Well, today's Bible reading is taken from the book of Revelation,
chapter 2, verse 18 to verse 29.
And to the angel of the church in Tyre Tyre write,
the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire,
and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance,
and that your later works exceed the first.
But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman, Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants
to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
I give her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her,
I will throw into great jubilation unless they repent of her works.
And I will strike her children dead.
And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart,
and I will give to each of you a calling to your works.
But to rest of you in Tyre Tyre, who do not hold this teaching,
who have not learned what some call 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.
The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end,
to him I will give authority over the nations,
and he will rule them with a rod of iron,
as when earthen pots are broken in pieces,
even as I myself have received authority from my Father.
And I will give him the morning star.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
These are the words of the Lord.
Amen.
Well, good morning, everyone.
Welcome to the visitors with us this morning.
We're in a series on the seven letters to the seven churches,
and we're picking up the letter to Tyre Tyre this morning.
I have been saying over the last few weeks that the word revelation itself
means God revealing events of our world from his perspective.
And I said last week in the start of my sermon that what Jesus revealed
was a real eye-opener for John.
That is, Christ's passion for his church and his demand that we,
as his died-for resurrection community, would reflect that passion.
It's a real eye-opener of how serious church is for Jesus,
how central it is.
Well, this morning I start by saying that what Jesus reveals
is absolutely confronting.
We've got seven letters to seven churches,
and it's God's symbolism of completeness.
That's that letter, that word, the number seven is completeness.
And so what we have here in these seven letters is a diagnostic snapshot
of the health of his church in general in John's day,
right down through the generations to us here this morning.
A diagnostic snapshot of the health of the church.
Now, this is really important for how we think about and hear Jesus
through these letters.
We should not expect to find our church in any one of these letters
so that one is relevant to us and the others aren't.
Rather, the strengths and weaknesses of each of these churches
will be evident in our church at different times.
So we ought to be looking across all seven letters,
seeing strengths and seeing weaknesses.
It's a constant struggle to make sure that all the various activities
of our church family life are an overflow of our heart
for an allegiance to Jesus.
We've seen that in the letter to Ephesus.
It's a constant struggle not to grow weary,
reminding ourselves that Jesus is worth serving in every circumstance,
including persecution.
It's a constant struggle to avoid creeping compromise
by craving acceptance and approval by Jesus.
More than that, over family and friends and neighbours and workmates.
Friends, these words of Jesus are meant to be confronting.
They need to be confronting,
because we are such slow, reluctant learners.
And the big question this morning as we launch into yet another confronting letter is,
very simply, are you confronted?
Are you willing to think reflectively and deeply about the spiritual health of our church family unit,
and yourself as part of it?
Are you willing to repent?
This series is called a reset series.
Are you willing to repent and reset,
as we need to, as a church, as a unit,
as you need to, as an individual within our church unit?
Friends, Jesus speaks words of healing and encouragement right through these letters.
And as we'll hear today,
even his warnings are delivered with opportunity and time to repent.
So, let's use this time wisely,
this series wisely,
as we identify where we need to reset.
And let's do that as we jump into the next letter now
and hear Christ's words to his community of Christians in Thyatira,
and to us gathered in Zoom this morning.
The first thing I want to say is that
Jesus commends them for being faithful in this little church.
He commends them for being faithful,
not spectacularly successful.
Verses 18 and 19 are wonderful words of encouragement.
To the angel of the church in Thyatira write,
the words of the Son of God,
whose eyes are like a flame of fire,
and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
I know your works,
your love,
your faith,
and service,
and patient endurance,
and that your latter works exceed the first.
Now, these are wonderful words of encouragement.
And remember,
since they come from the Lord Jesus,
they pack real punch.
These aren't just cheap words of positivity.
They come from the Lord Jesus,
the Savior,
who gladly got his hands dirty
to save his people.
And he speaks in terms that these tradespeople
and industrial workers,
which marked Thyatira,
would have easily identified with.
The one feature dominating the skyline of Thyatira
was a huge temple to Apollo,
the Greek sun god.
And most likely,
that temple was dominated
by a large bronze statue of Apollo.
Now, the irony of all that is
that Apollo was god of the fine arts and medicine.
And the local tradespeople in Thyatira
would understand,
in spite of the huge temple,
Apollo would not actually be terribly interested in them.
