WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.560 dismissed for children's church teenagers. You 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:06.599 guys are dismissed also. You guys will be back 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.039 with Kennan. If you are not in one of those groups, 00:00:10.140 --> 00:00:13.179 let me invite you to open up in your Bibles to 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:17.539 Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2 verse 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:20.399 18 is where we're going to be starting today. 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:22.980 Let me go ahead and just open us up with a word 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:25.579 of prayer. Father God, we come before you today 00:00:25.579 --> 00:00:30.239 so thankful, God. So thankful for who you are, 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.179 God. So thankful for the chance we have to gather 00:00:32.179 --> 00:00:36.560 together, God. Father, I just ask, God, that 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:39.140 you would just be glorified and magnified today, 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:44.759 God. God, would you open our hearts and our minds 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:49.240 to hear from you today, God. God, I pray for 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:52.600 everyone who's not with us today, God. Whether 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:55.000 they're on vacation, God, give them safety, God. 00:00:55.579 --> 00:00:57.200 If they're in the hospital right now, God, please 00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:58.859 give them quick healing, God. And we specifically 00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:01.799 lift up Jeff to you, God. God, we just ask that 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:04.019 you would help his surgery to be scheduled soon, 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:07.159 God. And for the doctors and surgeons just to 00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:09.159 have wisdom in treating him right now, Father. 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:14.180 God, above all else, we are just so thankful 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:20.840 for the fact that you are our great God. Lord, 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:22.680 please give me your words to speak this morning 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:24.579 and nothing else, God. We ask all this in your 00:01:24.579 --> 00:01:29.400 name. Well, before we jump into Revelation chapter 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:31.680 2, there are three things all centered on the 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:35.239 date of August 17th that I want to bring to your 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:38.760 attention. First, on August 17th, we will be 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:41.299 voting on new deacons. That is Jeff Fryer, who 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:43.799 is currently not with us. He is in the hospital 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:45.560 getting his gallbladder removed, so please be 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:49.959 praying for Jeff. Alan Halberstadt is also being 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:51.640 considered. Alan, give everyone a quick wave. 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:56.120 Hey, there we go. And then finally, Christopher 00:01:56.120 --> 00:01:58.819 Walton is also being considered. So August 17th, 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:01.739 we will vote on these men. Secondly, on August 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:04.640 17th, at 3 p .m., we have a couple's bridal shower 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:07.900 for Carl and for Cheyenne. Notice that word. 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:11.680 It is a couple's bridal shower. So guys, that 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.860 means we're going too. Okay, August 17th, 3 p 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:16.659 .m. for Carl and Cheyenne. It should be really 00:02:16.659 --> 00:02:20.219 fun. And finally, this is transitioning us into 00:02:20.219 --> 00:02:22.080 where we'll hear more about stuff next week. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.759 But from August 17th through 23rd as a church, 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:28.680 ourselves and then some other churches, some 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:30.360 other like -minded churches are going to be joining 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:32.479 together in what we're calling the Collegiate 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:34.560 Week of Prayer and praying for the University 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:36.900 of Illinois campus as people move onto campus, 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:38.759 as people come back to campus, as they get ready 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.400 to start their classes. So that is August 17th 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.659 through the 23rd, but let me encourage you even 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:47.180 today. be praying for students, be praying for 00:02:47.180 --> 00:02:48.919 campus. We have a very big announcement that 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:50.379 will start to come to light here in the next 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:52.900 week or two. I know we told Joe a little bit 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:55.280 of that this week, and he was pretty stoked about 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:58.099 it. So keep your eyes and your ears open. Look 00:02:58.099 --> 00:02:59.740 at social media on Wednesday, even if you're 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:02.120 not a big social media person, after at 9 a .m. 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.099 You can find out a little more of our big announcement 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:07.520 coming soon that has to do with campus and what 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.159 we're doing there. But please be praying for 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.889 God to move at the University of Illinois. I 00:03:13.889 --> 00:03:15.229 think that actually ties in really well with 00:03:15.229 --> 00:03:17.689 where we're headed today. You know, this summer 00:03:17.689 --> 00:03:19.770 we've been going through the seven churches in 00:03:19.770 --> 00:03:23.169 Revelation. And about maybe a year, year and 00:03:23.169 --> 00:03:24.969 a half ago, there's kind of this trend on social 00:03:24.969 --> 00:03:26.729 media to ask the question, what would happen 00:03:26.729 --> 00:03:29.629 or what would be in a letter to the church in 00:03:29.629 --> 00:03:33.409 America? Like, what would Paul say? What would 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:36.590 John say? What would Jesus say in a letter to 00:03:36.590 --> 00:03:39.050 the church in America? What would be covered 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:42.500 inside of this letter? You know, there are all 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:43.979 sorts of different theories on what would be 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:46.300 covered, you know, what would be rebuked or not 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:47.979 rebuked, and I kind of hated that trend because 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:49.819 it started to turn it into kind of a punchline, 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:51.719 this idea of getting a letter that was almost 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:53.840 like a fun thing, right? Like, it would be so 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:55.840 fun because Paul would come and he would call 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:59.419 out all of our sin, it would be great. I think 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:02.240 people kind of miss the fact that not every church 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:03.659 listens to those letters, and that's when they 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:06.199 get, you know, 2 Corinthians, which is actually 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:07.879 not just the second letter written to the Corinthians, 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:09.520 they actually get four letters written to them. 00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:12.080 And I think people kind of started to miss that. 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:14.319 But one of the things I love about these seven 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:16.720 letters to the churches in Revelation is that 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:20.160 each letter has an original audience, an original 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:23.160 destination, but it is also a letter to the church 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:26.300 globally, and it is a letter that directly impacts 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:28.779 us on a daily basis. Each one of these letters, 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:30.819 whether it's the letter to Pergamum or the letter 00:04:30.819 --> 00:04:33.819 to Smyrna or to Ephesus, reminds us and challenges 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:36.860 our faith. And this morning, as we get ready 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:39.319 to look at this letter to the church in Thyatira, 00:04:39.850 --> 00:04:43.889 we are faced with a really simple question. What 00:04:43.889 --> 00:04:47.329 is our priority, and what do our works say about 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:50.250 that? Kind of to stick with the theme from VBS, 00:04:50.310 --> 00:04:52.790 this idea of magnified. We can say it like this, 00:04:52.829 --> 00:04:56.389 Jesus is magnifying the importance of our works, 00:04:56.430 --> 00:05:00.490 our actual actions of response inside of this 00:05:00.490 --> 00:05:03.350 letter. That's really the summary of the letter 00:05:03.350 --> 00:05:06.370 to the church in Thyatira. What is our priority? 