Storyside Church

Revelation 3

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!

16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

17 For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 

18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 

19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 

21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 

22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

The Amen 

The Faithful and True Witness

The Beginning 

I know…

Laodicea

Hierapolis

Colossae 

Colossians 4:13 — I can tell you this about Epaphras: He has worked very hard for you, and also for the people at Laodicea and at Hierapolis.

Colossians 4:16 — And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Water 

It’s not flowing like it should. 

Lukewarm (Chliaros) 

You became warm

You fluctuated 

You say…

Sometimes self-assessment is the most dangerous assessment.

Wealth 

Wretched / Talaipōros  

Pitiable / Eleeinos 

Poor

Blind 

Naked 

Eleeinos 

1 Corinthians 15:19 — If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world.

Hold loosely to the things of this life, so that if God requires them of you, it will be easy to let them go.

— Corrie ten Boom 

I counsel you…

Do I do business with God?

Wool

Salve / Ointment 

You left me out of it all. 

Knock Knock 

PC Sermon Notes 7/12/26 - Church in Philadelphia

SOME DOORS LEAD TO ANOTHER ROOM

OTHER DOORS LEAD TO AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FUTURE

AM I GOING TO WALK THROUGH IT?

GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING THE DOOR

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WALKING THROUGH IT

REVELATION 3:7–13 ESV

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

8 I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 

9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 

10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 

11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 

12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 

13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

BROTHERLY LOVE

EARTHQUAKES

What made them faithful?  

STAY FAITHFUL IN SERVING  

STAY FAITHFUL IN SHARING  

"Christ has the keys and He opens the doors."

John Stott

"There are things which can only happen when a man sees the open door and has the courage to go through it."

WILLIAM BARCLAY

STAY FAITHFUL IN SUFFERING  

STAY FAITHFUL IN SCRIPTURE 

FAITHFULNESS DOESN’T BEGIN WITH OPPORTUNITY

FAITHFULNESS BEGINS WITH OBEDIENCE

I WANT TO STAY FAITHFUL IN MY _____________________.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO OPEN THE DOOR

JESUS ALREADY DID THAT

YOU HAVE TO WALK THROUGH IT

Revelation 3

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 

2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 

3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 

4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 

5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Isaiah 11:2 — And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The Spirit of the Lord

The Spirit of Wisdom

The Spirit of Understanding

The Spirit of Counsel

The Spirit of Might 

The Spirit of Knowledge

The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord

Unguarded Paths

What are the unguarded paths in my life?

The Titanic tragedy served as a wake-up call for the shipping industry, highlighting the importance of safety and preparedness at sea.

The Careless Church

The Complacent Church

The Overconfident Church

I know… 

Would God agree with my reputation? 

Wake up!

If you will not wake up…

What is left in my life?

When is a revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.

— Billy Sunday 

People are often ashamed to admit that they need revival. 

— Mordecai Ham 

If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word of God.

— Charles Spurgeon 

Revival is the visitation of God which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God's near presence and holiness. This reviving brings a vivid sense of sin, repentance, praise, and love, with an evangelistic outflow.

— J.I. Packer 

Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility.

— Charles Finney 

Revival is a divinely initiated work in which God’s people pray, repent of their sin, and return to a holy, Spirit-filled, obedient, love-relationship with God.

— Henry Blackaby 

A revival is the church falling in love with Jesus Christ all over again.

— Vance Havner 

Maybe you are the key to revival in your church.

— Leonard Ravenhill 

Wake-Up _______________________________. 

Revelation 2

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 

20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 

21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 

23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 

24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 

25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 

26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,

27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

28 And I will give him the morning star. 

29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Vulnerable

Exposure 

The Compromised Church

The Corrupted Church 

I know…

Outside

Inside 

You tolerate Jezebel. 

Silences 

Substitutes 

Tolerate 

I've noticed that there's nothing as intolerant as the intolerance of the tolerant against the intolerance of the intolerant.

— Adrian Rodgers 

What do we tolerate?

Why do we tolerate it? 

Do I redefine biblical truth to fit culture?

Do I excuse sin in the name of tolerance?

Do I cave to the pressure of political correctness? 

Am I aware that He knows and that He sees the deep things in my life?  

Guild > God 

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

— A.W. Tozer 

Revelation 2:21 — I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

I gave _______________ time to repent. 

The REJECTION of REPENTANCE. 

Revelation‬ ‭2‬

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.

13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.

15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’”

Emperor Worship

Altar of Zeus

The Asclepion

Temple of Athena

Temple of Dionysus

“I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.”

Do I recognize Satan working in the world around me?

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2‬

13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.’”

“Hold Fast”

“Teaching of Baalam”

“Teaching of the Nicolaitans”

What teaching have I started listening to?

What teaching has caused me to stumble?

Am I willing to repent?

What is the Spirit speaking to me?

Revelation 2

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 

10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 

11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’

The Persecuted Church

The Crushed Church 

Death does not have the last word. 

I know…

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

— C.S. Lewis 

I thought my pain and suffering had taken me to a place where God could never be found; instead, it was a place where He became more real to me than I had ever known Him to be.

— Annette 

Don’t be so quick to get out of hard times that you don’t get anything out of them. 

— Mark Batterson 

John 16:33 — I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!

_________________________ Trouble 

Keep The Faith

Am I faithful? 

Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?

— Polycarp 

Mark 15:39 — And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Will people watch my final breath and be moved by my faith all the way to the finish?

