In verse 18 and I'll read through the end of the chapter to the angel of the church in fire Tyra right These are the words of the Son of God Whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I Know your deeds your love and faith Your service and perseverance And that you were now doing more than you did at first Nevertheless, I have this against you You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrifice to idols I have given her time to repent of her immorality But she is unwilling So I will cast her on a bed of suffering and I will make those who committed adultery with her suffer intensely Unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds and I will repay each of you according to your deeds Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira to you who do not hold to we're teaching and have not learned Satan so called deep secrets I will not impose any other burden on you only Hold on to what you have until I come To him who overcomes and does my will to the end I will give authority over the nations He will rule them with an iron scepter. He will dash them to pieces like pottery just as I have received authority from my father I will also give him the morning star He who has an ear Let him hear what the spirit says to the churches So reads the words of the living God it is a sin About which very little is said in these days I would bet that few of you have ever heard preaching that has directly addressed it I would bet that few of you have ever thought about it as a potential problem in your own life. I Would bet that few of you have ever regarded it as a dangerous threat to the integrity of a gospel church We're I to ask you for a list identifying the five sins most grievous to God I would bet that few of you would think to include it in fact I wouldn't be surprised if it was overlooked by every one of us the reason for such oversight It's not due to the hardness of our hearts. I think or Because we have regarded ourselves as possessing a a spiritual maturity that has advanced beyond it We would overlook it beloved because we have been deceived into thinking that this sin has no real bearing on us That it's not really relevant to us That it is a sin confined to cultural contexts that are altogether different than our own But it is our very oblivion to this sin that makes its Silent malignancy so deadly. I suppose we could identify it by the use of many different terms apostasy infidelity unfaithfulness From our text this morning we could identify it by the creation of a new term Jezebelism we could call it but it's more common name is simply
idolatry in the Bible my friends there is no more serious sin than idolatry Every other sin is secondary to this sin it calls for the strictest punishment It elicits the most disdainful polemic It prompts the most extreme measures of avoidance It is regarded quite simply as the ultimate expression of unfaithfulness to our covenant Lord The very first of the ten commandments is a prohibition against idolatry. So is the second When the children of Israel are poised to enter into the promised land they are told to annihilate all of the Canaanite inhabitants without exception Why to avoid contact with idolatry? Do you realize that in historical literature of the Old Testament Kings were evaluated as either good or bad Soling on the basis of whether they sought to destroy or promote idolatry If frequency of mention were the only criteria for measuring the severity of a particular sin to God then without question idolatry would had the list But that begs the question what is idolatry? Admittedly when the term is mentioned our minds tend to run immediately to its traditional external manifestations manifestations that are often culturally conditioned But doing this you see not only limits the definition of idolatry thus making it appear irrelevant to us It diminishes its severity by overlooking its significantly more serious internal disposition A disposition that has in fact been endemic to every person in every culture throughout every period of human history So what is idolatry? We can define it by asking another question What is a God as he reflected upon the first commandment Martin Luther in his larger Catechism answered it this way whatever your heart clings to and relies upon that is your God Trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and idol Or to say it a differently a God is that which one loves? Trusts and serves above all else Now to be sure it may be a face carved into a piece of wood It may be a statue chiseled out of a block of marble It may be a star in the sky or an animal that slithers on the ground In our context however, we need to be ready to admit that it may in fact be something far less obvious Less obvious in that it may be something more sophisticated and culturally acceptable It may be another human being It may be a recreational pursuit It may be an economic ambition. It may be an academic achievement. It may be the quest for status and recognition But beloved you see the issue is still the same if what is loved trusted and served above all else is not the one true and living God as He has revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ than any and all such devotion is idolatry It is not then a sin uniquely confined to the most unenlightened pagans in the jungle who have yet to experience the benefit of the gospel It is an ever-present sin that is everywhere present It is the common vulnerability of people like us unsuspecting evangelicals who attend gospel preaching churches every Lord's day
