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The Five-Fold Podcast
Five-Fold ministry for today. In this podcast we will attempt to determine biblical timelines as they correlate with current events. We will examine the offices of the Five-Fold ministry and gain biblical direction for the world today.
The Five-Fold Podcast
Navigating Faith and Receptivity: Insights from Philadelphia and Laodicea's Spiritual Crossroads
Step into a realm where two polar mindsets within the early church illuminate a path for spiritual examination and growth. The Church of Philadelphia, embraced by Jesus's reassurance despite persecution, stands as a beacon of hope and opportunity—an open door that beckons the faithful. Meanwhile, we confront the alarming reality of the Laodicean congregation, whose tepidness risks divine disfavor, prompting a call to seek a genuine anointing that transcends mere performance. As we chart this journey, we bid you to consider which church resonates with your spiritual life and to discover the weighty implications this holds for your personal walk with faith. Join us weekly for continued insights into the five-fold ministry and its enduring relevance.
As darkness prevails around us, god is shining a light on the radio waves of mankind. A group of diverse individuals from all walks of life have come together to start Of God and Men, of God and Men is a central hub for content creators sharing the hope of Jesus Christ in the form of a podcast. Pastors, evangelists, counselors, school teachers and emergency personnel have all come together to bring you a network of inspiration. Join us as we face all areas of life with the gospel of Jesus Christ. What is happening everybody? Welcome to tonight's episode of the Five-Fold Podcast. I'm your host, michael Weidman, and I'm excited for tonight. We are going to go through the last two churches of the book of Revelation. We're going to try to get them both in tonight. So don't go anywhere, we'll be right back. Oh yeah, oh yeah, hey. Good evening and welcome to this episode of the Five-Fold Podcast. I'm your host, michael Weidman, and I would like to say thank you for taking the time and joining us tonight on the podcast.
Speaker 1:The Five-F focuses on the fivefold ministry and the importance of that ministry in today's society. We believe that there is still a need for apostles, for prophets, for pastors, for teachers, for evangelists. They haven't ceased. There's still an operation today and necessary for the success of today's church. So join with us as we dive into this episode of the Five Fold Podcast. What is happening, everybody? Welcome back to tonight's episode. What is happening, everybody? Welcome back to tonight's episode.
Speaker 1:We are going to try our very best to get the last two churches into this 30 or 15-minute podcast, hopefully not last too long. But we're going to do our very best tonight. So I'm going to read both churches at one time and not split it up as we have been doing. So we find our text in Revelation, chapter number three, starting at verse number seven, and it's the angel of the church of Philadelphia. Right, these things say if 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, for thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word and hast 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. God of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and to worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee because thou has kept the word of my patience. I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly. Hold fast to that which thou hast and no man take thy crown. 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 the new Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name, or the Laodiceans write of God.
Speaker 1:I know thy works and thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot. Neither I would that thou wert cold or hot. So because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have no need of nothing, and know it's not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that thou mayest be closed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eyes with eye salve that thou mayest see as many as I love. I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock, and if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him and he with me. And to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I have overcome and am sat down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Speaker 1:So what's interesting to me about the churches of Philadelphia and the church of Laodicea is you have two completely almost polar opposites in what God is saying to these churches, two completely separate things, like I mean it's night and day. The Church of Philadelphia is one of the only churches there's two churches that are mentioned in the seven churches that do not get a. I have someone against you and the Church of Philadelphia is the second one. There's no negative things that Jesus brings up about the church at Philadelphia and then the Church of Laodicea is the complete opposite. There's not a positive thing that God says about the church at Laodicea, it's all negative. There's no blessings, there's no. I know your works, that you are trying, that you're doing a good job there, buddy. You're making it, you're trying your very level best and all this is going to work out for you. There's none of that going on. It's complete opposites. There's none of that going on. It's complete opposites. Let's start with Philadelphia. The name meaning. Everybody knows the name Philadelphia. It means brotherly love. Jesus introduces himself to the church at Philadelphia as 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. The church of Philadelphia was located in modern day Aliezer, turkey.
