This is the fifth week of an eight week series and this morning we are looking at the fourth of seven churches. It’s interesting to note that this is the longest letter and yet it’s addressed to the church that was situated in the least important city of the seven. If we were to pull up our trusty map we’d discover that Thyatira is located right here which is about sixty kms southeast of Pergamum. There were no real distinguishing features about the city. It was not situated on a harbour like Ephesus or Smyrna, nor was it on at hill like Pergamum. It was in the middle of a valley. Even though it was situated well away from the Mediterranean Sea it was on the road which connected Pergamum and Sardis. This was the road that the Imperial Post travelled and so while it may not have been a large city it was a thriving city. A city of merchants and manufacturing. The city actually had a large number of trade guilds, which were the early equivalent of unions, and so it could be said that Thyatira was a union town.
Strategically the importance of Thyatira was that it was the gateway to Pergamum which was the Capital of the Roman Province of Asia Minor. And so there was an armed garrison placed in the city to protect the capital. However Thyatira wasn’t capable of a sustained defence because it lay in the middle of an open valley. So the very best that Thyatira could hope for was to be a speed bump that would slow an advancing army down until Pergamum could prepare a defence.
The city is first mentioned in connection with Paul’s missionary labours in Europe. His first convert on that continent was a woman of Thyatira, Lydia, a seller of purple, a commodity for which the city was famous (cf. Acts 16:14 )
Religiously Thyatira had no special significance, it was not a centre of Caesar worship like Pergamum, nor of Greek worship like Ephesus. The two notable things about the city from a religious perspective was it had a local god by the name of Tyrimnus, whose image was on their coins and it possessed a fortune telling shrine presided over by a female oracle called the Sambathe. Religious persecution was not an issue in Thyatira it was very much live and let live but there was a type of economic persecution that came as a result of the trade guilds we mentioned earlier. These guilds represented different trades in the city but they were much more then that, the guilds operated much as service clubs do today, so their influence in the community was substantial.
The guilds often held common meals, which more often then not happened in the temple and would begin and end with a formal sacrifice to the various gods. The meat served during the meals would have been meat offered to one god or another. And if that wasn’t bad enough the meals often became an excuse for excess and often degenerated into immorality.
And so the question was: Should the Christian be involved in the guilds when their involvement would include at the very minimum attendance at these events. The other option for the Christian of course was to not belong to a guild. However due to the far reaching influence of these organizations this option would virtually guarantee economic ruin and commercial collapse. Have you ever been in a position where you’ve had to decide between playing it safe at work or taking a stand for something you believe in? Isn’t easy is it.
So what then was the response of the Thyatira church? Jesus begins by introducing himself and this time there is no messing the description he himself is plain and simple he says Revelation 2:18 This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are bright like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze: Most commentators agree that this is a description of two of Jesus attributes. That he is all seeing and all powerful. Other’s add that the description of his eyes reflect his anger over sin and that he sees deep into our hearts and interior motives.
And so Jesus begins as he does in all but one of his letter with praise in this case he says Revelation 2:19 “ I know all the things you do—your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
So what can we learn from Jesus commendation here? Well first of all none of these traits are passive, they are all active and they are all positive. Jesus begins with the words
Revelation 2:19 “ I know all the things you do. We keep coming back to this, Jesus knows everything we do. Did you catch that Jesus knows everything we do, the good the bad and the ugly, he knows it all. When you helped the old lady across the street he saw that, the extra hundred you slipped into the offering box he knows that, the time you spend in prayer and scripture reading, yep he sees that. The time you cussed the driver out who cut you off in traffic, uh-huh, the hurtful thing you said to your spouse or kid, what you read, what you watch and listen to, how you behave. Someone said that character is how you behave when no one is watching. Well remember Jesus is watching. And if you have any reason to doubt what I say listen to what Jesus says a little further along in the letter. Revelation 2:23 And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. Scary huh? Now with that said Jesus begins to tell them what it is that he knows about the church at Thyatira. It’s interesting that three of the four qualities mentioned here are all listed as fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
1) Their Love The love mentioned here is not a mamby, pamby, wishy, washy type love that is spoken of in popular media. This isn’t the word that can be used of anything from enjoying anchovy pizza to the undying loyalty to your spouse. Instead this is Agape love, an all giving, non demanding love. A love that loves regardless of what’s in it for me. And this type of love can only be put in your heart by Christ himself.
