WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:04.280 Hey, I'm going to invite you to Revelation chapter two is where we're at together today. 00:00:04.660 --> 00:00:11.480 Revelation chapter two, as we are in the middle of this book of Revelation dealing with specifically with the seven churches. 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:19.140 So if you remember, I told you in chapter one, the book of Revelation, the way the author describes for us, he says that this 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:21.760 letter is written to what is and what is to come. 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:28.860 And so the first three chapters of Revelation, we're dealing with the current context of the first century, what is and then and 00:00:28.860 --> 00:00:30.040 then chapter four and on. 00:00:30.040 --> 00:00:31.770 We're going to deal with what is to come. 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:36.200 And this is that we're dealing with the fourth church of seven churches today. 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:43.940 These seven churches are a picture of God's universal church throughout history and the battles that we face. 00:00:43.980 --> 00:00:51.030 But the joy that we have in being able to walk with Jesus despite circumstances around us, when it feels like the world is falling apart, 00:00:51.440 --> 00:00:54.630 we have a hope that endures through all circumstances. 00:00:54.780 --> 00:01:01.980 We, as God's people, should walk joyfully in the midst of a broken world, knowing that while Babylon continues to fall, our hope is for a greater 00:01:01.980 --> 00:01:03.510 king and a greater kingdom. 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:08.460 And these seven letters to these individual churches is really like reading a diary. 00:01:08.600 --> 00:01:14.940 We're getting to see where these churches are struggling, where they're succeeding, and the Lord is trying to encourage them through all of it. 00:01:14.940 --> 00:01:21.940 And despite what might be happening around them, not to give in to the pressures of this world, but continue to walk with their head lifted high, 00:01:21.940 --> 00:01:24.770 knowing that they have victory already in Jesus. 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:31.360 And you know, I can't think of a more important message to say to you than really next dealing with next week. 00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:38.800 You know, however, however that shakes down, I don't I don't, when you think about America these days, I find a lot of people are 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:41.440 more in the negative than the positive. 00:01:41.820 --> 00:01:45.720 But let me just remind you of, as God's people, you always have a greater hope. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:52.890 The greater the greatest days are still before you because of who you are in Jesus, and that God wants to use you to make a difference in this world because 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:57.430 of what Christ has done for you and what God desires to do in you. 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:04.680 And when we come to this fourth church today, we're very much seeing that as we read these letters to these seven churches, the 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:11.760 Lord is really able to use this for us to begin to examine our own heart, the affections of our life, and really ask the question 00:02:11.760 --> 00:02:13.750 of ourselves do we love Jesus? 00:02:13.880 --> 00:02:16.380 And how much do you do you love Jesus? 00:02:16.540 --> 00:02:21.900 Because the things of this world can certainly test that love that you might have for Christ. 00:02:22.740 --> 00:02:29.580 And in examining the affections of our heart, we get the opportunity to ask that question do I do I really love God? 00:02:29.640 --> 00:02:31.660 And how deep is that love for him? 00:02:31.660 --> 00:02:34.600 I mean, Jesus was willing to give everything for me. 00:02:34.940 --> 00:02:35.720 And is there? 00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:39.640 Is there an extent to my heart that I am not willing to go in order to follow Christ? 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:44.340 Or how far would I be willing to go in order to follow Christ in this world? 00:02:44.880 --> 00:02:50.290 And, and I asked those questions dealing particularly with the church of Thyatira, which is what we're going to look at today. 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:58.220 The city of Thyatira, out of all the seven cities that these letters are written to the city of Thyatira 00:02:58.220 --> 00:03:04.420 would be considered really more of one of the more insignificant cities of the seven cities, and not that they're not important. 00:03:04.700 --> 00:03:08.920 But in terms of size, Thyatira is the smallest of the seven cities. 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:16.260 But when you read this letter, chapter two, starting in verse 18 to this particular church, you find that while they're small, the Lord wrote the longest letter to 00:03:16.260 --> 00:03:22.120 this group of people and his desires for the church to honor God where they are. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:29.280 And, one of the reasons I say that this city is one of the more insignificant cities among the seven is that each of the cities that we've looked up 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:35.260 at to this point, they have had something prominent that has defined this, the particular cities. 