Synopsis: In a world of instability and rejection, the Philadelphian Christians were reminded that true security rests not in shifting circumstances but in the immutable character of Christ. His holiness, truth, and authority form the bedrock of our faith. This security manifests outwardly through allegiance to Christ, openness to God’s work, humility, devotion to His Word, and spiritual endurance. Ultimately, Christ’s eternal promises—being pillars in His temple, permanence in His kingdom, and bearing His name—assure believers that nothing can overthrow the foundation laid in Him. Our hope is anchored not in life’s shifting sands, but in Christ alone.

Text: Revelation 3:8-13
Date: March 15, 2026

Introduction

Opening Illustration: The ancient city of Philadelphia experienced a massive earthquake during the life of Christ, around 17AD, that devastated the area. Even after the city was rebuilt, tremors would often be felt around the region. History records that many folks lived with such anxiety about the earthquake and the fear of the instability of their homes that they would run outside whenever a tremor would be felt.

Personal (Belonging, Steadiness, Safety): Can you imagine living like that. Never fully relaxing. Always feeling a little unsafe, a little insecure, always wondering if the ground beneath you might suddenly shift again. Many today, while not impacted by the fear of an earthquake, live with those same insecurities. The desire for belonging, the desire for steadiness, the desire for stability, and safety run very near to our core desires as humans. Yet so much of our life is built upon very shaky ground. Maybe you feel a bit of that this morning.

Context: In fact the early Christians in Philadelphia experienced this in a very unique way. Remember that Christianity arose out of ancient Israel. In the first century Christians met in synagogues all around the Roman empire, because Christianity was a sect of Judaism, it was simply a group Jews and Gentiles who believed that the long awaited Messiah had come and accomplished his work. The synagogue in the Roman empire was a very important place of security, because Jews had an exception in the Roman Empire to the rule that everyone had to worship Caesar. And so for early Christians, who were enrolled in the local synagogue, they found comraderie and safety. But in Philadelphia, as eventually happened in many other cities, the Christians had recently been expelled from the synagogue. They had lost their friends, their community, their sense of belonging. And in Jewish tradition, when you are expelled from the community, it is a full expulsion, you are totally cut off from relationships. What’s more, they now lost their special status, and could easily be persecuted by the Romans.

Textual: Christ’s letter to these Philadelphian Christians is overwhelmingly encouraging. It speak to their condition and to ours as well. In a world where stability, security, and belonging constantly feel threatened, Christ offers what the human heart most longs for—and what only He can give.

THE SOURCE OF OUR SECURITY: THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST

First, let us consider the source of our security. ‘Why is Christ alone the only source that can provide true stability we long for?’

Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”

The reason the Christian can live in an unstable world, yet still find stability, security, belonging, is because the bedrock our faith is the unshakeable character and attributes of Christ, and not ourselves.

Illustration – Chicago Bedrock: Chicago is world famous for our cities architecture. But in the early days, Chicago was very difficult to build upon because the soil was very loose. If you built large buildings on the soil, over time the buildings would tilt or worse fall over. Architects discovered a way to dig huge and deep shafts that went well below the shaky soil, all the way to bedrock firm ground 80 and 100 feet below the surface. By filling those shafts with concrete, they essentially bounded their tall buildings onto the bedrock deep below the shaky soil. All of us live in that world of shaky soil. But there is a bedrock layer, beneath the shifting soil that is immovable, that is safe to build upon. That bedrock is Christ and his character.

Three Aspects: Our introduction lays out three aspects of his character clearly.

Christ’s Holiness: First, Christ’s holiness “the words of the holy one.” In the Old Testament, God is commonly referred to as “the Holy One of Israel” as in Psalm 89:14. It is a favorite phrase of the prophet Isaiah. When we speak of God’s holiness, it is a reference to his infinite moral purity, not in degree but in essence. This is why the angels when they are gathered around God’s throne proclaim “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty!” For our purposes here what this means is that Christ as the Holy One, is not stained by sin in the slightest. The moral shifting sand of our times has no affect on him. The corruption of our times have not corrupted him. He is the Holy One!

Christ’s Truth: Second, He is the “true one.” Again, this is a description that is classically reserved for God alothene as true. His Words always come to pass. His promises never fail. In a world where the Philadelphians had been cast out from relationships that they once thought would never fail them, this is stable bedrock. His words are true and do not change. His character is true and has no lies in it. He is not a deceiver. He speaks and it comes to pass because He is the true one.

