and turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 2. We're going to read the last of the churches mentioned in chapter 2. It is the fourth of the seven, Thyatira, which makes it the middle one, and in many respects it is also the most difficult one. Mention made of death as a punishment of the Great Tribulation. There is much in also this word of the Lord to Thyatira that is vital for our ministry and for our service. Revelation 2 page 1219 and as we read these words let us first ask the Lord's blessing upon this reading with his spirit's grace and goodness shall we pray. Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we thank you for this word. We thank you for our privilege in being able to read it and study it. And we pray that you would open our hearts and minds to receive it and to glorify you in it. And we pray that you would so build us up and challenge us as your church in this place to be faithful to you, that your light might shine all the brighter within this dark world. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. In Revelation 2, beginning at verse 18, hear the Word of God. 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. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 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, 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. 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. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. 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, and I will give him the morning star, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." The Lord now add his blessing to that word. Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ our Lord, we now come halfway through the seven churches, through the cycle of The postal worker who was delivering this message, these messages, he would have had seven copies of the book of Revelation, depositing in each congregation one copy. And he was now called to stop at Thyatira. And they would have, of course, read through the previous churches. They would have heard about Ephesus, its emphasis on doctrine, but its failure to be a blessing to others. They would have heard about Smyrna and its resilient defense of the gospel in the face of great opposition. And they would have read of Pergamum and the Lord's call to them to stand fast against the tidal wave of immorality that was around them. They would undoubtedly wonder now what is the Lord going to say about us? What is Jesus got to say about us? Will we be like Ephesus and Pergamum having good but also bad? Or will we be like Smyrna and the Lord will say to us nothing but good things? What will the Lord say to us? And that's a good question for any church to ask and to try and wrestle through, even as we as a congregation ought to think those things. We have to ask ourselves, not what does the Lord think of me, simply, but what does the Lord think of us? What does the Lord think of this congregation, of this church, of our churches within North America, in the world? What does the Lord think of us? We have a hard time, generally speaking, being self-aware. We have a hard time seeing things the way that we ought. We tend to see only the blessings. We tend to see only the positive. We tend to see only the things that we count as valuable. We don't see the challenges. We don't see the work. We're sort of in that sense like children, aren't we? Growing up in our home with mom and dad. Dad and mom are working hard. Dad and mom are making difficult decisions. Dad and mom are trying to lead us in a way that is good and brings us to a place of blessing. But we don't know any of that. We don't know any of that work. We just know that we have this home that is good. We rejoice in these blessings. And maybe we look over at another home and we see another set of friends or family that are living there. We see that they have other things that we don't have, or that they have blessings that we want, and maybe we get a little envious, and we think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and we don't see what blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us in this place, because we struggle as human beings, we struggle as sinful people to be rightly self-aware. And that was certainly the case for the church in Thyatira. Whatever excitement they may have had, whatever They might have anticipated Jesus was going to say to them. Undoubtedly, his words struck them very painfully and wounded them very deeply. Or it is our prayer that they would have. For what the Lord has to say to Thyatira is indeed very difficult. Begins, of course, well enough. Jesus begins with a revelation of his authority as judge over all the earth. He speaks of himself as the one who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. Language again taken. from the beginning, from chapter one, where Jesus reveals himself to John. And now that language is adapted to this particular circumstance. And indeed, that language is one of a savior, of a judge who is demanding, who is a judge who holds our lives in the palm of his hand. He has eyes like a flame of fire, which means they're piercing. They are Eyes that judge. They are eyes that discern whether