00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:10.000 What? What should we do with this? And so let 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.120 me ask you if you're able to stand with me as 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:14.660 I read to us from the Word of God, the letter 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:18.720 to the church in Thyatira. We'll have this up 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.259 on the screen so you can follow along. It says, 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:23.459 Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira, 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:26.660 Thus says the Son of God. That is the only time 00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:28.660 in the book of Revelation that he thus says the 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:31.279 Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a fiery 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.579 flame and whose feet are like fine bronze. I 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:36.620 know your work, your love, your faithfulness, 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.129 service, and endurance. I know that your last 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:41.910 works are greater than the first, but I have 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:46.709 this against you. You tolerate the woman Jezebel 00:05:46.709 --> 00:05:48.610 who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and 00:05:48.610 --> 00:05:51.149 deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality 00:05:51.149 --> 00:05:53.949 and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. I gave her 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:56.170 time to repent, but she does not want to repent 00:05:56.170 --> 00:05:58.769 of her sexual morality. Look, I will throw her 00:05:58.769 --> 00:06:00.649 into a sickbed and those who commit adultery 00:06:00.649 --> 00:06:02.449 with her into great affliction unless they repent 00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:05.110 of her works. I will strike her children, her 00:06:05.110 --> 00:06:08.199 followers, dead. Then all the churches will know 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:11.959 that I am the one, the one who examines minds 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:14.680 and hearts. And I will give to each of you according 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:17.379 to your works. I say to the rest of you in Thyatira 00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:19.480 who do not hold this teaching, who haven't known 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:21.259 the so -called secrets of Satan, as they say, 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:24.699 I'm not putting any other burden on you. Only 00:06:24.699 --> 00:06:27.519 hold on to what you have until I come. The one 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:29.300 who conquers and who keeps my works to the end, 00:06:29.339 --> 00:06:31.600 I will give him authority over the nations, and 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.879 he will rule them with an iron scepter. He will 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:36.879 shatter them like pottery. Just as I have received 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:39.220 this from my Father, I will also give him the 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:42.480 morning star. Let anyone who has ears to hear 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.720 listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:49.600 You may be seated. That is the word of the Lord, 00:06:49.660 --> 00:06:52.899 the church, and Thyatira. And before we walk 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:55.600 through it, let me give you one summarizing statement, 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:58.680 one main point for today. Our lives can either 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:02.300 bring glory to God or glory to sin. It is really 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:04.699 that blunt in this letter to the church in Thyatira. 00:07:04.779 --> 00:07:08.579 Either our life is bringing glory to God or our 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:12.339 life is bringing glory to sin. Our life simply 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:16.040 cannot both honor God and also honor and obey 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:18.920 sin. And so today as we look at this letter, 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:20.699 we're going to see kind of three major parts 00:07:20.699 --> 00:07:23.180 to it. First, we see a greeting and an encouragement. 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:26.220 Then we see a pointed rebuke of sin, a very specific 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:28.699 rebuke of sin. And then finally, we see some 00:07:28.699 --> 00:07:30.920 encouragement and we see the closing of the letter. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.620 And so let's look at this first part, this greeting 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:35.560 and encouragement together, titled in your bulletin, 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:38.839 Pure Judgment of Pure Works. We see that in verses 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:45.699 18 and 19. Pure Judgment of Pure Works. This 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:47.879 is what it says in verses 18 and 19. Write to 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:51.240 the angel of the church in Thyatira. Thus says 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:53.560 the Son of God, the one whose eyes are like a 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.339 fiery flame and whose feet are like fine bronze. 00:07:57.540 --> 00:08:00.420 Continuing on in verse 19. I know your works. 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.019 Your love, faithfulness, service, and endurance. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.540 I know that your last works are greater than 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:09.319 the first. Let's focus in on verse 18 to start. 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:12.740 Hit Jesus' fourth letter that he writes to a 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:14.259 church, and he writes it to the church in Thyatira. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:17.620 Thyatira is roughly 30 miles south of Pergamum 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:19.040 that we saw last week, and it's actually the 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:21.740 smallest town, the smallest church also, of any 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:23.259 of the seven that are mentioned in Revelation 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:26.089 chapter 2 and chapter 3. But there's something 00:08:26.089 --> 00:08:27.850 really interesting about that. See, Jesus sends 00:08:27.850 --> 00:08:30.629 the longest letter to the smallest church, and 00:08:30.629 --> 00:08:33.090 that's intentional. It's a reminder that Jesus 00:08:33.090 --> 00:08:35.330 sees all of the churches, and he cares just as 00:08:35.330 --> 00:08:37.789 much about the house church of six people who's 00:08:37.789 --> 00:08:40.210 in a closed country in Southeast Asia as he does 00:08:40.210 --> 00:08:43.250 a megachurch of 15 ,000 worshipers in Chicago. 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:46.549 See, Jesus cares about all Christians. The worth 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:48.429 of a church is not measured in size, but rather 00:08:48.429 --> 00:08:52.730 is measured in faithfulness to obey God. In faithfulness. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.200 Renewal and repentance are going to be the main 00:08:56.200 --> 00:08:59.460 themes of this letter. But what is Thyatira? 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:02.799 What is this city? Well, Thyatira was built on 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:05.899 an economy of trade guilds. A guild was made 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:07.639 up of all the workers that worked in a specific 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:10.120 area. So, for instance, the bronze working guild, 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:13.039 the baker's guild. We can almost think of it 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:15.299 as a Roman and then later on as a feudal system 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:18.639 form of a union. That either you were a part 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.120 of this and you were accepted in society, you 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:23.710 were licensed to do your work, Or you were not, 00:09:23.710 --> 00:09:25.450 and then you were shunned. You were not a part 00:09:25.450 --> 00:09:27.649 of this. You were an outcast in every possible 00:09:27.649 --> 00:09:30.529 way. See, members in a guild were expected to 00:09:30.529 --> 00:09:32.970 work together to support one another. If you 00:09:32.970 --> 00:09:34.409 were sick and couldn't run your business, this 00:09:34.409 --> 00:09:36.169 is how you would essentially have insurance. 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:38.070 It was that the other people in your guild would 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:41.230 make sure you were taken care of. But most importantly 00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:43.710 of all, the people in a guild would worship together. 00:09:44.730 --> 00:09:46.970 In Thyatira, each guild worshipped a very specific 00:09:46.970 --> 00:09:49.889 god, but the chief god that was worshipped in 00:09:49.889 --> 00:09:52.370 this city. It was the god Apollos, or the sun 00:09:52.370 --> 00:09:54.590 god. And the main industry that worshipped him? 00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:57.429 Bronze working. This is really important when 00:09:57.429 --> 00:09:58.950 we look at the description that Jesus gives himself. 00:09:59.509 --> 00:10:02.330 First, Jesus says that he is the son of God. 00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:05.230 It is the only place in all of the book of Revelation 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:09.529 that we see that wording. It's the only place 00:10:09.529 --> 00:10:12.210 that Jesus addresses himself as the son of God. 00:10:12.509 --> 00:10:14.750 And there's actually a play on words going on 00:10:14.750 --> 00:10:18.009 here. See, Jesus is saying your city worships 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:22.129 the god of the sun. But I am the Son of God, 00:10:22.250 --> 00:10:25.789 capital letter, uppercase, all around personal 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:30.289 God, who loves you and knows you. As great as 00:10:30.289 --> 00:10:31.830 your city thinks they are because they worship 00:10:31.830 --> 00:10:34.950 Apollos, the God of the sun, I am the Son of 00:10:34.950 --> 00:10:37.889 God and far greater. See, whereas Apollos is 00:10:37.889 --> 00:10:40.889 just a fake idol, Jesus is the living Son of 00:10:40.889 --> 00:10:43.690 God. He is directly confronting the way that 00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:45.769 the town worships. And then look at what Jesus 00:10:45.769 --> 00:10:48.919 says about his physical appearance. His eyes 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:51.600 are like fiery flame and his feet are like fine 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:55.600 bronze. Let's start with those feet. Notice the 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.700 metal there. This is actually a connection to 00:10:57.700 --> 00:10:59.899 the industry of Thyatira. He's saying that he 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:02.320 rules over all things, even the bronze workers 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:04.220 who have all the power and all the authority 00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:07.360 in the city of Thyatira. But it's not just a 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.019 cultural connection here. Instead, it's also 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:11.899 showing that Jesus is strong and stable. In a 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:14.139 time where this church is struggling, Jesus is 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:18.759 a firm foundation that they can rely on. Jesus 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:23.919 is a firm foundation that we can rely on. And 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:27.720 then there's those flaming eyes. When you read 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.240 that, it's kind of a scary description, if we're 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:33.299 honest. You know, you might read that in a book 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:35.279 and it usually means somebody's angry. There's 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:37.340 a lot of intensity there. This is actually a 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:39.340 reference, though, back to the book of Daniel 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:43.039 in chapter 7. And it shows us two things, really, 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:45.919 when Jesus uses this. It shows us his perfect 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:49.980 holiness. And also his perfect piercing judgment. 