Evangelicals can be idolaters But why may I ask Is idolatry so reprehensible to God? It is because of an eternal quality in God that expresses itself as a dimension of his sinless and holy heart namely That he is jealous As you read to the Bible has ever surprised you that God seems to be so unashamed when it comes to acknowledging his own jealousy That what is for us often conceded as a vice is for God often touted as a virtue My name is jealous. He says in Exodus chapter 34 Throughout all of the scriptures he openly uses this language to speak of himself And do you know why in part beloved because we can identify it we can identify with it We understand it we can say I know what that feels like More importantly, however, he uses that language of jealousy to illustrate a point Very important point developed in both Old Testament and new namely that he is the husband of his people and That as such he is Desirous of protecting the intimacy of that covenant relationship Now my friends, you remember the testimony to Adam and Eve, don't you? For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh To be sure it speaks of the fusion of a man and a woman into one shared human experience one flesh On the other hand at the same time it whispers the temporal limitation inherent in the marriage relationship it is after all one flesh a term often used in the Bible to denote that which is frail and temporal and mortal Marriage to be sure is a profound thing, but it can never be regarded as the ultimate thing Any union defined in terms of flesh can never be ultimate It extends for the full length of this life to be sure, but it does not transcend this life It's intention, however, is to illustrate a union that does The eternal marriage that exists between God and his people a theme introduced in the Old Testament and Expressed in its most developed form in the new where Jesus Christ is referred to as the Husband of the redeemed people of God his bride This then is why God so passionately hates adultery he regards it as an adulterous Intrusion into the covenant union he shares with his people have you read Hosea recently and The book of Jeremiah or perhaps the book of Ezekiel God himself in no delicate way I might add uses the most sexually graphic language to speak of Israel's idolatry He regards it as an attack on his exclusive rights to her love It's what Jesus is getting at you see when he says to the Pharisees and scribes an adulterous Generation asks for a sign or When he says to the crowds this adulterous and sinful generation He's speaking about idolatry using the metaphorical language of covenant unfaithfulness How does James say it you adulterous people don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God
Divine jealousy Which presupposes covenant union Is aroused by idolatry in any and all of its forms a sin That is nothing less than an attempted intrusion into the exclusive relationship of God and his people it is That ancient enemy of idolatry That now Angers the Lord of the church as he turns his attention to address the congregation in Thyatira He has been walking among the lampstands we have learned examining each church and Now for the church of Thyatira he has words of wonderful commendation words that speak of their progression and a greater spiritual maturity But this progression beloved for all of its merit Does not begin to compensate for the one offense that has always been most egregious to the heart of God In that fair field A poisonous weed has begun to grow In that healthy body a malignant tumor has begun to develop Right within that fellowship itself an enemy was being harbored and so Jesus Christ sets his sights on it This idolatrous Compromise this compromise with idolatry Now as is the case with all of the other letters this letter two can be subdivided into four categories the relevant introduction The penetrating evaluation the corresponding exhortation and finally the motivating benediction Let's look firstly this morning at the relevant introduction To the angel of the church in Thyatira right These are the words of the son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze the postman entrusted with delivering these letters having begun his round edificis then Traveling north from there to Smirta and then further north and a bit east to Pergamum now turns south east and travels another 40 miles to the city of Thyatira The city very much unlike the other cities we have considered It was not a strong seat of emperor worship as was Pergamum for example Nor was it a city with a large Jewish population that could prove problematic to the church as was the case in Smirna we discovered Of the seven Asia-Minor cities Thyatira was the least significant Ironically it receives the longest letter With though Thyatira had no real political or religious significance its identity was molded by its Manufacturing industries to say it quite simply friends. It was a union town It was a union town archaeologists have found inscriptions that mentioned guilds of wool workers and linen workers leather workers tanners bakers potters Don't forget that Most notably however Thyatira was noted for two trades in particular the first was