WEBVTT 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.139 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:06.139 --> 00:00:08.820 Sermons. This week we're continuing our sermon 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:10.980 series, Dear Church, where we're looking at the 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:13.419 letters in the opening of the book of Revelation 00:00:13.419 --> 00:00:16.699 that are written from Christ to the church. And 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:19.379 today our guest preacher, Bill Crawford, is taking 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:22.140 us through the letter to the church in Thyatira. 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.600 Jesus has some harsh words for this church. Words 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:28.320 about compromise from within and the dangers 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.570 of tolerating false prophets. So what does Christ 00:00:31.570 --> 00:00:33.909 have to say to them, and what warnings does Christ 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:42.929 have to offer to us? Our readings today are from 00:00:42.929 --> 00:00:45.030 the book of Revelation, beginning with chapter 00:00:45.030 --> 00:00:49.450 1, verses 4 -5, and chapter 2, verses 12 -17. 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:53.649 John, to the seven churches in the province of 00:00:53.649 --> 00:00:57.170 Asia, grace and peace to you from Him who is, 00:00:57.329 --> 00:01:00.570 and who was, and who is to come. and from the 00:01:00.570 --> 00:01:03.390 seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus 00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:06.670 Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn 00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:09.090 from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:12.689 the earth. To the angel of the church in Thyatira 00:01:12.689 --> 00:01:15.950 write, These are the words of the Son of God, 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:18.810 whose eyes are like blazing fire, and whose feet 00:01:18.810 --> 00:01:21.769 are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, 00:01:21.969 --> 00:01:25.090 your love and faith, your service and perseverance, 00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:28.109 and that you are now doing more than you did 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:31.650 at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you. 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:34.890 You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself 00:01:34.890 --> 00:01:38.409 a prophet. By her teaching, she misleads my servants 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:41.489 into sexual immorality and the eating of food 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:44.670 sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:47.209 repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 00:01:47.510 --> 00:01:50.430 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:52.510 I will make those who commit adultery with her 00:01:52.510 --> 00:01:55.430 suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.700 I will strike her children dead. then all the 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:00.900 churches will know that I am he who searches 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:04.319 hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.879 according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:10.699 of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:13.180 her teaching and have not learned Satan's so 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:16.539 -called deep secrets, I will not impose any other 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:19.319 burden on you except to hold on to what you have 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:22.620 until I come. To the one who is victorious and 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.180 does my will to the end, I will give authority 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:28.360 over the nations. That one will rule them with 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:30.919 an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:33.539 like pottery, just as I have received authority 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:36.460 from my Father. I will also give that one the 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.819 morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:42.460 what the Spirit says to the churches. The word 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:46.639 of the Lord. For those who don't know me, my 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:53.039 name is Bill Crawford. I am... I coordinate the 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:57.240 men's ministry programs here at Trinity. And 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:01.900 for the last year, I've also led the group that's 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:05.259 put together the monthly community meals. uh 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:09.580 here at trinity uh and i'm very happy to to say 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:12.580 that uh actually just a few days ago on thursday 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:15.800 we uh we started year two of our community meals 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:18.319 we've been running them for a whole year uh we've 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:23.819 done 12 and and we we have about 60 65 people 00:03:23.819 --> 00:03:26.400 on average they're coming every month And it 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.780 was a real nice, for me, a privilege to be part 00:03:30.780 --> 00:03:34.039 of that community meal program here at Trinity, 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:37.240 serving the hungry and lonely in our neighborhood. 