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:52.879 It shows that absolutely nothing can be hidden 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:56.799 from Jesus. That his flaming holy eyes see everything. 00:11:57.059 --> 00:11:59.299 They see the good and they see the bad. Nothing 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:02.059 in the church of Thyatira is hidden from Jesus. 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:05.179 And friends, think about the church in America. 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:07.779 There is nothing in the church in America that 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:12.399 is hidden from Jesus. Jesus sees hearts and actions. 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:15.399 That's what we're going to see in verse 19 where 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:18.580 we read, I know your works. Your love, faithfulness, 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:21.039 service, and endurance. I know that your last 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:24.080 works are greater than the first. See, Jesus 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:25.600 is encouraging the believers by telling them 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:27.679 that, once again, he knows or he has seen their 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.779 works. He sees what they're doing. And specifically, 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:32.799 Jesus calls out four things that they do well. 00:12:33.059 --> 00:12:35.740 He sees their love, their faithfulness, their 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:39.120 service, and their endurance. But he doesn't 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:41.899 only see that. He also says something else. I 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:44.919 know that your last works are greater than their 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:49.419 first. What does that mean? See, Jesus is painting 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:51.960 a picture here of a church that has stagnated 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:54.779 before and is now starting to revitalize or grow 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:57.299 deeper again. This church is on the upswing, 00:12:57.320 --> 00:12:59.519 so to speak. They're growing as believers. They're 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:02.000 having an impact on their community. See, their 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:04.000 works of love, of faithfulness, of service, and 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.460 of endurance are seen. They're living different. 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:10.200 They're making an impact. Because listen, every 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.159 single day, they are speaking to Jesus by the 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:15.419 way that they live. They may not be the fastest 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:17.259 growing church ever. They're not the most influential 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:18.860 or famous church. That would be the church in 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:21.059 Ephesus, right? This church with this great lineage 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:23.559 of all the apostles. They may not seem super 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:27.539 significant in an earthly perspective, but what 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:30.299 they are doing matters when Jesus tells them 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:32.820 that. He encourages them because their works 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:35.039 support their faith. They're living out maybe 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.480 one of the most famous verses in the Bible, James 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:40.340 2 .18, where it says, but someone will say, you 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:42.570 have faith and I have works. Show me your faith 00:13:42.570 --> 00:13:45.129 without works, I will show you faith by my works. 00:13:45.570 --> 00:13:47.250 That's the church in Thyatira in a nutshell. 00:13:47.309 --> 00:13:49.789 They are showing their faith by their works. 00:13:51.269 --> 00:13:53.190 And that encouragement to the church left me 00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:55.269 wondering and kind of wrestling with something 00:13:55.269 --> 00:13:59.950 this week. Do my works, does my day -to -day 00:13:59.950 --> 00:14:04.549 living, the way that I love people, my faithfulness, 00:14:04.549 --> 00:14:07.649 my service to the people around me, my willingness 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:11.259 to endure in hard seasons, Does that glorify 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:15.200 God and speak to God? Or when I look at my life, 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:18.000 do I find that missing? In other words, is my 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:23.500 life a life of loving people? Is my life a life 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:27.500 of serving people? Is my life a life of relying 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:32.620 on God in good and in hard times? Or is my life 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:36.820 self -centered, focused on what I can get out 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:38.440 of other people rather than what I can give to 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:41.990 other people? Does my view of God change whether 00:14:41.990 --> 00:14:44.149 or not I think that God is giving me exactly 00:14:44.149 --> 00:14:51.470 what I want? Quite simply, this first part challenges 00:14:51.470 --> 00:14:55.929 us with Jesus' pure judgment. Do our lives speak 00:14:55.929 --> 00:14:59.210 to the gospel on a daily basis? If Jesus was 00:14:59.210 --> 00:15:02.509 to look at our lives as individuals, would he 00:15:02.509 --> 00:15:05.730 say, I know your works, your love, your faithfulness, 00:15:05.750 --> 00:15:07.970 your service, and your endurance? And further, 00:15:08.169 --> 00:15:10.330 would he say, I know that your last works or 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:12.909 your most recent works are greater than the first. 00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:16.950 Am I growing in my faith or is my faith stationary 00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:20.850 and stagnant? That's what we're left with as 00:15:20.850 --> 00:15:23.350 we open this letter. This question for ourselves, 00:15:23.490 --> 00:15:26.309 are we growing? Are we growing as individuals? 00:15:26.789 --> 00:15:29.250 Are we making an impact on our community by being 00:15:29.250 --> 00:15:32.570 faithful to live out our faith day after day? 00:15:33.529 --> 00:15:36.629 And then from there, in verse 20, we see a very 00:15:36.629 --> 00:15:40.000 sudden shift. From verses 20 through 23, we see 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:43.080 the rebuke of Jezebel, the rebuke of someone 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:45.860 who's leading this church deeper and deeper into 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:48.100 sin. So look at verses 20 through 23 with me 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:50.559 as we see Jesus's rebuke of Jezebel. It says 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.000 this, but I have this against you. You tolerate 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:55.700 the woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess 00:15:55.700 --> 00:15:57.860 and teaches and deceives my servants to commit 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:00.539 sexual morality and to eat meat sacrificed to 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:04.340 idols. Then look at this. I gave her time to 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:08.169 repent. But she does not want to repent of her 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:10.889 sexual immorality. Look, I will throw her into 00:16:10.889 --> 00:16:12.570 a sickbed and those who commit adultery with 00:16:12.570 --> 00:16:14.769 her into great affliction unless they repent 00:16:14.769 --> 00:16:17.509 of her works. I will strike her children dead. 00:16:17.970 --> 00:16:20.070 Then all the churches will know that I am the 00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:22.370 one who examines minds and hearts and I will 00:16:22.370 --> 00:16:24.169 give to each of you according to your works. 