Posts
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Last week, we looked at Christ's message to Pergamum.
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While he praised them for holding fast to his name through persecution he also
called them out for tolerating false teaching which promoted eating food
offered to idols & sexual sin.
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Today, as we look to Christ's message to Thyatira, we will hear his praise of
their love, faith, service, & endurance, but he also calls them out for the
same problem as Pergamum, some listen to a false teacher that leads people into
idolatry & sexual sin.
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Last week, I shared the illustration of what a rotten apple can do to a barrel
of apples (without being removed eventually the whole barrel is spoiled) &
we need to keep that in mind again this week with Thyatira.
- Where was Thyatira and what
was the city like?
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Thyatira was about 65 km southeast of Pergamum on the Lycus plain.
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The city was known for the work of its trade guilds in the production of
commercial goods & was famous for its purple dye.
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The apostle Paul's first convert in Philippi, Lydia, came from Thyatira &
was herself a dealer of purple cloth.
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The patron deity of the city was Apollo, son of Zeus, but Christ, by referring
to himself as the Son of God, set
himself against Apollo & the other false gods which were popular in the
city, especially the patron deities of the trade guilds.
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What was the church of Thyatira like?
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They excelled in character & in service. As the Lord Jesus said, "I
know your works, your love & faith & service & patient endurance, &
that your latter works exceed the first" (v. 19).
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The church of Thyatira demonstrated the love lacking in Ephesus, the faith
endangered in Pergamum & shared endurance with Smyrna.
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Also unlike Ephesus whom Christ told, repent & do the works you did at
first, Thyatira's latter works exceeded their first.
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They were growing & pushing forward, their deeds demonstrating Christ to
the world so that Christ praised them, being pleased with their performance.
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But there was something about them with which Christ was not pleased.
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What about the church of Thyatira
displeased Christ?
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The Lord said, "But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman
Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess & is teaching & seducing my
servants to practice sexual immorality & to eat food sacrificed to
idols" (v. 20).
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The name Jezebel is important because it reminds us of the foreign wife of Ahab
the weak King of Israel, who ruled in the days of Elijah the prophet.
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Queen Jezebel was a witch & a harlot who led Israel's king astray & all
Israel into idolatry & sexual sin.
In
Thyatira, the trade guilds held regular banquets in honor of their patron deity
which often turned to sexual immorality.
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The new Jezebel, claiming prophetic authority, succeeded in leading some of the
Thyatiran Christians into a life which appeared faithful but practiced
compromise by eating food offered to idols & sexual sin so they could
continue as members in good standing of the local trade guilds & not suffer
the financial hardship which Christian faithfulness could otherwise bring.
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The whole church may not have known what was going on but Christ was able to
see & Christ knew what was going on.
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His blazing eyes search the human heart & the mind & nothing can be
hidden from his sight.
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Jezebel represents conforming to the world's morality.
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Sex outside the marriage bed always hurts at least three people: one, God, when
we'd rather be satisfied our way than God's way, we hurt God; two, others, when
we violate our relational commitments & responsibilities we hurt others; &
three, ourselves, it can bring disease to the body & harm to the mind, the
personality.
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Sexual sin can be highly destructive to families, churches, & communities
because it destroys the integrity on which these relationships stand.
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When we put up with sins we never should, then we allow the church to be
poisoned.
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Christ saw a poison infecting & weakening the strong church of Thyatira &
the antidote for infectious sin is to reject compromise & continue in
renewed faithfulness.
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When my loyalty to Christ conquers worldly compromise, I will conquer in
holiness.
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What was Christ's warning to Jezebel and
her followers?
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Let's listen to John's record of what the Lord said:
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"I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual
immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, & those who commit
adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of
her works, & I will strike her children dead. & all the churches will
know that I am he who searches mind & heart, & I will give to each of
you as your works deserve" (vv. 21-23).
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The Lord Jesus called on them to repent giving them time, but she refused so he
would judge them with sickness, tribulation, & even death.
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Just like in the days of King Ahab & Queen Jezebel, they & their
children were ultimately doomed.
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However, not everyone in the church of Thyatira followed Jezebel's wicked ways.
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What was Christ's advice to the rest of
the church?
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"But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who
have not learned what some called the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do
not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I
come" (vv. 24-25).
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"I do not lay on you any other burden," said the Lord.
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Those words call to mind the teaching of our Lord in the 11th chapter of the
gospel of Matthew
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"Take my yoke upon you & learn from me, for I am gentle & lowly in
heart & you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy & my
burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30)
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In a world filled with immorality & moral tolerance, Christ wants not
his servants to become like the Pharisees who caused many to carry heavy loads,
but only to hold fast what is of Christ as handed down by the apostles &
eyewitness testimony in the holy Scriptures.
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As the Lord said, "Only hold fast to what you have until I come" (v.
25).
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When my loyalty to Christ conquers worldly compromise, I will conquer in
holiness.
- To what did Christ encourage the church of
Thyatira to hold fast? What did they have?
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As the Lord Jesus said, "I know your works, your love & faith &
service & patient endurance, & that your latter works exceed the
first" (v. 19).
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Works of love, faith, service, patient endurance & growing in word &
deed, these are works worthy of holding fast.
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While good words & good deeds are not the basis of salvation, they are a
good basis on which to judge character & the evidence of salvation.
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Any church which continues to demonstrate these things proves their love of the
Lord Jesus Christ showing that they hold fast to faith in him.
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When my loyalty to Christ conquers worldly compromise, I will conquer in
holiness.
- What did Christ promise the
one who conquers? What did they have?
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To the one who conquers by boldly holding fast to Christ's works, Christ made
two promises.
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One, "I will give him authority over the nations" (v. 26)
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Christ will share his authority with his faithful people.
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The authority he received from the Father is an authority he will share.
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We will reign with him in glory. Those have been faithful in a few things he
will place in charge of many things.
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Having learned to do the works of Christ today, we will continue doing the
works of Christ in eternity.
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Two, "I will give him the morning star" (v. 27). What is this morning
star & what does it represent?
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In Revelation 22:16, Christ describes himself as the bright morning star &
in Numbers 24:17 a star is prophesied rising out of Jacob & Jesus is that
star.
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Christ promised to give his very self to the one who conquers.
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The faithful, those who reject worldly compromise, refuse to live by the
world's standards, & continue in Christ's works, will receive the morning
star & share in his rule.
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When my loyalty to Christ conquers worldly compromise, I will conquer in
holiness.
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I think I'd be correct in saying that I'm quite certain that no one here is a
Jezebel, teaching & leading other Christians into idolatry & sexual immorality.
So...
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What kinds of compromises do we make?
- What sins do we tolerate in
our lives of which we need to repent?
- Are there some questionable
thoughts that I allow myself to engage in like thinking negatively of others,
lustful thoughts, violent thoughts?
- Are there some questionable
viewing habits that I engage in now-&-then on TV, the internet, magazines,
etc.?
- Do I have any unacceptable
habits like gossip, backbiting, bullying, fits of anger, being rude,
controlling, or opinionated or having an overall negative attitude toward
others?
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While it may be hard to put ourselves in the shoes of the Thyatirans it may
help us to evaluate our lives when we consider what idolatry is: anything
which takes the place of God in our lives.
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The Lord Jesus also wants to praise as he did the Thyatirans, "I know your
works, your love & faith & service & patient endurance, & that
your latter works exceed the first" (v. 19).
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He doesn't want to have anything against us.
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When we are all growing in love, faith, service, & patient endurance sin
will grow further from our minds.
- When my loyalty to Christ
conquers worldly compromise, I will conquer in holiness.
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