AM Sermon preached at Central Christian Church October 22, 2006
The Letter to the Church at Thyatira Rev. 2:18-29
[SERIES SLIDE ---will automatically advice through the TITLE SLIDE to a blank slide] "There Are Some Things You Should Know About Me…”
We’ve all seen television shows and movies where a guy or girl has just started getting serious about having a relationship with this special someone and that special someone introduces the bomb they’re about to drop on them with the words, “Before we allow things to go any further between us, there are some things you really ought to know about me.”
Reminds me of this joke Wayne Smith tells about this guy who went to the Opera and fell in love with the leading lady. She had a wonderful, beautiful stage presence. She had this gorgeous long brown hair flowing down her back. She had a pearly white smile and a nice shapely figure. And sing? Boy could she ever sing. She had the voice of an angel. Enamored by this woman, the guy attended every performance, every night. And after about the third night, she couldn’t help but notice this man. What with the bravos and ovations and flowers he kept sending her way---and the front row seats he somehow kept managing to get---she had to notice him. At the first performance on the last night the man sent a note to the woman, a marriage proposal and to his delight she accepted. They were wed after the last performance. They went out to dinner and later arrived at their honeymoon suite. As she was hovering over the gifts they’d received the man went into the restroom and put on his pajamas. He came out, slipped under the covers and sheepishly said, “honey why don’t join me?” She said, sure darling, but I need to get ready first. She went and stood in front of the mirror---and whoosh---much to the man’s surprise off came the long flowing brown hair. She leaned over and filled a glass with water and then “plop, plop.” She dropped her dentures in it. At that the man let out an audible gasp. She turned and saw his ashen face and said, “I guess there’s a few things I should have told you about me.” He muttered, “a few? You mean there’s more?” “Well,” she said, “there’s the false eye lashes and the girdle.” He managed to choke out “Anything else?” “Just the artificial leg” To which he responded, “Please, please turn off the light and sing. Sing, honey, sing!”
The scriptures pull no punches when it comes to God wanting to have a serious relationship with us. We matter so very much to God. He loves us and invites us to love Him back. Only with Him He’s decided there won’t be any last minute or after the fact announcements. God wants us to know up front what He’s like. That’s one of the reasons Jesus took on human form and walked among men for 3 plus decades. And that’s one of the reasons God gave us the Bible. It’s also I believe one of the reasons God wrote the letter to the church at Thyatira. God was inviting the people there to take their relationship with Him to new deeper levels.
I encourage you to listen and follow along as I read Jesus’ letter to the church at Thyatira. It’s found in Revelation 2:18-29.
Read Scripture passage... [SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
18"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come. 26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
27 ’He will rule them with an iron scepter;
he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
[SLIDE WITH 1ST POINT] 1. Nothing escapes my eye.
This is now the fourth letter we’ve looked at and in it we find once again a phrase we’ve already seen in the first three letters and which we will see in the last three letters as well, the phrase is "I know." [SCRIPTURE SLIDE] Jesus tells the church at Thyatira, "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first." Those words must have brought comfort and encouragement to faithful followers at Thyatira. They had captured the attention of Jesus ---and Jesus noticed the good they had been doing. But Jesus doesn’t stop there with a simple “I know the good” type of message ---No, He goes on and makes it clear that He knows the bad too. Reread verse 20.. . [SCRIPTURE SLIDE] “20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” The good, the bad, the ugly----Jesus sees it all. Nothing we do escapes His eye.
As far as good things go---Matthew 10:42 assures us that even if the good thing we do is something as simple as giving a thirsty person a glass of water---Jesus is aware of it. On the other hand though, when it comes to our sins Jesus is equally observant. No matter how hard we might wish we could sneak this one or that one by Jesus, that’s not what happens. Whether we’re around lots of people or off by ourselves when we disobey God---Jesus sees us. We can hide behind closed doors. We can pull down the blinds. We can make sure no other human being is anywhere near us. But no matter how successful we are at keeping our sins away from other people---we can’t keep any of our sins from Jesus.
Psalm 139 makes this clear. Reading from “The Message” version…., the Psalmist writes… [SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
…I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! (vs. 1b-12)
Try as we may, friends, we can’t hide anything that we do ---good or bad--- from God. But more than that we can’t even hide our thoughts from God. That first verse we read from Psalm 23 claimed “even from a distance you know what I am thinking.” And in the letter to Thyatira, in verse 23, we found Jesus saying “I am he who searches hearts and minds.” Jesus wants us to know that nothing escapes His eye.