 2 Timothy 4:7 — I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Mark 13:13 — All people will hate you because you follow me. But those who remain faithful to the end will be saved.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation 1

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 

2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 

3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 

5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 

6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 

11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 

13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 

14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 

15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face iwas like the sun shining in full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 

18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 2

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 

3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 

4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 

6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

I know…

There are three persons living in each of us: the one we think we are, the one other people think we are, and the one God knows we are!

— Leonard Ravenhill 

Lost 

Left

Our ministry success can potentially hide our spiritual decline. 

Do I still love Jesus deeply?

Is Jesus still my first focus? 

How does our first love fade?

Revelation 

Remember

Repent / Return 

Repeat / Restore 

Ephesians 6:24 — Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.

— John Wesley 

Repent 

Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. 

— Charles Spurgeon 

What would God call me to return to? 

O God, when my faith gets overladen with dust, blow it clean with the wind of your Spirit. When my habits of obedience get stiff and rusty, anoint them with the oil of your Spirit. Restore the enthusiasm of my first love for you.

— Eugene H. Peterson 

Just because the truth is unpopular doesn't mean that it should not be proclaimed.

— Billy Graham 

Luke 15

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.

12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 

13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.

15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.

16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!

18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.

19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’

20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.

23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.

24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Life’s Lies

Lie’s Lessons

Where have your lies taken you in life?

Moment Of Truth

Stop waiting on handouts. 

My life is worse off than it has to be. 

I’ll perish if I stay in this place. 

I need to get up. 

You cannot go with God and stay where you are. 

— Henry Blackaby 

My next move matters. 

Am I willing to admit it and own it?

If they had a social gospel in the days of the prodigal son, somebody would have given him a bed and a sandwich and he never would have gone home. 

— Vance Havner 

Talk to me truth! 

John 8:32 — You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 5:39-40 — You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your grace. Your forgiveness is SO good that I struggle with believing it at times. Thank You for rescuing me from myself and giving me Your Holy Spirit. 

— Francis Chan 

I CAN handle the truth. 

We live in a day when we are more afraid of holiness than we are of sinfulness.

— Leonard Ravenhill 

John 8:32 — You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Do I believe there is a God?

If God is real, don't assume he will perfectly align with your views. If he never challenges your assumptions you may have a made-up God. We should expect God to challenge us on what we think is right somewhere in our lives economically, socially, sexually, and personally.

— Author Tim Keller

Do I believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Hebrews 11:6 — Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.

Psalm 131:1-2 — Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Mysticism 

Moralism 

Emotionalism 

Mysticism — An experience where the soul reaches its highest degree of union with the sacred during our earthly existence. 

Truth is not still being discovered. 

John 14:6 — I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.

Mysticism is dangerous because it is always looking to elevate a spiritual experience or new enlightenment over what God has already established. 

Galatians 1:8 — Nobody should ever teach a message that is different from the good news that we taught you. Neither we ourselves, nor even an angel from heaven, should ever teach a different message. If anyone does that, I pray that God would curse him.

Moralism — A personal moral code. Moralism is a belief that being a good person is often the most important thing. 

87% 

100% 

Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell. 

— Charles Spurgeon

Galatians 5:16 — So I tell you, live the way the Spirit leads you. Then you will not do the evil things your sinful self wants.

1 Timothy 1:15 — Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Moralism is dangerous because it ultimately removes our need for salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Emotionalism is when I let truth be determined and decided by how I feel. 

Colossians 2:8 — Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual principles of this world, rather than from Christ.

Jeremiah 17:9 — The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Proverbs 4:23 — Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

1 John 3:20 — That’s how we know we belong to the way of truth. And when our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God, because God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything.

Pleasure / Pain

Yes / No 

Matthew 16:24 — Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.

Mysticism 

Moralism

Emotionalism 

We want to align our lives to the Bible, not align the Bible to our lives. 

Am I obeying what I already know? 

Acts 26:18 — You will make them able to understand the truth. They will turn away from darkness to the light. They will turn away from the power of Satan, and they will turn to God. Then their sins can be forgiven, and they can be given a place among God’s people — those who have been made holy by believing in me.

When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.

What is truth speaking to me?

Bad Behavior 

Bad Beliefs 

“What is truth?” 

— John 18:38

Proverbs 14:12 — There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

My Truth / Your Truth 

Fads

Family 

Friends

Feelings 

Failures (Sin) 

Colossians 2:8 — Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual principles of this world, rather than from Christ.

Galatians 1:6-7

I am shocked that you have so quickly turned from God, who chose you with his gift of undeserved grace. You have believed another message, when there is really only one true message. But some people are causing you trouble and want to make you turn away from the good news about Christ.

We don’t plant weeds — We pull weeds. 

Romans 1

18 The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth through unrighteousness.

21 Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools.

23 They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 

24 Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves.

25 They turned the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Turned the Truth

Twisted the Truth 

Error indeed is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should not at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than truth itself.

— Irenaeus 

11% 

Inconvenience 

Inaccuracy 

Authoritative Scripture 

John 21:25 — Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

The Holy Bible 

2 Timothy 3

12 Everyone who wants to live showing true devotion to God in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 

13 People who are evil and cheat others will become worse and worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.

14 But you should continue following the teaching you learned. You know it is true, because you know you can trust those who taught you. 

15 You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. These Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

16 All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. 

17 Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work.

We want to align our lives to the Bible, not align the Bible to our lives. 

The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach to-day, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again.

— Charles Spurgeon