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:42.379 And I also, I'm a deacon in training, known as 00:03:42.379 --> 00:03:45.780 a DIT to my friends here at the church. D -I 00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:52.000 -T, DIT. Lovingly known as, I'm hoping. And so 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:57.360 as part of that process, Rob has asked me a couple 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:01.520 of times to preach in front of the church, which 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.060 is a great honor, and I'm so glad that Rob trusts 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:07.300 me with that responsibility. But I have noticed 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:09.979 that it's always when he is here at the church. 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:15.379 It's almost as if, you know, if I go off the 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:18.319 rails, he can go, Bill Crawford! everybody and 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.779 then move on to something else. So let's hope 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:24.600 that doesn't happen, Rob. But feel free if it 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:29.319 does. So we're right smack in the middle of a 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.959 sermon series called Dear Church, Ancient Letters 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:34.639 for Today's Church. And today we're going to 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:38.019 be talking about Jesus's letter to the church 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:42.660 of Tyre Tyre. So let's get started with a prayer. 00:04:46.540 --> 00:04:49.660 May the words of my lips and the meditation of 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:54.399 all of our hearts be now and always of you. In 00:04:54.399 --> 00:05:02.040 Jesus' name, amen. Home. Home is where we feel 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:05.899 safe. Inside the four walls of our homes, we 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:11.759 feel secure. We feel protected. There are outside 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:16.149 forces, both natural and unnatural. but our homes 00:05:16.149 --> 00:05:20.589 repel the rain and keep us dry. They keep unwanted 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:25.310 guests from getting inside. Home is our refuge. 00:05:26.610 --> 00:05:29.910 We even have the phrase home church, and Trinity 00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:33.389 has been my home church for over 30 years. But 00:05:33.389 --> 00:05:36.209 we use that phrase to identify that place of 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:40.230 worship where we feel safe and the most comfortable. 00:05:42.009 --> 00:05:45.620 But what happens... when it is not an outside 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:51.519 force, but the threat comes from within. You 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:54.819 may be familiar with the old horror film trope 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:58.920 called The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs. It 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:02.100 started with a movie called When a Stranger Calls, 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:06.060 way back in 1979, and they did a remake in 2007, 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:09.240 but there's lots of other movies that use that 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:13.720 trope or make fun of it. It goes something like 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:18.439 this. A teenage girl is babysitting at night. 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:21.540 The children have been put to sleep upstairs, 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:25.519 and the babysitter is downstairs watching television. 00:06:26.579 --> 00:06:32.459 The phone rings. The caller tells her, check 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:36.540 on the children. The adolescent dismisses that 00:06:36.540 --> 00:06:39.000 first call, goes back to watching television. 00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:42.649 The anonymous caller dials back several times. 00:06:43.129 --> 00:06:46.290 The caller uses her name in the call, which is 00:06:46.290 --> 00:06:52.089 creepy. And another call, he says that he can 00:06:52.089 --> 00:06:55.189 see her. I'm looking at you right now. Super 00:06:55.189 --> 00:07:01.110 creepy. Eventually, the babysitter calls the 00:07:01.110 --> 00:07:04.889 police, who inform her that they will trace the 00:07:04.889 --> 00:07:08.480 next call. The stranger calls again. And then 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:12.560 the police return a call. And they say, we traced 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.639 the call. It's coming from inside the house. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.199 What happens next? You might want to know. I'm 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:22.579 not going to tell you. I don't want to ruin it 00:07:22.579 --> 00:07:24.819 for you. But there's lots of different versions 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:27.959 of that film, that movie. And they all have slightly 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.740 different endings. But I'm just going to give 00:07:30.740 --> 00:07:32.839 you a bit of a spoiler. Most of them are pretty 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.560 gruesome. So be careful. But this scenario is 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:40.740 exactly what happened to the church of Thyatira. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:44.620 If you recall from last week, the church of Pergamum 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:48.420 was being assailed by external influences from 00:07:48.420 --> 00:07:53.279 all sides, economic, religious, social, medical. 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:57.199 They were getting battered from the outside in. 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:01.939 The church of Thyatira had a different problem. