Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives
! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth
! Today, you'll be hearing week seven of our sermon series through the book of Revelation.
We are looking at Revelation 2, verses 18-29, which is Christ's letter to the church in Thyatira.
Now, here's something that is powerful to note before you listen. Thyatira was a church that was
growing in love. The text says that their latter works exceeded their first, which essentially means
they were getting better, not worse. This church had demonstrated love, faith, service, and patient
endurance. But Jesus also confronts this church. Some in the congregation were tolerating Jezebel,
a false prophetess who was leading believers into idolatry and sexual immorality. This wasn't just
a bad teaching, it was seducing people away from Christ to worship another god. The text mentions
that Christ, whose eyes were like fire and feet like burnished bronze, calls the church to repent or to
face judgment. What a reminder for us today. We live in a world where there is compromise everywhere,
and there's this pressure to tolerate corruption and to blend in rather than to stand out. But it is
Christ who searches our minds and our hearts. His eyes are like fire, and they see everything. He calls
for us to stand firm in Him and to hold fast. In this sermon, you'll hear three practical applications
for your life. First is to receive the light of Christ, to believe in Him, to receive His salvation,
and to remain rooted in Him. The second is to resist evil and to let your lamp shine. Don't hide your
light under a bushel. Let it shine. And third is to share the hope of the morning star, to help others
find the light, love, and truth of Jesus Christ. And here is the beautiful imagery that runs through this
entire message. We are like the lamps. We are like lamps that are shining in the night. And Jesus Christ
is the morning star. We are living in this darkness of this age and letting our light shine that we
received from Christ. Letting it shine in the darkness as we await for the dawn of the morning star to rise
and bring forth a new eternal day. Just like when the power goes out, you need a flashlight or a candle
until the sun comes up. Well, in the same way, we are carrying the light of Christ now as we await for
the greater light. To the faithful who hold fast, Christ promises the morning star, Himself. He promises
authority, inheritance, and to reign with Him forever. Let us refuse compromise. Let us resist evil. Let us
hold fast to Christ alone. And let us await for the coming of the morning star. Let us now listen to
today's message, Hold Fast to the Morning Star. Paul, good morning, everyone. Today we are continuing
through our study through the book of Revelation. And we've been going through these seven churches that are
found in Revelation. Let us be reminded of Christ and this imagery that we have about how He holds the seven
stars and that He walks among the lampstands, showing the sense of completedness, the sense of the church, and
walking among them, showing the power and the authority that Jesus Christ has. It's important for us to recognize that
these churches, not only were they historical, but there are specific situations that we can learn from and that we can be
mindful of. When we find it in Scripture, sometimes we wonder, well, what in the world does, how does that, what does that even
look like today? And are there patterns that happen from Scripture that we can see today? Absolutely.
It is just like how there are so many people in this life that are in darkness.
And before, feel free to turn your Bibles to Revelation 2, chapter 2, verses 18 through 29.
And I want you to, as we are turning our Bibles, I want you to get this image in your head.
We've seen throughout Scripture this image of a lamp.
As the children sang this song earlier, this little light of mine, I am going to let it shine.
And it's a cute song. It's a historical one, one that gets you going and gets you wanting to stomp your feet as the
children were doing. But it's important to realize how the symbolism and the significance of lamps are.
To receive the light of Christ. To receive the fire, the flame, the oil in the lamp.
And how important it is to not hide it under a bushel.
Or not to hide it under a bed.
But to put it out and to let it shine.
And what's so powerful about that, the implication, is that lamps are placed out when it's dark.
We think about that, you know, when it's dark, I need a flashlight.
Or I need a lamp.
But think of a moment of how there is darkness in the world.
And how we are waiting for the true light, the light of Christ to come.
And we'll see how that is so connected when Scripture talks about lamps and these little flames that are flickering.
And how we wait for the greater light in Christ.
We'll see how this is connected with this church in Thyatira.
And so, are we there, church?
Are we here at the church in Thyatira?
It's on page 1219.
Revelation chapter 2, verses 18 through 29.
