The Persevering Church

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2026 - MR CRAIG DENNISON

READING: REVELATION 3 VERSES 1 TO 13

I want us to look at one of the letters that the Lord Jesus Christ wrote to the church in Asia. And it is the sixth letter, the letter that he wrote to the church in Philadelphia. Now, what do we know about this place called Philadelphia? Well, it is a town that was situated in a valley. It became an important centre for trade and many passed by and did their business there. It was founded in the year 189 BC but it suffered terribly in the earthquake of AD70. Now the name Philadelphia means brotherly love. It is two Greek words put together. The word brother and the word love. It was given this name by its founder King Gumz II in honour of his brother Atalus II for his steadfast loyalty. So the king named it in honour of his brother. Now Christianity had a long lasting impact upon this town of Philadelphia. The Scottish minister, Robert Murray McShane, noted that in the 1800s, Philadelphia had a population of 2,000 people. There were five churches and 800 professed faith. So 40% of the town professed to be Christians. But sadly, after the events in Turkey in the 1920s, the Greeks fled Philadelphia in a mass exodus, and there's little to no Christianity in the town today. But in its day, Philadelphia had a church and it had a faithful church. It had a church that was highly commended by the Lord Jesus Christ for their steadfast loyalty to him. Now, one of the striking things we can note as we read through the letters to the seven churches is that only two churches received praise from Christ without any rebuke or admonition whatsoever. Smyrna, the suffering church, was praised by Christ, and Philadelphia was praised by Christ. But the other five churches received rebukes and warnings from Christ. Only two were praised without fault. Now, we have to remember the Lord Jesus Christ is never unfair in his assessment of the churches. If there are things to praise, he will most certainly give praise. If there is a rebuke needed, he will give that honest rebuke. But just because the church in Philadelphia and Smyrna did not receive any admonitions from Christ at all, don't mean that they were perfect churches. We're not saying that Philadelphia was a perfect church because even the purest churches under heaven are still subject to a mixture of both truth and error. There's no such thing as a perfect church. And the reason there's no such thing as a perfect church is because of all the people who walk in through the doors. None of us are perfect. We are all fallen sinners. We're all rebels like Adam. We all bring our own thoughts and ideas and we all bring our own pride. We all bring our own ambitions. So as soon as men walk in through the door, it ceases to be a perfect church. There's no perfect church here on earth. The only perfect church is the church glorified, the church in heaven. And the Christians have that great hope that one day we will join with the saints in that perfect church. But in saying that it should be the desire of every Christian and it should be the desire of every church to be praised by Christ. Now some churches they want the praise of men. They want worldly recognition. and they want to be acknowledged by society as being a a good influence for their humanitarian efforts, for their good works, for all the efforts that they make in the town. They want to be praised by other churches for the size of their congregation or their music or even their preaching. And many people today in churches they want the praise of men in the world. But that's not the type of praise we should be aiming for. We should be seeking to be a church that has the praise of Christ, to know that we are doing his will and not our will. That we are doing things his way and not our way. And sadly, we can all fall into that trap. Even preachers can fall into that trap. They can preach sermons that they know people will like, that won't ruffle any feathers, that will get them a pat on the back as they go out the door.  They can avoid difficult or challenging portions of God's word. And they can do things just to try and please men. Well, dear friends, we should all seek to be God pleasers and not men pleasers. Well, the church in Philadelphia were praised by Christ. Why were they praised? Well, I believe they were praised for their consistency in the faith. Put simply, this was a church like Caleb that wholeheartedly followed the Lord. They persevered in their love to Christ. They persevered in duty and in service because persevering is what Christians are called to do. Now, persevering is not always easy. In fact, persevering can often times be the hardest thing to do. We face opposition when we try to follow Christ. We face hostility. We face abuse. We face pressures to conform to this world. And we are laughed at. We are mocked and we are scorned. But the Christian is called to persevere. And the truth is if one is a Christian they will persevere because that is a mark of a true believer. They press on in the midst of evil and wickedness in the midst of laughter and mockery. They press on. They take up their cross and they follow Christ. So as we think of this church in Philadelphia here this morning, I have given this church the title of the persevering church. And there's three things I want to leave with you as we think of Philadelphia, the persevering church. They want worldly recognition. and they want to be acknowledged by society as being a a good influence for their humanitarian efforts, for their good works, for all the efforts that they make in the town. They want to be praised by other churches for the size of their congregation or their music or even their preaching. And many people today in churches they want the praise of men in the world. But that's not the type of praise we should be aiming for. We should be seeking to be a church that has the praise of Christ, to know that we are doing his will and not our will. That we are doing things his way and not our way. And sadly, we can all fall into that trap. Even preachers can fall into that trap. They can preach sermons that they know people will like, that won't ruffle any feathers, that will get them a pat on the back as they go out the door.  They can avoid difficult or challenging portions of God's word. And they can do things just to try and please men. Well, dear friends, we should all seek to be God pleasers and not men pleasers. Well, the church in Philadelphia were praised by Christ. Why were they praised? Well, I believe they were praised for their consistency in the faith. Put simply, this was a church like Caleb that wholeheartedly followed the Lord. They persevered in their love to Christ. They persevered in duty and in service because persevering is what Christians are called to do. Now, persevering is not always easy. In fact, persevering can often times be the hardest thing to do. We face opposition when we try to follow Christ. We face hostility. We face abuse. We face pressures to conform to this world. And we are laughed at. We are mocked and we are scorned. But the Christian is called to persevere. And the truth is if one is a Christian they will persevere because that is a mark of a true believer. They press on in the midst of evil and wickedness in the midst of laughter and mockery. They press on. They take up their cross and they follow Christ. So as we think of this church in Philadelphia here this morning, I have given this church the title of the persevering church. And there's three things I want to leave with you as we think of Philadelphia, the persevering church.