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:06.430 They were exposed to a lot of the same... external 00:08:06.430 --> 00:08:11.730 forces as pergamum was but were fairly well insulated 00:08:11.730 --> 00:08:14.629 probably because of their faith and their good 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:21.009 deeds as jesus described them in the letter yet 00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:26.629 there was an unchecked threat from within and 00:08:26.629 --> 00:08:33.629 if left alone it was going to be their ruin Now 00:08:33.629 --> 00:08:35.889 let's start with a little background about the 00:08:35.889 --> 00:08:39.009 little town of Thyatira. It was a small town. 00:08:39.309 --> 00:08:42.450 In fact, it was one of the least important of 00:08:42.450 --> 00:08:45.909 the seven churches that received letters in the 00:08:45.909 --> 00:08:49.950 book of Revelation. Its only real significance 00:08:49.950 --> 00:08:53.110 was that it was a popular trade route, or it 00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:57.009 was on a popular trade route between Pergamum 00:08:57.009 --> 00:09:01.549 and Sardis. Originally set up as a military garrison 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:04.529 that mostly served as an early warning system 00:09:04.529 --> 00:09:09.470 of an invading army heading to Pergamum. But 00:09:09.470 --> 00:09:11.830 over the centuries, it became an economic hub, 00:09:11.990 --> 00:09:15.009 attracting a number of tradespeople and artisans, 00:09:15.070 --> 00:09:17.769 including those who worked with wool, linen, 00:09:18.070 --> 00:09:22.710 dyes, leather, and bronze. And they set up trade 00:09:22.710 --> 00:09:25.250 guilds to help grow and protect their businesses. 00:09:25.909 --> 00:09:29.639 These trade guilds, which... also doubled as 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:33.240 social and religious clubs, became quite powerful 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:37.720 and exerted a lot of influence over the people. 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:41.899 Basically, if you wanted to work in your trade 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:44.919 in Thyatira, you needed to be a member of a guild 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:48.480 and to participate in their activities and their 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:52.120 festivities. Out of all the letters in Revelation 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:57.279 chapters 2 and 3, this one is the longest. but 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:01.120 it's written to the least important city. And 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.120 this tells me something. What mattered most to 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.620 Jesus was not how big or how powerful the city 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:12.179 was, but how faithful his people were. Let's 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:17.100 get into the letter. The main body of the letter 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:19.320 is very similar to other letters to the seven 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:23.700 churches. The first part is a commendation. Basically... 00:10:24.110 --> 00:10:26.570 Jesus complimenting them on what they were doing 00:10:26.570 --> 00:10:32.570 well as a church. The second part is the condemnation, 00:10:32.629 --> 00:10:36.970 and that is Jesus' warning, highlighting what 00:10:36.970 --> 00:10:41.769 they are doing wrong. The third part is the promise. 00:10:42.269 --> 00:10:46.269 Each letter concludes with a promise and a blessing 00:10:46.269 --> 00:10:52.230 or a reward for the one who overcomes. In verses 00:10:52.230 --> 00:10:56.110 18 and 19 we read, These are the words of the 00:10:56.110 --> 00:10:59.429 Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire, 00:10:59.629 --> 00:11:04.049 and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know 00:11:04.049 --> 00:11:09.490 your deeds, your love, your faith, your service 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:12.429 and perseverance, and that you are now doing 00:11:12.429 --> 00:11:18.509 more than you did at first. Jesus starts by letting 00:11:18.509 --> 00:11:23.779 them know who he is. He is the son of God, big 00:11:23.779 --> 00:11:27.500 S, big G, the son of God. And he's telling them 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:31.159 that he's more powerful than the gods, lowercase 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:35.919 g gods, that are worshipped in the temples. He 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.019 has eyes like blazing fire, symbolizing his ability 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:43.299 to see everything. Nothing is hidden from him. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:47.620 Not our struggles, not our secrets, not even 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:51.470 our motives. His feet of bronze show his purity 00:11:51.470 --> 00:11:57.529 and his ability to trample evil underfoot. Our 00:11:57.529 --> 00:12:02.809 all -knowing and all -powerful God takes a look 00:12:02.809 --> 00:12:06.169 at the church of Thyatira and sees a faithful 00:12:06.169 --> 00:12:13.429 church doing good works and even growing. That 00:12:13.429 --> 00:12:17.690 sounds great so far, but there is a problem. 