This is the type of love that Irish Missionary Amy Carmichael defined when she said “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”
The second thing that Jesus commends these believers for is 2) 2)Their Faith This faith isn’t just a believing faith it’s also a faithfulness, a stick-to-it-ness that overcomes and is the highest form of loyalty. This is a faith that says “I may not understand but that’s ok. Preacher and author Oswald Chambers said “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” If we could always understand God then He wouldn’t be much of a God. He doesn’t ask us to always understand him, instead he asks that we will always trust him. And that’s why the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
And it is these first two attributes that leads to the next two attributes. 3) Their Service St. Augustine said “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” Agape love inevitably must reveal itself in service. And while service isn’t mentioned specifically in the fruit of the spirit it is implied in goodness and kindness. If love doesn’t cause you to do something to ease a person’s burden then it may be pity you feel or sympathy but it’s not love. This word service means anything done voluntarily our of love or concern for someone in need. This is what James the brother of Jesus speaks of in James 2:15-16 Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? If you will excuse my English “It don’t do no good.”
Tony Campolo who by the way will be in the HRM in April tells a story about being a guest speaker at a mission rally in Philadelphia. During the meeting the chairperson reported a prayer request from a missionary doctor in Venezuela. The demand for her services was so great she was having to turn people away, and she wanted to raise $5000 to add an extension to the medical centre.
Having shared the prayer point the chairperson asked Tony to lead the meeting in prayer that the $5000 would be raised. He refused. He declared he would only pray after every person in the room had emptied their pockets and placed all their cash on the table at the front. Then he would pray for God to make up the shortfall.
Tony began by putting his hand into his pocket and pulling out everything he had that day - just $2.25. He put it down on the table and then asked the chairperson to do the same. She hesitated, "Thank you Dr Campolo. I think we’ve all got the point."
"No! I don’t think we have!" said Tony. "My $2.25 is on the altar. Now it’s your turn!"
So the startled and embarrassed woman opened her wallet and pulled out the $10 she had in it. Tony then went round the room and got every person to do the same. By the time they finished they had $8000. Tony concluded by saying, "The audacity of asking God for five thousand dollars, when He has already provided us with more than eight thousand dollars. We should not be asking God to supply our needs. He already has.”
4) Their Patient Endurance. This is another part of the fruit of the spirit. This endurance comes from the faith that God is in control and is coming again. It’s not a resignation to whatever happens, “Oh well, can’t change it I might as well live with it.” B.C. Forbes “Many a man thinks he is patient when, in reality, he is indifferent.” Do you truly believe that God is in control, no matter what? And do you know what it is that you are waiting for? Woodrow Wilson “All things come to him who waits -- provided he knows what he is waiting for.” This book is full of promises, promises for today and promises for tomorrow, promises for the here and now and promises for the there and then. But unless you read the book you won’t know what the promises are, you will just be waiting for some vague sense of: Things will get better. Take the time to find out what it is that you are waiting for.
And then I love this next statement: And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. 5) Their Growth Do you remember what the church in Ephesus was criticized for? For losing their first love. And at that time we spoke of how our initial response to the gospel is often full of enthusiasm and then as time goes along it cools down, we lose our first love. But that wasn’t the case here, they just kept getting better and better. Christianity isn’t supposed to be stagnant, it is supposed to be vibrant and exciting. It’s supposed to be about growth, that’s why the bible says in 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowships with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son, purifies us from all sin. Not if we stand or sit in the light but if we walk in the light, it is a matter of growth. Could Jesus look down at your Christian life and say “I can see your constant improvement in all these things.”? Or are you a case of arrested development, you grew for a little while and then you stopped. And don’t blame me, too many people blame the pastor saying “Well I’m just not being fed on Sunday” What would happen if you only ate food on Sunday? You’d starve to death, eventually, some of us it would take awhile. My prayer when someone tells me that is “Lord teach them to eat.” It’s up to you to grow, and by growing you become the Christian you are supposed to be. Motivational speaker Les Brown summed it up when he said “In the end, it is the person you become, not the things you have achieved, that is the most important.”