[SLIDE WITH 2ND POINT]
He also wants to remind us that He rules this universe which He created. Jesus tells the church at Thyatira that He’s the one with eyes of fire, feet of bronze and who carries an iron scepter. Again Jesus is speaking figuratively and symbolically here. We’ve seen that the eyes of fire symbolize Jesus’ ability to see all things----we need to understand also that the feet of bronze and iron scepter symbolize His power over all things. Jesus wasn’t bragging or being boastful when He made reference to His having rule over the world, He was just telling it like it is. It was a way for Jesus to kindly and yet firmly say---you need to take very seriously what I’m telling you.
[SLIDE WITH 3RD POINT]
And one of the things He wanted them to grasp is the fact He’s patient to a point but not to a fault. God’s patience with us is incredible. In fact the great amount of patience God shows to us is described with a special word in the King James version of the Bible ---that special word is longsuffering. No doubt through the years God’s put up with a lot of stuff, terrible crazy sinful stuff from us---stuff that’s broke His heart and caused Him a lot of grief. But listen friends because this is so important---we need to be careful that we don’t somehow draw from the fact that God’s been patient with us in the past the mistaken idea that we can live however we want now and in the future and God will always put up with it. Because while God’s power is unlimited, His patience is not. God’s not a cosmic pushover.
Here in this letter to Thyatira God lets it be known that He’s been patient with this Jezebel type of woman in the church. The reality is---the very first time she started teaching false things in the church---the first time she convinced someone to commit adultery with her---God could have fried her with a bolt of lightning---but He didn’t. Instead He gave her time and opportunity to stop the sinning and to get back on track with living life His way. How much time and how many opportunities He gave her, we don’t know. What we do know is that Jesus had apparently had enough with this woman’s stubbornness and resistance. He’d been patient with this adulterous woman---this woman who claimed to be a prophetess---who taught lies and who persuaded people to engage in sexual sin----He’d given her plenty of time to turn things around. But she wasn’t interested in turning her life around. And now, Jesus said, she was going to be punished. Jesus was going to curse her with some kind of illness---and He was going to take the lives of her children. Now we can’t be certain if Jesus was talking about her spiritual children---that is to say the people who bought into her teachings---or her physical children----children who were very likely the result of adulterous relationships. Personally, I lean towards the children Jesus is speaking about as being the spiritual children of Jezebel. But it’s entirely possible He was speaking very literally at this point.
Now I know Jesus words “I will strike her children dead” sounds extremely harsh to us---especially if Jesus is speaking literally. To think that Jesus would take the lives of children is so beyond what many people think of Jesus that they can’t accept this comment as literal. But friends if there’s one thing I’ve learned about God through the years---it’s the fact that you His ways are not our ways. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Jesus may indeed have been talking about striking down some little children. For you see it dawned on me that it’s entirely possible that the taking of the children’s lives wasn’t so much an act of anger against the mother as it was an act of love towards the children. I mean after all, it’s possible that this Jezebel’s children were still quite young, perhaps infants and toddlers---and being such little children, they weren’t yet guilty of committing sin----perhaps Jesus looked upon these little children and He knew would be taught false teachings and encouraged to do terrible sinful things by their mother if she was allowed to raise them---and so you see, it’s possible Jesus prematurely took away their lives on earth so He could spend eternity with them in heaven.
In any case, Jesus words to Jezebel that He was going to strike her down and make her suffer---illustrate the fact that there is a limit to God’s patience. Folks, we need to be careful that we don’t misinterpret God’s patience. God’s not soft on sin. He’s serious about punishing it. Just how serious?---take a look at what God did to Sodom and Gommorah, or check out how He dealt with Annanias and Sapphira or look at what He had Jesus go through on the cross. God’s not soft on sin, but He is patient with sinners. He gives us time ---not unlimited time, but plenty of time and, in His eyes, plenty of opportunity to return to Him.
[SLIDE WITH 4TH POINT]
And this brings us to another point made in this letter concerning our relationship with Christ. It’s the fact that Jesus will hold us personally accountable for what He sees in our lives and in our hearts and minds. Look again at verse 23 of our text. [SCRIPTURE SLIDE] After Jesus announces that He is the one who searches hearts and minds, He goes on to say “I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” Let me repeat that last phrase and let it soak in...according to YOUR deeds.“ [SLIDE WITH 4TH POINT] We’re talking personal accountability before God. The woman Jesus refers to as Jezebel was not punished for the sins others committed, she was punished for sins she committed and refused to repent from. And whether or not the others in the church who followed her teaching and who had gotten themselves involved in sexual immorality and idol worship at Jezebel’s suggestion---whether or not they were also going to be punished was up to them, not Jezebel.
