Good news for the weak

[Debp]

I enjoyed reading this devotional, thought others might like it, too.

By Paul Ellis

Jesus said the Philadelphians were doing well, "because you have a little power, have kept my word, and have not denied my name" (Rev. 3:8b).

What does it mean to have little power? A church with little power is a small or weak church. The Philadelphians weren’t anything special. They lacked the resources of their Laodicean neighbors, and they didn’t have the reputation of the Sardians. Like David, the shepherd boy, they were of little account in the eyes of man. But weakness is no barrier to God. If anything, it’s an advantage because God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27).

A God who shares the stage with no one seems to delight in choosing the least qualified and the most unlikely. When he needed a man to lead Israel against the Midianites, he chose chicken-hearted Gideon. When he needed a herald for the gospel of grace, he chose law-loving Saul. And when he needed a father of many nations, he chose grey-haired Abram. In the economy of grace, the weak and unqualified seem to have the inside track.

If you were to tour the churches of Asia, you might be dazzled by the energetic Ephesians, the affluent Laodiceans, and the spiritual Sardians. And you might be tempted to dismiss the small Philadelphian church as inconsequential.

But Philadelphia was where the action was. Jesus had given this little church an open door that no one could shut. What a wonderful encouragement for those of us who think we have nothing to offer.

You may have no money, no reputation, no ability, no connections, no education, and no chance, but as long as you have the Lord, you have everything you need. You may have no power, but the Lord-with-the-key (see Rev. 3:7) has given you authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

How had they kept his word? They believed Jesus and took him at his word.

What made the Philadelphians special was this: They were believing believers who were persuaded that the Lord is good and trustworthy. This is the only clue to their commendation. Nothing else is recorded. Search the letter to the Philadelphians and you will not find seven steps to success, or twelve strategies for church outreach. The Philadelphians simply believed Jesus, and that made all the difference.

The question to ask is not why the Philadelphians had an open door, but why some of the other churches weren’t as fruitful. The answer is they were captive to unbelief. They put little stock in the grace of God.

The Ephesians’ unbelief was evident in the way they were working themselves to death. The Sardians’ unbelief was in their refusal to receive the gospel. And the Laodiceans’ unbelief was in their boast that they needed nothing from God. Unbelief takes many forms and not even believers, strangely, are immune from its insidious effects.

Whenever the promises of God are dismissed or doubted, the result is barrenness. Apart from him we can do nothing.

—

Extracted from Letters from Jesus, a finalist at this year’s International Book Awards.

[Worship Warriors]

The Philadelphia church had the key of David. This is what made the church so fruitful and powerful in ministry. Key denotes power and authority.

 

The key of David

what is the key of David? David was a worshiper. 1 chronicles 28:11-19, David received a revelation about the order of worship that God wanted to establish on the earth.

Because both David and Solomon gave themselves to establishing the worship of Yahweh in the land, in their days, Israel expanded, their enemies were driven back, and there was peace and prosperity in the land. There was so much prosperity in the land that when the queen of Sheba came, there was no more spirit left in her. The prosperity of the nation far exceeded the fame she has heard of.

 

In Chronicles, when Israel went astray, God raised up reformers with a vision to restore worship as David commanded it. All the good kings that restored temple worship according to the order of David prospered and won great victories in battle because they placed the worship of Yahweh at the center of the nation. All those who forsake the worship of Yahweh did not proper; they were defeated by their enemies

the place of prophetic worship in the last days

The key of David is: God’s government being released through prophetic worship that is agreement with the heavenly order of worship in heaven. Prophetic worship changes the atmosphere of a city while at the same time it causes the dark side of our hearts to get weaker and weaker. We use this key first and foremost to open doors into his presence through worship and then as David did, we use this key to conquer kingdoms until the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our LORD and of his Christ.

 

Behold I have set before you an open door and no man shuts except the One opening

This is our identity as the people of God to be a house of payer. The word prayer is translated Tehillah  praise in Hebrew. This is the kind of praise that God inhabits. To be clamorously foolish raving about God, releasing incense that will push back the enemy and establish God’s government in the earth.

 

That’s why Satan will do anything to stop God’s people coming into their identity as a house of prayer. He hates the incense.

 

[Blood Bought 1953]

1 hour ago, Debp said:

I enjoyed reading this devotional, thought others might like it, too.

By Paul Ellis

Jesus said the Philadelphians were doing well, "because you have a little power, have kept my word, and have not denied my name" (Rev. 3:8b).

What does it mean to have little power? A church with little power is a small or weak church. The Philadelphians weren’t anything special. They lacked the resources of their Laodicean neighbors, and they didn’t have the reputation of the Sardians. Like David, the shepherd boy, they were of little account in the eyes of man. But weakness is no barrier to God. If anything, it’s an advantage because God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor. 1:27).

