WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.899 Welcome to another 563 Church Podcast, a production 00:00:03.899 --> 00:00:06.879 of Cornerstone Church in Eldridge, Iowa. Today 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:09.339 we explore the message to the Church of Thyatira 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:12.839 in Revelation chapter 2 verses 18 to 28 as Pastor 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:15.419 Daniel Reese unpacks Jesus' words of both warning 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:18.239 and encouragement. Discover what faithfulness 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.300 looks like in the midst of compromise and how 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:22.719 Christ calls His people to stand firm in truth 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:31.449 and holiness. We're on week four of our series 00:00:31.449 --> 00:00:34.310 of going through the seven churches in Revelation. 00:00:35.490 --> 00:00:37.850 We're not getting into all the crazy stuff, if 00:00:37.850 --> 00:00:42.030 you will, just looking at the churches. As you 00:00:42.030 --> 00:00:45.549 turn there, I'll just set this up for you. According 00:00:45.549 --> 00:00:50.189 to Acts chapter 17, God has placed all of us 00:00:50.189 --> 00:00:53.750 here at this time. It's not an accident that 00:00:53.750 --> 00:00:57.950 you are alive and living in this generation at 00:00:57.950 --> 00:01:01.250 this time in this place. The times and the places 00:01:01.250 --> 00:01:05.170 in which we live are set by God. And so this 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:08.030 is our 40 -year block of time, if you will, to 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:11.430 figure out what it looks like to actually follow 00:01:11.430 --> 00:01:15.750 Jesus. So my thought with this series was that 00:01:15.750 --> 00:01:19.069 since we weren't the first ones to try out this 00:01:19.069 --> 00:01:21.609 church thing and figure out what it looks like, 00:01:21.549 --> 00:01:24.769 to be the church, my thought process was maybe 00:01:24.769 --> 00:01:27.150 we should take a look at other churches that 00:01:27.150 --> 00:01:30.689 have done this before us. That way maybe we could 00:01:30.689 --> 00:01:34.209 avoid some of the pitfalls that are there, but 00:01:34.209 --> 00:01:36.489 also maybe see some of the things that they did 00:01:36.489 --> 00:01:40.049 right and follow in those footsteps. And so we're 00:01:40.049 --> 00:01:42.250 in week four of that. And so we started with 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:45.930 Ephesus. Ephesus started really raw, really gritty, 00:01:46.129 --> 00:01:49.430 really honest with themselves. They would confess 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:53.879 their junk. But 60 years later, we find them 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:59.239 pretending and doing church as a hobby. It went 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:03.260 from, I was a part of some really wicked stuff, 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:08.340 prostitution and idol worship and pharmaceuticals 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:10.960 and bestiality and I was talking with demons, 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:14.599 all these things, but Jesus saved me from it 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:17.500 all. It went from that to the church just being 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:21.389 a place where you say, I'm fine, I'm good. I'm 00:02:21.389 --> 00:02:24.069 not gonna give you anything that I'm struggling 00:02:24.069 --> 00:02:27.229 with. I'm gonna make sure that my exterior life 00:02:27.229 --> 00:02:30.370 looks perfect so that the people around me don't 00:02:30.370 --> 00:02:36.129 view me any less. There is the need to not pretend, 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:38.770 and there is the need that we need Jesus to help 00:02:38.770 --> 00:02:42.449 us with that. If we start to pretend, then we 00:02:42.449 --> 00:02:46.389 get off of the narrow path, and that is so destructive 00:02:46.389 --> 00:02:49.860 to our souls. Then we looked at the church in 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:53.379 Smyrna where Jesus begins to redefine wealth. 00:02:53.819 --> 00:02:57.219 They were this really poor place, but Jesus said 00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:00.400 that they had soul wealth. They did not give 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:03.240 into the pressure of the culture and they remained 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.400 faithful to the Lord in spite of many of them 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.229 being killed. Many of them having their material 00:03:09.229 --> 00:03:11.509 possessions ripped away from them, many of them 00:03:11.509 --> 00:03:14.710 being thrown into prison. In spite of all of 00:03:14.710 --> 00:03:17.389 those things going on externally around them, 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:21.389 Jesus still calls them rich. He reminded them 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:24.729 that if they keep their eyes focused on the goal, 00:03:25.189 --> 00:03:28.789 that they would be victorious. Then last week 00:03:28.789 --> 00:03:32.389 we looked at the church in Pergamum, and Pergamum 00:03:32.389 --> 00:03:35.129 started off really strong. They looked really, 00:03:35.129 --> 00:03:37.710 really good, but it ends in this train wreck 00:03:37.710 --> 00:03:42.490 of a discussion. It was just horrible. They were 00:03:42.490 --> 00:03:46.689 unwilling to separate themselves from the rest 00:03:46.689 --> 00:03:49.069 of the culture, and what they did was they just 00:03:49.069 --> 00:03:52.810 added Jesus' name to what they were doing. And 00:03:52.810 --> 00:03:55.830 we learned that we need to be aware of the heart. 00:03:56.219 --> 00:03:59.800 We need to take the risk of being known. We need 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:03.080 to not be so self -absorbed that we miss everything 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.139 else going on around us. And then this week, 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.479 we're going to look at the church in Thyatira 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.400 in Revelation chapter two. As I read that text, 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:12.759 if you're willing and able, we'd love for you 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.460 to stand as we honor the Lord's word together. 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:20.660 I'm gonna start in verse 18, and we'll go through 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:26.279 28. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:30.120 write, the words of the son of God, who has eyes 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:32.579 like a flame of fire and whose feet are like 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:35.939 burnished bronze. I know your works, your love 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:38.379 and faith and service and patient endurance, 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:41.259 and that your latter works exceed the first. 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.639 But I have this against you. that you tolerate 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.680 that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.720 and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.660 sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:57.699 to idols. I gave her time to repent but she refuses 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:01.939 to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold I 00:05:01.939 --> 00:05:05.220 will throw her onto a sick bed and those who 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:07.879 commit adultery with her I will throw into the 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:10.699 great tribulation unless they repent of her works 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:13.410 and I will strike her children dead. And all 00:05:13.410 --> 00:05:16.129 the churches will know that I am He who searches 00:05:16.129 --> 00:05:19.069 mind and heart. I will give to each of you according 00:05:19.069 --> 00:05:22.110 to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira 00:05:22.110 --> 00:05:25.050 who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:27.889 that some call the deep things of Satan, to you 00:05:27.889 --> 00:05:30.990 I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:35.259 Only hold fast that you have until I come. The 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:37.660 one who conquers and who keeps my works until 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:40.459 the end, to him I will give authority over the 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:43.660 nations, and he will rule them with a rod of 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:46.560 iron. And when earthen pots are broken in pieces, 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:49.660 even as I myself have received authority from 00:05:49.660 --> 00:06:01.379 my Father, Father, I pray right now that you 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:05.279 will give each and every one of us an ear to 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.660 hear what you have to say to our hearts. I pray, 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:11.519 Father, that this text will become clear. I pray 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:13.920 that we will be able to understand it. I pray 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:17.819 that you will help me communicate it well. Father 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:21.319 your spirit needs to move freely in this place 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.480 for us to be changed and so we ask those things 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:35.519 in Jesus name. Amen Now Thyatira was a town that 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:40.579 was founded by Alexander the Great It is now 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:43.939 located in what is now known as Akashar, Turkey 00:06:44.250 --> 00:06:48.170 and it was formed as a city, as a fort, if you 00:06:48.170 --> 00:06:51.129 will, to make sure that there was always a presence 00:06:51.129 --> 00:06:54.110 of the armies in the region. Now the armies of 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:58.129 Alexander the Great worshiped the god Apollo, 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:02.110 and Apollo in that region was also known as the 00:07:02.110 --> 00:07:05.629 son of God. So if you are a Christian in this 00:07:05.629 --> 00:07:09.500 place, In Thyatira, you had to make a choice 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:12.220 because like the other cities that we have discussed, 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:16.139 their culture is built around the guilds. The 00:07:16.139 --> 00:07:18.819 guilds are like essentially a labor union, if 00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:21.879 you will. You lived in a certain type of town 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:25.339 based on what you did, but it was more than just 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:27.899 a labor union. It was a group of people that 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:31.470 you did life with. And these guilds would hold 00:07:31.470 --> 00:07:35.589 festivals often which would include going to 00:07:35.589 --> 00:07:39.329 the temple of Apollo and worshipping him. Now 00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:42.430 if you chose not to go to that festival, if you 00:07:42.430 --> 00:07:45.069 chose not to go to the temple of Apollo and worship 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:48.389 him, you risk the chance of being kicked out 00:07:48.389 --> 00:07:51.509 of the guild. Because we don't want, they didn't 00:07:51.509 --> 00:07:55.089 want to make Apollo mad. If you make Apollo mad, 00:07:55.370 --> 00:07:57.470 there's a good chance that business is going 00:07:57.470 --> 00:08:00.839 to go bad for you. So every Christian essentially 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:04.579 in Thyatira had a choice to make, follow Jesus 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:08.199 or keep your job. Those were your options. Now, 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:11.399 Thyatira is not a bustling city like Ephesus 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:15.420 or Smyrna, but it is a wealthy town because of 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.439 the business in which they had. The goldsmiths 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:21.480 and the silversmiths and the bronsmiths are all 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:24.180 the best of the best. They had the best idols, 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:26.720 if you will. They formed the best sculptures. 