And so playing on the words,
I believe,
Jesus introduces himself as the son of God,
the one who actually came into the world
as an ordinary person
to bring real and immediate help and salvation
to ordinary people,
like the Christians in Thyatira.
He was neither lifeless nor disinterested,
but got down and dirty for his people.
Something that would resonate
with these battlers in this industrial town.
They knew the value,
the beauty,
the purity,
and strength of burnished bronze.
Thyatira was famous
for its bronze casting works.
And Jesus,
verse 19,
speaks in that sort of language,
in all his awesomeness.
He's really saying to this church
at Thyatira,
I count you as really precious to myself.
I'm really quite delighted with you,
on the whole.
Now,
what are they commended for?
Well,
verse 19,
they're commended for the ordinariness,
as it were,
of getting on
with ordinary gospel living.
So,
they may not live
in an outstanding city,
like Pergamum or Ephesus.
There may not be anything
particularly exciting
in their little church,
but that does not mean
they're hidden from Jesus
or considered inferior by him.
And so,
we get the picture
of the intensity
of Jesus'
all-seeing eyes,
like a white-hot,
smelting furnace fire
that these locals
would have been familiar with.
His eyes illuminate
every thought,
every desire,
every action.
And when Jesus illuminated
the deep recesses
of their heart,
he liked what he saw,
commending them
for their passion
and getting on
with being the church.
That is a gospel-shaped
resurrection community
with actions shaped
and motivated
by their inner love
and trust in Jesus
and commitment
to live under his rule
in every circumstance of life.
And best of all,
end of verse 19,
they're growing
in spiritual maturity.
Becoming more gospel-shaped
as they go.
And so,
the tone of verse 19
commands
the ordinariness
of the church.
Steady,
focused Christian commitment.
I think it's just like
you would expect
in a small-town craftsperson.
Nothing showy,
just daily commitment
to producing
quality product.
And verse 25,
jump over there
for a minute.
Jesus is content
and delighted
in seeing
his own passion
for the church
reflected in this church family.
In a sense,
we'll come back
to the problem,
but in a sense,
Jesus is saying to them
as a whole group,
hey,
you're doing well.
Just stay focused.
Stay on track
and keep plodding along.
And he also commends them
as the real power brokers
and bright lights
in the world.
And we're going to be looking
at the promises
at the end,
and then we'll come back
to the difficult part
in the middle there.
So,
Thyatira was famous
for its bronze
workers' guild.
It was a bit like
a powerful trade union.
It had enormous influence
in the town
and surrounding district.
Effectively,
it was able to decide
who could work
and who would be excluded
socially
and in terms
of the industry.
And no doubt
this local guild
would have despised
the local Christians
for probably
their stupid beliefs,
beliefs which risked
offending
the local gods.
And therefore,
risk the well-being
of everyone.
But again,
on the contrary,
verses 26 and 27,
look at that.
Jesus encourages
his unassuming
faithful people
to see that
real power
is with them.
Look at verse 26 and 27.
The one who conquers
and who keeps
my works until the end,
to him I will give
authority over the nations.
And he will rule them
with a rod of iron,
even as when earth
and pots are broken
in pieces,
even as I myself
have received authority
from my father.
Real power
is with them.
Why?
Because
they are aligned
with him,
the king of the world.
the image you hear
is taken from
Psalm 2,
where the Son of God
is given complete
authority over the nations
to declare
and implement
the rule of God.
And so it's a perfect fit
for Thyatira,
where clay molds
in which bronze
was cast
or imperfect pots
are just smashed
and discarded.
They knew the picture
that Jesus was giving them here.
complete power
over that
which has been created.
And the point,
I think,
is
that as faithful servants
and ambassadors
of King Jesus,
remember the one
with the piercing eyes
and trampling feet,
as ambassadors
of this King Jesus
and armed
with his powerful word,
they are more powerful.
They are building
something far more beautiful
than anything
in this world.
Now,
I take it
this would have
really surprised
the Christians
in the little-known
church at Thyatira.
They certainly
didn't look
as though
they were significant.
But the values
of Jesus
are not
the values
of this world.
You see,
again,
it was their faithfulness
that caught
Jesus' attention.
and defines
their usefulness
in Christ's kingdom.
Verse 28,
Jesus promises
that they will shine
with the same
brightness as Jesus.
Why?
Because he gladly
associates with them
and calls them brothers.
And again,
a reference
to Apollo.
It would not be
Apollo,
the sun god,
who would offer
a bright future
to the people
of Thyatira.