metal working in Fact there are some who suggest that the Greek word that is here translated burnished bronze in verse 18 Was a trade name for a special kind of bronze produced only in Thyatira and that the guild there Carefully guarded the secret process for making this prized kind of bronze It is interesting that to the Thyatira in church Jesus would choose this means of identification The second trade for which Thyatira was famous was the dying of Fabrics Do you happen to remember the name of a woman who was an exporter of Died fabric She worked for the purple cloth company of Thyatira Her name was Lydia She had come to faith in Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Apostle Paul Acts chapter 16 She was probably the first Christian in that city and may have in fact been the one responsible for the beginnings of the church there We don't know for sure, but it certainly is a possibility Well the point friends is that these guilds these unions as it were these trade guilds control the city a Dominated the life of the city and the economics of the city And so if you expected to make a living in Thyatira doing so apart from membership and a guild proved to be near impossible These guilds combined some of the features of our present-day labor unions with certain pagan religious Features in other words each guild had its own patron God Your membership in that guild implied that you worshiped its God That meant that you were expected to attend the guild festivals which included eating the meat that had been Sacrifice to the God of that guild and then when all of the eating and drinking had come to an end You then engaged in sexual activity with the priests or priestesses of that guild as an act of worship to its God Well the million-dollar question is obvious isn't it? What then is a Christian to do? What does a Christian do? These trade guild festivals regarded as compulsory Do you not show up? Do you slip out the back door when the compromises begin and How long will that go unnoticed? Beloved, this is not merely an academic dilemma It was real to these people and I might add it is as relevant to us today as it was then This is the question we have to ask ourselves always to what extent can I as a Christian adopt the contemporary standards of my cultural context as a Christian doctor or a nurse you face this question as A journeyman in the construction industry you feel the tug of this tension you encounter this as a teacher You encounter this as a salesman of insurance are young men and women are confronted with this as they become members of a sport team or a cheerleading squad or a musical group How far can a Christian go? On the one hand a Christian cannot deny his faith on the other hand He must not deny his presence in society The cause of Jesus Christ is not served when Christians appear to be weird When Christians Seem to be a group of irrelevant people trying their best to disengage from the world and And so what's the answer? What's the solution from a Christian perspective? This was the question is the question we all face beloved and we all live with for the Thyatyrin Christians however It was a matter of survival The issue ultimately came down to an economic concern Expulsion from the guild and being ostracized from the community in which you lived It meant that you would not be able to earn money in the traditional ways It meant that the well-being of your family would be engraved jeopardy. It was economic suicide and so the implications of Jesus Christ Who say to us? He is not worthy of me who who does not love me more than father brother sister brother husband wife son or daughter It's not merely it's not merely a theoretical consideration for these Thyatyrins. It was reality It was being played out in their very city in their church. How does Jesus uniquely identify himself to these Christians? He says these are the words of the son of God I'll show you the relevance of this later. It ties in directly with what Jesus says in his benediction He then adds whose eyes are like blazing fire eyes like lasers that see through everything and Whose feet are like burnished bronze trampling underfoot anything that gets in their way all of these three means of identification Suggest impending judgment as we will soon see That's the relevant introduction Now let's consider the penetrating evaluation It begins with words of great encouragement words of affirmation. I Know your deeds Your love and faith your service and perseverance I read it the way the original intends for it to be read. I know your deeds. What am I talking about in particular? Your love, faith, service, and perseverance In other words, their love, faith, service, and perseverance are the explanation of the deeds that Jesus knows and commends But to be even more precise beloved, the first two qualities mentioned serve as the motivating forces for the second two qualities In other words, their love had expressed itself concretely in service Their faith had expressed itself concretely in Perseverance in other words the first two are the motivating forces the second two are the resultant fruit Love that manifested self in ministry to the body Faith that manifests itself in endurance through trials This friends is no small thing This was not a congregation of empty boasts