there's blessing or judgment to be applied. And he has feet like burnished bronze, we're told, which are feet that can crush. Feet that can destroy. Feet that can trample over those who rebel against him. Indeed, there is possibly in this something of an echo of that statue that is recorded in Daniel chapter 3. You remember the story there of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar made and that it was also like this in some respect. And you'll remember that, of course, Daniel's three friends didn't bow before that statue and ended up in the furnace, though they were protected by their God, by their Savior. There is not a direct necessarily allusion, or rather, there's not a direct reference or connection between Daniel 3 and our text, but there is at least an allusion to it, a linguistic reminder. And it is a reminder that all those who rebel against the current culture, who rebel and refuse to bow before the idols of the current age, will find themselves in a fire of furnace. But they will also find themselves protected and preserved. by the God who blesses. Thus Jesus presents himself as the one who condemns and as the one who delivers, as the one who judges and as the one who protects. That is what that opening revelation description of Jesus indicates. And then he says some very positive things about the Thyatira church. or churches. He says to them, I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. Jesus speaks about things that should mark every church of Jesus Christ. Love, faith, service, and patience and endurance. Surely those are the greatest qualities any church can be identified by or with. Every church ought to want their Savior to say, I know these things about you. Indeed, says Jesus, not only that, but your latter works exceed the first. That is, that this was a church that was actually getting more passionate. This was a church getting more devoted, more committed. More desirous of serving the Lord, of witnessing to their God within their culture. Indeed, we might very well say that Thyatira was the anti-Ephesus church or the anti-Ephesian church. You remember that the Ephesian church was very good at doctrine, very poor at witnessing. Thyatira was very good at witnessing. Otherwise, we'll see they're very bad at doctrine. But they were very good, says Jesus, in their love and in their service and their faith and in the patient endurance. They were very good at holding forth the light of the gospel before a watching world. Indeed, we ought to note this very specific thought. For there is a suggestion in Jesus's words that he has not just a general idea. Hey, Thyatira, you're generally good at these things, but that he is a specific encouragement. Thyatira, here's where you're good. These qualities that he mentions, love and faith, service and patient endurance, are also mentioned in other parts of this letter, particularly in chapter 13, verse 10, and in chapter 14, verse 12. And in those contexts, those words seem to refer to the willingness of God's people to be a light, to continue to be a light in a very dark world, to be witnesses against their culture. That is that Jesus says there in those passages that the church is a light not put under a bushel, but put on a stand, not hidden, but placed upon a hill. And if that's the case, if we've rightly understood then Jesus's words here, then it's reasonable to understand that here too in Thyatira, Jesus is speaking positively about a church who is commended for their devotion, their passion, for being witnesses, for testifying to the world, for evangelizing their community, for their passionate pursuit of proselytizing. This was a church that was good at evangelism. And that ought to be true of us too. Though it's not yet, is it? Here is an encouragement to us and to all churches that read this word from our Lord. There are aspects of the church in Thyatira to which the Lord will speak a critical word, especially in terms of their doctrine and discernment of his word. And we have a history or a culture that joins Jesus in this form of critique. We look to see if churches usually have their doctrinal ducks in a row and if they follow the principles of scripture in their polity, their worship, and their ministry. We look to see is their doctrine good. And that's a good thing to ask, a necessary thing to ask, and never should be dismissed, Jesus himself not dismissing it. He says of the Thyatira church, you have a problem with your doctrine. He says to the Ephesian church, well done, your doctrine is good. But he also says to the Ephesian church, your witnessing is no good. Even as he says to the Thyatira church, your witnessing is great. And would Jesus say that then of us? Sometimes I think we take way too much pride in this aspect of our church's history and culture, pride in our devotion to doctrinal purity and faithfulness. We're like university professors, we live in our libraries with our books, confident that we're right theologically, but failing to see that the world around us is dying and is in desperate need of the grace that we hold in the palm of our hand. Thyatira was a church that knew their community needed the gospel, and they called them to repentance and