Number one, notice the recognition of their perseverance. In verse eight, the Lord Jesus says, "I know thy works." Now, I think those opening two words there are some of the most comforting words in the whole of scripture. The Lord Jesus Christ says, "I know. I know, he says, I know your struggles. I know your trials. I know your difficulties. I know your temptations. I know your persecution. I know what keeps you up at night. I know what you're struggling with and the battles you face. I haven't forgotten you. I haven't abandoned you. I know. I know everything that you're going through. And surely those are  words of great comfort for the Christian personally to hear Christ say, "I know." But they're also words of great comfort for the church because the Lord says, "I know. I know what's going on in your church. I know all about your difficulties. I know the pressures that you face in society. I know." The Lord says, "I know." And that is a comfort to those who are seeking to be faithful. The Lord knows what we are going through. Well, what did he praise them for? Well, we assume it to be the spreading of the gospel of Christ. He recognizes their efforts. He recognizes that they are a church and they are seeking to win souls to the Savior, bring the lost into the kingdom. He could also be praising them for defending the faith against attack. We know they had enemies, those who maybe took issue with the gospel message. And the Lord says, "I know that you're defending the faith. I praise you for this." So the Lord recognizes their perseverance. In verse 8, he goes on to say, "Thou hast a little strength." Now, the Lord acknowledges that this is not the strongest of congregations. In fact, he says they have a a little strength. He's not being rude about them. He's just being factual. This is a church with a little strength. Now, we're not told why  the Lord refers to them as little, but we can maybe make some assumptions. Maybe they lacked the gifts of ministry. Maybe they didn't have the most gifted of preachers within their churches. Maybe they didn't have the most educated of scholars to present and to teach the Bible effectively. Maybe they lacked communication skills. Maybe they didn't have financial resources to do evangelism. Maybe finances were a struggle. Maybe the congregation was older and frailer and they weren't able to do the things that they used to do before. And we could go on. But with the little strength that they did have, they used it for the Lord. They didn't give up. They didn't retire. With a little strength, this church persevered and pressed on.

I remember many years ago, I was living in England and our work had a its annual meeting. They had a motivational speaker come, a man who had spent many years in Kosovo clearing landmines. and he was recounting the story of how one day when him and his field were in the team that a landmine went off and before he knew it he was flat in his back looking at the sky and he said he went to move his legs and one of them didn't move but had been blown off in the blast and he said whenever he looked down and saw the horror of his injury and he saw those around him who had been killed or maimed He felt like just closing his eyes and giving up. But he says, "I knew if I did that. I knew if I closed my eyes, that would be me. I'd be gone." So he said with every ounce of strength that I had, I rolled onto my belly and on my elbows shuffled back to the safe zone. And he said, "It seemed to take an age. And it seemed to take all the energy I had just to move an inch. But I knew if I didn't that I would be dead. With the little strength that he had, that man persevered to get himself to safety and to the safe zone.

