Text: Revelation 2:18-29

My purpose for this message: Remind believers it is each of our responsibilities to maintain the purity of the church.

Date delivered: June 6, 2010

Dear Thyatira EFC, LISTEN! Love, Jesus

Pray.

In 1992, a married woman in a California megachurch told the elders that their pastor David Hocking had been having an affair with her. When Dr. Hocking returned from the Middle East and was confronted, he too admitted it. He resigned and church leaders began to follow a discipline and restoration plan.

But Pastor Chuck Smith from nearby Calvary Chapel felt it would be too great a loss to the church of Jesus Christ to sideline Dr. Hocking so he hired him, circumventing the church’s plan of discipline. Exasperated, the church elders excommunicated Dr. Hocking which led to these headlines in the L.A. Times: Excommunication shocks, confuses disgraced pastor.

His elder team had not been unclear about what they expected from him, but he seemed to think their expectations were out of line. In the weeks ahead, some church members joined him at Calvary Chapel, others were stunned by his insolence. The church floundered for several years before current pastor David Mitchell was hired.

It seems like the elders did it all right. Their thanks was an irate ex-employee, public criticism, upset church members, and a ministry that had to be rebuilt.

If you want to become a church elder, strap on your armor because it can be a thankless job that requires the hard work of loving God and His people enough to call them to account. If we fail to, God will call us to account.

FIND Revelation 2:18-29. We’re looking at 7 letters Jesus wrote to 7 churches in what’s Turkey today—the province of Asia then. About A.D. 95. For each church he’d say what was good about it, what was bad, what they needed to do, then described what rewards He had in store for the faithful.

He began each letter by identifying Himself—and I don’t know if you’ve been noticing, each time he describes himself differently, usually in a way related to how he will deal with each church.

To Pergamum last week, he said he had a two-edged sword, and said unless they repented, he’d use it to fight against the unfaithful in the church. Let’s see who He is to the church in Thyatira. READ.

Background

Here, Jesus is the One who has eyes like blazing fire and feet like polished bronze. The fiery eyes indicate that He scrutinizes the hearts/minds of those in His church (2:23), and His polished bronze feet symbolize the purity he expects of it.

Whereas Pergamum was a center of civil religion, Thyatira was a commercial center—especially for the garment industry: where goods were manufactured from wool, leather was tanned, cloth dyed purple…, it was the Manhattan of the Asian province. A city awash with merchants, craftsmen and “trade guilds” (forerunners to our modern trade unions).

We don’t know how this church started but in Acts 16, in Philippi Paul the missionary met Lydia from Thyatira and led her to Christ. Perhaps when she got home she became the seed of this church. It’s about 44 years later and much about this church—now, well established, pleased Christ.

1. What’s good

What’s good? Just about everything: Deeds, love, faith, service, perseverance, the people were doing more for Christ and for each other, than ever had. This is one of the Bible’s best descriptions of progressive sanctification.

2. What’s bad

Christ was clearly glad about what was good, but what was bad was awful. A self-proclaimed prophetess in the church Jesus nicknamed “Jezebel”, told church members, “Feel free to attend idol feasts, to have sex with whomever.” Same sins that plagued Pergamum.

The original Jezebel was an Israeli queen from 700 years earlier. Wife to King Ahab she was not a Jew, but a Sidonian princess. Wicked to the bone, she was clearly the one in charge in the marriage and on the throne. With Baal worship she contaminated the nation. She hunted down and slaughtered God’s prophets. She did whatever Ahab didn’t have the backbone for.

So why would professing Christians follow such a woman? One, remember, Thyatira is a place with a lot of trade unions. There are some Christians today who won’t work at a company where they have to join a union. They want no part of union corruption, union funding of candidates they can’t endorse, the chance of strongarming—or even violently pressuring those who don’t walk in lockstep.

Imagine living someplace where that was your only option in order to earn a living. Thyatira’s trade unions also each had its own god. So, for example, all tradesmen who tanned leather had a god to whom guild members were expected to sacrifice as well as eat the sacrificial food. Same with bronze makers and those who dyed wool. And as we said last week, pagan worship often included sexual immorality and that was the case in these guilds.

It’s doubtful this woman had any official teaching position in the church, but basically advocated this stuff: go ahead and join the guild—after all you’ve got to earn a living, and feel free to do what you have to. Maybe her rationale was “God understands”, or the Gnostic idea that you can still keep your spirit pure for God while you do evil with your body. The body’s evil and will be destroyed so no biggie.