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:30.839 The textiles they made were renowned around the 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:35.039 world. In fact, the first recorded convert from 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.100 Europe was Lydia in the book of Acts chapter 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:42.940 16. She was from Thyatira. She is described in 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:46.240 Acts chapter 16 as a seller of purple goods, 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:50.700 which tells us that she lived in the textile 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:54.600 guild within Thyatira. And so because of her 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.960 conversion in Acts chapter 16, she now has to 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.730 make the choice, do I continue? to follow my 00:09:01.730 --> 00:09:04.909 career, do I continue to go into the textile 00:09:04.909 --> 00:09:09.610 business, or do I follow Jesus? That's her reality. 00:09:10.149 --> 00:09:12.730 And Jesus starts off, I know your works, your 00:09:12.730 --> 00:09:15.470 love, your faith, and service, and patient endurance, 00:09:15.789 --> 00:09:18.610 and that your latter works exceed the first. 00:09:19.009 --> 00:09:21.889 Now if we stop right there, that sounds like 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:24.389 a place that we want to be a part of. That sounds 00:09:24.389 --> 00:09:26.429 like a place we want to bring our children to. 00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:30.899 This is a church that we want to join. Christ 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:33.500 has just said this, I know that you are full 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:37.159 of love. I know you have persevered. I know you 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:40.360 have great faith. This is the only church that 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:44.279 we know of that is actually growing. And I'm 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:46.799 not talking about numerically, but rather in 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:49.960 depth because Jesus just said that what you are 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:52.960 doing now is greater than what you were doing 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:55.870 at the beginning. Right. That's different than 00:09:55.870 --> 00:09:58.789 Ephesus. That's different than Pergamum. They 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:02.850 started off strong but ended badly. Thyatira 00:10:02.850 --> 00:10:06.110 here is they've grown in how they are doing things. 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:09.070 It sounds like it's a hopping place to be. But 00:10:09.070 --> 00:10:11.590 then we get to verse 20. But I have this against 00:10:11.590 --> 00:10:15.220 you. That you tolerate that woman Jezebel who 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:18.019 calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:21.279 seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.100 and to eat food sacrificed to idols So so real 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:28.279 quick. Let's talk about Jezebel Now it is highly 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:32.720 unlikely that this woman's name is Jezebel because 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.279 Jezebel in the Old Testament It was this queen 00:10:36.779 --> 00:10:41.360 of Ahab, this wife of Ahab who was basically 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:46.179 a mass murderer. Jezebel was the wife of the 00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:50.360 king of Israel who basically convinced the Israelites 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:56.000 to worship Baal alongside worshipping God. And 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.019 they were worshipping Baal to the extent that 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:01.840 they would literally sacrifice their children 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:07.309 as an act of worship to Baal. Now, God's judgment 00:11:07.309 --> 00:11:10.990 on the nation of Israel, because of Ahab and 00:11:10.990 --> 00:11:14.649 Jezebel, this was the final straw before He gives 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:17.110 them over to their enemies and they end up in 00:11:17.110 --> 00:11:20.309 captivity. So just for the record, in both the 00:11:20.309 --> 00:11:23.289 Old Testament and the New Testament, God doesn't 00:11:23.289 --> 00:11:27.730 take lightly the worship of anything but Him. 00:11:28.870 --> 00:11:31.769 And so typically, Now I don't know everybody's 00:11:31.769 --> 00:11:34.269 name here, but typically you don't name your 00:11:34.269 --> 00:11:39.009 children after those types of people right It 00:11:39.009 --> 00:11:41.970 would be like today naming your kid Hitler There's 00:11:41.970 --> 00:11:43.730 just like a stigma about it. You don't really 00:11:43.730 --> 00:11:46.970 want your kid carrying around that way So so 00:11:46.970 --> 00:11:49.110 we tend to stay away when we name our children 00:11:49.110 --> 00:11:51.909 we tend to stay away from the mass murderer type 00:11:51.909 --> 00:11:55.759 names That's just my advice to you But even sometimes 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:59.019 today you will hear the name Jezebel in some 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:01.559 songs, and it's usually a guy singing about some 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:03.340 girl that did him dirty or some girl that broke 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:06.879 his heart, and he calls her Jezebel. And then 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.159 verse 21 continues to talk about her, I gave 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:11.980 her time to repent, but she refuses to repent 00:12:11.980 --> 00:12:15.340 of her sexual immorality. And so here's what 00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:18.500 you got. You got this church. You got this church 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:23.440 where things are going really well. things are 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:26.220 looking really good. And in the middle of this 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:29.559 church, you have this woman who is teaching things 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:33.179 that are false and are leading people astray. 