Synopsis of Sermon 9/15/24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III 

Revelation 3:8 
“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

I.         INTRODUCTION

1. One of things that God values is Faithfulness is our unwavering commitment and trust to God.
2. We have obedience to his word even in the midst of changing times. Faithfulness comes by faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God. Obedience to God’s word produces
3. The more you trust God, the more God can trust you with.
4. This is about a season of open doors. God is ushering you into a season of open doors. God has taken note of your faithfulness and is about to open doors on your behalf.
5. Revelation is an apocalyptic book written by the apostle John. Most of the leaders of the early church were executed. John, on the other hand, was exiled to the island of Patmos.
6. John began to write to the churches. The church of Philadelphia was a small church. When he writes Philadelphia, there is no condemnation in the letter. Unlike his letters to some of the other churches, John’s letter to Philadelphia was all positive.
7. There were Jews and Messianic Jews. The regular Jews struggled with Jesus being the real son of God. The messianic Jews believed God was the Christ, the son of the living God. This caused them to have problems with Rome. They were prohibited from coming into the synagogue because of this belief, but God opened doors for them anyhow.
8. Despite all the opposition, they didn’t stop declaring His name. Living in a culture where they really didn’t want you to praise the name of the Lord, they praised the name of the Lord anyway. God reminded them that God sees your work.

II.         THE RECOGNITION OF YOUR WORK

• Areas where they were showed faith:
  • Faithfulness despite limited strength.
  • Obedience to God’s word.
  • Perseverance and endurance.
  • Seizing evangelistic opportunities
• When you are truly excited about Jesus, you should share with others.
• Why should we make sure our work is done right? It’s because:

A.  Your Ministry Matters 

1. All ministry matters no matter how big or how small. Remember the scripture that talks about all the members of the body being important?
2. When you do ministry, it produces fruit. We are trying to get you out of fixing to do it and move you into actually doing something.

B.  Your Fruit Gets God’s Attention 

1. God will hold us accountable for what he places in our hands. Matthew 25:14-30 NKJV says “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’- Whatever God gives to you, it should be better when He comes back for it.
2. If God gives you money, you should multiply it. In other words, you should always end up with more than the Lord gave you.
3. We must be fruitful with the talents he has blessed us with. Gen 1:28 NKJV says, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””
4. God is going to assess everything that He put into your hands. God will hold you accountable for what He put you over. We want to hear Him say “Well done our good and faithful servant”
5. It is your outcome that gets God’s attention, not your income.
6. Fruit doesn’t lie. People don’t have to like you, but they can’t refuse seeing your fruit.
   1. John 15:8 NKJV says “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”- God is glorified when you produce fruit. What did you do with the gift God put inside you? We must live full and die empty.
7. Produce without excuse. God said he knew their works. This was the works of the church of Philadelphia.

III.         THE REPOSITIONING TO A NEW THING

• Once you are fruitful, God will reposition you for something new and fresh
• God will arrange things to put you into position to be blessed.
  • Even doors have evolved over time.
    • Remember the wooden doors that used to be hard to open? What about revolving doors?
    • Then there’s the sliding door.
    • And what about the revolving door, where only one person can go in at a time? This door takes a little time to get through, but it is part of a process for crowd control.
    • Then you have the electric door. You can open it from your app on your phone.
    • You even have the touch-less AI door. You don’t have to touch it at all. All you have to do is be in position.

A.   Your Next Blessing Is Closer Than It Has Ever Been 

1. The reason things have been rough in your life is because you are close. Your blessing is closer than it’s been!
2. Your open door is about:
   1. God’s providence
   2. Proximity
   3. It’s personal

B.   The Enemy Can’t Close What He Does Not Control 

1. When God opens a door, no devil in hell can close it!
2. All parts of the door are important. You can go without a lock, or maybe even a doorknob, but you can’t have a door without a hinge.
3. It is important for us to stay hinged. When we become unhinged, like the door, we are not able to operate the way we are supposed to.
4. How do we end up unhinged?
   1. Prayer – Without prayer, we lose our ability to be poured back into. You can’t minister empty.
   2. Obedience – We have to follow God’s plan.
   3. Trust – We have to trust that no matter what it looks like, God has everything under control.
5. Just ask the Lord to keep you hinged.
6. People will try to shut you out. If a door closes on you, it just means that this wasn’t your blessing. When God opens and closes the door, He is working on your behalf. Man will manipulate doors that they open for you.
7. Remember the church at Philadelphia was small, but they were strong in their faith.

IV.         THE REALITY OF YOUR WEAKNESS

• Faith comes with a cost. Faith can be draining.
• It is not unusual to show up on “E”.

A.  God Knows When You’re On “E” 

1. God will give you what you need.

B.  You Can’t Pour Out Without Being Poured Into 

1. We go to church, like you charge up your iPhone. We plug into a power source to recharge our phone and in like manner, we go to church as a source to get recharged.
2. Moses went to Mt Sinai to get poured into. Jesus went to the Garden and even up on the mountain to pray. He needed recharging.
3. Airplane personnel will tell you to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping someone else put theirs on. You can’t help anyone if something happens to you, so you have to take care of yourself, before you are able to help anyone else.
4. Everyone is going to come to the end of their rope, where they need God’s help.
5. People think you do what you do in your strength, but it’s really the strength of God. Somebody else couldn’t do all that you do, because God anointed you to be able to do what you physically could not do.

V.         THE RESILIENCE OF YOUR WITNESS

• It’s what he gives us that allows us to remain resilient. Though the church of Philadelphia had little strength, he allowed them to

A.  Keep Standing On His Promises 

1. The Bible has 7000 promises in it. Here are a few
2. Promises:
   1. Promise of Provisions – Phil 4:19 says “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
   2. Promise of Peace – Isaiah 26:3 NKJV says “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
   3. Promise of Strength – II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV says “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
3. Faithfulness is tied to faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The word of God will last forever!
4. God’s Word is like a meat pizza. We want a lot of meat on it. When it comes to God’s word, I want extra toppings!

B.  Keep Lifting His Name 

1. God told Abram that He was going to make his name great. We always want a title, but God didn’t say He was going to make your title great. He said he was going to make your name great!
   1. Revelation 3:5 NKJV says “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” – Lord let my name be in your book!
2. The Bible says that the church of Philadelphia, didn’t forsake His name.
   1. Remember it was Rome that killed Jesus, and the traditional Jews didn’t see Jesus as the son of God. It was the Messianic Jews that believed that Jesus was the son of God.
3. Can God trust you if he blesses you?
   1. The attributes of his name. – God’s name encompasses everything we need.
   2. The authority of his name. – God has authority over the demons in our home.
   3. The awareness of his name – His name is the reason I have what I have. He is the reason we are where we are in life.
4. Story:
   1. When Frankie Beverly came to Nashville to give a concert, Bishop didn’t have a ticket, so he called him. Frankie told him that he would take care of him. He told him to go to a certain door when he got there.
   2. When Bishop and his wife got to the venue, they saw this massive line. They decided to do as Frankie said and go to the certain door that Frankie told him about.
   3. When he got there, they asked for Bishop’s name. Bishop told him and they let him in, because his name was on the list. Bishop didn’t have to worry about a ticket or the line, because someone had prepared a door for him to go through. God does the same for us. It doesn’t matter what your situation looks like. God has prepared a door just for you. God will open doors for you!!