00:16:25.629 --> 00:16:29.070 So Jesus focuses his rebuke around a woman named 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:31.230 Jezebel. And let me be really clear on this. 00:16:31.289 --> 00:16:33.850 This is less of a statement of her actual name 00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:35.990 and is more about her character. See, Jezebel 00:16:35.990 --> 00:16:37.950 is a cross -reference back to 1 Kings chapter 00:16:37.950 --> 00:16:41.169 16 through 19, where King Ahab, an evil king 00:16:41.169 --> 00:16:43.450 of Israel, marries a Sidonian, also known as 00:16:43.450 --> 00:16:46.710 a Phoenician princess, named Jezebel. Jezebel 00:16:46.710 --> 00:16:50.090 leads Ahab away from God. And we read throughout 00:16:50.090 --> 00:16:53.009 Ahab's reign that he bows down and worships Baal 00:16:53.009 --> 00:16:55.629 and Asherah, two pagan gods. But she doesn't 00:16:55.629 --> 00:16:59.879 only lead Ahab away. She also leads the people 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:02.480 of Israel away. Throughout these chapters, we 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:03.960 read that she has struck fear into the hearts 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:06.000 of the Israelites, and they turn from God and 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.880 chase after worthless idols. When we think about 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.619 Elijah and Elijah's ministry, it happens primarily 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:14.259 under Jezebel, and essentially the reign of terror 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:17.819 that Ahab starts. Ahab and Jezebel lead Israel 00:17:17.819 --> 00:17:20.619 into many sins, but two that really stand out 00:17:20.619 --> 00:17:23.380 are them leading the people of God into sexual 00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:28.700 morality, and secondly, into idol worship. It's 00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:29.960 interesting, I think, here that in Revelation 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:32.660 chapter 2, verses 20 through 23, those are the 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:35.960 two sins that God is really getting at. The sin 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.720 of sexual immorality, and then this idea of eating 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.799 meat sacrificed to idols. In other words, giving 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:46.240 approval of worshiping these idols. There's that 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:48.559 close similarity. So we're going to talk about 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:50.099 both of these, but let's start with sexual immorality. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.059 Listen, this is, just to be blunt, a sin. It 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:55.599 has been a struggle for the people of God for 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:58.000 all of time, and it is still a struggle today. 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:02.079 Today, many people walk in sexual immorality. 00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:06.420 There is a quiet epidemic sweeping through the 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:09.940 church today, one that happens inside of a home, 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.539 on a computer, on a phone. It's one simply grouped 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:16.299 together under the title pornography. I'm not 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:17.700 going to get into the statistics about it, but 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:20.279 it is eye -opening. I'm just going to be honest. 00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:22.789 This is something we see often in ministry. We 00:18:22.789 --> 00:18:25.430 see men and women struggling with this battle 00:18:25.430 --> 00:18:28.190 of sexual immorality. This battle that seems 00:18:28.190 --> 00:18:32.490 private. And listen, it is not the only way, 00:18:32.509 --> 00:18:35.130 but it is a common outpouring of a form of sexual 00:18:35.130 --> 00:18:40.190 immorality. It is a common form of a sin that 00:18:40.190 --> 00:18:43.049 leads us further from God and puts up a wall 00:18:43.049 --> 00:18:45.289 between us and God. I love how Josh said that 00:18:45.289 --> 00:18:48.150 last week. Like Josh mentioned last week, sin 00:18:48.150 --> 00:18:50.529 is like a wall that over time builds up the more 00:18:50.529 --> 00:18:53.410 that we walk in it. And over time, that wall, 00:18:53.509 --> 00:18:55.970 as it builds up, it keeps us from hearing from 00:18:55.970 --> 00:19:00.670 God clearly. Whether it's pornography, or sex 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:03.569 outside of marriage, or one of the most common 00:19:03.569 --> 00:19:06.089 ones that we see, living together before marriage. 00:19:06.190 --> 00:19:07.849 In fact, in college I was talking with a pastor 00:19:07.849 --> 00:19:09.549 who spoke at our campus ministry, and he estimated 00:19:09.549 --> 00:19:12.170 that 90 % of couples who asked him to do their 00:19:12.170 --> 00:19:14.170 weddings were living together and having sex 00:19:14.170 --> 00:19:16.940 together before marriage. Friends, it's easy 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:18.599 for us to think to ourselves, sexual morality, 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.160 that's a past tense issue. That's an issue outside 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.539 the church. Friends, the truth is that is an 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:27.599 issue inside the church too. And what do we see 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.700 in verses 20 through 23? We see a pointed rebuke 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:34.599 from Jesus. We see a rebuke from Jesus who sees 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:37.740 all things perfectly with perfect and holy judgment. 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:42.779 And friends, we see then that sin builds up this 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:45.750 wall and keeps us from hearing. From God, clearly. 00:19:46.049 --> 00:19:47.690 But there's another thing that these sins do. 00:19:47.750 --> 00:19:50.930 The sin of sexual immorality does. This sin starts 00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:53.910 to build up shame in our hearts. And shame tells 00:19:53.910 --> 00:19:55.789 us that there is no hope and that God could no 00:19:55.789 --> 00:19:59.589 longer love us. That we're not good enough for 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:01.230 God. That we don't deserve God because we've 00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:03.970 fallen short of God. That we're worse than what 00:20:03.970 --> 00:20:06.569 God could possibly accept. And that there's no 00:20:06.569 --> 00:20:08.690 way God loves us anymore. And so I thought it 00:20:08.690 --> 00:20:10.569 was so cool this week during VBS that we had 00:20:10.569 --> 00:20:13.690 a night where our theme was magnify God's love. 00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:16.309 And the point of that entire night was really 00:20:16.309 --> 00:20:19.089 simple, that God's love can never be taken away. 00:20:19.910 --> 00:20:22.029 Listen, we all sin a lot, whether we are strong 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:23.789 with sexual sin or if we are strong with sin 00:20:23.789 --> 00:20:26.690 in another area. Maybe we are habitual liars. 00:20:27.369 --> 00:20:30.089 Maybe we are lazy. Maybe we are gluttonous. We 00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:32.829 sin a lot as humans. On a daily basis, we sin. 00:20:33.329 --> 00:20:35.930 But please hear me this morning. Do not ever 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:40.319 let that sin turn into shame. Jesus' rebuke of 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:42.519 Jezebel is not meant to send Jezebel into a cycle 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.200 of shame. Instead, it is a call for her to repent, 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:49.279 to make a 180 turn and to live differently, to 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:51.539 stop what she is doing and to go live a life 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:54.640 that is built towards righteousness. But we all 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:56.539 see that that's not the only sin that Jezebel 00:20:56.539 --> 00:20:59.079 leads people towards. She also leads people to 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:01.740 eat food that is sacrificed to idols. And I don't 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:03.160 know about you, I was in the grocery store the 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:05.160 other day and I did not see a sign in Schnucks. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.259 or an Aldi, or a Walmart, or Costco, or Sam's, 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:10.700 or any other grocery store that clearly labels 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:12.900 a section that says meat sacrifice to idols. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.720 And so when we read that command a lot of times 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.200 in the New Testament, when we read this rebuke, 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:19.299 I think a lot of times we think that was a big 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:21.440 issue in the first century, in the second century. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.500 It's not really an issue anymore. You know, we 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:27.119 don't really deal with that. You know, if I want 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:28.700 to go buy a ribeye today, I'm not going to go 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:31.539 choose between ribeye sacrifice to Zeus and ribeye 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:35.160 cut from a cow. It's just not a thing. So what 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:38.759 is going on? How does this apply to us? Let's 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:39.819 start with this. Let's break it down a little 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:42.339 more. What is the problem with eating this meat 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:45.519 that's sacrificed to idols? The problem is it 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:48.220 gives both a subtle nod of approval to the sinful 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:50.759 idol worship, and also it provided financial 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:52.920 support for the temples that were leading people 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:56.420 astray. In a way, it was giving passive approval 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:59.319 to sin. And it's really easy for us to go out 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:02.180 and give passive approval to sin. We may not 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:04.160 be going out and actively trying to celebrate 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:06.640 sin. We may not be going and finding the closest 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:08.599 bank robber and being like, hey, thank you so 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:10.680 much for doing this. We are so proud of you. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:14.339 But it's easy for us on a daily basis to passively 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:18.579 celebrate sin. We follow that social media influencer 00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:21.079 that posts content that makes us jealous or discontent. 