Surrounded by wolves

Friday, 04 September 2009 15:34

Today I want to start the service with a joke. A conservative organization seeking to try to save wolves from extinction. This organization has offered a reward of $ 5,000 for each wolf to bring him alive. It turns out that these two brothers, John and Joseph, they were avid hunters decided to take advantage of this offer as generous, and went into the woods to hunt wolves. "They were walking for three days in the woods, but found a clue animals. It was late in the fourth night and both lay down to sleep under the stars. They spent a few hours, and John awoke with a noise, when I look around you saw that they were surrounded by a group of a hundred wolves. His eyes shone red from the reflection of the fire, some bark, while others grumbled and showed his sharp teeth, and slowly advanced ready to attack. So John, slowly and quietly woke his brother and said that we will wake Jose to get rich. How funny, right? But, why this joke? "I made this joke because there are many believers who are in the same situation as John and Joseph are surrounded by wolves ready to attack, but unfortunately, they see the situation as they saw them. But is there another way to see situations? We now turn to the Word of God.

Revelation 3:7-13 - To the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus saith the Holy One, the true, who holds the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no man openeth: ⁸ I know thy works behold, I have set before thee an open door which no man can shut it you have little strength, have kept my word, and hast not denied my name. ^{9 Behold,} I give of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie, behold, I will come and worship before your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ^{10 Because} thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will kept from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. ^{11 Behold,} I come quickly; catch what you have, that no one take your crown. ^{12 He} who overcomes I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and never again will he leave it and write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, New Jerusalem, which descends from heaven, my God and my new name. ^{13 He} that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

As I always say, to have a better understanding of the message that God has for us today, we will require a brief review of history.

Philadelphia was a city in Asia Minor, strategically located on the way to Rome to the east and was a city with walls strengthened. It was a city of greater influence and was located on the edge of a volcanic plain result was fertile, so it was perfect for growing grapes. That's why should not surprise us when we learn that this city was the center of worship of the Greek god Dionysius, who was the god of wine. Its proximity to active volcanoes was a constant threat, so most of the population lived outside of the city. Philadelphia quickly became an important commercial center and rich. When the coast cities declined, Philadelphia grew in power, and retained its importance until the last days of the Byzantine Empire. Philadelphia was renamed several times, but the city still exists. Today it is called Ala-Shehan. It is thought that this name was struck from a corruption of the Turkish words Allah-Sheher which are defined as "the city of God." Already have a good idea of what Philadelphia? know some must be wondering why we need to know all this? "Brothers, we need to know these little details because it is through them that we realize that Christians in this city were a minority. It is important to know these things so that we realize that Christians in Philadelphia were not a large group, they were a powerful group or exercising influence, were a group considered important by the inhabitants. It is important to know these details so that we realize that Christians in this city, like Christians today, were surrounded by wolves, which are moving slowly, ready to attack. As the Lord in Luke 10: 3 when it commissioned the seventy to go out to preach "... behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves." They were not considered important by the world, but if Christ were very important. For this same reason we see that He sent this letter. With this in mind we continue our study today.

, el que tiene la llave de David, el que abre y ninguno cierra, y cierra y ninguno abre ." ¿A quien fue dirigida? Fue dirigida al ángel de la iglesia; ahora deseo detenerme aquí y aclarar que el ángel a quien se refiere aquí el Señor, no es como muchos piensan. Quiero que quede muy claro que aquí no se esta hablando de un ángel celestial. La palabra ángel viene de la palabra griega "aggelos" que significa "mensajero; un enviado; uno a quien envían." Así que sin duda alguna podemos ver que esta carta va dirigida al mensajero, o al enviado por Dios; en otras palabras va dirigida al pastor de la iglesia para ser compartida con la congregación. Segundo, en este versículo encontramos el autor de esta carta, en estos primeros versículos encontramos que el Señor se presenta a la iglesia de una manera inusual. Digo esto porque cuando estudiamos las cartas del Señor a las iglesias en el libro de Apocalipsis, siempre encontramos que el Señor utiliza símbolos para describirse, pero aquí Él se identifica de manera bien clara. Fíjense bien como les dice " el Santo, el Verdadero ." The first thing I want to do today is to establish to whom this letter was addressed and the author of it. This is something that we can meet easily to read "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus saith the Holy One, the True, the who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts, and shuts no one opens. "Who was targeted? was addressed to the angel of the church and now wish to stop here and clarify that the angel who is referred to here Lord, is not as many think. I want to make very clear that here there is talk of a heavenly angel. The word angel comes from the Greek word "aggelos" meaning "messenger, an envoy, one who sends." So that certainly we can see that this letter is addressed to the messenger sent by God or in other words is addressed to the pastor of the church to be shared with the congregation. Secondly, this verse we find the author of this letter, these first verses we find that the Lord is presented to the church in an unusual way. I say this because when we study the letters of the Lord to the churches in Revelation, we always find that the Lord uses symbols to describe, but here he identifies so clear. Take heed as they say "the holy and true." These two titles can only be granted to Jesus, and that has never existed and never will anyone able to comply as the Word tells us in Romans 3:23 we read "... for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ... "With this in mind we have established we continue to review the letter to the church in Philadelphia.