Christ’s Authority: Third, Christ’s authority. The text says “He who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” This is nearly a direct quote from the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 22:20-25. In that section of Isaiah, the prophet is speaking about a diplomat who had the authority to negotiate on behalf of Israel. That diplomat could, in a light sense open and close doors, of peace and war with nations. Here, Christ takes the title on himself, and says I am your chief diplomat. I have authority granted to me to open and close the doors that will affect your life as I need to.

Personal: I was thinking about our Church this week, and how precious this reality is for us if we really understand it. For them, their instability was that their synagogue had cast them out of community. And so there was relational shifting sand. Christ, in his title is saying “remember your foundation is not the things of this world that can shift, its the unchanging character of God.” Some in this room have experienced all the effects of the shifting sand of this world. Some have experienced husbands and wives that have left you, they were undependable. Some have experienced health situations that have rocked you, your health was not dependable. Some in this room have had their jobs threatened, your jobs are not dependable. Some in this room have experienced the sad reality that even our churches (for all the good that they are, can be undependable, and shakier than we care to admit). Beneath that shaking ground, is the bedrock of our faith. And he alone provides the stability we seek the most.

We need a deeper bedrock. Christ alone, his character and his attributes, is the bedrock to build our life upon in the midst of all this shaking sand.

THE SIGNS OF OUR SECURITY

Remember the main idea here. In a world where stability, security, and belonging constantly feel threatened, Christ offers what the human heart most longs for—and what only He can give. We have looked at the source of that security. But now I want to examine the signs of our security. When I speak of the signs I mean the outward visible qualities in your life that provide evidence to you and everyone else, that you are truly built upon the bedrock of Christ.

Illustration – Apple Orchard: Perhaps you might think of walking through an apple orchard. If you want to know what kind of apple tree you’re looking at, you don’t need to dig down into the dirt and take a sample of the roots to figure it out. You simply need to take a bite of the fruit. The fruit tells you what kind of tree it is. Well, what are the signs, or fruits, of a life built on this bedrock.

1 An Allegiance to Christ: First, and this might sound overly simple, but it needs to be said so as not to confuse. The first sign is a public allegiance to Christ no matter the cost.

Revelation 3:8 “… I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

This means that in the midst of all kinds of pressures, and anxieties, when it would have been far easier to simply reject Christ and His Word and just move on, they have not rejected Christ’s name. In fact, they stood for Christ when it cost them greatly.

One sign for you, when the world is all shaky, and the ground feels like its giving way beneath your feet, that your faith is on the sure bedrock of Christ, is Christ remains on your lips. Your allegiance to him holds fast. You may barely hanging on, but your hanging on to Christ. And that fruit affirms you and assures you of the bedrock you’re built upon.

2 An Open Door: Second, an open door. Christ says,

Revelation 3:8–9 “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut… Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.”

Elsewhere in Scripture: This language is quite remarkable and I want us to see the power and beauty of it. When Christ says that he has set before them an “open door”, he is utilizing language that is used somewhat regularly in scripture. What is the open door? It is an open door of evangelism. The Apostle Paul on a number of occasions in the New Testament speaks about how an open door for evangelism has been provided for him.

1 Corinthians 16:9 “for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

Synagogue of Satan: Specifically, in the case with this little church in Philadelphia, the open door for evangelism was among the very community that had just closed the door on them, the Jewish synagogue. Christ refers to them as a “synagogue of Satan… who say that they are Jews but they are not.” This is not intended to be some hateful terminology. A true Jew is one whose hope is placed in the Messiah that was promised from the very opening pages of the Old Testament. And a true synagogue would embrace the Messiah, receive Him, and worship Him. This local synagogue had not only rejected Christ as their messiah, but had cast out his followers. Jesus says that they have revealed who they are actually following. But, Christ is opening a door that no one can shut.

Conversion: But Christ says to this little Philadelphian church. I’m going to win them. “They’re going to bow at your feet and know I have loved you.” This does not mean that the Jews from that synagogue are going to be humiliated before the Christians. It means, that the Jews from that synagogue are going to be won to faith in Christ. Their going to bow in reverent worship of the one true and living God, and they will no longer be a synagogue of Satan, but they will be a gathering of saints.