claiming love for Christ claiming faith in Christ with no Corresponding evidence or proof of such things They were the real deal Love that served faith that persevered and what's more the catalog of their virtues is not yet finished Notice Jesus says and that you are now doing more than you did at first Well, if you remember beloved, it's the very opposite of what Jesus says about the Ephesians You recall how Jesus exhorted them back in verse five? Remember the height from which you have fallen Repent and do the things you did at first in other words the Ephesians had regressed The Thayataiwan congregation had progressed look at verse 19 You're now doing more than you did at first there had been growth there had been maturity there had been progression But that's not all that Jesus has to say about the church in Thayatai It's interesting the parallel between this church and the one in Ephesus that I've already mentioned There was Ephesus For all of her theological discernment she had become belligerent and had lost her first love Now there is Thayataira For all her love she had jettisoned all theological discernment and had crawled into bed with the devil himself Verse 20 Nevertheless, I have this against you You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess By her teaching she misleads or deceives or baguials my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrifice to idols I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling now But let's make sure we identify the nature of the problem That we identify it rightly the problem here is not that there is a woman Prophet in the Thayataihran church the issue here is not gender The new covenant promises us that women will prophesy Or over the book of Acts and first Corinthians speak to this very issue We're not talking here about elders and deacons. We're talking about this role of prophesying something the new covenant speaks about inclusively of women That's not the problem here. The problem rather is the church's toleration of the presence of a prophet who has not been sent of God Now it is safe to assume that she was a gifted woman otherwise she would have never gained a following But her message very clearly is not from God and how do we know this? We know this by the name that Jesus gives her Jezebel and We know this by the consequences of her teaching misleading deceiving Beguiling God's people into idolatry participation in the worship of the gods of the trade guilds Now friends, I think it's safe to say that this woman's name in all probability was not Jezebel I think literally her name is not Jezebel rather it is the nickname Jesus Distainfully gives to her. It's what he calls her Why Jezebel Because the historical Jezebel was a prototype of what this woman in the church of fire Tyra had become Because this woman in the church of fire Tyra was doing the very thing that that original Jezebel had done in Israel Because giving her this name exposed her true character You remember that part of the Old Testament first king second kings Jezebel was a powerful and domineering woman married to a weak Paltry passive man King a half a sad excuse really for a man a sad excuse a pathetic human being king a half was Moreover, she was a committed worshipper to the god bail She persuaded her husband to become a bail worshipper. They together introduced bail worship into the covenant community She supported personally 850 false prophets while at the same time attempted to kill off all of the prophets of Yahweh in Second kings chapter 9 verse 22 were told that she was notorious for her idolatry her hordoms and her witchcraft That was a thousand years before Jesus now speaks these words But as it were the evil spirit of Jezebel had become reincarnated in this woman claiming to be a prophet Her message was simple I've got a word from God That's what a prophet said I've got a word from God Christianity can coexist with a full participation in these pagan festivals I mean after all you're not being asked to renounce your faith in Jesus Christ are you? What's more, these are not real gods anyway only the imaginary deities of pagan people Don't be so narrow. Don't be so exclusive. Don't jeopardize your families relax. You can do this with a clear conscience And all along the church was saying well We don't want to be divisive We don't want to appear harsh or Unloving we don't want to be misperceived by the community We want to be seeker sensitive after all and you know she does appear to be a gifted woman So let's plunge all of our theological differences into the ocean of brotherly love After all men do have to work. They have to earn a living families do have to eat we do have to function within the system I mean rendered to Caesar what it sees there's after all just like Jesus taught us The church was being as spineless toward this second Jezebel as a had had been with the first and friends you see It is for this very reason today in our own time But the church of Jesus Christ has become so profoundly weakened Teppid I can certainly appreciate the fact that Fundamentalism has been notorious For dividing over issues like end-time teachings Spiritual gifts the use of alcohol differing versions of the Bible all of which I think are absolutely silly and adolescent and often times I think nothing short of contemptible in time Beloved there are issues that involve spiritual life and death such as compromises with idolatry I Think I think that when