-Transcript-
00:26 Amen. Glory to God. Welcome to the program.
00:30 Welcome to the Cafe. Pastor Clark Covington here with another episode of KJV Cafe. And if you tuned in last time, and hopefully you did, we were talking about the Lord’s soon coming and how we are to live in this new year.
00:43 And if you haven’t tuned in, don’t worry, I’ll recap it for you. But we are so blessed to be here another year to say, okay, God, you have blessed us with another year. What do you want us to do? Amen.
00:55 And we’re going to look at this idea of in the last days, how we are to live in this new year, kind of this, you know, juxtaposition of the end and the last and the beginning and the new.
01:06 And I believe God really wants us to do this all the time. And so all year long, I feel like, you know, hey, we need to just recommit to the Lord.
01:16 How many times in this program do I say, you know, sell out to God, give your life to God, make today the day you seek Him, turn your life over to Him, get right with Him, I mean, on and on, kind of like a broken record.
01:27 And all year long in our little church services, I say the same thing. But there’s something about the new year that brings about that opportunity to really hammer that sucker home, to really make that message known.
01:42 Because you make New Year’s resolutions, most people do. What a great time to say, yeah, I’ve been thinking about joining the gym, or I’ve been thinking about going low carb or no carb, whatever it is, amen.
01:53 You know, when you think of these things that help us with our health, there’s nothing wrong with that.
02:00 I’m a big proponent of athletics, of sports, of exercise, of trying to eat right. I’m also a big eater, so I’m just big all around. But you know, nothing wrong with it.
02:07 But you have to think, okay, God’s put us here for this little moment. You know, I think of this video I saw years ago from Francis Chan, and it was like viral. He hung out this long string on a stage, had someone else hold the other end of it.
02:31 It was really long, you know, like 20, 30 feet long. He took this little part of the string and he said, this is your earthly life, and this all the string symbolizes eternity.
02:38 Why are you so worried about your earthly life? It was a great illustration, and I love that illustration because we spend so much time, we do so much or devote so much to such a little part of our life.
02:49 The Bible tells us our life is like a vapor, amen.So we need to stop being so yoked up in the world, and so our thoughts so tied up to the things of the world.
03:00 And a lot of this involves a big measure of faith, and have faith that God’s called us to be more than just in the world. But to understand, you know, as Les Feldick says, that we’re ambassadors, so our place is secure in heaven,
03:14 we’re saved, and now we’re ambassadors on behalf of God to show others the way to heaven and how Christians should live, and show others the word and the benefit of studying his word, which is the whole calling on my ministry,
03:25 I believe, is the Lord has just called me to teach and preach the word of God as he would see fit.
03:30 And I believe, I don’t, you know, no one knows, can know the thoughts of the Lord, but I believe the Lord would have me to do that. I believe this with all my life, I mean, my whole life I’ve devoted to this. I really have.
03:43 You know, you can ask my family, it is our top priority in the ministry, this radio program. I believe the Lord would have me to do this.
03:51 So people could say, a light bulb could go off, and they could say, studying God’s word is beneficial, and seeking God is beneficial.
03:59 If that happens, everything changes. Because now all of a sudden, God is not the enemy, God is not the one that you’re running from, God is not the problem or the stumbling block to use a Bible term, but he is the Savior,
04:15 he is the Messiah, he is the friend, he is the bride, amen, or the groom, I should say, we’re the bride. He is your inspiration, he is your strength, he is your all in all.
04:27 And so all these things start turning, but a lot of times, number one, it can take time, and number two, it doesn’t happen without his word. You know, I’ve been in churches where the word is put on the sidelines,
04:38 and it may be a great experience, but your life will not change at all, your life will not change a bit. But always you spend time in his word, as you patiently and diligently seek him,
04:51 and as you have faith that he is who he says he is, and he’s a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, all of a sudden there’s a return on that investment of your time
05:03 and your energy that is so great, because he actually made you, and he engineered you for this, and spiritually he is capable, and literally, of doing all things for all people.
05:11 So that segues us in here to 1 Timothy 4:8, Paul’s writing, Timothy, for bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
05:37 Especially when we get older, and when you’re young you can go, you can do anything.
05:44 My best friend in high school was a wrestler, he’d throw a garbage bag over his head or something, not on his head, but on his body, and he’d go run around the school for like three hours, and he’d lose 10 pounds, okay?
05:53 You could put 30 garbage bags around my body, I’d run around the school two or three times, I’m not losing a pound, amen, I’d be out there all day, and I might lose five pounds, but as soon as I can and get to my car,
06:03 I’m going over to Chick-fil-A or something, so, okay, enough of that. But the point is, as we get older, we realize that bodily exercise, goodness, I mean, my wife is very fit, she’s not, you know, has good athletic bones, so to speak, and she’s constantly tweaking her foot,
06:17 or tweaking her hamstring, or this or that, and so it’s not just us big guys here. A lot of folks struggle with physical exercise, and I think what God is trying to teach us is that it’s not bad,
06:26 and we should continue on in our struggle, but that godliness, that living godliness, that purposing in this new year to live for him is so important because it profits us now, here in this day and age,
06:38 it is profitable for today, we’ll have peace today, we’ll have better discernment and understanding today, we’ll have more purpose today, we will have more joy in our family today.
06:48 And I could go into each of those categories and give you an example. I won’t, for time’s sake, I won’t. I wish I could because I could tell you, okay, you seek God, and wow, your marriage just comes alive.