It might be, dear friends, that maybe we are tempted to give up. Maybe we're tempted to say, "Well, we have laboured for years and years and years and we're seeing nothing happen." Maybe like Elijah's servant who went up to the top of the mount one time and he came back down and Elijah sent him another time and he came back down. And by the time that servant was going back to the top of the mountain the seventh time, he's probably thinking, "What's the point of this? There has been no raincloud the first six times. Why is there going to be one the seventh time? Why am I bothering going again?” And yet when he got to the top, he saw that little cloud the size of a man's hand. And look at the showers of blessings that that brought in those days. Maybe we're tempted to think, well, what's the point of preaching? People aren't coming in. What's the point of evangelism? People aren't coming in. What's the point of witnessing to people? People aren't coming in. Well, dear friend, that is the Lord's business. You and I are only called to be the sowers of the seed. We are only those who go out and plant. The scripture says, "One planteth, another watereth, the Lord giveth the increase." With the little strength that we do have, and we do have a little strength as individuals and as a congregation, with the little strength that we do have, we're not to bury that talent in the ground. We're to use it for the Lord. We are to use the little strength that God has given for his service and for his glory. So let us not think that we are at an end because we're not. Today you and I, we have a little strength. And the Lord wants us to use that little strength for him. He's not asking us to go and  evangelize the whole of Coleraine in a single afternoon. But with a little strength we you and I can make an effort and we can make an impact upon our community. 

Whenever the missionary to India William Carey arrived in India, he laboured for eight years and didn't see a single convert. Eight years. Did he give up after one year? After his five-year plan saw no converts, did he give up? No. He went again and again and again and he kept preaching and then the Lord didn't just save one, he saved a multitude. There was a whole community started uh based upon the works of William Carey. Remember when William Chalmers Burns went to China. William Chalmer's Burns was used mightily by God in Scotland and in Canada. Whenever Robert Murray McShane left his pulpit in Dundee to go on a missionary trip to Israel, he asked William Chalmer's Burns to fill his pulpit for a matter of months and whenever Chalmer's Burns preached in Dundee, there was revival. In fact, such revival that it spread throughout Scotland and news of the revival even reached Robert Murray McShane in Israel. What is happening in his church in his absence? He tried to get home early to be part of the blessing. So William Chalmers Burns was used in Scotland. He went to Canada and the Lord used him there. But then the Lord called him to China. So he went to China and he preached there. Same messages that he preached in Scotland and Canada, but it nothing happened year after year. Nothing happened in China. It was 20 years before William Chalmers Burns saw his first convert in China. 20 years. But he didn't give up. The Lord called him to be faithful. He remained faithful and he kept preaching. We are not to be weary in doing good for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

Notice also in verse eight what the Lord praises them for. He says, "And has kept my word." This is a church that has kept my word. Now, I have to say this is essential in earning the praise of Christ. If you and I as individuals and as a congregation want to be praised by Christ, we have to keep his word. We have to be faithful and we have to be obedient. Whenever we keep his word, it shows obedience. It shows that we obey God in listening to his voice. Children who don't listen to the voice of their parents are not obedient children. And so Christians who do not listen to the voice of their heavenly father are not  obedient children. But it also shows love. It shows that we love our God and we want to keep his word. And it demonstrates that our desire is towards him. But also in verse eight, Christ praises them for not denying his name. You see, Christians in Philadelphia, they face the same pressure that all Christians face to deny Christ, to turn away from the faith, to follow after the world. Peter  faced this temptation in the courtyard of the high priest's house when people said, "You're one of his disciples. You're one of his followers." Peter denied. Paul was brought before Jewish leaders, Roman governors, Greek scholars, and they debated with him, but he didn't deny Christ. Well, it's one thing for us to be a Christian privately in the secrecy of our own homes, but are we willing to confess Christ publicly before others? Are we willing to let others know that we are Christians, that we are believers and followers of the Savior? Not just that we go to church on a Sunday, but that we follow the one who is the King of glory. This church was recognized for their perseverance. It was evidenced by their works, the keeping of the word, and not denying Christ's name. I wonder if the Lord were to write to us here today, would he praise us for the same things as well. 