And again the church must be feeling pretty good about themselves, Jesus seems pretty pleased with them, until we read the word “BUT” remember after the “but” comes the truth. “But” is one of those transitional words like “however” or “nevertheless”. Words that aren’t always pleasant or positive, although they can bring both good and bad news. The operation went wonderful Mr. Smith, however we amputated the wrong leg, but we think we can save the other one.
And so Jesus goes on to say Revelation 2:20-21 But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She is encouraging them to worship idols, eat food offered to idols, and commit sexual sin. I gave her time to repent, but she would not turn away from her immorality.
6) Their Compromise. Now just for a minute before we examine the complaint that Jesus has against this church let us realize that those qualities that the church in Thyatira are being praised for are very enviable and many, many Christians in 2003 lack those qualities in their lives. But just because they had so many good things going for them doesn’t excuse them from their faults.
It would appear that this woman Jezebel, and by the way that probably wasn’t her real name because of the negative connotations that would have gone with it. That would be like naming your kid Saddam Hussein or Dracula or Adolph Hitler. Whoever this woman was she had convinced some of the believers in the church that she was a prophet and taught them that they could indulge in actions that were not acceptable Christian behavior and not be afraid of the ultimate consequences.
If we were to put this condemnation into a historical perspective it would appear likely that perhaps Jezebel had convinced some in the church that God would understand if they joined the trade guilds and even indulged in their festive dinners. After all people have to live, don’t they?
The sexual sin that Jesus speaks of could be figurative, implying spiritual infidelity, a metaphor that was used throughout the Old Testament. And so when the Christians in Thyatira partook of meat offered to idols they figuratively, as the bride of Christ, became adulterous. However the fact is that the church had lowered it’s standards in spiritual areas and so it was bound to eventually lower them in the areas of morality, sooner or later.
Do you see the progression? In Pergamum they tolerated people that taught these things, and here in Thyatira they permitted Jezebel to lead people astray. Prophetically scholars would say that the church in Thyatira represented the Dark Ages, between 600 AD and 1517. Now the church in Thyatira didn’t go from being a model church one day to a church involved in these practices the next. And as a church we need to learn from that. I’m sure if ten years before the congregation in Thyatira had been told what they would accept eventually they would have denied it vehemently, “Not us, never.” And yet here they were.
The fact remains today that as we lower our standards in a few things it becomes increasingly easier to lower them in all things. An old middle eastern proverb says “Once the camel puts his nose in the door of your tent if won’t be long before he is sleeping in your bed.” I’m sure that the phrase that Jezebel used was “everyone else is doing it.” And the major downfall of this church was their toleration of sin.
Regardless of the outward appearances of religiosity, regardless of the wonderful things a church does, regardless of how accepted a church is, if it‘s clergy has gotten to the place where sin is tolerated and indeed encouraged then the church has become apostate and adulterous, and all we have to do is look around the ecclesiastical landscape to find examples.
Once we forsake the Bible as the ultimate authority for our beliefs, our actions and our morals we have lost the right to be called a Christian church. The warning then is this: a church that is crowded with people and overflowing with activity is not necessarily a real church. It is possible for a church to be crowded because it’s people come to be entertained, not instructed. To be soothed instead of confronted with their sin and the offer of salvation. It may be a highly popular Christian Country Club rather then a real Christian congregation.
And then we read in Revelation 2:24-26 But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, really). I will ask nothing more of you except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.
“ To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, I will give authority over all the nations.
7) Their Promise There it is again, hold tightly, be victorious, don’t give up. You see what happened to the church in Thyatira isn’t limited to churches; individuals can fall as far and as hard as an entire congregation. Men and women who once accepted the authority of Christ and the direction of the word of God, who began to falter and one sin led to another, and another until finally they were no different then the world. But they refuse to give up the title “Child of the King.” Whether they are entitled to heaven or not will never be resolved this side of eternity, but they are not entitled to smear the name of Jesus with their actions. Again the promises of Christ are to those who overcome and are obedient until the end.
In closing here are words from the book of Hebrews 11:40 For God had far better things in mind for us that would also benefit them, for they can’t receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race. So where you at? How’s the race going? You’ve started are you still running?
PowerPoint may be available for this message contact me at denn@bccnet.ca
If you could build a church for a dollar. . .
Would you?