As we establish with our brief review of history, the church in Philadelphia for many was a small thing. Because of its location, and the people around him, I'm sure they play these Christians go through many difficulties, I am sure they are were surrounded by wolves ready to attack, but the situations however, they remained faithful to God. This is something that Jesus recognized, and therefore we see that he says "I know thy works: behold, I have set before you an open door which no man can shut it you have little strength, have kept my word, and hast not denied my name. "But now ask ourselves, do we may be talking about Jesus here with us? "He has opened a door for us? The answer to both questions is YES! To be this clear in our mind, let's stop here for a brief moment and examine the meaning of the word "gate" used here. The word "door" was translated from the Greek word "thura" which is used in a parable or metaphor to describe an opportunity to do something, and as the entrance to the kingdom of God. So without any doubt all here if we say that God has opened doors in front of us.

The problem that exists is that people often do not realize that Jesus door opens. But here Jesus speaks of in this day, to remind the most important thing he has done for us. The most important thing he has done for us is to open the doors of the Kingdom of God, that you and I can enter. Brothers, we have not denied his name, because I agree, He has opened the doors of the Kingdom of God . Jesus is the only one who could open, and Jesus is the only one who can close. But when we are faithful, if we stand firm in faith, the blessing does not stop there only. As he opened the doors of the Kingdom of God, He has also opened doors for us here on earth. Can anyone remember a door that the Lord has opened? Some may say that the Lord has opened any door, but if you think that's because you have not thought about the meaning of the door. As we discovered a short time ago, simply because a door is an opportunity to work for God. An open door is the opportunity that God gives us to do something, a door is the opportunity that God gives us daily to fulfill our mission and preach his holy and divine Word. An open door is the opportunity that God gives us to carry the message of hope and salvation to this world so desperately needs. If I were to tell you all that He has opened doors for me, I would take the rest of the evening do. So I will not, just tell them the two that have the most meaning for me. He opened the door for me to preach, and he will open the doors of this temple.

But you have opened the doors of this temple is not as significant, and that He always habré doors. The important thing is that I had the courage to go through those doors. The problem that exists is that most believers do not have the courage to enter through the doors that He will have I, or are so concerned and involved with the difficulties of this life that just do not see them. This can always be attributed to the fact that our faith is never the level that God wants this, our faith is never 100%, and this is something Jesus clearly tells us in Matthew 17:20 when he says "... Jesus said: Because of your little faith, for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a mustard seed, say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there, and it will move and nothing will be impossible. "Brothers, it is important to know that the mustard seed is something very small, and realize well that here Jesus compares with the believer's faith. So that faith from which we are so confident, that faith we profess with such certainty, Jesus tells us that not the same or a mustard seed. Brothers, we simply put our faith fails, and when our faith fails us, the consequence always is that we fail the Lord.