Two, as to some of these rebels knowing “Satan’s so-called deep secrets”, in the first century or two of the church, there were those who taught that the only way to truly grasp the greatness of God’s grace, was to first experience the depths of evil. That way you’d learn Satan’s limits and come out victorious. Kind of like, “go ahead and have a lot of sex with whomever, and in the process you’ll experience both it’s inadequacy to satisfy—and, the great adequacy of grace to cover your sin.” Remember when Paul asked, “What then, shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Romans 6:1)

3. What’s needed

What’s needed? Obviously, repentance but it’s too late for this woman. Having refused Jesus is going to bring upon her a very painful illness. (Most illness is not judgment, but there are times.) REREAD vv.22b-23.

Punishment too would be meted out to her adulterers, her children—neither of which are literal. Yes, sexual sin was occurring—but probably with pagan priestesses—not her. Commentator Robert Mounce says those described as her lovers were probably the ones only flirting with what she endorsed, while those described as “her children” were totally converted to her way of thinking. The flirters still had a chance to repent, but the rest Jesus planned to put to death. (Take that to heart—all you who believe that Jesus does little more than smile at your ongoing, unrepentant sin.)

But Jesus’ main message to this church, was not to the minority who were out in left field; it was to the larger body—including the leaders—who had failed to run out into left field and confront the sin there. REREAD v.20a.

You tolerate… Isn’t it true that we hate “tolerating” the sin of the world and we object when the world pressures us to tolerate it? We won’t tolerate your homosexuality, we won’t tolerate your Darwinism, we won’t tolerate your profligate spending… But these are unredeemed people. How well do we police our own ranks?

While church discipline is an elder responsibility—at least its official consummation, church purity is all of our responsibilities. Somebody tells you a dirty joke, or a racist joke, do you interrupt and say, “That’s ungodly and I won’t listen to it. And you shouldn’t tell it.”? What about the church member who mentions the short cuts he took on his taxes? Or, she admits she’s not reading her Bible? Or, the gossip that’s passed to you? I suspect we think, “Oh, that’s not good but I’m certainly not going to say anything and come across as self-righteous, “ or we remind ourselves, “I’m a sinner too.” True. That reality should make us “speak the truth, in love.” Say it with a humble attitude, conveying not judgment, but accountability. But say it. Speak the truth.

If you know of a brother or sister who’s fooling around with someone, do you confront them, or figure it’s none of your business; or you don’t want to get involved; or… You know what you tell yourselves.

Brothers and sisters, it is your business. It’s your family of faith. It’s your church. Love the church. If we love it, we must view it as Jesus’ does. This is his bride, the one he’s presenting to Himself without STAIN or WRINKLE or any other blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

4. What’s promised to the faithful

Shared rule with Jesus in the millennial kingdom. REREAD vv.26-28. Like Daniel and all those kings in Babylon, those who walk faithfully with Jesus to the end will share governing responsibilities in Jesus’ earthly kingdom. We receive the morning star, I’m thinking that’s simply a reference to receiving Jesus himself (Revelation 22:16), not as in salvation, but as in receiving Him in all of His fullness when we die, when we’re glorified.

Concl:

It’s easy to think the Thyatira Free Church problems could never plague us. What Bible-teaching church would embrace idolatry, sexual liberty and “Satan’s deep secrets”? And yet in both this church and the one at Pergamum, there were many orthodox, faithful Christians who apparently just looked the other direction. I’m sure the acceptance was gradual, hardly noticeable. Like the proverbial frog in the kettle, he’s not aware he’s being boiled alive because the heat is turned up so slowly.

Pray often for your elders. These are watchmen over the church who must one day give an account (Hebrews 13:17). Because it can be such a thankless calling, it can be hard to address sin; who wants conflict, who wants people angry with them? Over the last 25 years I’ve witnessed some unpleasant things play out in other churches—and in ours. And leaders—even if they do things pretty much by the Book, will endure criticism ranging from lobby comments to community gossip—in some cases even the press gets involved. So, pray for them to be bold, to be willing to run out into left field.

And pray for the church, for yourself, that with the leaders of Keystone, you would boldly shoulder your responsibility for the purity of the church, for its holiness, for its faith. And then, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head, that is Christ. (Ephesians 4:15). It matters a great deal how we say these hard things; but it matters even more that we say them.