Church, let's read this together.
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,
The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like what?
A flame of fire, and whose feet are like what?
Burnished bronze.
I know your works, your love, and faith, and service, and patience, endurance.
And that your latter works exceed the first.
But, uh-oh.
I have this against you.
You tolerate who?
That woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.
And is teaching and doing what?
Seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality,
and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Isn't that interesting how we have this time to partake in communion as an act of worship?
And you see in Scripture, just like in this,
an act of worship to another God.
Very interesting, right?
Verse 21,
I gave her time to repent.
Does she accept?
No, she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed,
and those who commit adultery with her,
I will throw into great tribulation,
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 what?
Mind and heart,
and give to each of you according to your works.
But to the rest of you in Thyatira,
who do not hold to 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.
The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end,
to him I will give authority over what?
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 what?
The morning star.
There it is.
He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Really interesting.
We have a lot of things that are going on here.
Father God,
we pray that as we have read the Scripture,
that your Word speaks to us.
We ask that it will be made abundantly clear,
not only what you are going for,
but what are the lessons we can learn,
and how can we apply it to our very lives.
We know that you are the God of simplicity,
but through simplicity,
there are deeper things.
May we be hungry to learn more about this church in Thyatira,
and how Christ is the morning star.
We say together, church, amen?
So, in this,
let's go into what exactly is happening here, right?
Well, we see first and foremost
that Christ is speaking to the church in Thyatira,
and this church is known for four things then.
If you look back in your Bibles,
or you can look on the screen as well,
you see here that there are,
I know your works, right?
So, we see your love,
your faith,
your service,
and patient endurance.
So, there are four things
that make up the works of the church in Thyatira then, right?
So, that's interesting that we see, right?
That Christ is introducing himself
as the son of God.
He's recognizing these four things.
And the text is mentioning
that the latter works are exceeding the first.
Now, that's kind of a weird language that's going on.
We have,
as we went over the church in Ephesus,
first and foremost,
we've got to love God and to love people.
That is the foundation
of when we think of churches,
not only back then,
but churches even today.
When we think of what happened back in Ephesus,
they had lost that love.
And what a tragedy it must be
to lose the love of God
and let alone the love for others.
Here,
love being that foundation for the church,
they had grown
in their ability to do good things
in the name of Christ.
And that's something that's very important for us
is we have,
we've got to love God.
And we've got to love others as well.
We continue to grow in the word
and we should be moved to do good in his name.
And so then we see in here,
Christ is confronting the tolerance of Jezebel.
That's kind of an interesting one, right?
Now, for some of us nowadays,
we may have heard a show of hands
or if you're online and watching this,
some of you may have heard the phrase,
a Jezebel spirit.
Have you heard that recently?
So-and-so's got a Jezebel spirit.
It's really icky, right?
It's really something you,
you don't want to be called that kind of thing.
Well, what we're going to do
is go into what exactly
the significance of Jezebel
and why does she reappear in Revelation?
I'll tell you,
when someone's calling someone a Jezebel spirit,
that's usually typically tied
into someone who's rebellious.
It's a lot heavier of a word
than people should be calling people church.
That's very important for us to know.
So, Christ has something against the church,
their tolerance.
Now, what's very interesting
for those of you
who are more scholarly
and more academic,
you have different manuscripts.
Some that follow the KJV versus the ESV,
it's different manuscripts
of the old languages.
Well, what's interesting
is that some translation are saying
that the tolerance of Jezebel
is resulting in suffering.
That's what the KJV says.
And in the English standard
and in a lot of modern translations,
it's saying you're permitting it to happen
and you're not doing anything about it.
And I think it's important for us
to note that there is suffering
that is happening
because it is falling into sin.
And it's also important to note
nothing is being done about this.
Well, you have this woman,
this prophetess,
who is just doing
these very wicked thing.
She is false
and leading believers
into idolatry and immorality.
And what I want to say
first and foremost
is how important it is.
this section
can be misused
and misread.
There are some people out there
that say,
well, see,
this is why we don't have women
in ministry.