the history is finally written about American evangelicalism in the late 20th century early 21st century One of the things that will be said about people like us beloved is that they spent endless time arguing and dividing over Comparatively trivial things while at the same time wholeheartedly swallowing things that we're all together destructive to their very life We don't know what to fight about and that what was that's what was going on you see in Thyra time where they're tolerating this woman And in our own day you see it is so amazing that very often when someone speaks to these issues in the church with any kind of Definitive word our sense of decorum is offended. Why? I'll tell you why it's because the culture after all has persuaded us Whether we know it or not That the only real vice in our world today is intolerance Relativism has been absolutized Talk about an oxymoron in other words everyone is right Unless one claims to be Do you realize friends that 72% of Americans in the 18 to 25 age bracket believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth Hold on to your horses half of that 72% claim to be born again Christians Among the students pulled at a few evangelical colleges and seminaries One third believe that there are other ways of salvation possible other than through faith in Jesus Christ Listen to what one writer has said the absolute necessity of faith in Christ for salvation has become a more uncomfortable position for many to hold Over 19th centuries of Christian missionary activity hinged on this belief alone But studies reveal that this remains the single most socially offensive aspect of Christian theology To look a person in the eye and to say there is no other way except through Jesus Christ Perhaps the greatest idol we face believe it is the idol of cultural acceptance That's what was going on in Thyatira Bowing at the altar of cultural approval. So as to secure economic well-being But it was Jesus himself who tackled that idol didn't he when he said you can't serve God and Maman Maybe the greatest idol after all his money well the congregation had tolerated this idolatry Jesus on the other hand notice friends verse 21 is not quite so pluralistic in His thinking I Have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling again the sin of idolatry in the language of covenants unfaithfulness This immorality language so he says I will cast her on a bed of suffering I Will make those who committed adultery with her suffer intensely unless they repent of her ways I will strike her children dead Now my friends here is the reason why Jesus identified himself back up in verse 18 the way he did the one with the feet of burnished bronze In the imagery of the Bible to tread upon something with your feet Means that you have conquered and subjugated that person More over here the feet are bronze They are heavy they crush everything underneath them Here It speaks of an unstoppable judgment that takes the form of great suffering and even death Jezebel herself we're told will be cast on a bed of suffering Perhaps fatal suffering I find that highly ironic don't you Jesus plays with this metaphor? Do you get that the punishment fits the crime the woman who had profaned the bed of covenant love is now bound to the bed of infirmity So also those who committed adultery with her will suffer intensely her children will be struck dead or Perhaps another way of interpreting this in the Greek is they will be struck with a great pestilence a plague But notice something here friends Look look up in verse 20 You see the phrase my servants she this leads my servants into sexual immorality You see the phrase in verse 22 those who committed adultery with her You see the phrase in verse 23 her children you can circle those groups of people connect them with the line because they all refer to the same group Those who have adhered to the teaching of this false prophet and continue to engage in idolatry They will not be able to escape the judgment of the one whose feet are like Burnished drawn The only thing that can prevent it Is their repentance the repudiation of their idolatry unless they repent of her way But but but Jesus we ask Why this immediate visitation in judgment what why not just wait until the end? Why not just wait until the great and final day that that place when all scores will be settled all wrongs made right Why not just wait for that great white thrown judgment when all of humanity stands before you he tells us Then all the churches will know That I am he who searches hearts and minds and I will repay each of you according to your deeds Love it when God destroyed Egypt in the Exodus. What was the resultant effect in the hearts of the surrounding nations? The Bible tells us They trembled in fear and Jesus knows here you see that if he powerfully intervenes in judgment and suddenly