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:38.660 Some of them had one of the seven wonders of the world in Ephesus. 00:03:38.920 --> 00:03:43.920 And some of them have very prominent temples that people would travel just to worship in. 00:03:44.480 --> 00:03:46.280 Thyatira really didn't have any of that. 00:03:46.420 --> 00:03:50.480 They had a temple dedicated to the god Apollo, which we'll look at in a minute. 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:58.100 But the only thing that really made this city unique is that they were they were known for their guilds, which we would not use that word today. 00:03:58.140 --> 00:03:58.440 We would. 00:03:58.440 --> 00:03:59.360 More use the word unions. 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:01.280 They were known for their unions. 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:07.260 And if you wanted a job in Thyatira, it was expected that you would belong to a guild. 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:12.580 But what was difficult for the church is that every one of the guilds that they had, and there were many prominent guilds. 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:16.550 For example, they had a guild dedicated to purple dye. 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:21.940 If you know anything about Rome during this time, purple dye was for the elite class, right? 00:04:21.940 --> 00:04:27.340 If you had something dyed purple, you were considered of the wealthy bunch of people in society. 00:04:27.700 --> 00:04:34.820 And when you read in the book of acts, you find there was one particular lady named Lydia who was who was from Thyatira, but 00:04:34.820 --> 00:04:38.200 at the time she was living in Philippi, and her trade was of the purple dye. 00:04:38.220 --> 00:04:42.230 And she was Paul's first convert in the city of Philippi, where the church began. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:44.840 So Thyatira was known for its purple dye. 00:04:44.840 --> 00:04:46.340 It was known for its bronze work. 00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:53.400 It was known for its leather, working, for its wool had different trades, and with every one of those trades there was a guild or a union, but 00:04:53.400 --> 00:04:58.090 each one of those guilds had dedicated themselves to a false god. 00:04:58.640 --> 00:05:00.850 So every guild had a false god that represented it. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.240 And in each guild they often had festivals to celebrate those false gods. 00:05:05.400 --> 00:05:12.320 And in those festivals there was all sorts of debauchery and sexual activity that took place. 00:05:12.400 --> 00:05:19.380 And so the church was faced with a tremendous challenge here, because if they wanted to have a job, they had to belong to a guild. 00:05:19.380 --> 00:05:21.990 But in order to belong to a guild, they had to bow the knee to a false god. 00:05:22.340 --> 00:05:27.940 And the question was for the church, what were you going to do in the midst of that struggle? 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:29.300 How would you respond? 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:35.470 Would you choose to honor God and sacrifice income and maybe even possibly your career? 00:05:36.640 --> 00:05:43.400 Or would you compromise on your faith and bow the knee to another God just to save face and stay in the position that you were in? 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:49.580 It was a very challenging position for the church to be in. 00:05:49.840 --> 00:05:57.140 But for us, it's similar things today that there are positions that we might find ourselves in terms of our own relationship with Christ, where we're 00:05:57.140 --> 00:05:59.150 faced with that same conundrum. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.800 And what are you going to honor with your life, and especially when it might cost you? 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:08.010 How much are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel? 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:16.480 I mean, that's the question we want to talk about today, because when you think about what it takes to make a change in the culture around you, it 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:21.000 requires someone willing to give of themselves for the benefit of someone else. 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:25.160 You know, this is exactly what Jesus modeled for us with his own life. 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:32.940 In order to bring about change, to produce change in your own heart, it required one willing to give up his life, that you could find 00:06:32.940 --> 00:06:34.380 freedom through him. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:37.070 And it's the same thing for our society today. 00:06:37.940 --> 00:06:42.640 You know, it's one thing to sit back and complain and grumble like an armchair quarterback about the way things are. 00:06:42.700 --> 00:06:43.490 If you don't like it. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.260 But God calls you to be something more than that. 00:06:47.700 --> 00:06:52.000 God calls you to lead as an individual of influence in this world. 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:54.500 Not not casting stones. 