A God who shares the stage with no one seems to delight in choosing the least qualified and the most unlikely. When he needed a man to lead Israel against the Midianites, he chose chicken-hearted Gideon. When he needed a herald for the gospel of grace, he chose law-loving Saul. And when he needed a father of many nations, he chose grey-haired Abram. In the economy of grace, the weak and unqualified seem to have the inside track.

If you were to tour the churches of Asia, you might be dazzled by the energetic Ephesians, the affluent Laodiceans, and the spiritual Sardians. And you might be tempted to dismiss the small Philadelphian church as inconsequential.

But Philadelphia was where the action was. Jesus had given this little church an open door that no one could shut. What a wonderful encouragement for those of us who think we have nothing to offer.

You may have no money, no reputation, no ability, no connections, no education, and no chance, but as long as you have the Lord, you have everything you need. You may have no power, but the Lord-with-the-key (see Rev. 3:7) has given you authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).

How had they kept his word? They believed Jesus and took him at his word.

What made the Philadelphians special was this: They were believing believers who were persuaded that the Lord is good and trustworthy. This is the only clue to their commendation. Nothing else is recorded. Search the letter to the Philadelphians and you will not find seven steps to success, or twelve strategies for church outreach. The Philadelphians simply believed Jesus, and that made all the difference.

The question to ask is not why the Philadelphians had an open door, but why some of the other churches weren’t as fruitful. The answer is they were captive to unbelief. They put little stock in the grace of God.

The Ephesians’ unbelief was evident in the way they were working themselves to death. The Sardians’ unbelief was in their refusal to receive the gospel. And the Laodiceans’ unbelief was in their boast that they needed nothing from God. Unbelief takes many forms and not even believers, strangely, are immune from its insidious effects.

Whenever the promises of God are dismissed or doubted, the result is barrenness. Apart from him we can do nothing.

—

Extracted from Letters from Jesus, a finalist at this year’s International Book Awards.

 

Please stay away from that Paul Ellis. He’s all mine.......lol.......

I somehow got on his site.. “ escape from reality” several months  ago.....he is fantastic— right up there with Rene Roland and Andrew Farley......I highly recommend these guys for Newbies out there who want to start their Christian Walk on solid Biblical ground......we are ordered by Our Heavenly Father to enter into the rest obtained by the finished work of Jesus at the Cross.....Traveling around this site, one will see all kinds of rules,regulations,traditions and commandments—  nothing wrong with that— but we need to prioritize them. This Command Of God to REST in the Gospel Of Grace and abandon your pitiful attempts to be righteous on your own power is unique . God declares that you are in a state of “ UNBELIEF”. You think God gets angry because of our sins? Refuse to trust and rest in what His Son did for you and you may “ really” know His anger.Some say it is a Salvation issue.Why Gamble? Pray to God that He show you how to rest ......then you can attend to all that other stuff. God bless

 

[Sower]

On 8/16/2019 at 5:05 AM, Worship Warriors said:

The key of David is: God’s government being released through prophetic worship that is agreement with the heavenly order of worship in heaven. Prophetic worship changes the atmosphere of a city while at the same time it causes the dark side of our hearts to get weaker and weaker. We use this key first and foremost to open doors into his presence through worship and then as David did, we use this key to conquer kingdoms until the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our LORD and of his Christ

I have been looking, searching to find what the scripture says about the "Key of David"
Could you give me the scripture references of your definition you posted above.
I also cannot find Prophetic worship in scripture. What is that?
Where does it say "we" use the key to open doors.
Thanks Worship.

[unworthyservant]

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
 

[JustPassingThru]

On 8/15/2019 at 11:03 PM, Debp said:

Jesus said the Philadelphians were doing well,

The "key" is in their name, Philadelphians, ...which means brotherly love, that is what John is emphasizing in his letter:

If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?   And this commandment have we from him, That he who loves God loves his brother also.  1 John 4:20, 21

David is a type of Jesus, holding the keys, in the sense he was the King of Israel Isa 22:22, Jesus is the Supreme ruler in the Kingdom of Heaven, the holding of the keys, the symbols of power, thus belongs to Christ as Lord of the Kingdom and Church of God.

The Church is called to preach the Gospel, in LOVE, therein lies the power, ...not in arguing over doctrinal issues.

How many do we see here who are infirm or weak physically, yet their posts are filled with love and are powerful, ...encouraging, comforting, edifying, uplifting, helping, praying for others needs, ...that, ...is a demonstration of modern day Philadelphian brotherly/sisterly love in the church at Worthy.  

Lord bless