Remove this idolatry from the church in Thyatira by way of this physical chest Disment this judgment Then all of the remaining churches will know that he is in fact the all-seeing judge who repays in a manner Commensurate with our deeds This is why he identified himself in verse 18 as the one whose eyes are like burning fire His judgment will be infallible because they penetrate into the innermost reaches of the human heart It's an illusion beloved to Jeremiah 17 God says I the Lord searched the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct according to what his deeds deserve You know what's so interesting about the statement from Jeremiah is that in its original context it refers to God's judgment of those within the covenant community who practice idolatry out of economic motives The very thing going on in Thyatira This is the penetrating evaluation of that church by Jesus Christ. There has been growth in Christian graces Love, faith, service, perseverance But it can't begin to compensate for their idolatrous compromise you tolerate that woman Jezebel Well, here's the corresponding exhortation Verse 25 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira To you who do not hold to where teaching and have not learned Satan so called deep secrets Apparently this was how this prophetus sold her wares. I've got a word from God A deeper kind of teaching on the Christian life That would somehow justify this idolatry
Jesus here With the eyes that burn like a flame of fire Acknowledges it for what it really is. He says it's satanic
He says Now to the rest of you in Thyatira to you who do not hold to where teaching and have not learned Satan so called deep secrets I will not impose any other burden on you any other burden than what Next verse only hold on to what you have until I come in other words Until I come to deal with these idolatres. I think the context forces us to understand it this way Until I come to deal with these people who have engaged in this idolatrous compromise
Hold on to what you have remain relentless In your grasp on the truth And the emphasis of the Greek here beloved stresses great urgency Don't succumb to the allure of idolatry Compromise with idolatry as fatal keep your grip on the truth Hold on to what you have How do we do this? Practically speaking How do we do this hold on to what you have How do we maintain the purity of an unmixed Christianity
Read the word Read the word Read the word Read the word The most effective way of identifying falsehood is immersion in the word
That's the answer Don't become an expert in the cults
Read the word Beloved I want to tell you something Satan does not show up on a Sunday morning and say okay everyone who wants to engage in idolatry sign up at the table in the lobby These people were misled they were deceived as it were they were beguiled Satan masks himself were told in the Bible as an angel of light This woman had persuaded people that she had a message from God God told me this would put this woman on television She may be on television We'd sell her books into Christian bookstores It's coming from within the ranks and here's the point beloved. It almost always does
Wolves in sheep's clothing So why are we so naive to think that Satan would never come at us in this same way It will come at us in the form of books that line the shelves of Christian bookstores It will come at us from those who speak on Christian radio It will come in the form of popular Christian movements that seem to be like the hottest thing around It will come at us in the form of various expressions of quote-unquote Christian counseling The error will not be obvious the error will be subtle the error will be slight So slight that only those with minds made sensitive by unrelenting exposure to the word of God Will be able to discern its delicate deception
I want to tell you something beloved I've lost track on fingers and toes of the numbers of seminary graduates I've known who have willingly plunged headlong into the seeker sensitive movement While in the back of their very churches there are since a few senior citizens who've read their Bible for 40 50 60 years and they say you know there's something not right about this
Here's the corresponding exhortation hold on to what you have and That's followed with the glorious promise The motivating benediction to him who overcomes and does my will to the end in this case To those who refrain from being seduced into idolatry whether through the means of false teaching or cultural pressure To those who overcome I will give authority over the nations Hmm, I will give authority over the nations look at the end of verse 27 Just as I have received authority from my father and then squeezed right in the middle He will rule them with an iron scepter. He will dash them to pieces like pottery Now that friends is a paraphrase of the second song A song that was read at the inaugural ceremony when a new king was crowned in Israel Have you read song too lately? In that song the king is referred to in an amazing way the king is called gods son The king is called the son of God that Messianic figure small m small messiah that king is regarded as god's son Well, you see beloved now. This is what Jesus was hitting at back up in verse 18 when he identifies himself as the son of god He knew that he was headed here in his benediction. I am the ultimate fulfillment of song two I am the great ultimate Messianic king who is god's son Paraxoans And what does this kingly office include he tells us authority over the nations But why is this important because the kingdom of god cannot be consummated until all of its enemies are destroyed And that's what is in view here Jesus has been invested with universal authority to destroy his enemies He says in verse 27 he that is this Messianic king He will rule them with an iron scepter now the verb can mean to rule But it can also mean as it very often does in the remainder of the book of revelation to destroy To shatter to break And that's the idea here beloved as made evident by the parallelism in the next line He will break them Shatter them with an iron scepter. He will dash them to pieces like pottery You can be certain that those belonging to the pottery guild and thia tyrant who exactly what that image was intending to convey There is coming a day says Jesus When I will shatter the power of all my enemies and here's his point Every one who overcomes compromise with idolatry Will share in this dominance with me