But Jesus,
the morning star.
And remember,
the morning star
marks the passing
of the darkness
and terror of night.
It will not
be the size
or apparent
success,
my friends,
of our church
that will delight
Jesus.
What will delight
Jesus?
Well,
as in this church
here,
faithfulness
will delight
Jesus.
one of the
greatest dangers
for any church
is longing
to be
trend-setting,
showy,
spectacular.
Because we think
that that is
what will count
most for Christ's
kingdom.
That is what
will mark us out
as a growing,
go-ahead,
exciting church.
And it may well do
in terms of the
world's criteria.
But we'll have
Christ's blessing
when we are
faithful in the
basics
rather than
when we chase
the spectacular.
Now,
hear me carefully.
This is not
to say
that we shouldn't
challenge ourselves
into new enterprises
and be creative.
but we mustn't
do so
at the expense
of faithfulness
in the basics.
Now,
it seems to me
this is another
huge potential
point of reset
for us.
And turn it
into a question
then.
What do you
crave most
for our church
family?
Do you crave
faithfulness
more than
anything else?
Is that what
you want
us to be
as a unit
together?
Or do you
crave some
alternative
to faithfulness?
Perhaps you
do crave
success.
Perhaps you
crave reputation
with other
churches and
other Christians
so they look
at our church
and go,
wow,
that's a
switched on
church.
I wish I
was part
of it.
Do we
crave greater
numbers to
show that we
are growing?
Do we crave
better buildings,
more exciting
programs,
and so the
list could
go on?
None of
those things
of themselves
are bad
to crave
for.
But if
they're a
substitute for
faithfulness,
then they
become bad.
Do you
crave
faithfulness
more than
anything else
for us as
a church
and for
yourself as
a believer?
Well,
the second
point then I
want to just
highlight this
morning is
avoid the
temptation to
make the
gospel fit
society.
Now,
in spite of
the church
as a whole
being commended
by Jesus,
there is a
great danger
within it.
And the
great danger
comes from a
few influential
individuals among
them.
The problem I'm
calling this
morning is the
Jezebel factor
because it may
well be a
single person
called Jezebel,
but most likely
given the
picture language
and everything
else in these
letters,
most likely
this Jezebel
represents a
small but
growing group
of people
within the
church,
clustered
around a
particular way
of thinking
and a
particular way
of living
under the
banner of
being Christians
and people
who have
effectively
changed the
gospel message
by removing
certain behavior
from it.
Now,
it appears,
if you look
at verses
21,
22,
and 23
there,
it appears
that they
were very
convincing.
They spoke
what everybody
considered to be
deep things
things that
thought,
wow,
that's really
enlightened.
That sort of
stuff would
really free
me and
bring me
to maturity
as a
Christian.
That's the
sort of
stuff that
only mature
free Christians
would understand.
But Jesus
mocks their
views.
They may
well be
deep,
according to
their criteria,
but they
don't reflect
Jesus or
God.
He calls
them the
deep things
of Satan.
That's how
vile they
are to
the Lord
Jesus,
the Lord
of his
church.
Most likely
the scenario
would be
that they
argued that
attending
pagan feasts
didn't mean
you were part
of them,
so there's
no issue.
It would
go something
like this,
and we know
that this
sort of
teaching was
in the
early church.
We don't
know exactly
if this
was the
teaching at
Thyatara,
but it
certainly
fits what's
been said
here.
It would
go something
like this.
The deep
thing is that
as long as
a Christian
keeps his
mind or
her mind
pure,
believing the
right things
and fellowshipping
with other
Christians on
Sundays,
then what
they did
during the
week wasn't
really a
gospel issue.
It was just
to be thought
of as part
of living
life.
You have to
live life,
that's what
you have to
do, so
it's okay
providing you
keep other
things right
and pure.
Now we
can understand
how appealing
this theology
would have
been.
For a
start, it
would make
life much
easier in
Thyatara,
because just
about all
of community
life was
built around
worship of
gods.
And then
again it
would have
suggested that
Christians were
really community
minded, and
that would have
made them more
acceptable.
And perhaps
even the
argument would
be that these
things would
open up more
evangelistic
opportunities.
But then it
also gives
the opportunity
to dabble in
some of the
alluring aspects
of what we
would call
today a sex
saturated
society, a bit
like Iran
I suppose,
and lots of
ways.