And that's inaccurate.
This is a very specific situation
of a woman
who had power
and abused that power.
This is not
ammunition to say,
well, this is why we don't have
any women in ministry.
And I want to speak to that
because this is one of those verses
that can be misused
and used in such a way
to unfortunately attack
women in ministry.
That is very inaccurate
because this is a very specific situation.
Here's what I mean.
Jezebel, in this sense,
is leading people
into sexual immorality
to the point
where they're worshiping another god
or having them partake in meals
as acts of worship.
That's very different
than someone
who is dedicated
to the Lord
and leading people to Christ.
Do we all understand that?
That's very different.
And unfortunately,
what we find
is something
that is inaccurate
or what some people
would call
misinformation on that.
So tolerance,
in this sense,
is allowing someone
to do wrong
and it's because
of their permissiveness
that Christ
is going to intervene
in here.
Christ is warning
of the sickbed
for Jezebel
and tribulation
for those who do not repent.
And let us remember,
when we talk about repentance,
it is changing your mind, right?
It's so important for that.
When we're doing wrong,
we've got to repent of that.
We've got to change our mind
in understanding
why it is wrong
and how can we course correct.
It's just like how
when you see in Scripture
repent and believe,
it's change your mind
about Christ
so that you come
to believe in Him.
Well, we continue
to repent,
seeing how God
is going to mold us
and make us more like Him
to make us more holy
and also to act upon
the faith that we have
in Him.
And so,
Christ offers mercy
to all of those
who repent.
it's a reminder for us.
Should we fall into sin,
we've got to change our minds
to get back on the course
and to remain in Him.
To remain faithful to Christ
is so important for us.
It goes on further,
going back here,
it says,
to all the churches who,
I am He who searches mind and heart.
The language talks about
knowing your inward parts.
Isn't that interesting?
It's very similar
when we find in Scripture,
before you were born,
I knew you, right?
The inner workings
of who you are.
Well,
before you're born,
God knows your inner workings
and certainly after the fact
that you're born
when you're here on the earth,
God knows who you are,
your inner workings.
So that's important as well.
And so,
hold fast to what I come.
Verse 24,
to the rest of you in Thyatira
who do not hold this teaching,
who have not learned,
I'm not going to lay any other burden.
You keep doing what you're doing.
And it's important that
when there's a scandal,
when there is something
that is happening
where someone is partaking in sin
or in evil
or whatever it is,
for us that are not partaking in it,
we just remain in Christ
and by golly,
we keep journeying in Christ.
we remain,
we hold fast
as the language is saying.
And so,
Christ is commanding
to hold fast
until I come.
And the promise then
is the morning star,
which is the light of Christ.
And we start to see
how some of this,
when I had gone over
the parabolic language
of the parable of the lamps,
a lot of that language
is finally getting tied in
to what we see in Revelation.
In other words,
we are waiting in darkness,
shining the light of Christ,
waiting for the brightness
of the light of Christ to come.
It's fascinating
how that kind of connection
begins to happen
within Scripture.
Let's go to that next slide here.
I want to show you something.
When you see in Scripture
this language of
eyes like fire,
right,
and feet like burnished bronze,
this is the same type of language
that we see in Daniel
chapter 10, verse 6,
where the prophet Daniel
is kind of seeing
a heavenly figure.
Some scholars say
this is actually Christ
that he's seeing.
Some say it's an angelic being.
But in any case,
it's the same kind of description
that is being shown
in Revelation
and in Daniel.
And it's fascinating
when we see that kind of thing,
right?
Now, obviously,
in Daniel,
he's talking about
the arms and the legs
compared to the feet,
right?
Obviously,
different parts of the body,
but still kind of
the same idea with this.
And that's really fascinating
when we see that.
We can go to the next slide here.
And what's important for us
is that
what are the things
we can learn
from this?
It's very interesting
to see, like,
okay, you have Jezebel,
you have all these things
that are going on
and remaining firm.
Well, the first thing here
is recognizing
that Christ refines
and searches our hearts,
right?
