-PART 6 OF 7-
 “THE FAITHFUL CHURCH” 

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.  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.   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.  Behold, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.  Him that overcometh 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 the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. ”  (Rev 3:7-13)

The Church in Philadelphia, meaning “brotherly love” in Greek, was located approximately 40 miles Southeast of Sardis and is the second church out of the seven who received no criticism from The Lord.  It is also the only church whom the Lord gave promise to keep from “the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world.”   They are known as “The Faithful Church.”

Throughout this letter, the believers here were greatly encouraged and commended of the Lord.  Despite the fact they had very little strength, they had yet remained faithful to Him, kept his word, and did not deny his name.  Apparently, this was not a very large body of faithful believers and unlike many others, did not possess the outward appearance of greatness, yet in the eyes of The Lord they were because of their great faith and diligence of service in love to Him.  A church who possibly suffered much trial and tribulation, ridicule and the like, they yet through it all remained steadfast in the word waiting patiently on deliverance from the Lord.  Their genuine love for him was not in mere words only, but in deed for they were those who were not “hearers” of the word ONLY, but were DOERS of the word.  They could not be persuaded to receive false doctrines, nor the worshiping of idols but clung to the doctrine of TRUTH.  He urges them in this letter, to hold fast to that which they have that they would not be subjected to loss of their crown, for indeed He comes quickly. 

And this is the word TODAY as well for those of “The Faithful Church”, Hold fast to that which you have, that no man may take your crown.  For it is possible for one, after having run the race, to lose the reward due to becoming slothful, no longer keeping watch and having the Lord find you sleeping upon his return. The Apostle Paul said it best: “Know ye not that all they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, they ye my obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

There is no day, no specific time, nor hour given by the Lord of His return however there are given prophetic warnings of things that should take place prior to his return, and such we must heed to.  We are seeing many of those prophecies fulfilled in this day, in this hour, thus we must remain watchful with the expectation that the trumpet could sound at any time and his church could be caught up to meet with him at any given moment.  If we remain faithful, the Lord promises that such he would make as a “Pillar” in the temple of His God indicating that such a one would become a “permanent” part of the Temple, The Body of Christ.  A pillar is stable and secure in it’s surroundings, and such would be the same for those who would remain faithful in Him. 

“The Faithful Church” is one that will be attacked more frequently and more fiercely by the enemy than others.  He will go after this church with a sole desire to destroy it because he despise their faith and faithfulness to The Lord.  His intent is to cause those of the faith to loose their faith through much hardship and trial, where they would begin questioning the Lord, questioning the truth of His word, and ultimately  turning their backs on the Lord (as some have already done).  He needn’t go after the other churches as harshly for many (in the church) are already doing his bidding in surrendering to false doctrines; worshiping of idols; lack of genuine love for the Lord and the brethren; strifes and divisions; carnal minded; selfishness, ungodliness, receiving and committing all manner of wickedness and sin, and the like.  This pleases the enemy greatly, thus his focus will NOT be on these individuals as they are no threat to him.   They speak the words of The Lord, but do not LIVE by them.  They welcome any doctrine that will please their ears and reject the doctrine that brings upon conviction.   They appear outwardly to be alive, but inwardly they are spiritually dead.  They label sins of the flesh as harmless by their continual participation and teach others to do the same.   Their prayer life is little to none, and time is more spent speaking unkindly in gossip about one another, rather than their speech being used for edification.  They sing their songs of apparent worship to The Lord, but it ends up being more of a “performance”, than TRUE worship.   They speak of love, but inwardly hate.  They speak of forgiveness, yet are themselves unable to forgive others.  They speak of giving, yet withhold their gifts from one in need, yet oh how they themselves love to receive!    Yes, these things please the enemy so very much and he will not bother with one who behaves in such a manner.  But, those who speak the truth regardless of the consequence; those who live according to the Word and teach others to do the same; those who refuse to bow the knee to man made idols nor surrender to man’s false doctrines; those who refuse to deny the name of The Lord but publicly and boldly confesses Him before man; those who speak of love and LIVE IT; those who speak of forgiveness and have forgiven; those whose flesh have died to sin and spirits are alive in Christ; those who openly condemn sin rather than condone it; those who have surrendered themselves completely to The Lord, those who have place God first above everyone and everything; those who GENUINELY worship Him through song, through speech, through everyday living; those who love the Lord God with all their heart, soul and mind and have demonstrated such through action;  These of “The Faithful Church” are whom the devil will come against fiercely seeking to devour, desiring with all his might to destroy.  Therefore, think it not strange that you would suffer much while another “professing” believer suffers very little to none.  The Lord knows you are faithful, he KNOWS in advance that despite what the enemy may throw your way, you would remain loyal, and faithful to Him and his word.  Even when it may appear you have very little strength, you will still from the heart remain faithful to Him.   He knows of your faith and has promised to reward all who would endure it to the end. 

“The Faithful Church” is a blessed church, and one of which every professing believer should strive to become a member….  It is the one church that The Lord has promised would be kept from having to go through the most horrific time to come, the time of great distress and sorrow, the time that is to come soon where no one left on the face of the earth would be able to escape…That time being, The Great Tribulation!  Behold he comes quickly.  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

I Love you all so very much.  Have a blessed week in the Lord and remember:  Whatever we do, do ALL for the GLORY of GOD, who ALONE is worthy of the GLORY and the PRAISE!

The Lord be with you this day and always!  Shalom Uvracha (Peace and Blessings)……..

Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh,
Adonai Elohim Tzeva-ot
Asher Hayah Va-ho-veh VaY’vo

Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come!

May the peace of the Lord be with you today and always……

Khandielese
Daughter & Servant
   of the Lord God