07:01 You seek God, and your friendships are so much better. You seek God, and, you know, you’re honest, and you seek God, and you’re better with finance. I mean, just, there’s so many benefits to seeking God.
07:13 That is the spirituality profitable for now, but then Paul’s saying it doesn’t end there because when we exercise godliness, not just having godliness, but exercising it, that’s that idea of putting it into practice through discipline because it’s not easy, right?
07:27 I really admire people go to the gym or go to the walking track every single day. That takes discipline. You know, it’s raining out, it’s cold out, or whatever it may be, it’s really hot in the summer, and you’re going,
07:37 you’re using your discipline to exercise physically, and Paul’s saying use your discipline to exercise spiritually because it’s profitable not just for now, but for times to come, for that which is to come, for eternity, amen.
07:50 And we’re gonna get into a deeper look at this because here Jesus in the book of Revelation chapter three tells us and shows, he actually shows us visually as he writes this,
08:01 that there is memorialization happening for those that were faithful to him, that there is a reward happening, and he gives us the scope of time in which this reward is held, and that scope of time is eternity.
08:11 And so it’s so beautiful the way these verses line up that the Lord gave me here. Revelation 3:11, behold, I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
08:27 And so Revelation 3:11 is Jesus speaking here, and he’s speaking to the church of Philadelphia, and I’m gonna give you the context here because I think scripture is very important to take within the context.
08:38 Revelation 3:7-13 is the letter that references this, and it’s a letter from Jesus to the church of Philadelphia. And so we understand the church of Philadelphia to be one of the seven churches of Revelation.
08:52 I’m sure you’ve heard that before. And they were the only church not to be rebuked of Jesus. They truly were the church of brotherly love.
08:59 And let me just go ahead and read this here for you, Revelation 3:7-13. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write, these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
09:25 For thou hast a little strength, and has kept my word, and has not denied my name. Behold, I will make of them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
09:46 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
10:04 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is in New Jerusalem, which cometh out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name.
10:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And that last verse, verse 13 of Revelation 3, tells us the Spirit is capital S. And in Revelation 3:10, for clarity, I said, which shall come upon the whole world. The King James says, which shall come upon all the world.
10:38 So I don’t know why my mind just did that. And then as I was reading the verses, I can’t add to or take away, even though it pretty much means the same thing. I’m going to be completely honest here.
10:51 Okay. So we got that out of the way. This is a beautiful piece of scripture, Revelation 3: 7-13, and is complimentary to the Church of Philadelphia.
11:08 So who is the Church of Philadelphia? Again, one of the seven churches that are addressed by Christ in the book of Revelation. They’re located in Asia Minor, which is now modern day Turkey. The church was weak in some respects.
11:15 Jesus says they’re of little strength, and that is because they were exiled from the synagogue by unbelieving Jews that persecuted the church. Think of the synagogue as the cultural center for those Jews.
11:25 Think of the synagogue as not just where you would go to worship, but probably where you would go to school, certainly where you would go for barrages and funerals and festivals.
11:36 It’s a big deal. It’s kind of like the epicenter. And as I understand it, the Church of Philadelphia, living in Turkey in Asia Minor at that time, they were exiled.
11:44 They were persecuted. They were refused entry to the synagogue because they believed that Christ was the Messiah, that they were faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that they believed that the Jews were involved in the crucifixion of the Messiah. And so the Jews said, okay, you believe this, we’re kicking you out.
12:02 And then the broader scheme here, as I understand it, where the Romans were ruling, the Jews kind of were under the Romans, kind of grandfathered into their laws, having some autonomy to worship
12:13 and do what they do, because the Romans were pagans and they worshiped all these different gods. So now the Church of Philadelphia doesn’t have that security or that umbrella of the synagogue and of the Jewish faith because they are Christians and they are persecuted,
12:27 not only not allowed in the synagogue, but also persecuted by the Romans because now they look like upstarts that could be, you know, planning upheaval against the government. You have to think of that time, the government and religion was very closely intertwined.
12:42 And the Romans believed in many gods and then they believed Caesar was God and there was just a lot going on there. And so the Church of Philadelphia suffered. And I kind of think of it as modern day Orthodox Jews.
12:54 I grew up near New York City and you would see Orthodox Jews, the reason why I say you see them is because they would have their elaborate outfits on. You would see Hasidic Jews, those that were, the best way I could describe it, and honestly don’t know that much about it, but the best way I’d describe it would be fundamental. They’re fundamentalists.
13:11 They believe in the Torah. They believe in following the law as best they can, as I understand it. There’s a whole economy there.
13:18 There’s a whole ecosystem there. They have weddings in the synagogue and big events there and they have festivals and they work with each other and help each other. And there’s a great deal of interconnectivity there.
13:30 And so I imagine someone from that type of environment being told to get out and we’re not going to have anything to do with you. It’d be hard for the individuals being told to get out, it’d be hard for their families,
13:41 it’d be hard for the kids not being able to go to the birthday parties and all the events and spend time with their friends, it’d be hard for finding work or for education and for getting married and for all these things, they dealt with a great deal of persecution. And Jesus is telling them, don’t you worry.
13:55 I understand what you’ve endured. I’ve seen that you’ve been faithful and I’m going to reward you eternally in heaven.
14:04 And we see here so many lessons for the modern fundamental church that it largely has been pushed aside and cast out and looked at as extremists and said that we can’t come to the events and we aren’t part of the conferences and all these things.
14:18 Oh, God loves us and sees what we have done and will bless us to no end in heaven. I have to go. Time is up.
14:27 Tune in next time to learn more about this. Thank you so much. God bless. Amen.