Our being held personally accountable to God is taught throughout the New Testament.
[SCRIPTURE SLIDE]
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
[SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
Romans 2:6 God "will give to each person according to what he has done."
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
[SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
[BLANK SLIDE]
Do you know and understand what this personal accountability stuff means? It means friends---come judgment---no excuses---when the time comes for us to stand before God to either be punished or rewarded by Him we won’t be able to point any fingers at other people and blame them for our lack of obedience. From Adam and Eve until now, people have always tried to play the victim and pass off their spiritual shortcomings and sins as someone else’s fault. But it just doesn’t work that way with God.
Remember how Adam responded when God said to him, “Why did you eat some of the forbidden fruit? .....instead of saying “I blew it God, will you forgive me?” Adam said, “don’t blame me ....blame...blame the woman, the woman you gave to me.” God then turned to Eve and asked her the same question “why did you eat the forbidden fruit?” And unlike Adam Eve, immediately confessed---she immediately said “I confess...I’m guilty of sin.... I disobeyed because I wanted to and now I’m sorry I did it. Please forgive me…right?” No---Eve did the same type of thing Adam did---she tried to pass the back---she said “It’s not my fault...the serpent made me do it.” But check it out for yourself---read Genesis 3 and you’ll find that God didn’t just punish the serpent. He also punished Eve and Adam, too. Each was held personally accountable for their deeds.
What all of this means to us is that when it comes to our relationship with Christ you and I have a personal responsibility to see to it that it is headed the direction it should be headed. That Jezebel in the church at Thyatira had led a number of people down the wrong path---and to be sure God was going to deal with her because of it---but God also said that He’d hold personally accountable those people who accepted her false teachings and practices. Ideally, folks, a church’s teachers and leadership will steer its members in the right direction. But it doesn’t always happen. In some churches the preacher doesn’t preach, the elders don’t el and the deacons don’t deac. God will hold those leaders personally accountable for their failures, but God will also hold members of such churches personally accountable if they continually allow themselves to be mislead just as He held the followers of Jezebel personally accountable. That’s why it’s so important to weigh the things you’re told against scripture. Regardless of how well we know the person who’s speaking about spiritual things to us---no matter how much we love, respect or trust them, we should still check out what they are saying to see if it agrees with the scriptures. After all it’s our eternity we’re talking about.
[SLIDE WITH 5TH SERMON POINT]
And speaking of our eternity, Jesus makes it clear that He would rather welcome us into heaven than send us to hell. Jesus loves us. It was because He loves us that He came to the earth to die on a cross and to take the punishment we deserve for our sins upon Himself. He did this so we won’t have to be punished because He’d rather bless us than curse us.
Think about what we’ve learned or been reminded of this morning. Jesus, knows everything there is to know about us and still He loves us. Jesus, the creator of the universe, wants to be our forever friend. In fact He died in fact to make it possible. He’s willing to forgive our sins so we can start over with God. He wants us to be His followers. But He doesn’t force us to be His followers. He leaves the choice up to us. You have ears. Are you listening to what the Spirit is trying to say to you this morning?
What’s He telling you? Is He speaking to you about your need to receive Christ in baptism? Is He wanting you to make peace with someone you’ve been at odds with? Or maybe He’s talking to you about a particular sin and how it needs to be repented of. If He does, make the choice that Jezebel didn’t, make the choice to repent, to let go of that sin. It’ll free you from your guilt---save you from future punishment and will move you ahead in your relationship with Jesus. As we stand and sing our decision hymn this morning, we’d welcome any public decision to become a Christian or a member of Central Christian Church….
NOTE TO THOSE WHO READ AND OR CHOOSE TO MAKE USE OF ANY OR ALL OF THIS SERMON: I am sharing this sermon with the hopes it will be an encouragement to others. I apologize for any blatant typing errors! If you find any I’d appreciate hearing from you so I can correct them. I try to give credit where credit is due, noting writers and or sources to the best of my ability. I have for years been drawing from a wealth of sources including this website. I recognize that my mind and writing processes are fallible. I may occasionally fail to properly identify a source. Please do not take offense if you see anything of this nature. I never intend to plagiarize. Having said that I want you to feel free to draw from my message. When appropriate I hope you will give credit as I do. But most of all I hope Christ will be lifted up and God will receive the glory in all things.