As it mentions
in Hebrews 4, verse 13,
that no creature
is hidden from his sight.
I always love,
you guys remember
the story of the garden
where God's saying,
where are you, Adam?
I always love that.
It's like as though
God doesn't actually know
where Adam is, right?
He's calling for him
to come and out of hiding,
hey, let's deal
with this kind of thing, right?
And so I've always found
God having a sense
of humor in Scripture,
especially what you find
back in Genesis here, right?
And that it's important
for us to know
Christ knows our intention, right?
When we think of the things
that we think of,
that's why it's so important
for us to think about
what we think about.
What are you filling
your mind with, right?
When we talk about the heart,
what is your intention
for God and for other people?
And so it's important for us
that not only do we seek out Christ,
but we have the Lord refine us, right?
That's the same kind of language
of transformation
or becoming sanctified, right?
The language of being more holy
and becoming like him.
And ask yourself the question then,
how is Christ purifying
your life right now?
Or is he?
If not, perhaps it's a call for you
to ask the Lord
to search your heart and your mind
and to continue to mold you.
Because I find that as a Christian,
as I have grown in my faith,
I hope you can say this as well.
It's wonderful to see
how God changes you
and then you look back
at who you were.
Not even a year ago
or even a few months ago.
You see how God is working in you,
continuing to transform you.
The second thing then
is Jezebel shows a pattern
of abused power.
Now, we'll go into that.
You know, let's go to that
next slide, actually.
I want to show you some examples
of what exactly Jezebel is doing here.
Now, throughout 1 and 2 Kings,
we see this constant battle between,
I mean, we see throughout
through all Scripture,
the battle between good and evil, right?
That's why we trust in the living God.
We trust in Jesus Christ
because he's victorious.
But here you're seeing Jezebel,
who she went and served Baal
and worshipped him, right?
Someone that is serving another God
and to the point where
I am going to go against
the people of God.
That's important for us to understand.
Not only did she worship another God,
but she was waging war
against the people of God.
That is the pattern
that you see not only
in 1 and 2 Kings
throughout Scripture,
but also what is happening
in Revelation 2 here.
Now, do we know
if they are giving the title
Jezebel to this prophetess?
Some argue that.
Some are saying
it's someone who has that same name.
Never name your child Jezebel.
Can we not do that, right?
You don't want to live up
to that name, okay?
So, in any case,
it could have been
someone literally named Jezebel
or it could have been
we're just going to give you the title
because it's just like
what happened in the past.
There is some debate on that.
But in any case,
you see in this other verse
with the green here,
there was none
who's referencing King Ahab
who sold himself to do
what was evil
in the sight of the Lord,
whom Jezebel,
his wife incited.
Right?
So, we're talking about influence.
We're talking about
this sense of
I'm going to make
people turn against the Lord
and do evil in his sight.
So, when we see that
in the Old Testament,
we can actually have
an understanding of what,
a better understanding
of what's happening here.
In other words,
Jezebel in the Old Testament
and this Jezebel in Revelation
is using their power
and their influence
to turn people away from God
to sexual immorality,
offering their bodies
to another God
and partaking in these meals.
That's a very specific thing.
And so, when you hear someone say
they've got a Jezebel spirit,
that's a very heavy title
and I don't think that should be
loosely just thrown out at people.
This is a very specific thing
that happens
that Christ is against
in this case.
And so, I show that to you
just as how important for it,
for us to understand
who is Jezebel?
What did she do?
And why is it here
in Revelation again?
Let's go back to the interpretation
that previous slide here.
Right?
It's a pattern of abused power.
We have to think for us,
if you want to bring it home,
is how you influence people.
Some of us are in positions of power.
Some of us have positions
where we can influence people.
We have to consider
what God has given to us, right?
Time, talent, treasure, testimony,
but also how we influence people.
You would be absolutely amazed
at how you can lead people to Christ
or lead people away from them.
Now, I don't know about you.
I don't know any Jezebels.
And if you do,
pray for them.
Pray that God will intervene
in their life
and that they may repent.