faith, despite being a painful and challenging commitment for them to fulfill. Do not miss that Jesus says, well done for being patient in your endurance. Even Thyatira was facing opposition. But despite this opposition, Thyatira still held forth the gospel. Jesus is still greatly pleased by their commitment to spread the good news. And if it pleases Jesus, shouldn't it please us? Now this is not intended in any way to guilt us into evangelism. but to recognize instead our King's priorities and to make them our own. Too often the call to being a witness in our world, to being evangelistic as a church, is issued with all manner of guilt attached to it, so that we're made to feel bad about how little we do, and therefore to be motivated to do more. There's nothing wrong, probably, with feeling bad for the lack of evangelism. having not been as devoted to the Lord as we should be. But guilt is never a good way to motivate anybody to be a Christian or to serve their king. No, we have every other reason to serve Jesus because he is great and glorious. We know the wonder and the glory of our king. We know that he is the sovereign who rules over all men. We know that he is the great and gracious king who restores broken lives and lifts up the wounded and strengthens the weak and heals the brokenhearted. We should be thrilled at the opportunity we're given to declare this to the world around us. We live in a world that will in time feel the terror of his fiery gaze and the pain of his trampling feet. But we are those who have been purchased and have been resurrected by this Savior. Ours is not fear, but joy. Our motive is not guilt, but gratitude. And the same should be true in all that we do. When we read that our sovereign Lord is pleased by love and faith that holds forth the light of the word to a dark world, that ought to point us in the same direction. If that's what our great Savior praises, Then let him praise us for it too. Has our world, our community, our co-workers, our neighbors, have they heard from us the good news of the gospel? Have they been invited to worship with us in church? Have they been encouraged by the way that we live our lives? Have they been comforted by the grace that we've been given? Do they even know that we're Christian? These are the questions we ought to ask ourselves and seek to apply in light of God's commendation of the church in Thyatira. How do we do that? It's a good question and one we don't always wrestle with. We just assume that witnessing to the world means telling people that they need to come to the faith. And of course, that's a good thing to do and true. In fact, it needs to be something we're more comfortable with doing when opportunity allows. But we ought to remember and be encouraged, as I've had opportunity to tell many of you, the advice, the sage wisdom of Rico Tice, who says, the journey of any unbeliever to faith is a thousand steps. And your job is to help them take one. Might be the first one. It's unlikely that it'll be the last one, but it might be. But it is far more likely to be one along the way. So all you have to do is just help them take one step. And we should never imagine that if we do it right, that's when it's going to work. Being thoughtful is important and necessary. Being wise when it comes to how we witness to the world is good and right. But nothing we do will ever work unless the Lord blesses it. We need to realize that none of us will come close to what we should be as believers, that we will never hold the light of the gospel before the Lord as well as we should, but that we're all still covered in the blood of the land. And the Lord remains pleased to use our faltering and failing efforts. Which means that while evangelism ought to be thoughtful, It relies entirely on the grace of God and the work of His Spirit in Christ. And we ought to be willing to be faltering and failing. We ought to be willing to make mistakes in service to the King. If we're going to make mistakes, and we will, then let's make them in praise of Jesus. Let us seek to hold forth the light of God's Word purely. That is where, of course, the Thyatira Church struggled. They were good at evangelism. They weren't good at purity. Here's where so many in our current culture also get it wrong, even within the church community. Church communities in our world are so open minded, their brains fall out. That's the basic critique of our Lord in this congregation. There was a teaching that lived within the congregation, a teaching that compromise the commitment of God's people to their Savior. Similar to Pergamum, it involved eating food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. And we've already seen what that might mean, that it means undoubtedly a participation in guilds or trade unions. It meant that in order to keep your job, you had to go to these services for your guild or your trade union where you worship these idols, where you participated in these religious events. It may have meant for them as well that they were marrying people outside of the church, that they were being united to people that were unbelieving. It may also have meant more broadly that their ideals and their desires, their priorities