So the
thinking of
this Jezebel
factor gave
people the
opportunity to
dabble in
some of the
alluring aspects
of that, while
convincing
yourself still
that you were
just showing
that Christians
have red
blood in
their veins
too.
You want
to show
people that
Christianity
doesn't have
to seriously
curb your
former lifestyle.
We're just
ordinary people
like everybody
else.
You can see
why people
would like
that teaching.
Christ's
judgment on
such thinking,
very, very
clear, very,
very threatening
words, very,
very absolute
words.
What's
appealing may
well be
damning.
And again
in verses
21 to 23,
the same
piercing eyes,
the same
powerful figure
that gently
commends
faithfulness,
now becomes
terrifying as
he describes
how he will
purify his
church.
There will
be consequences,
severe
consequences.
Jesus will
not stand
idly by
and allow
his church
to be led
into destruction.
Christ is
calling here
for his
people to
be expressing
deep purity
in every
area of
life, and
perhaps
especially
sexual
behavior in
this context.
Christ's eyes
have quite
hot intensity
to find
and burn
out impurity.
again, it's
an industrial
picture of
the furnace.
White hot
intensity to
find and
burn out
impurity.
Christ's feet
are like fine
brass.
They're free
from impurity,
and that's
what he
wants his
people to
be like.
See, boil
it all
down, and
we can talk
a lot about
the actual
specific details,
but boil it
all down as
this.
I think their
culture was
shaping how
they lived
the gospel
rather than
the gospel
shaping how
they lived
their culture.
Christ wants
us to be
like him
in a world
that constantly
wants to
make us
impure and
corrupt.
And Christ
will take
drastic measures
to bring us
to repentance
and new
purity.
Friends,
this whole
Jezebel
factor, I
think we
could say
that it
appears to
be the
mood of
evangelicalism
in our
generation.
We have
so-called
evangelical
church
leaders who
remove issue
after issue
from the
script of
the church
saying that
these things
aren't really
gospel issues.
So as long
as we keep
focused on
Jesus, we
can do this
and this
and this.
And so
we find
in our
world today
in
evangelicalism
we find
adultery,
homosexuality,
divorce,
just open
slather and
watching movies
with sex
scenes,
drugs and
so on.
There no
longer seem
to be real
gospel issues.
Young people
sleeping together
before they get
married.
They're just
not even
reading now
on some
radars.
And it's
no surprise
that people
love this
new easy
Christianity.
Many
evangelicals,
you'll hear
them now
saying that
when it
comes to
evangelism,
well, if
we have to
join their
after work
drinking
sex-saturated
conversation
sessions to
get the
gospel out,
then that's
what we
ought to
do.
If we
have to
get involved
in sport
at the
same level
as our
non-Christian
friends,
then that's
what we
have to
do.
If we
have to
make
cafe latte
and hipster
dress,
the focus
of church
because that's
what people
expect these
days,
then that's
what we
have to
do.
I don't
know where
that leaves
me,
but I've
heard that
said.
Friends,
if we're
to have
Christ's
approval as
a church
family,
we must
be faithful.
Having
our lives
shaped by
the gospel
at every
point of
our day.
Look at
verse 28.
Jesus
promises,
I will
give him
the
morning
star.
Are you
drawn to
the darkness
and alluring
autonomy and
immorality of
this world?
And believe
for me,
it is very
dark and
very alluring.
and it's
constantly
trying to
blur the
guidelines and
the edges
for us.
Are you
drawn to the
darkness and
alluring autonomy
and immorality of
this world?
Or are you
drawn to the
bright morning
star who
dispels
darkness and
gives you
light and
life?
question of
faithfulness.
Is this
another point
for us as a
church to
consider whether
we need to
reset significantly?
Whether you
individually need
to repent and
reset significantly?
thank you very
much for
listening.
Let me pray.
Lord,
open our
minds to
your confronting
word.
Open our
hearts,
Lord,
to feel that
word impact
on us.
And lead us,
Lord,
individually and
together as a
church unit to
take whatever
actions are
necessary to
repent.
We thank you,
Lord, that in
your graciousness
you pursue us
when we stumble
and wander into
sin.
And we thank
you, Lord,
that you give us
time and
opportunity to
repent.
Lord, I pray
that we might
think reflectively
as a church
family, that we
might reset
where we need
to reset, and
that ultimately
we might praise
you for both
exposing our
sin and
helping us move
through it into
new purity.
Help us, we
pray.
Be merciful to us,
we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.