Secondly, notice their responsibility to persevere. Whenever we receive praise, it can have one of two effects upon us. It can cause us to become lazy and to rely upon our past efforts or it can motivate us and inspire us to continue to work hard. Well, the Lord wanted to ensure this church did not become lazy. So, he gave them instructions. In verse eight, the Lord says "I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it." So in writing to this church, the Lord doesn't say, "You've tried your best. Sit down. Put your feet up." He doesn't say that. No. He tells them, "I'm praising you for your faithfulness, and I've opened a door for you. I have set before thee an  open door, and no man can shut it." So this is a door that the Lord says is open. It's not a shut door. It's not a locked door. It's a door that they're going to have to worry about any man shutting. They're not going to have to try and find this door. No, this door is before them. And the Lord Jesus wants them to enter through this door. He doesn't say just admire the door. No, he wants them to go through the door. Now, one of the hardest things to discern as a congregation is how do we advance the church? What doors should we try to open? What should we try to do as a church to to reach people and to see more people come in and to see more conversions? Well, so often we forget that it's not us who opens doors, but Christ who opens doors for us. And sometimes we are so determined to see the work of God advance that we maybe try to open doors ourselves. We don't want to be seen as being lazy, so we try this door and that door and another door. We want to be seen as a busy church, so we don't wait for God to open doors. We don't even pray for God to open doors. We try to create our own doors and go through our own doors, not realizing that Christ might not want that particular door opened. There could be times when we are pushing a locked door and Christ could have it locked for a reason. This is where prayer comes in. We ought to be praying for open doors. Praying for the Lord to open an effectual door before us. And thinking of this theme of open doors, it is biblical to wait and pray for God to open doors for us. In Colossians 4:3, the Apostle Paul writing to the church at Colosse, he said with all praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ for which I am also in bonds. So Paul asked this church of Colosse to pray that God would open a door of utterance to do what? To preach Christ, to speak Christ. Not where they could find cheap and affordable bouncy castles. But where they could preach the gospel. That is what Paul asked the church at Colosse to pray for. Pray for a door of utterance. And dear friend, the prayers of the Bible are to be our prayers as well. If Paul told people to pray for a door of utterance to speak Christ, that is a door we should be praying for. God, open a door for us to preach Christ to these people. In 2 Corinthians 2:12, Paul says, "When I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord." So why did Paul go to Troas? Well, he didn't go to dig wells, and he didn't go to establish a school. He went to preach. And what did the Lord do? He opened a door. a door there in Troas us for the preaching of the gospel. So here in two verses we have seen that the door is linked to the preaching of the word. Another example 1 Corinthians 16:9 Paul said for a great door and effectual is opened onto me. So here Paul acknowledges that the Lord has opened a great door but not just an open door but an effectual door. That is there will be much fruit, much results from this door that has been opened. In Acts 14 verse 27, Paul and Barnabas when they were come and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. Who opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles? It wasn't Paul. It wasn't Barnabas. It was God. He opened the door. Paul and Barnabas went through it. So dear friend, we are to pray for God to open doors, great doors, effectual doors, not to entertain people, but for the preaching of the gospel and for the sharing of Christ's name.

I remember many years ago I was having lunch with a woman in Wales and she was telling me that whenever she was young, she had so many ideas of how she wanted to serve the Lord. She wrote them all down in a big list and she went to her minister with all these ideas saying, "There's so many things we need to be doing. I can't possibly do them all." And the minister said to her, "Well, I want you to go home and pray over your list and which ideas are yours and which are of the Lord." So very wise advice. And she thought he was just trying to get out of doing some of her ideas. But she went home and she started praying over her great list of ideas. And one by one she started stroking them off until there was only one left and it was to go and serve the Lord. She went to Bible college. She met her husband and they laboured for years in Africa as missionaries. And she says if she hadn't been doing her list, she never would have had time to go to Bible college to study and to learn more, meet her husband and end up serving the Lord in that means. 