and principles were more worldly than they were godly. But whatever the full expression of this, the truth remains the church in Thyatira had not yet worked out what their devotion to the king meant in terms of their relationship with the culture around them and the culture's constant pull to them to deviate from the things of God and his word. That's understandable for any church given the pervasiveness of our culture, given the power of our culture, And it's also understandable that those in the church would struggle with this call precisely because standing against such immorality, defying such powerful enemies, is hard, divisive, and difficult for any within the church. But there was a unique dynamic at work in Thyatira that wasn't true of Pergamum of the other churches either. And that unique dynamic has to do with Jezebel. Now Jezebel is obviously a reference to a historical character and all the wickedness associated with her. You know the story of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, and you know just how wicked she was. The question we need to ask is, does Jesus here mean that there was a woman in the congregation in Thyatira, a woman who was a prophetess in some respect, a woman who may have even been named Jezebel? For a number of reasons, there are challenges to understanding things in that way. And indeed, there are other examples in scripture, not least of which is 2 John 1, where the writer describes a church or a group under the imagery of a woman. As he says in 2 John 1, he writes this letter to the elect lady and her children, a reference not to a particular person, but to a particular congregation or group within the church. And it's possible here that that's the same thing that's going on, that Jesus uses the word Jezebel and identifies this movement within Thyatira in this way in order to focus the attention of his readers to a spirit, to a movement, to a group within the congregation that was leading contrary to the will and word of God. A word and will that They claimed they knew more deeply than anyone else. We shouldn't miss that. Jesus' reference to the deep things of Satan may be a sarcastic reference. That is, that this movement was not saying, we know the deep things of Satan, who would want to say such a thing? But that they were in fact saying, no, no, we've understood the deep things of God. That was their phrase, the church's phrase, this group within the church. They had said, we're mature Christians. We're serious Christians. We're deep students of the word. We know the full grace of God. We know the liberating power of God. Indeed, we find that echoed in many of the letters of the New Testament that Paul writes to churches and to people who believe that Jesus Christ has freed them, freed them to sin. freed them to live in immorality, freed them to be impure in their sexuality and in their interactions with the world. Indeed, do we not hear that very thing increasingly and continually in our day? That there are those in our church community, broadly now speaking, those within the Christian community who say, well, we've understood Jesus more deeply. We know Jesus' love more purely. We know his will for our lives more profoundly. We are real Christians and real Christians welcome everyone. Real Christians encourage everyone. Real Christians do not judge. And all of a sudden the immorality of the world invades and empties the church in no time. That is why we can understand our Lord's description of this idea that we are the real ones as not the deep things of God, but as the deep things of Satan. They cloaked their lies in a piety that is deeper and more insightful, they said, than the average Christian. But in fact we're not at all Christian in their understanding. Whatever the case we read that the Lord has in one way or another issued a call to repentance to this group within the church. How He's done that, we're not told through the preaching of the Word, through a particular sending of a man to this congregation, we're not sure. But the Lord has already said to those in the church, you must repent. And if you do not repent, further judgment will come. Indeed, now comes the warning, the most serious and profound warning that is found in these seven letters. Jesus says, there will be suffering. There will be struggle. There will even be death. There will be great tribulation. Now notice that word comes in for significant meaning in the book of Revelation at times. Here's the first use of it in the context of a congregation. Jezebel and those that follow her will suffer great tribulation. Jezebel, who's teaching about sexual immorality. Jezebel, who's teaching them to eat food that is inconsistent with their commitment to Christ. Indeed, we begin to hear in this description of Jezebel the description of Babylon the Great in Revelation 18 at the end of the book, where also the Great Tribulation is referenced and brought to pass. But it begins here in the church. Whatever judgment is to come begins with God's people. God's people who refused to bow before the throne and to acknowledge Jesus Christ as King in their daily living, in their way that they walk before the world. Because they refused to repent when