Tues.’s Devo - The Church of Philadelphia

Read Rev. 3:7 Yay! We finally get to the good church - the church of brotherly love. But first, let’s look at what was going on in the city of Philadelphia. It was the second largest city in Lydia and was famous for the wine grown there. Along with the Christians, there were heathens that worshipped Bacchus. Bacchus is the same god as Nimrod. Nimrod was a mighty hunter who built Babel. So we see a strong demonic presence and a strong Godly presence. This age lasted from 1750-1906. It is known as the age of brotherly love because Philadelphia means, “love of brethren.” Our messenger is John Wesley. John Wesley was one of 19 children!!! He was born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley in England in 1703. He studied religion in Oxford and became a missionary to America. On the ship over, he met some Moravians and was impressed by their meekness, peace, and courage. Up till this time, Wesley only knew a life of self denial and hard work. His mission trip to America was a failure and he went back to England defeated and in need of salvation. When he got back to England he found the Moravians and they showed him the way of salvation by grace, not works. He then started preaching grace. He was opposed by the religious system, so he went to the fields and preached. He would begin at five in the morning preaching and would preach four times every day. He traveled around 4500 miles a year preaching. Manifestations of the Spirit followed his ministry. The Methodists were formed of his members though this was never Wesley’s desire. His life was based on living for Jesus, not having a creed or doctrinal statement. He died at 88 having fulfilled his destiny. It is amazing to me that many famous men and women of God started out with a zeal for God before they had a salvation experience. I think we will encounter many more people like that as the days get closer to Jesus’ coming. Lord, give us discerning spirits and remind us that grace and love is better than doctrine and knowledge.