Speaker 1:Philadelphia was a very prosperous city for Rome until around 17 AD, when Philadelphia was hit with a catastrophic earthquake that destroyed the majority of the city. It was so devastating and brought so much damage to the city that Rome even exempted Philadelphia from tribute, or in other words, taxes, for five years. Now imagine that five years they were. Can you imagine that your city was hit with such a devastating earthquake that the United States government or whoever your government is, wherever you're listening from would look at you and say, okay, because of the devastation that we have, we're going to forego your taxes. You don't have to pay taxes for the next five years. Now, that's revival. That's revival. Praise God. Can I get an amen? Amen. We can all get excited about not having to pay taxes. I mean, after all, taxation is theft anyways. But that's not what my podcast is about. You'll have to forgive me, I'm a little hyped up tonight.
Speaker 1:The people of Philadelphia expected more help from Rome than what they actually received. The help never came. Now we can all kind of get behind that, because we know what that's like. Amen, what is it? Ronald Reagan said? The most dangerous or scariest words you can hear is hello, I'm here from the government and I'm here to help. They were expecting much more help from Rome to rebuild the city, but the help never came. They were disappointed, they felt neglected, and that disappointment and neglect turned into feelings of betrayal when Domitian decreed that all the vineyards of the region should be torn out. These vineyards were the backbone of Philadelphia. They were so good, in fact, that they competed with those vineyards in Rome. So Domitian said you must tear your vineyards down so Rome can be at the forefront of the vineyard business. And in doing that, domitian broke the backbone of the economy of the people of Philadelphia. So the people of Philadelphia felt extremely betrayed by the Roman government.
Speaker 1:Now, the early Christians felt this betrayal as well. But it wasn't just the betrayal of the authorities that they felt. Can you imagine what it felt like for the Christians of Philadelphia to get a letter from Jesus saying that I am holy? I am true, jesus was in a sense saying this I am holy, I will never neglect you, I will never betray you, I am true. I will always be faithful to you. These were the words that those Christians in Philadelphia desperately needed to hear, and Jesus knew exactly when to tell the church at Philadelphia I am the holy one, I am the true one, I am the righteous one. I will never leave you, I will never forsake you.
Speaker 1:In the times in our lives when we feel the most betrayed, that's when God reaches down and he shows us his love for us and he proves to us that, no matter who betrays us in our flesh, no matter who betrays us in our lives, jesus is still the one who is faithful to us. He said I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you. You and I'll never forsake you. Jesus said I have set a door before thee, an open door that no man can shut, for thou hast little strength and has kept my word and has not denied my name. What does this mean for those, these Christians in Philadelphia?
Speaker 1:But you must, you must understand first what they had gone through. Not only were they betrayed by Rome right that Domitian had destroyed their backbone and had betrayed them and not came and helped them rebuild their city and all the broken places of their city had not been rebuilt but they also had to go through things as those Christians. They were excluded from worshiping in Jewish synagogues because they had preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And in those times, when you would approach the door of the synagogue, you would knock on the door, somebody would open up the little window, they would look and see who you are and they would close the door and either they would let you in or they wouldn't let you in.
Speaker 1:And all these Christians, just because they had preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified, they had many closed doors before them. They weren't able to go with their families and worship in the synagogue. As a matter of fact, their families had disowned many of them because they had preached Jesus and they had forsaken the Jewish doctrine is what they would have said. And the Jewish doctrine is what they would have said. Many of the Jewish families would disown and cast out those who believed on Jesus as a Christ. So you can imagine the encouragement in these Christians, as Jesus says Behold, I will make 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 to worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee because thou has kept the word of my patience. I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the world to try them that dwell on the earth. So here's the encouragement to a Jew. This would possibly bring into remembrance hey, our patriarch Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, was sold into slavery, was cast out, but yet his visions came true. His family came before him and bowed before him, just as God had told him. And now Jesus is looking at these Christians who have been betrayed by their family, who have been betrayed by their government, and he is telling them listen, I'm going to have those people who say they're Jews but they're really not. They're going to come and they're going to bow before you. I'm going to make them remember and know that I love you. That brings in remembrance.
