PHILADELPHIA
G. D. Rosenberry
I trust the brethren will bear with a fresh visit to Philadelphia. That assembly does not exist now, but the overcomer remains. Sorrow has come in, beloved. It is felt by us all, and rightly so; we are to feel with God about the departure which indeed He feels, and which the Lord feels, in the present sorrowful conditions. But what can be appealed to and addressed is the overcomer in these various assemblies. Thank God if there is some representation in each one of us of the overcomer who would get the word of God, and be included in those who have an ear. So we are together tonight, one trusts gathering together with one desire, that our ears would be attuned to what God may have to say to us. We would be desirous of being available to what He may say, and one’s desire oneself would be to have an opened ear. This is critical, beloved, that we should be in tune with heaven’s voice, the voice of God. We are thankful that it is still coming. So that we are not here, in that sense, to be engaged with the side of departure, we are to be here engaged, and thankfully so, with what is going on positively. A brother said a few moments ago in conversation, ‘Go on’. That is the point we are going on; we find ourselves happily with those who are going on, and we should be together to encourage one another. Paul says, “So encourage one another with these words”, ‘1 Thessalonians 4: 18. We are on that line, beloved, and if any one would speak it would be on the line of seeking to strengthen that which remains. That is, I believe, the present position, strengthening what remains, engaged in furthering “God’s dispensation, which is in faith”, 1 Timothy 1: 4.
So that is the word, I believe, for us, beloved. There is no word of correction to Philadelphia; it has the Lord’s approval, and He presents Himself so blessedly as “he that has the key of David”. One desires afresh to bring this before us. It has been before us recently in Calgary, just that verse, “He that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open”. It is a solemn thing, beloved, shutting and no one shall open. That would be governmental; what we could say about it would be limited, and yet we are solemnized by the presentation of that side of the truth. But we find ourselves in the strength, and power of an opened door; it is stated so in the next verse, “I have set before thee an opened door”. He has been pleased to do that in this time of recovery. Satan sought to close the door—indeed in some quarters the door remains shut—very solemn! We can hardly think, beloved, of anything more solemn that a shut door.
But in God’s grace we have our part in what is opened, and that links with the key of David; it involves that the One who has the key; is opening things up. There is divine resource, blessed unfoldings, you might say. It is all out, and you would be right in saying that, but then there are fresh unfoldings. Thank God for them, and they come from the One who has the key. We can in the abundance of divine operations, receive these fresh impressions. We are thankful that they are coming. So we are on this line of formation, and what is moving toward us has the character of what is fresh. We want to be found with Him, with the One who has the key, and to be thankful indeed that we have part in what is being unfolded, through the opened door. He presents Himself later as “the bright and morning star” (Revelation 22: 16)—Oh how wonderful! We have gathered together to Him, you know. We gather together to Him on the Lord’s day morning, and our gathering together tonight would have that character, because of His coming with us, a very important matter. We are well aware of all that enters into the testing side, but our hearts are not to be together as burdened, our hearts are to be lifted in the light and the gain of the greatness of all that is available to us from the One who has the key.
So our appeal is to Him, and the character of the overcomer is to be found in each one, so that we can be together as those that overcome. What there has been to overcome would be the experience of each and every one who has come this way, this suffering way, and indeed we have been promised nothing other than a pathway of testing, but in view of all that. He brings the assurance that He is the One who has the key of David. Indeed, I believe the key would relate to the answer. He is giving the answers, beloved, to our hearts in a confirming way that we might be strengthened to go on unswervingly with our eye on the One who never turned aside. Oh, think of that blessed One who moved in that pathway of full and complete devotion to the will of His God and Father. I believe it is incumbent upon us to have our eyes fixed upon Him. Think of Stephen with his eyes fixed on heaven. That is a fine word. I believe we are maintained in this path together as our eyes are fixed on the One presented here. You come to a point of crisis, maybe in individual soul history, maybe in assembly history; let us look to Him as the One who has the key of David.
How delightful that bright and morning star, the harbinger of a new day. Have you some impression in your soul of that day? Now pressure; soon glory. But, Oh His nearness, beloved, as He comes to us! How thankful we are for His coming to us, but soon it—will be His coming for us. Let our hearts be quickened as we are engaged with Him. Indeed there is nothing else worthy of being engaged with. I have my responsibilities, God knows; we have our exercises too, the Lord knows them so well. He has the key to every matter, but we are to be engaged with Him, and this leads to this formation in view of the completion of that which He will soon take to Himself, a perfectly united vessel to be at His side.
