"influence And Impact" Series

INTRODUCTION

If Christ’s Pergamum letter was the hardest to understand, Christ’s letter to Thyatira is the hardest to relate to. Not only is their setting so foreign to our understanding, but the letter also forces us to ask questions we normally don’t consider.

Slide 1

What outside influences have the greatest impact on your life? Who are your role models? By God’s blessing does the company you keep prosper your faith? Or do you find yourself more frequently tempted to faith compromise? The three generations present here tend to answer these in different ways.

Most here are modernists who entered adulthood pre-1970. The norms you adopt are often passed down through faith and moral law. You tend toward high trust in institutions with church, school, government. You place a high value on family. Friendship is often lifelong. Your long-held role model is often a family member or institution member you highly respect.

Post-modernists came into adulthood during the 70’s to early 2000’s. We tend toward low trust in institutions. Our adopted norms blend faith, family, and outside influences. Friends are more tied to frequency of contact rather than lifelong. Our long-held role models are more often someone outside of our family whose presence impacted us.

Since the early 2000’s came the meta-modernists. They are the questioners and skeptics. They seek direction from social media and other influencers as they are anxious about getting adulting right. Their norms are frequently self-determined. Friendships play a crucial support role but trust is fragile. Rather than one key role model, meta-modernists are likely to hold several over a lifetime. After all, today’s Twitterland hero is tomorrow’s pariah. Yet their impact is real.

Slide 2

No matter the generation type – the lesson is the same. Who you look up to, who your role model is, and the outside influences in your life really do matter. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” And Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you know his ways. This letter is a cautionary tale of paying attention to outside influences and the faith impact they have. It’s often times that we are around friends or rolemodels – or even online with the use of technology, we are less prone to have our filters active because we let our guards down. Let’s begin with the letter:

Slide 3 THYATIRA

Compared to the other six cities, Thyatira is probably the most unfamiliar. It’s few remaining ancient ruins are surrounded by modern day buildings. Because it was located on a flat geographic plain offering little defense, it frequently fell to superior armies meaning its culture was determined by its occupiers. What defenses they did have were not made up of expert generals – but leaders from each of the merchant guilds who cooperated. Some compared the city to a gigantic flea market. Advanced in metallurgy – they were known for brass and other alloys. And their unique vegetation and artistry offered unique clothing dyes.

For instance, from Acts 16 you may recall Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. On becoming Christian, God opened her heart, then she opened her home in Thyatira to Paul and his companions after baptizing her household. Historians credit her house church as the founding church there. Nothing more is said in Scripture of the city. The best estimates say 40 years passes between Acts 16 and Revelation 2.

Slide 4 Christ-Titles:

Unique to this letter, there are three Christ-titles instead of two:

1. The first is the Son of God – It was thought Christ used this title to set himself apart from the merchant God, Apollo, the Son of Zeus. Furthermore, throughout this letter phrases are quoted from the Royal Psalm – Psalm 2 that highlights Christ’s royal identity and lineage.

2. Next, Christ introduces himself with eyes like flames of fire which are capable of all seeing and knowing. Nothing at all is hidden from God’s sight. That quality can be taken two ways – on the one hand it comes as great encouragement for those who are doing right – So in the case of the church here, Christ praises them for their deeds of love and service for all to see. They are in fact praised for what the Ephesians came up short on. On the other, with piercing eyes who can see absolutely everything – even the heart and motives that are hidden from our view, it would discourage sin or even stoke concerns for the purifying fire of judgement.

3. Finally, whose feet are like burnished bronze – This may be a reference to the dream Daniel interpreted in Daniel 10 – but it also highlights the impact of the local metallurgy and how believers were negatively influenced by the guilds whose spiritual practices were inseparable from guild life.