Speaker 1:Philadelphia, much like Smyrna, was one of the only churches that did not get the I have somewhat against you speech from Jesus. Philadelphia gets this. Promise 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 New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon him my new name. Here's what Jesus is saying. He's saying you're never going to be thrown out of the synagogue. You're never going to be thrown out of the temple of God. You may have been thrown out of these synagogues here in this city. You may have been cast out. You may feel like you are disowned. You may feel like you have no hope left, like everybody hates you. You may have all these emotions and feelings in you, but I will never leave you. You will not be. You will be a pillar in the temple of my God and I will write the name of my God on you. And I will write the name of that city, new Jerusalem, on you. I will write my new name on you is what Jesus is saying. He said I'm going to seal you. I'm going to seal you with my seal and nobody can take that seal away from you.
Speaker 1:Before I get too excited, let's look at the church of Laodicea. Remember, these are night and day. This is kind of why I wanted to put them together. This is night and day. The church Laodicea. The name actually means the power of laity, the power of laity. Jesus introduces himself as the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.
Speaker 1:Laodicea was located north of modern Karseika, turkey, and I probably butchered that name, but that's okay. Laodicea was in a position that was landlocked and they were not close to any source of running water. Because of that placement, they had to rely on a system of water pipes to bring the water to the city. One of the issues that would arise out of these systems is that the heat of the Asian minor would heat these pipes up and cause the water to be lukewarm by the time it came to the city. And it's no wonder that Jesus says to the church of Laodicea I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou were cold or hot, but because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Jesus was reminding them of their water system, which caused most of them to be sick. He was saying, in a sense, you have made me sick. I wish you were refreshing like a nice cool drink of water. I wish you were hot, like a nice hot tea. But because you are not, you are lukewarm. It'll remind you of your own water system that has made you physically sick. This is what you have done to me. You have made me physically spit. I want to spit you out, me physically spit. I want to spit you out.
Speaker 1:It's easy for us as modern Christians, especially us Pentecostals, to preach revival services, using the words of Jesus right To tell people that they need to be on fire for God. They need to have that hot Holy Ghost that's got them on fire for the Spirit of God and for the things of God. It's easy for us to use these words and to preach revival services. But let's be honest, this is not what Jesus was saying to this church. Jesus tells us what he means in the very next verse. He says because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And no, it's not that. Thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
Speaker 1:See, the church at Laodicea had gotten to the point where they felt they had no need for anything, including Jesus. They had all the money they needed, they had all the goods they needed, so why need Jesus? This is the mindset of the modern church, the mindset that says we have the best music, we have the best preaching, we have the best programs. We don't need anything else. And in doing so, we neglect and we forsake the thing that we absolutely need in our churches, and that is the spirit of the Almighty God and the anointing of God in our churches. This is the mindset that Laodicea had. They said we're fine, we're good, we got everything we need, we've got a beautiful synagogue, we've got all the greatest things in the world. Why do we need anything else? And they did not realize that in their arrogance and in their pride, they were just blind, they were naked, they were wretched, they were miserable, they were poor.
Speaker 1:Jesus tells them they were miserable, they were poor. Jesus tells them as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him and he with me. The same can be said to any church in the Asian minor. To be honest with you, the only reason that Jesus is telling them any of this, the only reason that Jesus is confronting the evils of their time and their society, the only reason that we have the book of Revelation, the only reason we have the entirety of the word of God that sometimes rebukes us, is because God loves us enough to give us his word of correction. He stands at the door and knocks, even today. Will you let him in? See the promise is this to him that overcometh, I will grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my father in his throne Church.
Speaker 1:There's two alternatives here. There's two complete opposites the church of Philadelphia, who felt neglected, who felt betrayed, who felt like they had nothing. But Jesus reminds them look, I've got an open door before you that no man can shut. No-transcript. We've got the best anointed. And here's the thing Sometimes we mistake the anointing for the performance. We've got good singers, we've got good preachers, we've got good programs, but that doesn't always mean we're anointed. Be careful, be careful. Be careful not to have that mindset of Laodicea, that you're not really on fire for God and you're not really backslidden, but you're just kind of lukewarm, because it makes God sick. Hey, I want to say thank you for joining us tonight on the Five Fold Podcast. I pray that you've been blessed and that you have enjoyed what you have heard. Join us every week as we release new content concerning the five-fold ministry and their place in today's church. You don't want to miss this, the five-fold podcast. God bless.
