INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #1
Have you heard the story about the guy who fell in love with an opera singer? He hardly knew her; as a matter of fact his only view of her had been through his binoculars – from the third balcony. But he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he could be happily married to someone who had a voice like hers.
He barely noticed that she was; well, much older than him. He hadn’t noticed that she walked with a limp. All he knew was that her soprano voice could take them through any difficulty they could ever have.
After a whirlwind ceremony, a rushed wedding ceremony, they were off on their honeymoon.
As she began to prepare for their first night together…his chin dropped. First she plucked out her glass eye, and then she unstrapped her fake leg, pulled off her wig, and removed her dentures. As she turned and smiled at him…horror shot threw his body…and he gasped with all his strength – FOR GOODNESS SAKE, SING WOMAN, SING, SING SING.
Things aren’t always as they appear.
SLIDE #2
This is the longest of the seven letters, and it is ironic that the longest letter is addressed to the smallest and least important of the seven cites.
This would make the church at Thyatira a small town church
The city was known for its manufacturing and trade guilds. Lydia (Acts 16:14) is from Thyatira. These trade guilds would all have their own religion and gods that they would follow.
If you were involved in a trade, you would belong to a guild and you would be expected to participate in the immoral activities of the guild as is worshipped its false gods.
In this setting we have the church at Thyatira. As we look at this letter we will see that on the outside, all is looking good, but things are not a good as they look on the outside. Isn’t this true of many churches today?
Let us see what the Lord has to say to the church in the small town.
SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. A PICTURE OF THE LORD v.18
• Let us look at verse 18 to gain a picture of the Lord.
• SLIDE #4
• Revelation 2:18 (ESV) 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.
• WOW! The readers had better pay attention? Jesus is the ultimate authority!
• Each opening description of the Lord is meant for a specific purpose. In this opening description we read that Jesus has “eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze”. This description alludes to the fact that Jesus is all knowing and a picture of strength and splendor.
• The blazing eyes indicate the penetrating power of his vision; that He can see into the depths of our soul.
• The feet of bronze indicate strength for executing judgment.
• We can look good on the outside, but Jesus can see what we are really about.
• We are told that His word can cut right though to what we really are. (Hebrews 4:12)
• It is a scary thought, knowing that God can see us the way we really are.
• SLIDE #5
• Psalm 139:7-10 (ESV) 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
• What goes on in the heart is no secret from God.
• Let us look at the Praise Jesus has for the church.
• SLIDE #6
II. PRAISE FOR THE CHURCH v.19
• Let’s turn to verse 19 to find out what the church was doing well.
• SLIDE #7
• Revelation 2:19 (ESV) 19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
• Jesus praises them for their deeds, which He will list.
• It is worth taking note that in Ephesians the church was told that they left their first love and was to return to it, here we find that the deeds that were being performed by the church were greater than the ones they did at first. This church appears to be a dynamic church.
• The church is being praised for the following deeds or works:
• SLIDE #8
• Works of love.
• SLIDE #9
• Works of faith.
• SLIDE #10
• Works of service.
• SLIDE #11
• Works of perseverance.
• As we look at the next section of the letter, I want us to ask ourselves if God is concerned only with what we do or is our heart important also. If we are doing some of the right things, is that all that God wants from us?
• SLIDE #12
III. PROBLEMS WITH THE CHURCH v.20-21
• Verses 20-21 will give us some insight as to the problem the Lord had with the church.
• SLIDE #13
• Revelation 2:20-21 (ESV)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.
• The problem with this church seems to be that they let the world influence their thinking and actions.
• The church was doing some great things, but they were tolerant of worldly teachings in the church.
• Remember that many of the people may have been in a trade guild in order to conduct business, and these guilds would do all kinds of immoral activity in the name of the god they worshipped.
• This made it hard for the new Christians, if they backed off their trade guild, they would lose their jobs and livelihood.
• In the church, a certain woman who claimed to be a prophetess was leading the people down the path of destruction, and the church leaders were allowing it to happen.
• The acceptance of worldly teachings by the people ultimately led to immoral lifestyles.
• Turning our heads away from sin will lead people down the same path.
• The church needs to be careful not to allow the thinking of the world overtake us in such a way that we are responsible for leading people down the path to destruction.
• The woman in the church was most likely not named Jezebel, but instead the name represented a personification of the teachings that encouraged people to sin.
• In 1 and 2 Kings we read of Queen Jezebel and how she was determined to replace God with Baal worship. She did all that she could to encourage King Ahab to promote Baal worship in Israel.
• When Christianity incorporates some Bible and a lot of worldly thinking it will lead people to feel that how they live is not important.
• Faith becomes an insurance policy in the unlikely event that you one day die and have to face God.
• The other issue found in verse 21 is that Jesus gave the people in question time to repent to no avail. For whatever reason they did not want to return to the truth.
• Let us look at the pronouncement for the church.
• SLIDE #14
IV. PRONOUNCEMENTS AGAINST THE CHURCH v. 22-23
• Verses 22-23 give the grave consequences for the churches failure.
• SLIDE #15
• Revelation 2:22-23 (ESV) 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.
• The pronouncement for the followers of Jezebel was simple, repent or face some bad consequences.
• Jesus says that these people will pay such a price for their sins that the church will indeed know that Jesus is the one who is able to search the hearts and minds of man.
• Without going into all the possible thoughts behind verses 22-23, we know that these people will not get away with what they are doing.
• We wonder how bad things can happen. Sometimes bad things happen as a consequence of the sin we are involved in or the sin of others.
• It is tempting to think that sexual immorality will not hurt anyone. This passage speaks of people falling for that lie.
• Immorality hurts God because it shows God that satisfying our urges is more important than He is to us.
• It hurts the person we are with because we are using them for our own gratification without even making a commitment to them. We are taking what belongs to another person.
• Nothing good comes out of straying off God’s path for us.
• The church is told they had better repent.
• SLIDE #16
V. PROMISES FOR THE FAITHFUL v.24-29
• Verses 24-29 reveal the promises given to the church.
• SLIDE #17
• Revelation 2:24-29 (ESV)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.’
• Before the promises are given, Jesus gives some conditions.
• God’s promises are conditional.
• The promises are for the faithful or those who overcome, they are not for those who are not.
• What does it mean to overcome, and how long are we called to overcome?
• Verse 25 says that we need to hold fast until Jesus comes. Verse 26 says that we are to do the deeds until the end.
• The race is not over until the end, when Jesus comes or when we die. God expects us to serve Him until we die to the best of ability.
• SLIDE #18
• The faithful will share in God’s blessings.
• Verse 26 does not mean that we will sit on a throne over a nation, but that we will share in the blessing that God has for the saved.
• The word “rule” also means to shepherd and is usually translated that way.
• SLIDE #19
• The faithful will receive eternal life.
• The morning star refers to the dawn of eternal life!
CONCLUSION
Sometimes as in our story that we opened up with, things are not always the way they look.
The church was doing many things right, but they were also putting themselves in jeopardy by tolerating false teachings and immoral lifestyles.
As a church we must stand with God. As a church we must let people know that their eternal reward is contingent on their lifetime of faithfulness to Jesus.
Does Jesus care about First Christian Church? Yes, He cared about this small town church.
Jesus knows who we are. Jesus loves you; Jesus does not want us to play Christian with Him. Let us commit ourselves to Jesus today!