You and I can have ideas, and there's nothing wrong with having ideas, but we have to make sure that those ideas, they are the will of God. We have to make sure they're the door that the Lord wants us to go through. If it's not for the preaching of Christ, if it's not for the sharing of the message of the gospel, we have to question, is it the great and effectual door that the Lord wants us to do? I know some churches, they go out into communities and they cut grass and they paint fences and so forth. And while there may be a place for some of that if it's not the sharing of the gospel, it's a humanitarian effort, it's a good work. The church is called first and foremost to go into all the world and preach the gospel. That is the calling of the church. If we are not if we don't have the that single eyed focus for the preaching of the gospel, then we're not fulfilling the great commission and we're ultimately not behaving as a church. So, we are to pray for open doors, open doors for yourself and open doors for your church. But another thing the Lord recognizes here or sorry another thing the Lord gives them as a responsibility we see in verse 11 “the Lord says hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown.” Not only were the church to go through the door of service but they were commanded to hold fast to that which they already had. The Lord is saying here don't compromise with the world. Don't be lowering your standards just to please people. Keep my word. Don't deny my name. Hold fast. You know, the greatest temptation could be to lower our standards to get people in. Well, we'll do away with the old hymns and we'll get into modern music and we'll have all the instruments of the day. 

There's one church like that in Scotland. I remember a man. He went to that church and this is what he said. He said, "Oh, yesterday the singing was so good, we didn't even need to open the Bible. Didn't even need to read the Bible. Didn't even need preaching because the singing was so good." They have 500 people at that church and they're now building a mega church. And yet, that was what he said. The singing was so good, we didn't even need to open the Bible. Dear friends, that's an abomination in the eyes of God. That is not God pleasing. that is pleasing men with music and with entertainment. Christ is saying that this church they are to continue as they are though small they are faithful. They have a little strength. They are to go through this open door without changing. Well, we must be those who hold fast to the word of God. Let's not lower our standards to please the world. 

But then thirdly and finally here this morning, notice the reward for perseverance. And the first reward we see in verse 9 is that their enemies will be converted. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Now, some interpret this to mean that the enemies of the church will stop persecuting them. Others take it to mean that the enemies will be converted to Christ. Well, I believe it's the latter. I believe this is an open door for the preaching of the gospel and the effectiveness of the preaching of the gospel. such an effectiveness that even the enemies, those who persecute the church will come and join them. When it says they worship before thy feet, it doesn't mean they will worship the Christians. It means they will worship with the Christians, worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ. So what an open door. These hard Jewish hearts will be opened to worshiping the Savior. They will join with the believers. Now man can't do that but only God can do that. And surely that's what we want to see. Even our enemies converted to faith in Christ joining with us sat here praising and worshiping God. So the first reward enemies converted. Second reward kept from temptation. Verse 10 “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.” Now surely the biggest fear that we have in life is failing Christ. Failing him, letting him down like Peter did whenever he denied him. Peter went out and wept bitterly. And surely we fear failing the Lord, ruining our testimony and grieving our Saviour. Well, the Lord promises that those who are faithful to him, he will keep them from temptation. And then the third reward is that they will be made a pillar. Verse 12 “him that overcome will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem. I will write upon him my new name.” Now, look at the imagery that the Lord uses to describe faithful Christians. A pillar. You and I maybe don't think of ourselves as pillars. We maybe think that if we're anything in the church of God. We're a little stone. We're a little grain of dust. Yet the Lord doesn't look upon his people that way. He calls us pillars. He refers to those Christians in Philadelphia as pillars. What beautiful imagery. And that is the reward that Christ will give us when our earthly journey comes to an end here that we will forever be with him in heaven. We will be made that pillar with him in the new Jerusalem. What rewards do you seek as a Christian? Thought of well in the community or in the church, a life of ease and comfort. Well, the greatest reward is to be part of Christ's kingdom here on earth, but also in heaven as well. And that very thought ought to encourage us to persevere. Our time in this earth is only a vapor. There's heaven to be gained and heaven to enjoy for the Christian. We live in a day when Christians need great encouragement. We live in an evil and sinful world. Sin certainly seems to be abounding. There is hostility to Christianity. There's pressure to conform. And sadly, we look around us and we see many churches that are compromising and denying the faith. We need encouragement to persevere. And here in this letter to the church in Philadelphia, the Lord gives us a letter. And it's a letter to persevere, to hold fast to the faith, not to deny his name, but continue to be faithful, continue to seek open doors prayerfully from God for the furtherance of the gospel and the making of disciples in our nation and further afield as well. So dear friend, if you're weary today, if you're struggling, if you're thinking of giving up, may this be a letter for you, encouraging you to press on towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.