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:22.340 and there always has to be a but. But in this 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:25.879 case, it's a nevertheless. Jesus says, nevertheless, 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:30.480 I have this against you. You tolerate the woman 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.779 Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:38.639 teaching, she misleads my servants into sexual 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:42.039 immorality and the eating of food sacrificed 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:45.960 to idols. So Jesus rebukes the church for tolerating 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:48.620 the false prophet Jezebel, who is leading believers 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.480 into sexual immorality and idol worship. But 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:55.200 the question is, who is Jezebel? And Jesus calls 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:57.480 her Jezebel, but that's likely not her actual 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:00.000 name. One of the commentators in the books that 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:03.379 I read in preparing for this sermon said, no 00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:07.759 one in that time would ever, ever... ever call 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:10.700 one of their children Jezebel. It just was not 00:13:10.700 --> 00:13:13.940 a name that would be used because of the historical 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:18.740 significance. So Jesus calls her Jezebel in this 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:22.299 letter as a symbolic reference to the Old Testament 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:26.779 queen Jezebel who promoted Baal worship and idolatry 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:30.379 in Israel. You can read about her story in the 00:13:30.379 --> 00:13:33.019 Old Testament books of 1 Kings chapter 16 to 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:38.080 21 and 2 Kings chapter 9. These chapters detail 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:42.860 her marriage to King Ahab, her promotion of Baal 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:47.320 worship, her persecution of God's prophets, her 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:51.279 role in Naboth's death, and her own violent end 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:55.120 where she is thrown from a window and trampled 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:59.440 by horses. It's great reading. Just go home today, 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:02.980 look it up. Amazing stuff. And there just happened 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:04.419 to be someone who pulled out their phone and 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:09.899 took a quick pic. This is the actual scene. Jezebel 00:14:09.899 --> 00:14:11.879 thrown from the window. She's on the ground. 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:15.600 She's being dashed by horses. It's a real photo, 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:21.019 guys. Just as the original Jezebel led people 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:24.440 into sin and immorality, the woman in Thyatira, 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:27.220 who claimed to be a prophet but was not, was 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:29.779 teaching the church to engage in similar practices. 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:34.480 The name serves to highlight the wicked and corrupting 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.409 influence of her teachings, and the lifestyle 00:14:37.409 --> 00:14:44.149 within the community. She called herself a prophet, 00:14:44.210 --> 00:14:47.889 a role of authority and leadership within the 00:14:47.889 --> 00:14:51.190 church. There are lots of examples in the New 00:14:51.190 --> 00:14:54.149 Testament of the apostles choosing a member of 00:14:54.149 --> 00:14:58.370 the church, setting them apart to lead, but this 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:01.409 is not the case here. She was self -appointed. 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:05.159 She did have some authority within the church 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:09.039 to teach, but her teaching misled the faithful 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:13.059 into sexual immorality and the eating of food 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:16.799 sacrificed to idols. Scholars don't know for 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.019 certain, but she was likely teaching a version 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:22.480 of antinomianism, which is a belief rejected 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:25.440 in the New Testament that Christians are not 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:29.720 bound by God's moral law, viewing it as a license 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:34.139 to sin. From the Greek words anti, meaning against, 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:39.200 and nomos, meaning law, antinomianism is the 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:43.259 view that the law, particularly that of the Old 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:47.679 Testament Mosaic law, is no longer binding or 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:51.460 relevant for Christians after they have received 00:15:51.460 --> 00:15:56.039 God's grace. They basically have a license to 00:15:56.039 --> 00:16:01.450 sin or a free hall pass. If you get my meaning. 00:16:03.509 --> 00:16:05.929 You can see how this would be appealing to the 00:16:05.929 --> 00:16:08.090 Thyatarian Christians because it would allow 00:16:08.090 --> 00:16:11.629 them to fully participate in trade guild activities 00:16:11.629 --> 00:16:14.409 and festivities. They would be able to keep their 00:16:14.409 --> 00:16:18.590 jobs, feed their families, remain in good standing 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:22.309 with the trade guilds. Jezebel's teaching told 00:16:22.309 --> 00:16:24.470 them that they could worship other gods, they 00:16:24.470 --> 00:16:28.570 could commit sexual immoralities, and eat food 00:16:28.570 --> 00:16:32.899 sacrificed to idols. and not suffer any consequences 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:37.179 because it didn't really matter what Christians 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:42.100 did after they had received God's grace. Later 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:45.559 in the same letter, in verse 24, Jesus refers 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:51.159 to her teaching as Satan's so -called deep secrets. 