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:25.180 We follow that social media influencer who posts 00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:28.660 content that we shouldn't be looking at. There's 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:30.500 a lot of different ways that on a daily basis 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:33.839 we give that passive approval with our right 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:35.940 thumb or our left thumb by giving a like here, 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.940 a comment there, by sending this to somebody 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:41.559 else, by sending this to that person. Or maybe 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:43.599 we just watch that TV show because we want to 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:46.039 fit in at the office, even though deep down it 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:47.500 makes us uncomfortable. Let me give you an example. 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:50.180 My freshman year of college, I was coaching basketball 00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:52.779 at a small school in rural Wyoming. One of the 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:54.759 unique things being a non -teacher who takes 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:57.099 that type of a position is it is very much a 00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.779 year -to -year contract. And it is really entirely 00:22:59.779 --> 00:23:02.039 up to the head coach if your contract gets renewed 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:06.079 or not. And my head coach was a unique guy. That's 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:07.500 the best adjective for him, he was a unique guy. 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:10.400 And he had an obsession with a show that was 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:13.599 on TV at the time. I'm not going to shame you 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:15.460 if you enjoy the show, I really don't care. But 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:17.799 he was obsessed with Game of Thrones. Like, could 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:20.140 not stop watching it. Would sit there on the 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.059 40 -minute bus ride from the school back into 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:24.809 Laramie and would watch an episode. Like every 00:23:24.809 --> 00:23:26.230 day at practice, people at practice was like, 00:23:26.269 --> 00:23:28.029 I watched this episode of Game of Thrones last 00:23:28.029 --> 00:23:30.589 night. This is what happened. And he found out 00:23:30.589 --> 00:23:33.809 that I didn't watch Game of Thrones. Never seen 00:23:33.809 --> 00:23:35.990 Game of Thrones. It's a college guy. I was a 00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:38.430 little busy for Game of Thrones. And he looked 00:23:38.430 --> 00:23:40.269 at me at one point and made the comment, if you 00:23:40.269 --> 00:23:41.769 don't watch Game of Thrones, I will not renew 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:44.509 your contract for next year. I was like, okay, 00:23:44.569 --> 00:23:45.950 well, I kind of enjoy this job. I like having 00:23:45.950 --> 00:23:47.549 a little bit of money as a college student, so 00:23:47.549 --> 00:23:49.569 I guess I'll try watching Game of Thrones. And 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:51.690 I went over to a used DVD store we had in town. 00:23:51.769 --> 00:23:53.049 It was about to go out of business, and I bought 00:23:53.049 --> 00:23:54.589 a couple seasons of Game of Thrones. I started 00:23:54.589 --> 00:23:58.369 watching through it. And then one night, it hit 00:23:58.369 --> 00:24:01.869 me. It hit me that that show wasn't actually 00:24:01.869 --> 00:24:04.130 pointing me towards God. It wasn't encouraging 00:24:04.130 --> 00:24:05.970 me to go deeper in my walk with God. It wasn't 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.609 helping me to know God more. It was kind of just 00:24:08.609 --> 00:24:10.089 an empty thing I was putting out in the background 00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:12.180 while I was doing homework, and I wasn't... loving 00:24:12.180 --> 00:24:17.720 what I was seeing in that show. Friends, I was 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:20.680 giving passive approval, though, by engaging 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:23.960 in this conversation with this guy. By day after 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:27.099 day after day, saying, yeah, I did see that last 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.859 night. Yeah, I did watch that. Oh, you thought 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:33.420 that about her. Oh, okay. Deep down, I was giving 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:38.099 passive approval of that. And friends, there's 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:40.000 no happy ending here. When I told him I wasn't 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.339 going to keep watching, I did end up losing my 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:46.160 job. My contract was not renewed, despite many 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:47.559 other things. That's a different conversation, 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:50.240 and I'm thankful that it wasn't renewed, because 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:52.119 God used that contract not being renewed to free 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:54.220 up a lot of time for me to instead grow and to 00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:56.059 pour into people in my local church and to pour 00:24:56.059 --> 00:24:57.380 into other college students. So in the end, it 00:24:57.380 --> 00:24:59.640 was great. But my point is this. There's a lot 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:01.900 of ways that we meet sacrifice to idols in our 00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:05.059 own way by giving passive approval to sin. We 00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:07.059 think to ourselves, well, I didn't go and do 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:10.140 this. I didn't go out and kill somebody. I didn't 00:25:10.140 --> 00:25:13.640 go out and, you know, rape somebody. But instead 00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:16.759 we give this passive approval to sin. Maybe it's 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:18.799 the brains that we buy with that support causes 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:20.319 that we disagree with. Maybe it's what we say 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:23.019 to our neighbors. Maybe it's avoiding confrontation 00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:24.799 with the water cooler by hiding what we really 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:28.099 believe. And listen, when we hide Jesus in our 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:30.220 lives, when we avoid bringing the truth of Jesus 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:32.839 with us every single day, instead of wanting 00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:34.799 someone else to fix culture, someone else to 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.660 have that conversation for, somebody else to 00:25:36.660 --> 00:25:38.920 speak to that person's life, then we are really 00:25:38.920 --> 00:25:41.640 allowing sin to grow and to take deeper and deeper 00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:43.799 root. It's like we're eating meat sacrificed 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:46.640 to idols. Because see, at any given point in 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:48.839 that conversation, even when I went and told 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:50.180 the guy, hey, I'm not going to watch the show 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:52.519 anymore, I could have gone one step further and 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:55.480 said, and here's why. You also claim that you 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:58.619 are a man of God. But I don't think the images 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:01.140 it's putting in front of us are glorifying to 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:03.640 God. I don't think this show is helping us to 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:06.640 watch and see other people as image bearers of 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:10.579 the God most high that we worship. Friend, why 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:12.359 don't we stop this and instead find something 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:14.880 else to watch together? And it's hard for us 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:16.519 to have those conversations. It's intimidating. 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.000 So instead what we do is we just let people keep 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:23.180 going. We let it keep going and keep going and 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:26.900 keep going and keep going. And we hope that someone 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:30.000 else fixes it. And I had hoped that this guy's 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.250 pastor would step in and be like, hey, Let's 00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:34.490 stop, man. Let's calm down a little bit. Let's 00:26:34.490 --> 00:26:37.049 stop. Let's chill. I'd hope that maybe one of 00:26:37.049 --> 00:26:39.869 his friends would talk to him. How often do we 00:26:39.869 --> 00:26:42.690 do that? You know, we see that friend in our 00:26:42.690 --> 00:26:46.910 life who isn't following God. They claim to know 00:26:46.910 --> 00:26:48.609 God, but they're not living it out, and we say, 00:26:48.710 --> 00:26:50.829 you know, I'm going to pray to somebody else 00:26:50.829 --> 00:26:53.809 while he gets through to him. You know, I could 00:26:53.809 --> 00:26:56.130 step up, and I could call him out on that sin. 00:26:56.150 --> 00:26:58.730 I could walk with him through it. Hopefully his 00:26:58.730 --> 00:27:03.400 pastor does that instead. That's how Jezebel's 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:05.880 deception kept growing and growing and growing. 00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:08.119 I'm going to be very, very brief in this, but 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:09.599 please understand something. The world wants 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:11.579 something different than what's being given today. 00:27:12.140 --> 00:27:14.539 Gen Z is returning to church at record rates. 