Just as Christ was offering
Jezebel to repent.
I pray that we don't have any of those,
but I would be foolish to say
it's never going to happen again.
It is in those cases
that we stand firm
and we don't fall into
that type of seduction
or that temptation as it were.
And so,
use your power,
your influence for good.
Right?
This is the same pattern.
We also think of the responsibilities
of pastors and shepherds,
that we are to lead people
to Christ
and to offer ourselves,
our bodies, as it were,
to the Lord.
Not in sexual immorality,
but in purity.
We don't send people into darkness.
We send people to light.
That is important for us.
And this whole thing about meals
and partaking in that,
let us just remember
when we partake in communion together,
we worship the living God
and we say thank you
and we reflect on that.
Let us,
and I hope none of us
ever partake in a meal like that
as an act of worship to another God.
It's very clear in Scripture
to not do that.
The third thing then that shows up
is that Christ is our hope,
the morning star,
that there is a reward
for remaining in Christ
even in the presence of evil.
We think of how things
are going on today
with, well, things globally,
things that are going on in Sudan
and the terrible things
that are happening there.
We think of things that are going,
I mean, we can go on and on
about just all of the tragedies,
the war,
all of these things
that are happening.
In the face of evil,
we stand firm,
trusting in Christ,
the living hope.
you can't take away
the love that God has for us.
You can't.
And no matter what
politician, government,
regime ever happens,
we believe in the King of Kings
and the Lord of Lords,
whose power is far greater
than any human being.
And so,
in this,
Christ,
as the morning star,
will share in the inheritance
and his authority
to reign with him forever
in the new heaven
and in the new earth.
And so,
as I gave you this imagery
about the lamp
that shines in the darkness,
Christ being the morning star,
we await for the day to break.
Just as scripture says,
joy comes in the morning.
And so,
ask yourself,
are you living your life
settling into the night?
Or are you living your life
in anticipation
for the light to come?
I know we're getting,
I'm getting a little far here.
Let's keep going.
Let's go to our application then.
So,
how should we respond?
How do we live this out?
Well,
the first thing,
the first most important thing
is to receive the light of Christ.
We've got to believe in Jesus Christ
and receive his salvation
and we remain rooted in Christ.
We have him as our firm foundation.
That is the ultimate decision.
That is the greatest decision.
Right?
Receive salvation.
Receive the light of Christ.
Receive and to remain in him.
Never be afraid
to go to the Lord.
Never be afraid to seek him
and to ask him to search you.
Consider the words of the Psalms.
I love it.
Psalm 139
where it says,
Search me, O God,
and make me true.
Ask God.
Now,
don't only ask God for salvation,
but ask him
to be more like him.
Because God will mold us
in some incredible ways.
Love,
patience,
joy,
the peace that surpasses
all understanding.
I mean,
we can go on and on
about all of the wonderful things
that God gives to us.
And even when we have
this language of receiving
the morning star
or the white stone,
all of these things
is showing the gifts
that the Lord has for us.
Ask yourself
if you have received salvation,
if you have that light of Christ.
The second thing then
is to what, church?
Resist evil.
Right?
And let your lamp shine.
Right?
And we can see
how this gets connected, right?
We don't hide our lamp
under a bushel.
We don't hide it under a bed.
As we journey in faith,
we will face pressures
from the world.
It can be at work.
It can be people
that are against your faith.
It can be people
that say,
you know what?
You used to be
this kind of person.
Why aren't you
that person anymore?
Could be those kind of things.
In any case,
we stay the course
and we resist evil.
That's where we use
the language
of standing firm,
remaining rooted.
Right?
Because we have that
solid rock in Christ
which we can build
our house upon.
Very important.
And this is just like how
when we recite
or when we pray
the Lord's Prayer,
lead us not
into temptation
but deliver us
from evil.
It's wonderful
how things are
connected as this.
Are you being asked
to partake in evil?
That's a question
that you can reflect on.
And in those moments,
may you resist evil.
May you stand firm.
May you navigate
or maybe even help someone
resist evil
in their life.