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:54.960 People were attracted by the idea of receiving 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.700 special knowledge or having the inside scoop. 00:16:59.309 --> 00:17:01.590 on the Christian faith. It was appealing. It 00:17:01.590 --> 00:17:05.589 was exciting. And she was offering a way to alleviate 00:17:05.589 --> 00:17:09.410 the conflict between their faith and their work 00:17:09.410 --> 00:17:13.309 life, something Christians in Thyatira were probably 00:17:13.309 --> 00:17:17.170 already trying to reconcile for themselves. But 00:17:17.170 --> 00:17:21.609 Jesus confirms that it was false, and in fact, 00:17:21.609 --> 00:17:27.170 from the devil himself. Okay, so what was the 00:17:27.170 --> 00:17:31.730 problem? Jesus does make it plain that Jezebel 00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:36.349 was a clear and present danger from within the 00:17:36.349 --> 00:17:40.710 church. She was a problem that she was, she was 00:17:40.710 --> 00:17:45.150 a problem, but she was not the problem that Jesus 00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:49.130 had with the church of Thyatira. Jesus says, 00:17:49.210 --> 00:17:53.609 I have this against you. You tolerate that woman 00:17:53.609 --> 00:17:58.769 Jezebel. So here's the real problem. The church 00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:04.569 did not confront her. They tolerated her. They 00:18:04.569 --> 00:18:10.190 said, we don't want to cause division, or maybe 00:18:10.190 --> 00:18:14.829 it's not our place to judge. Or perhaps they 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:18.130 thought, you know, she's helping us reach more 00:18:18.130 --> 00:18:23.589 people, so maybe we should just let it go. Tolerated 00:18:23.589 --> 00:18:29.410 compromise is the problem. Jesus, who sees all, 00:18:29.549 --> 00:18:32.329 is condemning the church for turning a blind 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:36.230 eye on the negative influence of Jezebel from 00:18:36.230 --> 00:18:42.029 within the church. I have given her time to repent, 00:18:42.269 --> 00:18:46.789 Jesus says in verses 21 to 22, of her immorality, 00:18:46.950 --> 00:18:51.150 but she is unwilling. I will cast her on a bed 00:18:51.150 --> 00:18:54.309 of suffering and I will make those who commit 00:18:54.309 --> 00:18:57.529 adultery with her suffer intensely. unless they 00:18:57.529 --> 00:19:01.730 repent of her ways. This is the consequence. 00:19:02.609 --> 00:19:05.650 Jesus basically says, you had your chance to 00:19:05.650 --> 00:19:09.869 intervene and you did nothing. So now I'm taking 00:19:09.869 --> 00:19:12.990 care of it. He said he gave Jezebel a chance 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:16.809 to repent and she refused. So she is going to 00:19:16.809 --> 00:19:19.970 be punished for her discretions, as well as all 00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:23.150 those who fell for her false teaching, unless 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:27.289 they repent. Then everyone will know that Jesus 00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:31.650 sees into the hearts and minds, hearkening back 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:34.490 to his description of himself in the beginning 00:19:34.490 --> 00:19:37.049 of the letter, and everyone will get what is 00:19:37.049 --> 00:19:42.369 coming to them according to their deeds. Verses 00:19:42.369 --> 00:19:45.170 26 and 28 read, To the one who is victorious 00:19:45.170 --> 00:19:49.009 and does my will to the end, I will give authority 00:19:49.009 --> 00:19:52.809 over the nation. I will also give that one the 00:19:52.809 --> 00:19:58.230 morning star. This is the promise. Not everyone 00:19:58.230 --> 00:20:00.890 in Thyatira was following this false prophet, 00:20:01.029 --> 00:20:04.950 and Jesus offers a reward to those who hold fast. 00:20:05.849 --> 00:20:09.869 Authority over the nations and eternal life with 00:20:09.869 --> 00:20:16.529 him. In verses 24 and 25, Jesus says, To you 00:20:16.529 --> 00:20:21.450 who do not hold to her teaching, I will impose... 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:25.119 I will not, sorry, I will not impose any other 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:29.180 burden on you except to hold on to what you have 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:34.039 until I come. Isn't that good news? That's great 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:37.380 news. Jesus doesn't pile on impossible expectations. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:43.900 To the faithful, he simply says, hold on. He 00:20:43.900 --> 00:20:49.339 says, stay faithful. He says, turn off the phone. 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:58.720 He simply says, do not give up. So what can we 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:01.779 do to hold on? Well, the first thing we can do 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:06.039 is we can read the Bible. I'm hoping your Bible 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:08.500 isn't as dusty as that Bible in that picture. 00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:13.099 It's begging, please read me. When I worked as 00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:15.599 a poll officer for the elections, we received 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.920 detailed training manuals describing exactly 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:21.720 what we needed to do in any given situation. 