00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:16.400 They want something real, something that's lasting, 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:18.240 something that actually repairs the brokenness 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:21.059 that they experience every single day. Not just 00:27:21.059 --> 00:27:24.039 a short -term Band -Aid, which is what the world 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:27.359 can offer. See, here's the thing. The food sacrifice 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:31.089 to idols does make you less hungry. I'm going 00:27:31.089 --> 00:27:32.369 to put Debbie on the spot here because she's 00:27:32.369 --> 00:27:34.829 a dietician. Debbie, if I was to eat a steak, 00:27:34.910 --> 00:27:36.990 whether it is cooked or if I cook it myself, 00:27:37.190 --> 00:27:39.690 does it still have protein in it? It still has 00:27:39.690 --> 00:27:41.170 protein in it. It still has calories. It still 00:27:41.170 --> 00:27:46.190 fills me up. But friends, the difference is one 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:48.609 of these steaks is glorifying to God. One of 00:27:48.609 --> 00:27:53.849 these is passively me encouraging sin. And so 00:27:53.849 --> 00:27:56.589 friends, let me encourage you. With this generation 00:27:56.589 --> 00:27:59.230 that is actively seeking something that's real, 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:01.460 We have to be willing to meet them with what 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:04.059 is real. We have to be bold enough to speak truth 00:28:04.059 --> 00:28:07.339 and to speak up about the gospel. And that's 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:09.000 why we're encouraging you to start praying today. 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:11.420 Start praying today for what's going to happen 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:13.559 on campus in the fall. Don't just wait until 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:17.059 the 17th, start today. And as serious as it is 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:18.539 for us to step into this gap and to bring Jesus 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:20.680 to the world around us, let me point out something 00:28:20.680 --> 00:28:23.500 else from verse 20 through 23. Notice the specific 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:26.940 audience of this rebuke. It starts off in verse 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:29.220 20 and says this, but I have... this against 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:32.359 you. Who is the you in that? Simply put, the 00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:36.180 you is aimed at the church. The you is actually 00:28:36.180 --> 00:28:37.859 Jesus speaking directly to the church. He's saying, 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:41.119 hey, I have this against you, the church in Thyatira. 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:45.559 Church in Thyatira, you tolerate the woman Jezebel. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:48.380 You encourage this and you allow this to go on. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:50.900 She's not only leading non -believers astray 00:28:50.900 --> 00:28:52.740 and profaning the name of Jesus, she's also leading 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:56.089 the church astray with her false beliefs. It's 00:28:56.089 --> 00:28:57.609 not just that she's leading them astray, the 00:28:57.609 --> 00:29:00.869 church tolerates her. The church lets her do 00:29:00.869 --> 00:29:03.410 her thing. See, it's easier, it's more comfortable, 00:29:03.509 --> 00:29:05.190 it's more convenient to placate her and just 00:29:05.190 --> 00:29:07.529 let her keep sinning. That way she doesn't get 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:09.069 upset, she doesn't leave the church, she doesn't 00:29:09.069 --> 00:29:12.269 decide she wants to go somewhere else. It's easier 00:29:12.269 --> 00:29:14.210 to do that than it is to rebuke her for her sin. 00:29:15.029 --> 00:29:18.630 That's not just a Thyatira thing. Jesus addresses 00:29:18.630 --> 00:29:21.210 this in Matthew 18, Paul addresses this in Titus 00:29:21.210 --> 00:29:24.190 1, 10 -16, which... Shameless plug, you can actually 00:29:24.190 --> 00:29:26.069 listen to our sermon from the fall about that 00:29:26.069 --> 00:29:28.869 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify by looking up the 00:29:28.869 --> 00:29:30.809 Cornerstone cast and then selecting the episode 00:29:30.809 --> 00:29:33.190 Rebellion and Righteousness. And you can hear 00:29:33.190 --> 00:29:36.990 a lot more about what Jesus tells us to do when 00:29:36.990 --> 00:29:39.670 we're faced with this type of a situation. But 00:29:39.670 --> 00:29:41.769 fundamentally, the trap that the church in Thyatira 00:29:41.769 --> 00:29:45.170 has fallen into is really easy for us. The issue 00:29:45.170 --> 00:29:47.450 is that it is easier to let sin go than it is 00:29:47.450 --> 00:29:51.470 to address sin. It's easy to let sin slide. It's 00:29:51.470 --> 00:29:56.710 comfortable. But friends, sin destroys. And so 00:29:56.710 --> 00:29:59.109 even as these last works of the church in Thyatira 00:29:59.109 --> 00:30:01.329 are better than the first, what's holding them 00:30:01.329 --> 00:30:03.390 back at the end of the day is their unwillingness 00:30:03.390 --> 00:30:06.609 to address sin. They're letting sin destroy the 00:30:06.609 --> 00:30:09.769 church. And the same thing is happening today. 00:30:10.630 --> 00:30:13.150 LifeWay Research released a survey in June where 00:30:13.150 --> 00:30:15.009 they found that 70 % of mainstream Protestant 00:30:15.009 --> 00:30:18.029 churches and 50 % of evangelical churches have 00:30:18.029 --> 00:30:20.509 never engaged in any form of church discipline. 00:30:21.799 --> 00:30:23.599 In other words, they do not rebuke sin. They 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:26.960 do not call out sin. It's just easier to let 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:29.940 it go. And so the optimistic way to read that 00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:31.819 is this is good news because Christians are living 00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:35.299 their faith out so perfectly that no one ever 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:37.440 needs to address it. Riley, I appreciate your 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:40.759 face right now. That's not really optimism, though. 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:44.180 That's just foolishness. Listen, look at our 00:30:44.180 --> 00:30:45.799 own lives. We know we're sinners. We know we 00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:50.380 make mistakes. So it's not an optimistic reading 00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:52.740 to read that. That 70 % of mainstream Protestant 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:54.819 churches and 50 % of evangelical churches are 00:30:54.819 --> 00:30:58.539 just made up of perfect people. Instead, what's 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:00.579 really going on is that churches choose not to 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:03.039 correct sin because correcting sin is hard. Because 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:06.200 rebuking sin, calling out sin, calling out Jezebel, 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:09.660 even in our own lives, requires humility. It 00:31:09.660 --> 00:31:12.359 requires love. It requires boldness and courage 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:15.119 to stand for the truth. It requires courage because 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:17.819 that friend, that person may not look at us the 00:31:17.819 --> 00:31:20.559 same way. Let me give you one more modern day 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:22.640 example of a sin that's easy to push to the side 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:26.160 rather than address. Gossip is so easy for us 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:30.000 to want to ignore. Gossip is so simple for us 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:33.220 to want to ignore. That comment won't hurt anybody, 00:31:33.460 --> 00:31:37.839 you know, or the other answer. How do you even 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:40.819 start addressing this? Where do we even start 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:43.059 with addressing gossip? It's not because it's 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:46.640 so hard to say gossip is wrong. It's hard to 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:48.619 address it because it requires boldness and humility 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:50.519 and genuine love for someone to pull them aside 00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:52.359 and say, hey, listen, we're not going to do that 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:54.440 anymore. We're not going to talk like that about 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:57.259 this person. Like, we're just, we're not going 00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:01.079 to do that. Hear me this morning out of verses 00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:04.000 20 through 23. It matters that we call out sin 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.019 and that we correct sin. Jesus, with his perfect 00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:10.200 judgment, calls out sin here. And then he gives 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:12.539 a warning in these verses. And this is a reminder 00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:15.259 as to why it is so important that we call out 00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:18.359 sin. Look at the warning. There is punishment, 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:20.500 which will be death, that is coming to Jezebel 00:32:20.500 --> 00:32:22.759 and to those who follow after her. And it's not 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:25.539 just physical death. This is Matthew 7, 21 through 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:28.960 23 death. Let me read you Matthew 7, 21 through 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:31.099 23. It says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:32.940 Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only 00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:34.880 the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:37.500 On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:39.200 didn't we prophesy in your name and drive out 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:41.220 demons in your name and do many miracles in your 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:43.839 name? Think about it. Jezebel in the church of 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:45.519 Thyatira. I was at church every Sunday, Jesus. 