It's very important.
And then finally,
share the hope
of the morning star.
I want to turn there.
We'll have a little bit
of time here.
I want to show you
something that I think
is very interesting
throughout Scripture
in here.
In Genesis,
we all know
that in the beginning
God created the heavens
and the earth
was out
with formless
and void.
There was darkness
that was over it.
And then God said,
let there be light.
The implication
is that
it's actually
a mini creation story
within the creation story.
The world being
in darkness
and the light
of Christ
coming
and breaking
through.
How powerful
is that?
Just as how
Jesus says,
I am the light
of the world.
Whoever follows me
will have the light
of life
just like how
Christ is saying,
I will give him
the morning star.
And then as we're
going in Revelation
to the one
who conquers,
I will give
the morning star.
We can see.
And if you need
it even more clear,
Jesus identifies
himself as
I am
the bright
morning star.
What beautiful
connections here,
church.
stars and light
shining in the
darkness.
I want you to
think as we
close here.
Today,
we live
in darkness
as though
the night
is here
and we hold
our lamps
in anticipation
and waiting
for Christ
to come.
We await
the light
of the morning
star and
we await
for God
to say,
let there
be light
and there
will be
light.
So powerful.
And there's
always an end
to every storm.
There's light
at the end
of darkness
and there's
morning
after the
night.
And that is
why
we shine
our lamps
brightly.
We wait
for the greater
light to come.
Think about it.
when you're
in a dark
room,
let's say
the power
is out.
You've got
a little
lighter,
right?
Or a candle.
There's only
so much light
that is
illuminating
in the room.
But my
gosh,
when the
sun is
out,
I can
see everything,
right?
And we
think of
that when
it comes
to Christ.
That his
light is
unlike any
other light.
And this
is why we
share in the
gospel message,
right?
It's that.
Let's go
back to
the application.
That's why
we share
the hope
of the
morning star.
Because there's
so many
people that
don't have
that light.
They're not
holding a
lamp yet.
A lamp
that's lit.
Well,
think about
it.
If the
power goes
out and
it's dark
and you've
got the
lamp and
your friend
doesn't,
hey,
buddy,
you've
got to
have a
lamp
here.
We've
got to
find you
one.
Let's
get you
some
light.
Let's
get you
a candle
kind of
thing.
That is
the kind
of
imagery
we
think
of
when
we
share
the
gospel
so
that
they
too
can
have
the
light
and
that
they
too
can
wait
for the
greater
light
to
come.
We
tell the
world
of the
hope
of
Jesus
and
we
speak
of
how
God
has
worked
in
our
life.
Think
of
that
imagery.
Hey,
I'm
holding
a lamp
here and
it's
shining.
Do you
want to
see where
you're
going?
Let's
get you
a lamp.
Go
to the
light.
See how
simple
God is
when we're
thinking of
this kind
of
language?
We can
think
literally
like,
hey,
bud,
you're
in the
darkness.
I've
got to
get you
a
flashlight,
right?
But we
think in
the
spiritual
sense
how
powerful
that
is.
We
speak
of
his
promises
and we
have to
think,
church,
of how
important it
is for
the world
to know
of Jesus
Christ more
than ever
before.
Because there's
still a lot
of darkness
as we
wait for
the light
to come.
People need
to know
that there
is more
to the
confusion,
the darkness,
the sin,
and the
evil that
exists in
the world
today.
It does
not,
the existence
of evil
does not
change our
call.
We share
in the
hope of
Jesus
Christ for
others.
We share
the gospel,
we grow
as we've
received
salvation
and we
do good
in the
name of
Christ.
And I
want you
to think
as we
close,
who can
you share
the light
of Christ?
Ask
yourself that.
Think of
someone that
you can
share in
the gospel
message with
this week,
the next
person that
you know,
a friend,
a family,
a co-worker,
a student,
whatever.
Think of
that.
In closing,
let us
think of
this
beautiful
imagery
of Christ
being the
morning star.
We are
in this
darkness
shining,
holding these
lamps together
as we
wait for
the dawn.