So the matter is very full, all that the Lord has to say about Philadelphia, but it is said to “the angel”—that would be the responsible side. But the one who is going to get the message, beloved, in this wonderfully attractive appeal is the overcomer. Are we going to be among them? My desire would be to be found at the finish with Him, and I believe that would be the answer of every heart, that we want to be maintained with Him to the finish. Let us not turn aside; how the Lord feels the turning aside when He has given us all the resource needed for our continuance in the way. There.is only a little way left to go, beloved, only a few days left.
Shall we be with Him in those days, happily so, with our eyes fixed on Him in fervency of affection? The reality of all that is available to us will be proved as He is kept before our affections. That is the test. Are our affections currently warm for Him? Alas, the love of the many has grown cold. Let us be warmed up in this time. This is the day in which the Lord is showing Himself to us in this wonderfully strengthening way. He has gone that way; He has tasted death for every thing; meeting everything that could ever arise. He has the full answer in Himself, and He would assure our hearts of this in view of our confirmation. Young persons are constantly needing confirmation, older persons too, and the answer is in Himself.
Then the word, “I come quickly—hold fast what thou hast, that no one take thy crown”. As has often been remarked, that involves that there is something that the enemy would seek to take away; indeed he would seek to take away our joy; he would present something else, that our joy might be dulled, our feelings and affections dulled, our impression of Christ dimmed.
O, beloved, let us keep near to Him, “that no one take thy crown”.
He has imparted something in the wonderful sovereignty of His divine movements; He has given to each one individually something to be traded with, to be made use of; something of this “crown”, a distinctive impression of the glory of that blessed Man who is assuring us that He has the key. That is a total matter, the key of David. It is one key—it is not plural. One key is needed and He has it. Oh let us be maintained near to Him! The attempt—and where confusion comes in—is in drawing on human resource; it has never secured a thing for God, because that Man was not in prominence; it was another man—it was the mind of man.
Beloved, let us know we are in the current of the operations of the one Man who ever has the key, and “hold fast”.
We would encourage one another with these few simple words. One’s desire is just to strengthen what remains. What a privilege to be amongst those that remain! We would strengthen one another, building up one another in our most holy faith. So the word is, “and he shall go no more at all out”; then it is a question of “the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God—and my new name”. Well, beloved, have we come into the gain of this new name? Have we learned that precious name; His new name? It is to be entered into by use He would give us just a hint of it as we are maintained in nearness to Himself; this precious secret known to His lovers, His new name. Have we thought much about it? I believe we would do well to think more about it “my new name”. Well, beloved, I think it is going to be shown to us by the One who has the key, that blessed One introducing us in love’s intimacy to what that name involves. One’s own understanding of it, and yours, would be varied, something distinctive to each. Let us contemplate it. It would be as we are in energy and desire of heart to be near to Him that He would impart this, the secret of what this new name involves.
Just these few simple suggestions for our enquiry, that we may seek to learn more of what the Lord is communicating to us of Himself, assuring our hearts that He has the full answer and the full resource for us to, be sustained here in the pathway until He comes for us. May the Lord be pleased to bless His word.
Word in meeting for ministry, Redbridge, 22 August 1989
“FEAR NOT, FOR I AM WITH THEE; BE NOT DISMAYED,
FOR I AM THY GOD” (Isaiah 41: 10)
C. S. Eastwood
There’s a word of sweet cheer
When the day’s dark and drear—
‘In the name of Jehovah confide’; *
So let God be thy stay,
He’ll make clouds pass away
When thy faith by the fire has been tried.
Like the lark on the wing,
He will cause thee to sing
To Jesus, thy Saviour and Friend.
So no longer repine
For on thee will He shine;
Soon the day breaks that never shall end.
So up hill and down dale,
Or through death’s shadowed vale,
Fear no evil, the Lord is with thee. **
Once He trod the same way,
All thy fears He’ll allay
‘Till His face in the glory we see.
** Psalm 23: 4
Worcester
1989