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:37.100 And if you look at the accusation of Christ towards 00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:40.799 this church, it's not towards the woman. The 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.559 accusation is not towards Jezebel, but towards 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:47.940 the church that tolerates her and will do nothing 00:12:47.940 --> 00:12:52.059 about her in their midst. Listen, I don't know 00:12:52.059 --> 00:12:54.679 what she's teaching. The scripture doesn't tell 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:57.860 us. I don't know how she is leading them astray, 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.320 but for some reason they don't want to call her 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:03.879 out on it. For some reason they don't want to 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:06.899 deal with it. I think they keep thinking that 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:09.100 somebody else will handle that. Like maybe they 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:11.240 recognize it's wrong, but that's somebody else's 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:12.720 responsibility. We're not going to deal with 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.519 it. I mean, we have all been there from time 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.600 to time. Maybe she's just this really scary woman. 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:21.379 like we all know somebody like that right nobody 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:24.159 in this room of course but maybe she's just really 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:26.399 scary woman maybe if you say something to her 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:28.340 in the wrong tone of voice or with the wrong 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:29.940 look she will just turn on you and rip you to 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:31.960 shreds i don't know what the situation is here 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:35.840 with jezebel maybe the church has a feel to it 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:39.799 to what several family reunions feel like like 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:42.399 like when you would get together even though 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:44.740 you're all the same flesh and blood even though 00:13:44.740 --> 00:13:47.710 your family you really don't know anyone Like 00:13:47.710 --> 00:13:49.529 we have the same last name, but I really don't 00:13:49.529 --> 00:13:52.049 know who you are. You know what I'm talking about 00:13:52.049 --> 00:13:54.210 when we're talking about those types of reunions? 00:13:55.370 --> 00:13:57.450 Those kind you dread that you're being dragged 00:13:57.450 --> 00:14:01.070 to because we're family, we gotta go. You have 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:03.669 conversations that are small talk, but you never, 00:14:03.889 --> 00:14:05.889 they never really go anywhere because you don't 00:14:05.889 --> 00:14:09.029 have a relationship with them. You are family, 00:14:09.350 --> 00:14:12.210 but because of distance and lack of real relationship. 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.919 you run out of things to talk about. So you just 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.919 start looking for things to do with them. So 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:23.759 maybe even though they are a church that is doing 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:26.980 really well, maybe their relationships are just 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:30.860 really shallow. And so maybe that's why they 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:34.500 won't confront her. I don't know why they won't 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:36.360 confront her and I don't know why they continue 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.059 to let this go. And so Jesus says, my problem 00:14:39.059 --> 00:14:42.379 is not that Jezebel is among you. My problem 00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:45.600 is not that Jezebel is coming to church. My problem 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:49.259 is that you won't do anything about it. And if 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:51.940 you keep reading through Revelation, Jesus is 00:14:51.940 --> 00:14:54.659 going to say that you're going to be destroyed 00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:57.899 from the inside. This is going to rot you away. 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:01.389 This is going to kill you internally. This should 00:15:01.389 --> 00:15:04.149 never have gotten this far where Jesus is having 00:15:04.149 --> 00:15:07.049 to confront it. Jezebel should not have had the 00:15:07.049 --> 00:15:10.110 opportunity in the church to become what she 00:15:10.110 --> 00:15:13.029 did. And so Jesus, who lived in the absolute 00:15:13.029 --> 00:15:16.730 best way possible, is gonna say, listen, there's 00:15:16.730 --> 00:15:20.230 a way to handle this situation where Jezebel 00:15:20.230 --> 00:15:23.269 doesn't become Jezebel. There's a way to handle 00:15:23.269 --> 00:15:26.590 this situation that is full of love. There's 00:15:26.590 --> 00:15:29.789 a way to handle this situation so that people 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:34.559 being wooed away into the darkness and so Jesus 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:37.179 tells us how to handle situations like this and 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:40.679 it's in Matthew 18 now Matthew 18 is a very familiar 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:45.240 passage to us recently and he tells us how to 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:49.340 answer and how to handle this situation and how 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:50.840 it should have been handled in the past so it 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:52.799 didn't get to where it was and so in Matthew 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:58.279 18 verse 15 Jesus says if your brother sins against 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:03.519 you Now this few words right here is thick with 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.500 meaning. Jesus is now making an appeal to us 00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:13.580 as a family. If your brother sins, if your sister 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:17.419 sins, if somebody in your family is in trouble, 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:21.840 if it looks like they are drowning, if someone 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.179 that is a part of your body, part of the same 