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:50.339 You know, I led this. I did this. I led a small 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:52.819 group. I had this super successful ministry, 00:32:53.099 --> 00:32:57.579 Jesus. Listen to what Jesus says back in verse 00:32:57.579 --> 00:33:01.000 23. Then I will announce to them, I never knew 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:05.400 you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers. Friends, 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:07.180 why is it so important that we take a stand for 00:33:07.180 --> 00:33:10.200 truth? We make sure that our lives live out the 00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:13.460 gospel. Because we don't want these words to 00:33:13.460 --> 00:33:16.859 be true about us. We want to genuinely know Jesus, 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:20.980 genuinely follow Jesus, and be able to rest in 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:24.180 that security of knowing that when we reach heaven 00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:28.059 and we see our Savior, he will know who we are, 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:30.839 and he will welcome us, instead of saying, depart 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:34.259 from me, you lawbreakers. It's a somber warning. 00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:36.400 It's a hard warning. It's one of the most pointed 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:40.390 rebukes throughout the seven churches. But then 00:33:40.390 --> 00:33:44.509 from verses 24 through 29, Jesus shifts back 00:33:44.509 --> 00:33:46.569 to address the church as a whole with an encouragement. 00:33:47.710 --> 00:33:49.369 See, even though there's this issue that they're 00:33:49.369 --> 00:33:51.609 struggling with, Jesus doesn't say, hope is all 00:33:51.609 --> 00:33:55.369 lost. No, instead Jesus gives them the promise 00:33:55.369 --> 00:33:58.549 of the righteous ruler. A promise of the righteous 00:33:58.549 --> 00:34:00.849 ruler. He says this, I say to the rest of you 00:34:00.849 --> 00:34:02.890 in Thyatira, that is everyone who is not Jezebel, 00:34:02.950 --> 00:34:05.410 who do not hold to this teaching, people who 00:34:05.410 --> 00:34:07.589 do not follow her, who have not known the so 00:34:07.589 --> 00:34:10.050 -called secrets of Satan, as they say, I am not 00:34:10.050 --> 00:34:13.349 putting any other burden on you. Only do this. 00:34:13.409 --> 00:34:17.449 Only hold on to what you have until I come. Here's 00:34:17.449 --> 00:34:19.670 the encouragement. Jesus sees that there are 00:34:19.670 --> 00:34:22.329 believers who do not follow Jezebel, who do not 00:34:22.329 --> 00:34:24.269 listen to the so -called secrets of Satan, which 00:34:24.269 --> 00:34:26.030 is exactly what the false teacher was calling 00:34:26.030 --> 00:34:29.210 her teaching. It was accurate because it did 00:34:29.210 --> 00:34:32.449 originate with Satan. Sexual immorality did not 00:34:32.449 --> 00:34:35.190 originate with God. Meat sacrifice to false gods 00:34:35.190 --> 00:34:37.550 did not originate with God. It originates with 00:34:37.550 --> 00:34:40.469 Satan. And Jesus encourages these believers by 00:34:40.469 --> 00:34:42.369 telling them, listen, I know it's hard. I know 00:34:42.369 --> 00:34:43.650 there's a lot of turmoil. I know I just told 00:34:43.650 --> 00:34:46.130 you to rebuke her and to move forward and protect 00:34:46.130 --> 00:34:50.909 yourself from her. And he says this, I have no 00:34:50.909 --> 00:34:55.230 burden for you. Instead, hold on. Hold tight 00:34:55.230 --> 00:34:57.710 and endure. Listen, being a Christian is simple. 00:34:57.769 --> 00:35:00.050 So often we want to complicate it. We want to 00:35:00.050 --> 00:35:01.650 overcomplicate. We try to add something new to 00:35:01.650 --> 00:35:04.150 our faith, a legalism of sorts, something that's 00:35:04.150 --> 00:35:06.210 flashy, something that's new, some new practice. 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:08.900 But in reality, this is what we need to do. We 00:35:08.900 --> 00:35:11.000 need to hear these words of verse 25 and apply 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:16.739 them. Hold on to what Jesus has given us. Don't 00:35:16.739 --> 00:35:18.119 worry about everything else. Don't run after 00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:21.480 sin. Don't try to create the newest thing. Don't 00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:23.199 try to add that trendy new spiritual discipline. 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:28.960 Run after Jesus. Hold on to Jesus. When I was 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:31.059 in seminary, I was interning at the church I 00:35:31.059 --> 00:35:33.079 grew up in in Denver, and I was in a preaching 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:34.739 class over the summer, and one of the assignments 00:35:34.739 --> 00:35:36.409 was we had to go... interview a bunch of different 00:35:36.409 --> 00:35:39.369 preachers and you know ask what was the best 00:35:39.369 --> 00:35:40.829 advice you ever got what was the worst advice 00:35:40.829 --> 00:35:43.469 you ever got and i'm sitting there one day eating 00:35:43.469 --> 00:35:45.949 some pad thai and interviewing my pastor and 00:35:45.949 --> 00:35:49.170 as we're talking i asked me what was the worst 00:35:49.170 --> 00:35:51.969 advice you ever got tell me a story from his 00:35:51.969 --> 00:35:53.710 intro to preaching class that the professor stood 00:35:53.710 --> 00:35:56.530 up and he looks at the class he tells him the 00:35:56.530 --> 00:35:58.170 best thing you can do for your preaching is to 00:35:58.170 --> 00:36:02.750 take theological risks as you preach take some 00:36:02.750 --> 00:36:06.030 theological risks Find that connection that no 00:36:06.030 --> 00:36:08.650 one else has ever found before. Take that risk. 00:36:09.309 --> 00:36:10.670 Who knows, maybe you'll come up with something 00:36:10.670 --> 00:36:13.429 that's good. Friends, that is the exact opposite 00:36:13.429 --> 00:36:16.130 of what Jesus tells us to do here. We're not 00:36:16.130 --> 00:36:17.969 told to create new stuff for the sake of creating 00:36:17.969 --> 00:36:19.690 something new so people think we're trendy and 00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:22.829 flashy. We're not told to take theological jumps 00:36:22.829 --> 00:36:24.929 to try and create some new way to relate to God. 00:36:25.289 --> 00:36:27.289 Instead, we are to stay close to the word of 00:36:27.289 --> 00:36:29.889 the Lord, holding fast as Jesus tells us to do. 00:36:30.070 --> 00:36:32.469 And so let me encourage you today, let me plead 00:36:32.469 --> 00:36:34.949 with you today, Cornerstone. Hold fast to the 00:36:34.949 --> 00:36:38.030 word of God. Listen, if you hold fast to the 00:36:38.030 --> 00:36:40.150 word of God, then you don't need to worry about 00:36:40.150 --> 00:36:42.150 Jezebel because you'll be quick to rebuke Jezebel 00:36:42.150 --> 00:36:45.030 anyway. If you hold fast to the word of God, 00:36:45.150 --> 00:36:47.130 don't worry about the sexual morality and the 00:36:47.130 --> 00:36:48.610 meat sacrifice to idols because you're not going 00:36:48.610 --> 00:36:52.369 to be engaging in them. Hold fast to the word 00:36:52.369 --> 00:36:54.969 of God. And as you hold fast, look at verses 00:36:54.969 --> 00:36:57.670 26 through 29 with me, which says this. The one 00:36:57.670 --> 00:36:59.809 who conquers and who keeps my works to the end, 00:36:59.909 --> 00:37:01.949 I will give him authority over the nations. Now, 00:37:01.989 --> 00:37:04.769 Jesus is going to quote Psalm 2, and he will 00:37:04.769 --> 00:37:07.030 rule over them with an iron scepter. He will 00:37:07.030 --> 00:37:09.969 shatter them like pottery. Just as I, Jesus, 00:37:10.050 --> 00:37:12.130 have received this from my Father, I will also 00:37:12.130 --> 00:37:14.989 give him the morning star. Let anyone who has 00:37:14.989 --> 00:37:17.210 ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to 00:37:17.210 --> 00:37:20.340 the churches. In these verses, Jesus gives his 00:37:20.340 --> 00:37:22.659 conclusion to the letter. It's kind of inverted. 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:24.900 Usually it's been, let anyone who has ears to 00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:26.920 hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches, 00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:29.679 and then Jesus explains some more stuff. Here, 00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:31.480 Jesus gives an explanation and then ends with, 00:37:31.539 --> 00:37:33.659 let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what 00:37:33.659 --> 00:37:37.619 the Spirit says to the churches. Jesus reminds 00:37:37.619 --> 00:37:40.099 the believers yet again to stand strong, to endure, 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:43.079 to persevere with the promise of authority over 00:37:43.079 --> 00:37:46.179 the nations. And he seals that promise with a 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:48.239 reminder of Psalm 2 .9, which is a messianic 00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:50.940 prophecy. It is a promise, a reminder that we 00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:53.159 will rule with Jesus after his second coming. 00:37:53.380 --> 00:37:56.039 And Jesus goes one step further and backs it 00:37:56.039 --> 00:37:58.739 up yet again in verse 28 by referencing the idea 00:37:58.739 --> 00:38:01.860 of the morning star. In Numbers 24, we see this 00:38:01.860 --> 00:38:05.880 reference the first time. You know who the morning 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:08.840 star is? The morning star is Jesus. The morning 00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:11.219 star is Jesus who will reign over Israel and 00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:15.309 the world forever. Jesus uses messianic language 00:38:15.309 --> 00:38:21.329 in this conclusion. It's a promise and it's a 00:38:21.329 --> 00:38:24.389 reminder for us. He's reminding this church, 00:38:24.449 --> 00:38:26.969 this church that's cast out, that's persecuted. 00:38:27.789 --> 00:38:29.750 He's reminding us in the middle of our struggles 00:38:29.750 --> 00:38:33.230 of something that's far greater. He's saying 00:38:33.230 --> 00:38:35.909 everyone who has ears to hear, listen to what 00:38:35.909 --> 00:38:38.449 I'm saying. Endure and persevere. Hold close 00:38:38.449 --> 00:38:40.989 to me and wait for my second coming. And Jesus 00:38:40.989 --> 00:38:43.639 can promise peace. And Jesus can make these promises 00:38:43.639 --> 00:38:45.960 because he is the ruler of all nations, because 00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:48.980 he is the morning star, and because he will return. 00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:52.780 This next time, not as a humble carpenter, but 00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:57.420 as ruler of all, as the morning star. And that's 00:38:57.420 --> 00:38:58.679 why I think there's really two challenges that 00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:01.019 we need to take away from this. First, we need 00:39:01.019 --> 00:39:03.880 to prioritize repentance. We need to prioritize 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:06.599 repentance. At the heart of the gospel, at the 00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:08.719 heart of the good news of Jesus, is this idea 00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:12.579 of repenting. It's the fact that Jesus did come 00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:15.860 to earth, live a perfect life, and die on the 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:19.900 cross for our sins. He was buried in the tomb. 