bride of Christ, and Christ’s own new name (3:12,
cf. Isa. 56:5, Rev. 21:2). He is not
ashamed to be known as our God (Heb. 11:16).
He is pleased with us, and his presence works with us and through us,
openly affirming our ministry before others.
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