00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:28.159 beautiful family, that's who he's referring to. 00:16:29.210 --> 00:16:32.090 Now listen if you are a part of the community 00:16:32.090 --> 00:16:36.210 of Christ you have no enemy that wears flesh 00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:40.570 And I know that isn't our culture right now and 00:16:40.570 --> 00:16:43.049 so I just really want to be clear because our 00:16:43.049 --> 00:16:46.830 culture That we live in right now is that if 00:16:46.830 --> 00:16:50.450 you disagree with me if you view things different 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:54.629 than me Then you are the enemy There seems to 00:16:54.629 --> 00:16:57.389 only be two sides to every situation. You're 00:16:57.389 --> 00:17:01.240 either with me or against me We have to remember 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:08.099 that our enemy does not have flesh. I mean, even 00:17:08.099 --> 00:17:10.839 the Democrats and Republicans, whatever side 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:15.160 you fall on, they are not your enemy. The abortion 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:20.519 clinics are not your enemy. We have no enemy 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:25.079 that wears flesh and bone. Our battle... according 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:27.039 to the scripture is not against flesh and blood, 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:30.380 but against the spirit and principalities of 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:34.059 the evil one. And our weapon isn't knowledge, 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.700 our weapon isn't debate, but it's prayer and 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:41.660 fasting and seeking after the Lord. We forget 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:45.140 that so many times, instead of somebody that 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:47.339 views things differently, instead of attacking 00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:49.160 them, we should be falling to our knees and praying 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:54.250 for them. Our enemy is not wearing flesh. When 00:17:54.250 --> 00:17:57.609 our kids were young, and we just moved to La 00:17:57.609 --> 00:17:59.670 Mesa, we had two kids at the time, and we just 00:17:59.670 --> 00:18:02.490 moved to La Mesa, and we had to spend a few months 00:18:02.490 --> 00:18:08.950 living with our in -laws. Yeah? If they ever 00:18:08.950 --> 00:18:11.890 want, it was the best time of my life. If they 00:18:11.890 --> 00:18:14.089 ever see this. But we had to live with my in 00:18:14.089 --> 00:18:16.170 -laws for about four months while we were waiting 00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:18.809 to close on our house, and my in -laws live on 00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:24.599 a lot of acreage, so their house is just, in 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:26.859 the middle of nowhere. And so when our kids were 00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:28.819 young and we were living with them, our kids 00:18:28.819 --> 00:18:31.380 could go out the front door and we wouldn't really 00:18:31.380 --> 00:18:32.759 worry about them because they're off the road 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:35.500 far enough. We're not worried about them getting 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:37.019 hit by a car. And so they just had this freedom 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:41.130 to run wherever they wanted to go. Well, when 00:18:41.130 --> 00:18:43.309 we moved into our house and we moved into an 00:18:43.309 --> 00:18:45.549 actual neighborhood within the first few days 00:18:45.549 --> 00:18:48.210 we were in our new house, Attlee and Asher, they 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:49.990 walk out the front door because that's what they're 00:18:49.990 --> 00:18:52.549 used to and they just walk across the street 00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:56.250 and are playing across the street. And so Cena 00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:58.630 yells at me and says, hey, the kids are across 00:18:58.630 --> 00:19:01.430 the street. The kids are across the street. Now, 00:19:01.630 --> 00:19:04.180 if I said, I said, they'll be okay. They'll be 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:07.039 fine. Let's finish watching our show. Let's finish 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.059 doing what we're doing. We'll go get them later. 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:11.259 If I said that, if that was my response, that 00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:14.380 wouldn't be love at all, right? Would it? No. 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.180 Instead, we jumped up. We made sure they were 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:21.480 safe. We firmly made sure they both knew it was 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:24.559 not okay to be out there. It was not okay to 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.970 cross the street without us. We started going 00:19:26.970 --> 00:19:29.589 over all the ramifications of what could happen. 00:19:29.890 --> 00:19:32.109 We went over all the consequences as if we caught 00:19:32.109 --> 00:19:33.890 them again. This is what was going to happen. 00:19:35.130 --> 00:19:37.589 I walked them down the street. I held their hands 00:19:37.589 --> 00:19:39.869 and I walked them down the street a little bit 00:19:39.869 --> 00:19:42.390 around the corner where I had seen some roadkill 00:19:42.390 --> 00:19:44.609 earlier in the day. And I walked them right up 00:19:44.609 --> 00:19:47.450 to it. I said, listen, if you keep playing in 00:19:47.450 --> 00:19:52.470 the street, this is going to be you. And it wasn't 00:19:52.470 --> 00:20:01.730 a fun conversation for me or for them, but it 00:20:01.730 --> 00:20:06.569 was needed because I love them. And listen, I've 00:20:06.569 --> 00:20:08.670 been on the other side of those kinds of conversations 00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:12.250 where someone pulls me aside and says, listen, 00:20:12.390 --> 00:20:15.890 if you don't get your acts together, if you don't 00:20:15.890 --> 00:20:18.250 change some things in your life, you're in danger. 