Seven Churches: Philadelphia

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matt 28:19 NKJV

Philadelphia is the second church against which Christ brought no accusation. They were not like Smyrna, though, in many respects. They were not weak or persecuted. They were an active church before whom Christ placed an open door. That door is the door of opportunity to spread the word of God. Imagine having the freedom to worship. Oh, yeah, we do. Imagine using that freedom to worship as an open door to leading others to faith in Christ. We were not given salvation for our own enjoyment. We were given salvation to pass it on!

Philadelphia is the church with opportunity that seized the opportunity and used it for the proclamation of the gospel. That is what freedom of worship is for, to have the freedom to extend the hope of Christ and His worship to a lost world.  We are not saved to soak, we are saved to serve. We are not saved to be silent, we are saved to speak. We are saved to use every open door for the glory of God. The people in the church of Philadelphia did so and they were given great and precious promises because of it.

Dear Father, Help us to seize the opportunities that You give us to proclaim the hope of Christ to others. Amen. 

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You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/