June 15, 2011
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Words of Affirmation

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord, often my dreams fade and I grow discouraged. Renew and restore me today with new energy and strength.

Read REVELATION 3:7-13

For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

[7] “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. [8] 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. [9] 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. [10] Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. [11] I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. [12] The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them 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 them my new name. [13] Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Reflect

“There are always vacancies in the ministry of encouragement. The world is full of discouragers. To encourage, to lift, to offer the tonic of praise, is a Christ-like service” (John N. Gladstone).

How has your faith helped you to develop your self-confidence? How many sermons have you heard where the preacher has done nothing but encourage the congregation, telling them how much God loves them and what good plans he has for them? This message to Philadelphia is one such sermon! As the second to last letter it matches the second of the seven in offering no rebuke to them. It focuses on how the risen Jesus sees all that is good in the congregation and affirms it: their faithfulness to the Word, their refusing to deny the name of Jesus (8), and their endurance despite pressures from within (9) and without (10).

In the light of this, the injunction is to keep doing what they have been doing (“hold on to what you have,” v. 11)—to keep on keeping on! To support them in this, Jesus will open all the doors they need (7). The image here is of the king’s doorkeeper, who decides on behalf of the king who is allowed into the king’s presence. Whatever doors are shut by other people, the one who holds the key to God’s presence opens the door and assures the faithful of their place there, in anticipation of their place in the Kingdom of God at the end (12).

This reassurance is foundational to our life and our ministries. Paul talks of the love of God “poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5), and the Spirit’s role in enabling us to cry out to God as Father (Rom. 8:15). Jesus needed to hear God’s affirmation of him as “my Son, whom I love” before going, “full of the Holy Spirit,” into the desert to face temptation. If Jesus needed it, how much more do we!

Apply

Spend time in God’s presence, listening for the encouraging things God wants to affirm in you. Who are those who can pass on this encouragement to you?

Closing prayer

Father, when storms assail and hindrances oppress, shield and encircle me, imparting Your encouraging grace. Thank You for hope for today and strength for tomorrow.

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