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:22.599 And they've had those conversations with me because 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:28.019 they love me. And so if your brother sins. Now 00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:30.039 I want to be careful here because sometimes in 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:34.019 churches you have a group of enforcers who really 00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:36.079 like to do church discipline like those of you 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:40.289 who like to go deer hunting. And so you go set 00:20:40.289 --> 00:20:43.150 up your blind and you and you just kind of wait 00:20:43.150 --> 00:20:45.329 and you watch for things to happen Maybe you 00:20:45.329 --> 00:20:47.470 bait them a little bit with your corn, right? 00:20:47.549 --> 00:20:49.789 Maybe you have a feeder I don't know how it works 00:20:49.789 --> 00:20:52.210 here But maybe you said and you and you bait 00:20:52.210 --> 00:20:56.170 them and then when things start to happen When 00:20:56.170 --> 00:20:58.609 those things come into your view then boom boom 00:20:58.609 --> 00:21:03.119 boom you take them out And then we like to mount 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:05.220 them, and then we like to hang them on our walls, 00:21:05.259 --> 00:21:08.079 and we like to show what our trophies are. And 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:10.079 you'd be like, you see that one? You see that 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.880 one right there? That one liked to watch R -rated 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.059 movies that weren't about Jesus. Can you believe 00:21:15.059 --> 00:21:20.059 that? Or that one over there? They just bought 00:21:20.059 --> 00:21:22.940 the new Bad Bunny album, and there's some explicit 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:24.940 language in those things. Can you believe they 00:21:24.940 --> 00:21:27.119 bought that? Can you believe they listened to 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:30.059 that? Or this one over here, I just didn't like 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:31.359 him. He looked at me funny and I just don't like 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.240 him anymore. Historically, that's how church 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:38.839 discipline plays itself out. We are constantly 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:41.660 on the lookout for somebody to mess up so that 00:21:41.660 --> 00:21:45.119 we can call them on it. Or at least we can talk 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.779 all the way about them all the time so that somebody 00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:50.880 else will call them on it. And Jesus is going 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:53.700 to say, if you haven't already extended love, 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:57.779 if they are not your brother, If you have not 00:21:57.779 --> 00:22:00.359 already extended love, if you have not extended 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.759 friendship and grace, then keep your discipline 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:08.579 to yourself. If you have not already shown them 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:11.859 that you love them, shown them that you're going 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:15.920 to be there for them, that you care for them, 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.410 then keep your discipline to yourself. So let's 00:22:20.410 --> 00:22:21.809 see how we're supposed to do it and said verse 00:22:21.809 --> 00:22:24.630 15 again if your brother sins against you go 00:22:24.630 --> 00:22:28.089 and tell him his fault Between you and him alone 00:22:28.089 --> 00:22:32.170 if he listens to you you have gained your brother 00:22:32.170 --> 00:22:34.789 Now, let me kind of show you how this plays out 00:22:34.789 --> 00:22:37.609 I've had some great friends in the places in 00:22:37.609 --> 00:22:41.069 which I've lived friends that know the kind of 00:22:41.069 --> 00:22:43.470 man I want to be the kind of husband I want to 00:22:43.470 --> 00:22:46.710 be the kind of father that I want to be and because 00:22:46.710 --> 00:22:49.759 they know that about me Because they know those 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:53.700 things about me, and because they love me, they 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:55.880 take me out to breakfast sometimes and be like, 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:59.640 hey, what's going on? Something's off. You're 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:01.700 making decisions, or you're saying things, or 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:03.980 you're living in such a way that is not where 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:07.009 you want to be. Something's gotta change. And 00:23:07.009 --> 00:23:10.289 because they do that, they show me that they 00:23:10.289 --> 00:23:13.509 love me. And in that moment, when they call me 00:23:13.509 --> 00:23:16.329 out on how I'm living my life or decisions I'm 00:23:16.329 --> 00:23:18.829 making, I realize that there is someone who cares 00:23:18.829 --> 00:23:21.970 about me. There is someone who loves me because 00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:25.029 he sees that I'm off a little bit and he calls 00:23:25.029 --> 00:23:28.869 me out on it. Now, if it were just some random 00:23:28.869 --> 00:23:33.009 guy that I don't have a relationship with, that 00:23:33.009 --> 00:23:36.079 would be a different story, wouldn't it? Like 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:38.319 like we don't like those times those things always 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:42.059 seem to go badly Like I've had those conversations 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:44.200 of people calling me out on what they view is 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:47.200 my sin And I'm like do I even know who you are? 00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:50.259 Have we ever had a conversation besides this 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:55.819 one right now? but instead If it is someone who 00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:58.299 does life with you if it is somebody who knows 00:23:58.299 --> 00:24:02.099 your heart then in that moment You know that 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:05.900 you are loved Now, my kids are pretty well behaved 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:10.380 most of the time. Not all the time. I mean, when 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:12.799 they were younger, two, three, four years old, 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.680 they had their moments where they liked to test 