What hope this gives us Church! What open doors might God have before us right now. Sometimes, doors look closed for a moment, but we don’t yet know how and when God is going to open them up. Open doors to be a faithful witness for Christ is evidence of your saving faith. What should this reality do to us.

Bold in Intercessory Prayer: If we believe this to be true, then we must be bold in our intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is when we go before God in prayer, and pray fervently that God would unlock hearts to believe. Because we know, that God is the only one who can unlock a heart. You can’t do it through making a logical compelling case for the existence of God. I can’t do it, by preaching with every bit of fire I have in my belly. Only God can open the door, and he delights to do so! Therefore we join him in prayer.

Bold in Sharing: Second, if we believe that God delights in opening doors, then we are bold in our sharing. We take every opportunity to get our foot in the door, and look for conversations about Christ. We don’t wait for the perfect moment, because its not dependent on the perfect moment. Our salvation is dependent on one thing alone, God opening the heart. And so we talk about Jesus, and we share his love with the expectation that at any moment, God might be working to unlock that person’s heart to believe, and to be saved!

The second fruit of saving faith we see in this passage is “an open door.”

3 A Genuine Spiritual Humility: The third evidence, or fruit, is what we might call “a genuine spiritual humility.”

Revelation 3:8 “… I know that you have but little power…”

This church legitimately had very little power. There were kicked out of the synagogue. They had no power to change their circumstances. They had no power over the Roman authorities to save themselves. In short, the strength of their church, was in their acknowledgement of their weakness. Because in their weakness they were forced to truly depend by faith on the one who has all power. In their weakness they were forced to stop trying to find a way to gain balance on the shifting sand, and to simply rest on the pillars of their foundation, on Christ.

The Apostle Paul: You might recall the Apostle Paul who complained to God about the thorn in his side, some ailment that he felt was keeping him from more productive ministry, wrote:

2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

How does this come out over time. It occurs in many ways. But you can see this mark in mature men and women of faith. It’s actually quite disarming when you see this in somebody. There is one man in particular I’m thinking of, who is an incredible pastor, a man whom God has used to do incredible work for the gospel around the world. He is so full of wisdom. And every time I speak to him, I am aware how much further I have to go in my own humility and understanding of this doctrine. The fruit here is an increasing awareness and experience of your own sin, and the greatness of the one who has saved you, Jesus Christ on the cross.

4 A Keeping the Word: The fourth evidence of God’s favor on this church is “a keeping the word.” Christ says this twice to this little church.

Revelation 3:8 “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

And then again in verse 10.

Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance…

The evidence that this little church was under God’s favor was in the way they handled God’s Word, the Bible and preaching of the Word through the Apostles teachings. This was the kind of Church that took the Bible very seriously.

Uncompromising: At this Church, this is why we are uncompromising in keeping the word. We refuse to bow the knee to cultural pressure to conform or to soften God’s Word. “We have little power but we keep his word.” This is why we as a Church regularly engage in all those conversations that everyone says are improper to engage on. We speak about gender and sexuality as God has described it in scripture. We speak about abortion, and we speak about fatherlessness, and we speak the role of government. Why? Is it to be provocative? No! It is because we have little power, but we keep God’s Word.

Bible Reading Plan: Every Christian needs a Bible Reading Plan for their personal study of God’s Word. This is a plan to read the Bible daily on your own. There are many different plans out there, and you can choose the one that works for you, but every Christian needs a plan.

Classes: Second, it is my life’s ambition to teach you God’s Word unashamedly and unreservedly, both from this pulpit, but then also in the classes we teach. Today, after service, we are offering a class specifically on the Bible, and what we as Christians believe about it. Last week we had 57 folks attend our Intro to Theology class after service! Incredible. Let’s not stop. Let’s keep learning! Why? We want to be a church that “hold fast to God’s Word.”

Keeping the word is evidence that we are on the proper bedrock.

5 A Spiritual Endurance: Fifth and finally, a spiritual endurance.

Revelation 3:10–11 “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”

What Trial?: Here we have a bit of a foretaste of language that will be used again and again through the book of Revelation. What “hour of trial” is Christ referring to? It is possibly referring to the cataclysmic events of Rome’s invasion of Jerusalem and the trials that came from that. It more likely is referring to events that will take place still in our future regarding the final end of this age. The point here is not details about that trial. The point is that Christ will grant them faithfulness in the midst of it.

