There Is A Fly In The Ointment Series

Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29; Ecclesiastes 10:1; Song of Solomon 2:15

Theme: Tolerance – How Much?

Title: The Fly in the Ointment

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Simplicity. Keeping things simple, plain and straightforward. Keeping things honest, down-to-earth, and uncomplicated.

I like things like that. I like things that are uncomplicated. It is easier for all of us to be able to understand things when they are clear and straightforward.

I like the song that we heard this morning – “Tis the Gift to be Simple”. It comes to us from a group of people called the Shakers. Their official name was not so simple – The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.

They were called Shakers because they would dance and sing and when they were filled with the Spirit, they would at times shake. Plus, they would shake away their sins as they would dance, sing and pray.

The Shaker movement is almost gone now. At its highest there were 18 communities that spanned across the United States with almost 4,000 people committed to living the simple life. Today, there is only one community left and it is down to 3 living members although there is always an open invitation for anyone to join their community. It is called the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village and is near a place called Poland, Maine.

The Shakers left behind a unique legacy of simple furniture, clear architecture and music that takes a person straight to God. They focused on a simple life; simple faith, simple rules, simple prayers and simple songs.

For many years that was the Church of Thyatira.

It was a simple church. They knew their identity. They knew their faith. They knew their mission. They went about their lives in a simple and straightforward manner.

It wasn’t just the way they did Church, it was the way their town lived. Thyatira was a blue-collar town. It was a manufacturing town.

There were wool workers. There were bakers. There were those who worked in the purple dye industry. There were those who made pottery. There were those who worked with bronze.

Everyone knew their craft and for most of the families, life was rather simple. Your great-grandfather worked in the purple dye business and so did your grandfather and your father and that is where you will work. Ancient labor unions were formed and did their best to keep everything simple and working and in order.

If you look at how Jesus describes this Church, it is rather simple and straightforward.

I. They were a Growing and Maturing Church

They knew how to make things and they knew how to live the Christian Life. They excelled in growing a church and making a difference in their community.

Jesus tells us that they were doing some amazing things:

+They were active. +They were loving.

+They were being faithful. +They were patient.

+They were serving. +They were constantly growing.

That was just who they were as a town and as a church.

If you have ever been a part of a blue-collar town then you know what I mean.

Factory life, manufacturing life requires a certain level of simplicity. It thrives on people having a great work ethic. It thrives on people being faithful, patient and wanting to see growth.

Thyatira was not a large town. In fact, it was the smallest of the 7 towns that John writes about in the book of Revelation.

But that was also a plus. It was large enough to offer a good living but not so large that it forgot family and friends. It was just the right size to raise a family and live a good simple life.

I think most of us here this morning would have liked this church. It was an appealing Church. It was a Church that was growing, that held on to its faith, that loved and served others and that was patient.

But then as we read something happened that brought about a lot of chaos and confusion.

II. There was a fly in the ointment.

In the book of Ecclesiastes 10:1 we read about how some dead flies can ruin the making of perfume – “there is a fly in the ointment”.

In Song of Solomon chapter 2:15 we read where the little foxes can spoil the vineyard.

And in Jesus’ Parable of the Four Soils (Matthew 13:1-9), we read how the presence of a few weeds can choke the life out of some valuable plants. Plants that need room to grow and mature.

Something had come into the Church of Thyatira that was a threat to its very existence.

Jesus calls this thing – this spirit or this group of people or even this person – we don’t know exactly if it was a group of people or an individual, but we do know that whatever it was, it had the same characteristics and personality of the woman named Jezebel in the Old Testament.