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:16.400 the boundaries. But for the most part, I've had 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:21.299 some really great kids. They liked to see how 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:23.380 far they could push the rules before they got 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:25.259 in trouble. You know those kids? Like those are 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:27.519 my kids, they like to push the limits as much 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.619 as they could just to see what they're going 00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:32.240 to be in trouble. And there have been days where 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:35.039 I came home from work and Sina wanted nothing 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:38.220 else to do except leave me with those children, 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:42.099 her children, and leave the house for a little 00:24:42.099 --> 00:24:44.799 bit, right? Like there have been those moments 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.019 where she goes, I'm out of this house, they're 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:51.940 yours now, right? And the thing is, those days 00:24:51.940 --> 00:24:55.140 that that happened were typically days that Sina 00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:58.039 wasn't feeling her best. Or they came in the 00:24:58.039 --> 00:25:00.299 middle of a week where I wasn't as home as often 00:25:00.299 --> 00:25:04.579 because work was a busy week, or I just came 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.720 home exhausted. Those seem to be the days that 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:10.779 they like to test the waters the most. And I 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:13.519 think it's because they wanted to still know 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:16.859 that they are loved. They wanted to still know 00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:20.099 that we care for them. They want to know that 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:24.420 in the middle of a crazy, busy week, or sick 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:26.440 week, they wanted to know internally at three, 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:28.519 four, five years old, does daddy and mommy still 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:32.559 love me? Do they still care for me? Is their 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:35.299 world still revolving around me? And I think 00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:37.480 adults are the same way. I mean, how many people 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:40.220 have we met that stopped going to church for 00:25:40.220 --> 00:25:42.920 a certain amount of time just to see if somebody 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:45.819 notices that they haven't been there? They just 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:47.960 want to get that phone call that says, hey, notice 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:52.799 you haven't been there. Everything okay. So listen, 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:55.440 when that happens to me, if it's my friends, 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:59.779 if it's my brother, and I listen because I am 00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:03.420 loved, it says that you gain a brother. I know 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:06.920 they care for me, so I listen. But what if I 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:10.480 had the other reaction? What if they come to 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:12.779 me and I respond with, yes, I know you love me. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:15.579 Yes, I know you care for me. Yes, you're probably 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:18.019 right, but I'm still going to live my life the 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:19.920 way I want to, because this way seems to be more 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:23.200 fun right now. I'm going to ignore what you told 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:26.140 me. I'm going to do my life this way. Let's see 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:28.920 what he says in verse 16. He says, but if he 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.200 does not listen, take one or two others along 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:33.680 with you, that every charge may be established 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:35.880 by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:38.900 he refuses to listen, listen to them, tell it 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:41.619 to the church. And if he refuses to listen even 00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:45.160 to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:49.400 and tax collector. Now I want to stop right there 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:54.220 because I want to explain this text. One of the 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:59.319 things I'm most passionate about is taking texts 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:02.500 that have been misunderstood and correcting them. 00:27:02.890 --> 00:27:05.490 Because in church culture a lot of times texts 00:27:05.490 --> 00:27:08.289 get taken out of context or misunderstood and 00:27:08.289 --> 00:27:12.289 they grow legs of their own this text Historically 00:27:12.289 --> 00:27:16.490 has been used many times to expel the immoral 00:27:16.490 --> 00:27:19.730 brother because of his sin Just kick him out 00:27:19.730 --> 00:27:24.809 of church So so what did the text just say he 00:27:24.809 --> 00:27:28.089 says if your brother does not listen to the church 00:27:28.089 --> 00:27:33.299 Then treat him as if he's a Gentile tax collector. 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:38.920 So we have to look at how Jesus treated the Gentiles 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:42.180 and the tax collectors. Because at this time, 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:44.579 the Gentiles and the tax collectors, they're 00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:47.339 not a part of the promise. They are on the outside. 