Enjoy Christ's Approval
Flight 961 to Eternity: "You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14, emphasis added).
Thanksgiving Day, 1996: It was a typical flight—one that occurs thousands of times every day around the world. Ethiopian Air Flight 961 took off November 23, 1996, from Addis Ababa. Onboard were 163 passengers and twelve crewmembers. Among those flying that day were Mr. and Mrs. Andy Meakins. Andy, an elder at the International Evangelical Church of Addis, at one time pastored that large Bible-believing church. In less than two hours, more than 120 people died, including five from that church. Andy, a good friend of mine, did not survive the crash. Somewhere near Kenya, the horrifying hijack began. Escaped convicts, brandishing an ax and a supposed bomb, stormed the flight deck, savagely beating the copilot and throwing him down. They then ordered the pilot to turn the plane eastward. In spite of the plane’s dangerously low fuel tank, he was forced to submit to their demands. The pilot kept pleading for a refueling stop, but to no avail. The hijackers threatened to blow up the plane if he didn’t comply. After trying to hug the coast of Africa, the pilot attempted to make it to the Indian Ocean island of Comoros. When it became evident they would not make it, the captain announced to the cabin passengers: "Listen, guys, we’re all dead people. There is no argument now." "People began to scream," one witness said, "and others began to pray."
The crash is now well known: a Japanese honeymooning couple filmed the descent, dip of a wing, the flip, the crash, and the disintegration of the 767 over the water. News reports, however, never contained what was in a fax to me from Andy Meakin’s wife. This is what she told her church: "As soon as the captain told us we were going to crash I heard the distinct snap of my husband’s seat belt. He was up and out of his chair. Going down the aisle row by row he earnestly shared the gospel of Christ with any who would listen. Before the sickening screech of twisting metal and the 110 mph crash of our plane into the water, Andy had signaled me that 20 passengers had trusted in Jesus for their salvation. Andy never made it back to the safety of his seat belt. But he took twenty souls with him to paradise."
You see, there was a safe spot in that plane—a shelter where no twisted wreckage could permanently harm—a haven that no crushing impact could erase. Andy knew and shared the divine directions with those souls being rushed into eternity: "God’s directions are the only way to make it to happiness now and forever!" He knew how to escape the plane before it was too late for eternity. Do you know those directions? Are you following them? Are you sharing them with those whom God has placed around you?
Seeking Christ’s Approval
"… Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:21, emphasis added).
The approval of those we love means so much, but there is an approval that far surpasses what anyone on earth can offer us. When our lives are over, our last breaths have been taken, and time has ceased to exist for us, all things on earth fade away quickly. In fact, as we weaken and approach death, the fading starts even before we die. At such a time, our thoughts ought to center more and more on the joy of seeing our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and hearing Him say, "Well done!" Is that what you are living for?
We have come to Revelation 3:7–13, the sixth of seven letters our Lord Jesus wrote to seven literal, historic churches. Each church was given a powerful message from Christ. Each letter closes with an application to all to "hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
Before we begin our study of this sixth letter, ask yourself: Why did Christ not admonish this church for any error? There are only two churches out of the seven that received the approval of Jesus—the assemblies at Smyrna and Philadelphia.
The reason for Christ’s approval of those two churches is this: Smyrna was purified by obediently suffering persecution; Philadelphia was purified by obediently fulfilling God’s commission and winning souls. Smyrna was triumphing through adversity; Philadelphia was ministering through opportunity. Smyrna was a suffering church; Philadelphia was a serving church. Smyrna was a church that stood alone; Philadelphia was a church that spoke out.
Like the Smyrnians, are you being purified as you obediently suffer persecution? Is God enabling you to triumph through adversity? Are you willing to stand alone for Christ in any situation?
And are you, like the Philadelphians, obediently and joyfully telling people about Christ’s offer of salvation? Are you ministering Christ to others in need? Do you speak out for Christ every chance you get?
Which of the six churches we’ve studied so far most represents your life right now? The two who received Christ’s approval or the others who were subject to hearing His "I have this against you …"?
I pray that you are longing for His approval—to hear His "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Real People in a Real Place "
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true …’ " (Revelation 3:7a, emphasis added).
Jesus wrote to the church at Philadelphia—a real place, with real people, experiencing real problems—to whom He offered real answers. Revelation 3:7 is the seventh time that the word "Philadelphia" is used in the New Testament. Philadelphia literally means "brotherly love." Hebrews 13:1 says, Let brotherly love [Philadelphia] continue. What a name! What a church that must have been back in the first century! And we are to be the same kind of church today—a church for God’s glory!
10% of all advertising proceeds go to ministries and charities making a difference. 
|
The frequent tremors and quakes in Philadelphia help us to better understand Christ’s words in Revelation 3:12: "He who overcomes, I will make him a [stable] pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more." The saints at Philadelphia had seen everything dear to them devastated many times, but they had enduring safety in following Christ. For Jesus gave them a precious promise: "Live out My love in you, and someday you’ll be safe with Me forever!"
The people of the assembly at Philadelphia realized, like those souls on Flight 961, that "the plane was about to crash"—the plane of this world, that is. Later on we will see just how bad the crash is going to be; but for now, we need to understand that at the end of the world one out of every two people will die a gruesome, unnatural death. There is no doubt about it: the world is headed for a devastating and deadly crash.