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:22.739 He was raised on the third day. We see that in 00:39:22.739 --> 00:39:24.219 the four gospels. We see that in 1 Corinthians 00:39:24.219 --> 00:39:27.880 chapter 15. But then we see something else also. 00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:33.320 We see a call to repent and believe. To stop 00:39:33.320 --> 00:39:37.619 walking in sin. And to accept Jesus for who he 00:39:37.619 --> 00:39:43.309 is. To accept Jesus' gift. of salvation. So friends, 00:39:43.349 --> 00:39:44.670 I want to call on you today, if you are here 00:39:44.670 --> 00:39:47.349 and you don't know Jesus personally, if you have 00:39:47.349 --> 00:39:50.690 not repented of your sin and found new life in 00:39:50.690 --> 00:39:55.190 Jesus, today, today let me call on you to do 00:39:55.190 --> 00:39:59.550 that. Romans 10 9 challenges us to confess with 00:39:59.550 --> 00:40:01.349 our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe it in 00:40:01.349 --> 00:40:03.489 our heart with the promise that we will be saved. 00:40:04.050 --> 00:40:05.769 Friends, do that today if you've not done that 00:40:05.769 --> 00:40:09.070 before. Secondly, if you are here and you already 00:40:09.070 --> 00:40:12.159 have giving your life to the Lord. Let's prioritize 00:40:12.159 --> 00:40:17.820 repentance still. We may not be actively running 00:40:17.820 --> 00:40:20.940 around like Jezebel, purposefully trying to lead 00:40:20.940 --> 00:40:24.280 people astray. We may not be starting up our 00:40:24.280 --> 00:40:26.619 own sexual cults, for lack of a better term. 00:40:27.940 --> 00:40:30.380 We may not be going around giving people food 00:40:30.380 --> 00:40:35.119 sacrifice to idols. But friends, there is unrighteousness 00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:38.159 in our lives. There are places that we fall short. 00:40:38.769 --> 00:40:40.530 There are attitudes in our hearts that we need 00:40:40.530 --> 00:40:43.030 to address. Places in our lives where we're not 00:40:43.030 --> 00:40:46.429 content with what God has given us. Places in 00:40:46.429 --> 00:40:47.849 our lives where we say, God, that isn't good 00:40:47.849 --> 00:40:50.909 enough for me and I want more. We begin to be 00:40:50.909 --> 00:40:54.449 jealous of other people. Friends, let me call 00:40:54.449 --> 00:40:57.849 on you today to remove any of that Jezebel attitude. 00:40:59.070 --> 00:41:01.510 I don't mean that in like the really like, I 00:41:01.510 --> 00:41:02.690 worked at a Pentecostal school and they were 00:41:02.690 --> 00:41:03.989 always talking about whenever like a couple was 00:41:03.989 --> 00:41:05.590 caught in the hallways like a little too close 00:41:05.590 --> 00:41:07.730 together, like remove the Jezebel spirit. I'm 00:41:07.730 --> 00:41:10.510 not talking about that. I mean remove that sinful 00:41:10.510 --> 00:41:14.349 attitude. And how do we do it? We do it by going 00:41:14.349 --> 00:41:17.730 to God and giving it to God. We do it by going 00:41:17.730 --> 00:41:20.030 to God and saying, God, I don't want this. God, 00:41:20.090 --> 00:41:23.150 I need your help in this. God, I want to walk 00:41:23.150 --> 00:41:26.550 with you and follow you differently. And we give 00:41:26.550 --> 00:41:29.570 it to God and then we do a 180 degree turn and 00:41:29.570 --> 00:41:32.489 we go differently. Instead of continuing on in 00:41:32.489 --> 00:41:35.829 that sin, we turn around and we live differently. 00:41:37.989 --> 00:41:39.489 Friends, if you've ever dealt with any form of 00:41:39.489 --> 00:41:42.230 habitual sin or sin that seems to just always 00:41:42.230 --> 00:41:43.889 follow you that you never seem to get rid of, 00:41:44.469 --> 00:41:48.010 then you know what I'm about to say. It's so 00:41:48.010 --> 00:41:50.150 easy for us to go to God and say, God, help me 00:41:50.150 --> 00:41:51.730 to stop, but then we put ourselves in the same 00:41:51.730 --> 00:41:54.389 situation. We surround ourselves with the same 00:41:54.389 --> 00:41:57.329 bad group of friends again, with the same set 00:41:57.329 --> 00:42:00.050 of decisions over and over and over again, all 00:42:00.050 --> 00:42:01.750 the while saying, but God, why didn't you stop 00:42:01.750 --> 00:42:02.929 it? Why didn't you stop it? Why didn't you stop 00:42:02.929 --> 00:42:05.809 it? Friends, repentance is both us going to God 00:42:05.809 --> 00:42:08.159 and taking God's forgiveness, but it is also 00:42:08.159 --> 00:42:10.659 us looking in the mirror and making sure that 00:42:10.659 --> 00:42:14.460 our lives line up with what God wants. It's us 00:42:14.460 --> 00:42:15.719 making sure that we're not putting ourselves 00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:20.579 in the same dangerous, sinful situations. I had 00:42:20.579 --> 00:42:23.440 a friend who struggled with an addiction in college. 00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:27.639 And so we would meet once a week for accountability, 00:42:27.699 --> 00:42:29.900 and I would ask him consistently, you know, how 00:42:29.900 --> 00:42:32.719 was the week? What happened? You know, et cetera, 00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:35.079 et cetera. And finally I looked at him one week 00:42:35.079 --> 00:42:36.619 and I said, man, can I just tell you why you 00:42:36.619 --> 00:42:39.760 keep dealing with this? He goes, yeah, I'd actually 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:42.760 love to know. I go, because every week you go 00:42:42.760 --> 00:42:45.039 with the exact same people to the same place 00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:47.260 on Friday night. You do the exact same thing. 00:42:48.380 --> 00:42:50.179 You know you're not going to like it in the end, 00:42:50.219 --> 00:42:55.480 but you do it every single week. Friends, that 00:42:55.480 --> 00:42:58.760 right there is not repentance. We can go to God 00:42:58.760 --> 00:43:00.780 and say, God, forgive me. That doesn't mean that 00:43:00.780 --> 00:43:02.179 we're really repenting. So let me challenge you 00:43:02.179 --> 00:43:05.190 today. Repent. go to God, get God's forgiveness, 00:43:05.409 --> 00:43:07.590 do a 180 degree turn. Second application point, 00:43:07.809 --> 00:43:10.929 prioritize righteousness. Prioritize righteousness 00:43:10.929 --> 00:43:13.989 on a daily basis. We are called to live our lives 00:43:13.989 --> 00:43:16.369 differently. We're called to let the world see 00:43:16.369 --> 00:43:18.329 our love, our faithfulness, our service, our 00:43:18.329 --> 00:43:20.989 endurance. This passage is a reminder of what 00:43:20.989 --> 00:43:23.150 our works say about the God who loves us, who 00:43:23.150 --> 00:43:26.190 made us, who saves us. What do our actions say 00:43:26.190 --> 00:43:28.590 about God? Do we prioritize righteousness or 00:43:28.590 --> 00:43:32.230 popularity? And I love, love, love Psalm 34. 00:43:32.809 --> 00:43:35.030 which was our theme for VBS. So I want to read 00:43:35.030 --> 00:43:37.690 this for us under this point. Because I think 00:43:37.690 --> 00:43:39.429 it's a reminder of what it means for us to prioritize 00:43:39.429 --> 00:43:41.690 righteousness. It says this, I will bless the 00:43:41.690 --> 00:43:44.690 Lord at all times. His praise will always be 00:43:44.690 --> 00:43:47.769 on my lips. Let me just start with this, and 00:43:47.769 --> 00:43:50.090 I'm speaking from experience here. When I lived 00:43:50.090 --> 00:43:51.670 in Kansas City, there was a lot of terrible drivers 00:43:51.670 --> 00:43:54.510 in Kansas City. It is one of the worst driving 00:43:54.510 --> 00:43:57.070 cities in the world, I'm convinced. It's really, 00:43:57.090 --> 00:43:59.750 really hard to get super deep in road rage when 00:43:59.750 --> 00:44:02.519 you're actively singing praise to God. So first, 00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:04.219 bless the Lord at all times. His praise will 00:44:04.219 --> 00:44:06.119 always be on my lips. Secondly, I will boast 00:44:06.119 --> 00:44:08.159 in the Lord. The humble will hear and be glad. 00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:09.940 And then finally, our theme verse from this year. 00:44:10.639 --> 00:44:12.780 Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me. Let us 00:44:12.780 --> 00:44:16.219 exalt his name together. Friends, let me just 00:44:16.219 --> 00:44:19.940 ask you this. Does your life proclaim the Lord's 00:44:19.940 --> 00:44:22.599 greatness? Does my life proclaim the Lord's greatness? 00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:26.980 Does my life exalt his name? In other words, 00:44:26.980 --> 00:44:29.880 what do my actions say about Jesus? And so this 00:44:29.880 --> 00:44:32.150 afternoon, I want to give you a challenge. This 00:44:32.150 --> 00:44:35.250 afternoon, take a walk. It's beautiful today. 00:44:35.670 --> 00:44:38.130 Take a walk and take a magnifying glass to your 00:44:38.130 --> 00:44:41.170 own life, if you will, and examine it. What do 00:44:41.170 --> 00:44:43.989 your actions, your words, your love, your day 00:44:43.989 --> 00:44:45.829 -to -day living, what does it say about Jesus? 00:44:46.630 --> 00:44:49.489 Does it say faithful follower who prioritizes 00:44:49.489 --> 00:44:53.429 righteousness? Or does it say, actually, I'm 00:44:53.429 --> 00:44:55.630 more interested in fitting in and being comfortable. 00:44:56.030 --> 00:44:58.409 I'm more interested in things of the world that 00:44:58.409 --> 00:45:02.420 make me feel good. And friends, if you look in 00:45:02.420 --> 00:45:03.940 the mirror and you find yourself struggling with 00:45:03.940 --> 00:45:07.139 that second part, let me encourage you with the 00:45:07.139 --> 00:45:11.659 encouragement I just gave. Go to God. Go to God. 00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:16.300 Go repent. Live differently. Let's pray. Father, 00:45:16.360 --> 00:45:19.960 God, thank you so much for this letter to the 00:45:19.960 --> 00:45:23.780 church in Thyatira, God. God, we confess that 00:45:23.780 --> 00:45:26.719 it is so easy for us to get caught up in so many 00:45:26.719 --> 00:45:29.880 things, God. But God, specifically, we just... 00:45:30.779 --> 00:45:32.900 We confess, God, that it's so easy for us to 00:45:32.900 --> 00:45:37.940 get caught up in wanting the easy way out. God, 00:45:37.980 --> 00:45:42.639 it is hard to stand for righteousness. But yet, 00:45:42.659 --> 00:45:44.300 God, we know that that is what you have called 00:45:44.300 --> 00:45:48.320 us to do. God, you have called us to follow you 00:45:48.320 --> 00:45:51.659 in righteousness. You have called us to put our 00:45:51.659 --> 00:45:55.780 faith entirely in you. And so, God, I ask that 00:45:55.780 --> 00:45:57.559 today you would help us to really examine ourselves, 00:45:57.820 --> 00:46:01.199 God. Help us to prioritize. repentance or continually 00:46:01.199 --> 00:46:04.059 going to you for forgiveness, God, and walking 00:46:04.059 --> 00:46:08.119 new, walking fresh, God. And secondly, God, I 00:46:08.119 --> 00:46:10.000 just ask that you would help us to prioritize 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:13.380 righteousness, God. Would every part of our lives 00:46:13.380 --> 00:46:16.659 scream righteousness, scream you to the world 00:46:16.659 --> 00:46:20.139 around us, God. God, with the way that we love 00:46:20.139 --> 00:46:21.780 people, the way that we care for people, the 00:46:21.780 --> 00:46:24.539 way that we live on a daily basis, I want to 00:46:24.539 --> 00:46:26.420 honor you. In your name we pray.