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.660 Every time someone asked the trainer what to 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:30.240 do, he always said, the first thing you do is 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:34.140 go back to the manual. That's true for us as 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:38.359 Christians. The first thing we need to do is 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:43.119 to go back to the Bible. Romans 15 .4 states, 00:21:43.400 --> 00:21:46.680 for everything that was written in the past was 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:50.240 written to teach us so that through the endurance 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:53.240 taught in the scriptures, and the encouragement 00:21:53.240 --> 00:22:00.039 they provide, we might have hope. What else can 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:04.779 we do to hold on? Well, we can pray. Prayer should 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:07.339 be our go -to response to whatever it is that 00:22:07.339 --> 00:22:11.140 we're dealing with. Don't know the right thing 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:16.500 to do? Pray about it. Don't know what to say 00:22:16.500 --> 00:22:22.190 in any given situation? Say a prayer. Not sure 00:22:22.190 --> 00:22:28.109 if what is happening is good or it's right? Pray 00:22:28.109 --> 00:22:33.589 on it. Philippians 4, 6 and 7 says, do not be 00:22:33.589 --> 00:22:37.049 anxious about anything, but in every situation 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:41.289 by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present 00:22:41.289 --> 00:22:44.549 your request to God and the peace of God, which 00:22:44.549 --> 00:22:48.569 transcends all understanding, will guard. Your 00:22:48.569 --> 00:22:53.130 hearts and mind in Christ Jesus will guard your 00:22:53.130 --> 00:22:57.549 hearts and mind. What else can we do to hold 00:22:57.549 --> 00:23:01.230 on? Well, we can test everything. We can test 00:23:01.230 --> 00:23:07.930 all things. In 1 Thessalonians 5, 20, 22, we're 00:23:07.930 --> 00:23:11.390 told test all things and hold fast to what is 00:23:11.390 --> 00:23:15.809 good. Reject every kind of evil. And this passage 00:23:15.809 --> 00:23:18.339 is crucial. for dealing with false prophets, 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:21.599 which is the situation that the church in Thyatira 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.180 has found itself in, by providing a balanced 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:28.019 approach. Don't reject all prophetic utterances 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:31.440 out of hand, but rather diligently test them 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:35.059 to distinguish truth from falsehood, and then 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:38.839 embrace what is good and reject what is evil. 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:45.819 1 John... was a book that was written to a church 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:49.519 that was dealing with false teachers. And chapter 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:54.000 4, verse 1 reads, Dear friends, do not believe 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:57.859 every spirit, but test the spirit to see whether 00:23:57.859 --> 00:24:00.740 they are from God, because many false prophets 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:07.099 have gone out into the world. In a different 00:24:07.099 --> 00:24:09.519 one of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, 00:24:10.639 --> 00:24:13.019 Jesus commended the church in Ephesus for knowing 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:15.460 how to deal with fake prophets. It's amazing. 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:18.180 As you look over the seven letters of the churches, 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.000 some churches, they're all in the same area of 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.819 Asia Minor, but some churches knew how to do 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:26.799 something right while other churches were having 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:29.420 difficulty. The church in Ephesus knew how to 00:24:29.420 --> 00:24:33.220 deal with fake apostles, but the church in Thyatira 00:24:33.220 --> 00:24:37.109 needed work to do that well. Because they weren't 00:24:37.109 --> 00:24:39.109 doing it. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked 00:24:39.109 --> 00:24:41.390 people, that you have tested those who claim 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:43.849 to be apostles but are not and have found them 00:24:43.849 --> 00:24:50.450 false. So to wrap up, Jesus warns of compromise. 00:24:51.769 --> 00:24:56.650 Even a faithful, growing church doing good deeds 00:24:56.650 --> 00:25:00.670 can become susceptible to compromising influences. 00:25:01.809 --> 00:25:04.509 And we need to watch out for false teachings 00:25:04.509 --> 00:25:07.940 from the inside out. We may be ready to guard 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:12.220 ourselves from the more obvious external pressures 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:15.700 that attack our faith, but we also need to be 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:18.579 aware of and protect ourselves from the less 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:23.480 obvious potential threats from within. We can 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:26.980 guard ourselves by reading the Bible, by praying, 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:30.920 and by testing all things. Jesus wants us to 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:35.079 hold on, to stay faithful, and to not give up. 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.579 The Bible promises that we don't have to worry. 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:42.240 Through prayer, petition, and thanksgiving, we 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:44.900 can present our request to God, and the peace 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:48.500 of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:53.319 Jesus. Now to he who has an ear, let him hear 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:59.650 what the Spirit says to the churches. Amen. Thanks 00:25:59.650 --> 00:26:01.670 for tuning in to this week's episode of Trinity 00:26:01.670 --> 00:26:04.450 Sermons. This sermon was recorded at Trinity 00:26:04.450 --> 00:26:07.369 Church Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on 00:26:07.369 --> 00:26:09.829 September 28th, 2025.