Before you are taken out of this world, you have the privilege of going up and down the aisles of this life to tell those who are afraid and lost how to find a permanent place of safety in Christ, our refuge. Are you willing to do that for them? For Jesus?
Jesus Is Holy
"… I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on earth" (Leviticus 11:44, emphasis added).
What the Lord said in Leviticus has never changed. In fact, in Revelation 3:7 Jesus identified and introduced Himself as: "He who is holy …." There is no doubt about it: Jesus wants to remind us that He, as God the Son, is the holy, eternal God of the universe—the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy … (Isaiah 57:15, emphasis added).
Although God is referring to dietary laws at the end of Leviticus 11:44, there are worse things than that which "creeps on the earth." Many things on this earth defile us. In stark contrast, however, the preeminent feature of the character of God is holiness. Holiness is utter otherworldliness, a complete detachment from anything that is impure or unclean. There is a great gulf between what we are as fallen, defiled creatures and who God is in His eternal godhood. He is separate from all He has created, which is deteriorating. But God Himself is eternally selfexistent; everything else derives its existence from Him. Nothing will last forever that is not attached to God. When the tornado comes, the earthquake comes, or the plane is crashing, grab hold of that which will last forever: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isaiah 57:15). God says that He is holy, but we can dwell with Him. However, "the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked" (Isaiah 57:20-21).
The wicked are like the sea churning up mire and dirt, or an overflowing sewer ditch. But the holy infinite God of the universe says that if you are contrite, and humble yourself, He will bring you out of that ditch by His grace (Psalm 40:2) so that you can dwell with Him. That is the wonderful gospel! A miraculous gift!
When your life is almost over, and your last breath is about to be drawn, time will soon cease for you. As all things on earth are fading away, may the words of this fourth stanza of the old hymn, "Rock of Ages," represent your prayerful spirit as you enter eternity.
Jesus Is the Truth
… The Son of God has … given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20, emphasis added).
There is a lot of doctrine in that verse. Jesus is God, and our source of eternal life. John is particularly fond of that word "true." Paul describes the end of the age as a time of lawlessness and deception, but Jesus Christ is declared to be holy and true. When lawlessness surrounds us, He who is holy keeps His children safe; when deception abounds, there is One who is Truth. Look at how Jesus introduced Himself to the church at Philadelphia: " ‘He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens" ’ " (Revelation 3:7, emphasis added). The word for "true" in that verse is very specific. In Greek there are two words for true: alethes and alethinos. Alethes denotes the reality of the thing; that which is "true to fact." For example, "Hitler led Germany" is true to fact, but the truth is that he led them in error. Alethinos denotes "true" in the sense of "real, ideal, genuine."1 The Greek word for "true" in Revelation 3:7, thus means "genuine truth"; Jesus Christ is Truth. When you confront Him face-to-face, you are facing Truth Himself, and not merely true statements. As John MacArthur has said, "There is no substitute for God, and Jesus Christ is the genuine reality of God."
Jesus has the key of David. Except for Revelation 3:7, the only other place "the key of David" appears in the Word of God is in Isaiah 22. At that time, King Hezekiah was on the throne of Israel, and 185,000 Assyrian enemy soldiers were on their way. These fierce warriors had their tents, chariots, and all their battle gear with them; they covered a vast territory, which greatly intimidated the Israelites. But Hezekiah came out on the wall of the city, looked at all those Assyrian warriors, got down on his knees, and asked God to defeat them. That night, God sent one angel and killed them all!
What is this "key of David"? In Isaiah 22, the city of Jerusalem was weak; its walls were broken down, but its people had not even looked to their Maker for help. God said that He would therefore find a faithful servant through whom He would work. Shebna, the unfaithful steward of the king, had an unrepentant heart and was judged; but God found Eliakim to be a faithful servant, so he was entrusted with the royal authority of God to speak. In other words, God said, "I will give My authority to Eliakim." In Revelation 3:7 Jesus was saying, "That is what I am like. I am the faithful Son of God who has been entrusted with the authority of God." He continued, "If I open a door of ministry for you, no one can shut it. If I close a part of your life, no one can open it. You should trust My authority."
The "key of David" is all about Christ’s authority. After Jesus healed the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda, people were so excited about His authority to heal that they gathered around Jesus and were willing to listen to Him speak: "… He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me [Jesus has the key of authority] has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. … The hour is coming … when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live" (John 5:24–25).
In that passage, Jesus is saying that all of us are dead, but if we can hear His voice, we can come alive. We are born spiritually dead and spiritually blind: "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:26–29). That resurrection has many parts. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-24, Paul speaks of multiple resurrections. There are resurrections that we will also be a part of in which the dead in Christ will rise first, and get their celestial bodies; those who are still alive will be caught up together with them, so both groups go up together. Jesus has all authority and judgment given to Him; this is the "key of David"—the authority of Christ; His voice can thus speak and the dead will rise. What the people were when they went in the grave will reveal what they will be forever. If they went into the grave clothed with sin, they will be condemned to hell. Every time I think of that dreadful sentencing, I am so grateful that, though I am a sinner, I shall not die in my sins! My sins are gone and will never be remembered by God because Jesus, in His mercy, tenderly forgave me. I hope you know that to be true in your own life as well! For Jesus has said, "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death" (Revelation 1:18). ~
Email a link to this article | Print
By John Barnett
John Barnett has been teaching the Word of God for 31 years and is currently the Senior Pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo. Email John: jb@dtbm.org