the call came, the Lord says, I will make you suffer. Not now by way of punishment, first of all, but that they might repent. Even some will die so that the churches will fear and flee to Jesus. This is a serious reminder to any and all to all churches certainly in the world today that their king keeps an eye on them and demands that they remain faithful in their discernment in their discerning devilish dishonesty. Cultural compromise, as we've already heard by Jesus in these seven letters, is a big deal for the judge of heaven and earth. And those who bow before the idols of this age are in serious peril. But let us learn seriously and heed genuinely the warning of this judgment of our King. He has issued the call to repentance. Even in their rebellion, He continues to call them back to Himself. Even as He offers a dire warning, He does so in the hope that His church will repent. What a wonderful thing it is to know that that's the Savior who's calling these people. A terrifying thought, nonetheless, for he is the one who can make their lives indeed end in death. He can bring his judgment to bear upon them, but he does it because he desires that they be lifted up, that they be restored to him. Jesus issues the call to repentance, not to destroy, but to be restored. In punishing these rebels, he seeks to win them. Which is to say that as a church, and how fitting is it now that this is today's sermon, we should learn the lesson that discipline, even difficult discipline, should never be despised. For it is the call to restoration, and the seeking of the lost sheep, and the winning of the lost soul. This is also how Jesus ministers to His church. He sends the call. If it is not heeded, He brings the judgment that they might repent, that they and others might learn the lesson of His righteousness. But notice especially that this means therefore that the church needs to be discerning. Whatever the phrase the deep things of Satan means, it demonstrates that the church was not doing its homework. The elders were not thinking matters through. They were not comparing scripture with scripture and they were not making sense of the false teaching of this Jezebel. And if we take the name Jezebel as God's description of this movement or of a person, matters not, it's a reminder that the church can forget her own history. And forget how wicked this kind of teaching, these kinds of people can be. Indeed it is a reminder to us that Jezebel of old continues to crop up, to pop up in the history of the church. That is, that the devil never stops finding ways to deceive, to distract, and to destroy. And we need to recognize that our world's de-emphasizing of critical thinking, our world's insistence that feelings are what matters, not ideas, that spirituality is good, not religion, that personal conviction is more important than theological precision, is all intended to get us to put down our guard so that the flood of sin can overwhelm us. Indeed, how often don't we see where precision is forgotten, immorality so very quickly follows. Here's where we need leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ to do the hard work of thinking, of reading, of understanding the challenges. Leaders that help us identify lies and free us from them. A congregation that calls its surrounding community to repentance and faith is commendable. But a congregation that does not discern the truth of God's word is eventually simply going to give in to the culture around them. And no longer will there be any reason for the culture to come to repentance and faith. You see, the church holds out a word to the world that cannot be found anywhere else. If we compromise that message by embracing that what is contrary to the word of God, even though it's easier, even though it's more natural and instinctive, even though we don't have to think it through at all, we just know it to be true. If that's the way we go, we've mocked our God. We must call all men to total devotion to the Lord. And that begins by expecting that the church will live under the yoke of Jesus Christ. And that only by living under that yoke will they be blessed. Indeed, that's how our text ends. The Lord offers a promise to those who overcome that they will reign with Jesus. The one who conquers and keeps my word until the end To him I will give authority over the nations 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 I will give him the morning star. He was an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. Jesus promises that any and all who overcome in light of his warning and in light of his serious call to repentance that they will reign with Jesus. He has been presented to them as the judge. who condemns those who rebel against him, and as the one who protects and preserves those who submit to his authority, giving them rule, just like those three men in the fiery furnace." And now he references not Daniel 3, but Psalm 2, a reminder of the world's rejection of God's call upon them. You know how Psalm 2 begins, "'Why do the nations rage, and the rulers plot a vain thing?' That is what the rulers of our world undoubtedly do. But notice that in this context, it's the church that's doing that. It's Jezebel who's