Crown (Victor’s Wreath): In the midst of any trial they may face, Christ commands them to hold fast to what you have “so that” no one may seize your crown. The crown being spoken of here is not a King’s crown made of gold, but a victor’s wreath that was often given after competition. The image Christ is portraying is that as we hold fast to Him, we are already wearing the victor crown. In fact, our holding fast to Him is the evidence that we are wearing the victor’s crown.

Hold Fast: I simply want to offer here one simple application, and this belongs to a theme that in the coming weeks we will begin to pick up incessantly as navigate the rest of the Book of Revelation. “Hold fast to Christ!” God has orchestrated in his wisdom various trials that each of us will face. Some trials may be corporate in nature, causing us to navigate the storm as a family. Some trials you may be facing on your own. The command of Christ is to hold fast to what you have, the precious reality of your salvation in Christ.

Illustration – Soldier’s Photo: It is a like a soldier in the midst of a firefight. He has no way how he’s going to get out this alive. The bullets are raging, the fight seems overwhelming. He crawls into a nook where he can catch his breath for a moment. In that moment he pulls from his chest pocket, a photograph of his wife and children. He looks at them. And he remembers what he’s fighting for. He remembers why he must stay alive. And his love for his family drives him up out of that nook, to keep pushing forward, to survive, and to fight on.

Wrap Up (Gospel): So it is for the Christian. The trials are certain. The battles will feel overwhelming. But we have something even deeper than the love of our families that motivates are endurance. It is the love of God in Christ. This is a love that is deeper than marital love. It is deeper than fatherly love. Christ gave His life for you, and sealed you for all eternity in the book of life. And so in the firefight from time to time, you remember and hold fast to what you have, because nobody can take that victor’s wreath from your head.

Complete Section: To return to our apple orchard scenario. Are these fruits evidence in your life? If the answer to this question is that these fruits are not there, I want you to look to Christ today. It may be that you are building your life on the wrong foundation, or on the right foundation the wrong way.

THE STRENGTH OF OUR SECURITY: THE ETERNAL PROMISES OF GOD

Remember the main idea: In a world where stability, security, and belonging constantly feel threatened, Christ offers what the human heart most longs for—and what only He can give. In this last and brief section I want to examine the strengh of our security in Christ.

Revelation 3:12–13 “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Three Promises: Three promises are given to the one who conquers.

A Pillar: “I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” What does a pillar communicate? Stability. For a people that were experiencing instability, and being thrown out various social circles, what a promise to receive. Further, Christ is obviously not going to turn them into a stone structure. And in the final heaven, after Christ returns, Revelation 21:22 tells us that there will be no physical temple. Listen to the words of chapter 21

Revelation 21:22 “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”

Christ himself is the great temple, and those who continue to hold onto him, will discover that they are pillars in Christ’s heart.

Never Go Out: The second promise is similar. “Never shall he go out of it.” This is a promise of permanence. Christ is saying, “In this world, little church, you will experience all kinds of disruptions to life, that cause you to move, or be cast out. But not so in my kingdom. And so fix your eyes on that. It’s hard down here. But the day is coming when there is no more being cast out.

New Name: Lastly, they are promised Christ will write the name of His God, and the name of the city of God, and even His own name on them. This is the ultimate sign of ownership, Christ’s name placed over us. Not an ownership of slavery by which we fall into fear, but an ownership of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out “Abba Father!”

Review: Church, hold these promises dear. These are the promises that never fade. This world can take everything from you. But it cannot take these promises

Illustration – Alzheimers: I read of this story one time that has always stuck with me. James had a beautiful wife that he loved, her name was Rita. They had a wonderful marriage. All their life they had loved Jesus. God had opened wonderful opportunities in their life, he had been mentored and discipled by the legendary CS Lewis. As James and Rita approached their later years, Rita went to the hospital one day and discovered that she was developing Alzheimer’s. Here is this older couple going through this discovery and wrestling with how do God’s promises help me here. In an interview James says:

“Rita is worried that as she loses her memory, she will forget Jesus… So I remind her, what matters is not that you remember him, but that he remembers you.”

That’s it Church. What is the strenght of our security? The strength of our security is not even in our ability to hold onto Christ. It’s on the eternal God who has made Himself known in the person of Jesus Christ, who has died for us, who has granted us the grace of faith, and who ever stands to intercede for us at the Father’s right hand.