It's not the few it's not the elite it's not the really committed Christians he has in mind This is how he defines all true Christians they will overcome as a consequence They will play a part in judging the nations with me shattering my enemies sharing in my messianic authority And beloved what a bleak anticipation this must be for those who are not Christians
You say well gee I I don't know that is a Christian. I'm I'm ready for such a thing I mean it all sounds so severe it all sounds so violent beloved don't make yourself out to be more compassionate than God The point is on that day You will be so holy so righteous so much like Jesus Christ that you will rejoice in the condemnation of the wicked Just this week in my own devotional time I read reading in the book of Psalms and David says it like this The righteous will be glad when they are avenged when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked Then men will say surely the righteous are still rewarded surely there is a God who judges the earth You know what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 22 You don't you know that the saints will judge the world
We share in his messianic authority not beloved in a vindictive way But with hearts so profoundly made like that of Jesus Christ That all we can do is rejoice with exuberant praise in his judgment of the unbelieving
For the overcomer however notice Jesus has a second gift Not only sharing in his messianic authority But verse 28 I will also give him the morning star in numbers chapter 24 A prophecy is made that one day a star will rise out of Jacob A sector will arise out of Israel that will destroy the enemies of God We understand this rightly so to be a foretelling of the coming of Jesus Christ At the other end of the Bible Revelation 22 Jesus names himself in this manner. I am the root and offspring of David The bright morning star When Jesus promises the overcomers that they will receive the morning star
He is promising to them the gift of himself In a way far greater than they will ever have known in this life
Uninterrupted intimacy between two people of sinless perfection
To Ephesus he promises the tree of life To Smirna he promises deliverance from the second death To Pergamum he promises admission to the marriage supper of the lamb But to Thia Tyra He promises himself. It's the gift For those who refuse Idolatrous compromise Let me ask you beloved What is it that you love trust and serve above all else if you forsake all others And keep yourself only unto me you will have Says Jesus What is it that we sing In your presence Lord is where I want to dwell Oh let me deeply drink from your ever flowing well Consume my every thought refresh my heart anew May all my worship be in spirit and in true One day For overcomers That will cease to be a prayer It will be life itself
It's what will make heaven heaven because without heaven without Jesus
Heaven would be hell He who has an ear Let him hear what the spirit says To the churches would you bow your heads with me please
Our father our desire always is to not place ourselves Under the opinions philosophies of a man human being It's always to hear your word because in hearing your word we hear your very voice And we detect your very heart
We thank you for this portion of your word which speaks so strongly to us about something that perhaps we thought to be irrelevant to us We think of idolatry and we think of people in foreign lands who have not entered into modern civilization We think of totem poles and statues and All other kinds of strange things and yet we realize oh lord and god that we ourselves are uniquely susceptible To this sin that is so profoundly offensive to you This business of idolatry this business of trusting loving and serving Above all else someone or something other than you We are thankful oh lord and god even for what you said to the thigh tyrants The repentance the the the offer of repentance had been held out to them And father we are thankful as as your spirit searches our own hearts and and seeks out expressions of idolatry We pray that as they are revealed to our attention you would grant us the grace to turn from them Oh lord and god may we realize that what you want from us is our wholehearted devotion
That we must keep ourselves from idols We thank you for your mercy and we thank you for the promise that is ours the promise one day of sharing in your glorious Messianic authority We thank you oh god for the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ himself in ways far more intimate that we could even now begin to appreciate That we will have him It's what will make heaven heaven and father we anticipated with great delight We love you and we adore you this morning strengthen us in these things we pray for Christ say Amen