Let's
pray together.
Father God,
we thank
you for
this time,
this opportunity
for us to
go over
this wonderful
church in
Thyatira.
We just
pray,
first and
foremost,
that we
recognize that
your Son,
Jesus Christ,
is the
Son of
God and
He is the
fulfillment
of prophecy.
We pray,
Father,
that lives
are transformed.
We pray
that if
anyone has
not made
a decision
for Christ,
they believe
in the
death,
burial,
and resurrection
of your
Son,
Jesus Christ.
We pray
that individually
and collectively
as a church,
we may grow
in the
deeper things
of God
and not in
the deep
things of
Satan,
as the
Scripture mentions.
we pray
that we
can have
the ability
to discern
right from
wrong,
truth from
lies,
good from
evil,
and that we
can stand
firm and
hold fast
in our
faith so
that should
there be
a Jezebel,
or should
there be a
synagogue of
Satan,
or should
there be
Satan's
throne,
that we
can resist
that.
That we
can stand
firm and
we continue
on the
journey that
exists in
you,
just as
you have
shown us
that Christ
is the
shepherd leading
us to
green pastures.
We are
awaiting,
and may
we wait
upon you,
for we
are like
holding those
lamps,
waiting for
the light of
Christ,
the morning
star to
come.
I pray,
Father,
that as we
close our
time today,
that this
imagery of
standing firm,
this imagery
of lamps
shining in
the darkness
waiting for
the dawn
will resound
with us,
that we
will remember
it and
take it to
heart,
and that we
may share
in the gospel
message,
share in the
words of our
testimonies,
and live and
love like
you.
It is in
the name of
Jesus Christ,
the morning
star,
that we pray,
and we all
say together,
amen,
church?
Amen.
Thank you for
tuning in to
Ontario Community
Church.
If this message
encouraged you,
I encourage for
you to share it
with a friend
or a family
member.
Maybe you know
someone who is
struggling with
compromise,
or maybe you
know someone who
just needs to
hear about the
hope that we
have in Christ.
Remind them that
Christ knows
their heart,
Christ understands
their circumstance,
and he calls for
each and every one
of us to come
to him,
to remain in
him,
and to hold
fast until he
returns as the
bright morning
star.
Let us receive
his light.
Let us resist
evil with the
power of the
Holy Spirit.
Let us share in
the gospel with
others who are
still in the
darkness.
In today's
sermon, we
learned that we
are like lamps,
shining in the
night, awaiting
the morning
star.
And just as a
lamp helps us to
see in the
darkness, we
carry the light
of Jesus Christ
today.
We await the
full dawn of
when Christ
returns as the
morning star to
bring eternal
light.
That is our
hope, that is
our future, and
that is what we
hold fast to.
Think about this.
If the power goes
out and you have
that flashlight, but
your friend doesn't,
you would obviously
help them find a
flashlight to or
shine the light
upon them.
That is what
sharing the gospel
is like.
We have the
light of Christ.
Let us help
others find the
light of Christ so
they too can wait
for the greater
light to come.
You're welcome to
visit Ontario
Community Church
dot org for more
information about
our church, how to
connect with us, or
how you can get
involved.
Just visit our
website.
Next week, we
will continue in our
sermon series through
the book of
Revelation with the
Church in Sardis,
found in Revelation
chapter 3, verses 1
to 6.
We will be looking at
Christ's message to a
church that has a
reputation for being
alive, but is
actually dead.
And what does it
mean to wake up, to
strengthen what remains,
and to remember what
we have received?
Grace and peace to you
in our Lord Jesus
Christ.
May you receive the
light of Christ.
May you resist evil
and let your lamp
shine brightly.
May you share in the
hope of the morning
star with others, and
may Christ search your
heart and refine you,
making you more like
him.
May you hold fast and
wait with joy for the
dawn when Jesus Christ,
that morning star,
returns.
He searches your heart
and he knows your
circumstance.
May you turn to him,
and may you come to
know Jesus, the way,
the truth, and the life.
God bless you.