00:27:47.660 --> 00:27:51.140 They are the unbelievers. How should unbelievers 00:27:51.140 --> 00:27:57.460 be treated according to Jesus? By going to their 00:27:57.460 --> 00:28:01.299 house and having dinner? by sitting with them 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:05.880 at the well, by doing life with them, by loving 00:28:05.880 --> 00:28:10.440 them well. Jesus doesn't treat them by humiliating 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.339 them. He doesn't try to ruin their reputation. 00:28:13.859 --> 00:28:19.500 It's to show love, then correct. But instead 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:23.839 we use Matthew 18 to just beat people into submission 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:27.529 historically. This is not how Jesus works. He 00:28:27.529 --> 00:28:31.049 calls us to love each other well enough so that 00:28:31.049 --> 00:28:34.650 we're able to see when things get off. He said 00:28:34.650 --> 00:28:38.069 that during his letter that it's not our responsibility 00:28:38.069 --> 00:28:40.250 to bring them to justice. He's going to handle 00:28:40.250 --> 00:28:43.170 that. It's not our responsibility to bring them 00:28:43.170 --> 00:28:47.069 to justice. He will handle that. It's our responsibility 00:28:47.069 --> 00:28:51.390 to not let them influence us to the point where 00:28:51.390 --> 00:28:55.049 we fail to worship God. That's our responsibility. 00:28:55.309 --> 00:28:57.990 We shouldn't let Jezebel just continue to set 00:28:57.990 --> 00:29:02.369 up shop here. Now this is the underlying theme 00:29:02.369 --> 00:29:06.490 amongst the churches in Revelation. You see it 00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:09.289 at Ephesus. We saw it in Smyrna. We saw it in 00:29:09.289 --> 00:29:11.329 Pergamon. Now we're seeing it here in Thyatira. 00:29:11.630 --> 00:29:14.589 There is this theme built into these churches 00:29:14.589 --> 00:29:18.230 of community and right relationships and doing 00:29:18.230 --> 00:29:23.119 life together. Because if this type of community 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:27.359 was around in Thyatira, Shelley, or whatever 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:29.599 her name was before they started calling her 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:34.099 Jezebel, wouldn't have happened. Someone would 00:29:34.099 --> 00:29:36.319 have said, would have come to her, would have 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:38.180 taken her out to lunch, taken her out to breakfast 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:41.039 and said, listen, listen, I see these gifts in 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:45.779 you. I see you can contribute so much here. You 00:29:45.779 --> 00:29:48.819 have this amazing quality about you, but you're 00:29:48.819 --> 00:29:53.019 off. You're leading people astray. You're causing 00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:57.460 issues. You're not quite there yet. Jezebel had 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:01.039 nobody to do life with in a church that was doing 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:05.000 well. That's what we have to avoid. That's what 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.460 we have to protect ourselves from. It's not letting 00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:13.279 the Jezebels of the culture of the church be 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.740 able to influence us that it robs us of our worship 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:24.990 of God. And so I don't know what, where you are 00:30:24.990 --> 00:30:31.690 on this. I don't know if this text makes you 00:30:31.690 --> 00:30:33.390 feel uncomfortable. Cause you're like, I can't 00:30:33.390 --> 00:30:35.309 call people out on their sin. Cause I'm a sinner. 00:30:37.329 --> 00:30:39.509 It just, it just tells me we need to be in better 00:30:39.509 --> 00:30:43.369 community together. Or we understand that we 00:30:43.369 --> 00:30:47.450 need to hold each other accountable. We need 00:30:47.450 --> 00:30:51.660 to behave in such a way like acts. We learn about 00:30:51.660 --> 00:30:53.380 Acts in the Church of Ephesus where they just 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:55.940 brought all their grittiness, all their dirtiness, 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:57.980 all their sinful things. They say, look what 00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:00.900 God has saved me from. And they stop pretending. 00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:05.220 This is the worst place in the world to pretend. 00:31:07.019 --> 00:31:09.880 This is the worst place to pretend that you have 00:31:09.880 --> 00:31:15.279 everything figured out. This is a hospital for 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:21.490 sinners, where God comes and heals us. And so 00:31:21.490 --> 00:31:23.009 I don't know how you walked in here this morning. 00:31:24.650 --> 00:31:27.109 But if you are walking in sin and you are not 00:31:27.109 --> 00:31:29.670 doing life in such a way where somebody can hold 00:31:29.670 --> 00:31:32.150 you accountable to that, can get you, steer you 00:31:32.150 --> 00:31:35.170 back to the narrow road, then you're not doing 00:31:35.170 --> 00:31:40.390 life well. We don't want a bunch of just shallow 00:31:40.390 --> 00:31:43.789 relationships in this place. We want to be a 00:31:43.789 --> 00:31:47.750 place where we are known and known well. Not 00:31:47.750 --> 00:31:54.079 by everybody, but by a select few. Because Christ 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:57.940 did not come and die and come back to life for 00:31:57.940 --> 00:32:00.480 us to pretend that everything's okay. He came 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:03.319 so that we would have freedom in him. He came 00:32:03.319 --> 00:32:06.279 so that our righteousness would not be ours, 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:10.759 but it would be because of him. So that's what 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:14.160 we're gonna remember this morning. That's what 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:15.579 we're gonna do this morning. So I'm gonna invite 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:18.220 the deacons and elders to come forward as we 00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:20.970 get ready to take communion. Thank you for listening 00:32:20.970 --> 00:32:24.430 today to 563 Church, a production of Cornerstone 00:32:24.430 --> 00:32:26.990 Church, Eldridge, Iowa. For more information 00:32:26.990 --> 00:32:29.029 about our church or just getting right with God, 00:32:29.630 --> 00:32:33.109 please visit us at 563church .com. You can also 00:32:33.109 --> 00:32:35.849 find us on Facebook and Instagram. Have a great 00:32:35.849 --> 00:32:36.150 week.