doing that and her followers within the church that are doing that, rejecting the claim of Christ in their daily living, in their moral walk, in their relationship with their fellow men. They're the ones who are saying, we can sleep around, we can party like we're from the world, we can act and speak as though we're unbelieving in our day-to-day activities because we're redeemed. And he who sits in heaven laughs. And therefore, at the end of Psalm 2, the Lord warns all those who think this way Bow before the King, kiss the Son, lest He be angry with you in the way. Indeed, here too, Jesus calls the church to submit to the King, to the morning star. That is just a reference to Jesus, just another name for our Savior. We ought to note that it is in almost identical terms that our world also now speaks to us. Our world speaks to us even as Jesus speaks to the church in Thyatira. The world says to us, listen church, if you oppose us, if you refuse to live as we command, if you do not abide by our pronouns, you will be canceled. Now we ought to know that their arm is rather short. They tried canceling Jordan Peterson, they only made him bigger. And we continue to see some of the ramifications in decisions and elections throughout the world. How so much of this mentality is being cut short. But that's still the message the world brings to us. If you do not obey us and bow before our thrones, we will cancel you. They tell us that if we do embrace their authority, if we do embrace their positions, if we do accept their ways of thinking, they'll bless us. Then our lives will be better and so much happier. And indeed, if you look around at the church today, you'll see within the broader Christian community how many churches have bought this line. How many churches have bowed to the gods of critical race theory, hoping that they'll get interviewed on NBC or be invited to the White House for their prayer meetings. But here's the thing about the world's promises. They're profoundly cruel. No matter how often you worship at their altar, they will cast you down in a heartbeat. Just ask Andrew Cuomo. Ask Harvey Weinstein. Ask Amber Heard. They were all priests and priestesses in the temple of our world and they have been cast aside even into prison because the world promises but never pays out. Its threats are always only smoke and mirrors. But Jesus is sovereign. The very revelation of this word to Thyatira proves that. They have been casting off the yoke of Jesus and Jesus says, nice try. I'm still your king and I will have my way. I will lift you up or I will cast you down. But my will is sovereign. His punishment of Jezebel and of her children will prove that. Even as his death and resurrection prove that most profoundly. All of which is to say that those who take Jesus at his word do very well, are very wise. For this is the one who rules heaven and earth, and in whose hand is the iron scepter, and who gives his authority to his saints that they might rule over all the nations. Indeed, they will one day. So that when we submit to Jesus in our works, in our word, in our walk, in our witnessing, when we as a church ask, not what does the world want, but what does Jesus want? How can we be a witness and a light to Jesus? Then we ask the right question. Then we walk in the right way. Not only as church, but also as individuals in our work, in our relationship with our fellow men, in our marriages, in our parenting. When we ask, Lord, how would you have me live? What would you have me do? Let me not listen to the culture in which we live. Let me listen to your word and will. When we insist that our spiritual leaders be those that can discern the word and will of God, warning us against the ways of this world. When we give them the time and the space to be able to study and to be able to discuss and debate these things, then we do what Jesus wants. Then we receive the blessing of this Savior, the one with the piercing bright eyes and the powerful bronze feet. The one who will in the end to give us victory and give to us thrones upon which to sit. Who will give to us his own name that we might be known among all the world as those who belong to Jesus. The world holds out before us its promises, bow and we will bless. Jesus holds out before you his promise, bow and you will be blessed. The promises of the world are never paid out. Jesus died and rose again. Already providing the payment long before you ever came around to convince you that his promises are yes and amen. He will fulfill all that he has said he will do. And so heed the warning of Thyatira. Heed the warning of the great tribulation. Heed the promise of the one who overcomes and bow before the king. Let's thank him for that in prayer. Gracious God and Heavenly Father, your word is a light and a lamp to our feet, and it leads us in the way of everlasting life. It is a word that cuts us at times. It is a word that challenges us inevitably, but comforts us nonetheless. Comforts us when we turn to you. Comforts us when we bow before you. Comforts us when we acknowledge that you are the King of kings. Help us to do that as a church. Help us to do that individually. Help us to be a light to our world. In Jesus' name, amen.