A great reality of living in this world is that we all have to go through difficult situations, right? The problem there is that in most situations, the believer chooses to remain inactive. What I speak? I speak of situations as a problem at work with the boss. I speak to that friend or relative who is suffering , disheartened or disappointed. I speak of all those we know who are in a bad economic situation. I speak for all those parents who know they are going through difficult situations with their children. I speak of those couples that we all know they are going through difficult situations with your spouse. It could go on citing situations, but I think everyone already have a very good idea of what I speak, right? These are all situations that we know, and unfortunately, if it affects us directly, then we see them as insignificant things. In almost all fail to see that these are situations that God opens doors to minister to those who are going through those situations. The reason why many fail to recognize these gates is directly related to the spiritual life of the believer. In other words can be attributed to the lack of prayer and devotion to God is attributed to our spiritual weakness. I say this because the sad reality the case is that most of the people of God will not take the time to pray. I say this because the sad reality is that most of the people of God dedicated his life to God. The single most believers will spend a God or two hours per week when they come to church, and that's if they come to church. But when a believer takes the time to pray, when a believer dedicates his life to God when a believer strengthens your spirit and keeps a line of communication with the Father. When a believer can be guided by the Holy Spirit, then the possibilities and opportunities to work for God are countless. Let us ask again, what God has opened doors for me?

Continuing our study we read "Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie, behold, I will come and worship before your feet and acknowledge that I I have loved you. "In this verse we find that the church was obviously some kind of opposition or resistance. remember that they were surrounded by non-believers, here the word refers to them as" the synagogue of Satan. "Here in this verse also find the promise that Jesus did to them, and makes every believer who is faithful to His Word, He tells us "... behold, I will come and worship before your feet and acknowledge that I I have loved you. "In other words, let them know Christ to them and every believer that we should not fear anything. Here he is telling us that he use his power to defeat any circumstance or situation. He defeated all opposition and everyone will know that He loves us because of our faith.

When we are full of faith, when we are true to their word, He also promises something very important. He says "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth." Some theologians claim that this verse speaks about the rapture of the church as we find described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. Others argue that this verse does not mean they will be caught up in the clouds with Him, but we'll be saved from the coming times because he kept us safe inside the church. It's a great theological debate, but in either case, the main point is that he says "I will keep thee from the hour of trial." The important thing is knowing that we have the promise that we shall be saved from the time of trouble. He has promised to return, and we'll be at His side. He says "Behold, I come quickly; catch what you have, that no one take your crown. ^{12 He} who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and never again will he leave it and write about it the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and my new name. "

Jesus here says "Hold on to what you have." In other words, we can not afford to be led out of the will of God, we can not allow them to be wrested from the blessings He has given us. There are two promises to all who remain faithful, and for anyone who has the courage to step through the doors He opens. First Jesus says, "I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and never will depart there. " A column is a symbol of power and permanence. Our Lord promised to anyone who cares and remembers what has a permanent position of power in the afterlife. Jesus is telling us that when we are faithful, that when we do His will here on earth, then we have a place which will never come out. This is a promise of safety, permanence and power. Second Jesus says: "I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, New Jerusalem, which descends from heaven, my God and my new name. " Jesus is saying that give us three names. We will receive the name of God, which is a symbol of belonging and possession. When we resist, when we are faithful, when we keep His Word faithfully, we then we belong to God in the absolute and perfect. When we have God's name written in us, we need not fear anything. The second name given is the symbol of our future residence, "the new Jerusalem." So that identifies us as citizens in the Kingdom of God. The third name is a name nobody knows, and He who has not yet revealed as we find in Revelation 19:12 we read "... His eyes were like blazing fire, and on His head were many crowns, and had a name written that no one knows but himself ... "

To conclude. We must be willing to go through the doors that He habré. We must be faithful to his word. We can not allow anyone or anything get in the way of what God has for us. Examine your life today and ask yourself, what God has opened doors for me? Examine your life today and ask yourself how this strengthened my faith enough to through those doors? A great reality of living in this world is that we are surrounded by wolves, we are surrounded by a world that hates and hates what we stand for, but this must never be an obstacle to stop us from preaching the Word of God. The Church of Philadelphia probably had to go through difficult times, but they remained faithful to God. Because they remained faithful, God opened the doors of blessings, doors were not closed. Why say this? I say this because even the church of Philadelphia exists and continues to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I conclude now with a question, are you surrounded by wolves, or just opportunities? "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

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