00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:56.370 And it doesn't mean you can't call a spade a spade. 00:06:57.060 --> 00:07:00.670 But to live a life for the kind of change that you want to see in this world. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:05.600 And I think one of the most beautiful pictures that the Bible gives to us is one of a shepherd. 00:07:06.380 --> 00:07:07.980 You think about the image of what a shepherd is. 00:07:08.080 --> 00:07:13.240 It's not it's not someone who stands behind everybody and just demands them and moving forward. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:17.560 But it's one who gets out in front and leads by example, calling people to them. 00:07:17.900 --> 00:07:20.450 And this is the kind of influence that Scripture speaks to. 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:24.100 And what God desires for his people. 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:28.220 Now, how much are you willing to give for the sake of the gospel where you are? 00:07:28.400 --> 00:07:29.510 What are you willing to sacrifice? 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:36.190 Not not just in terms of making changes, but even in your own relationship with the Lord, do you think for the church of Thyatira? 00:07:37.280 --> 00:07:42.260 When they would compromise in their own relationship with the Lord? 00:07:42.280 --> 00:07:49.140 The thing that would happen is not only are people around them not seeing the purity of the gospel, but their own relationship with God is impacted because of it. 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:57.600 And so maybe we could ask, how far is your love for Jesus willing to go as Jesus has 00:07:57.600 --> 00:07:59.660 given everything for you? 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:02.100 Are you really willing to do the same for him? 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:07.000 How much are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel in your own life? 00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:08.960 But then, in so doing, for the. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.210 For the benefit of others. 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:16.920 When it comes to be a true biblical leader, it is a calling of sacrifice in your life. 00:08:17.780 --> 00:08:22.400 And it's that kind of sacrifice that God uses to make a change in this world. 00:08:22.460 --> 00:08:29.580 I mean, even next week, how you respond to that, whether you think you win or you don't, I don't know if anyone's 00:08:29.580 --> 00:08:36.960 going to win, but as far as us but if you win or you don't, how you respond 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:40.039 in those moments is critical. 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.840 And it ultimately demonstrates what your life is truly given over to. 00:08:44.980 --> 00:08:52.800 You know, when you think about the early church and one of the things that I'm reminded of in the in the Gospel of John is how 00:08:52.800 --> 00:08:57.520 Jesus prayed for his own people in order to see change in this world. 00:08:58.280 --> 00:09:01.960 And so many people think that the Lord's Prayer is in Matthew chapter six. 00:09:02.020 --> 00:09:04.640 And that's the common vernacular for Matthew chapter six. 00:09:04.900 --> 00:09:05.620 This is how you pray. 00:09:06.060 --> 00:09:08.120 Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:09.410 Your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:09:09.520 --> 00:09:10.560 That's a beautiful prayer, right? 00:09:10.560 --> 00:09:11.850 But that's not the Lord's Prayer. 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:16.590 That's the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples when they came to him and said, Lord, how are we to pray? 00:09:16.820 --> 00:09:17.860 And he and he taught him that. 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:19.220 That's the disciples prayer. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:22.860 If you want to know really what the Lord's Prayer is, it's John chapter 17. 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:29.400 This is where Jesus prayed for his followers and how he desired for them to live. 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:30.660 And this is what he said. 00:09:31.020 --> 00:09:34.000 And in John chapter 17, this is just a snippet of the prayer. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.200 Jesus praying to his father. 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:40.460 He said, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:43.320 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 00:09:43.820 --> 00:09:45.640 Sanctify them in the truth. 00:09:45.640 --> 00:09:47.900 Your word is truth as you sent me into the world. 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:49.580 So I have sent them into the world. 00:09:50.340 --> 00:09:54.600 And God doesn't want you to look at the world and be like, ew, gross, icky and run away and hide from it, right? 00:09:54.600 --> 00:10:01.700 Like he brought you out of darkness, and he's called you now as an ambassador in the midst of darkness to be a great light, that 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:05.100 you would be an agent for change in this world, that not. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:12.280 And let me just say, when I say an agent for change, I'm not just saying outward performance of people I'm talking about in a heart transformation 00:10:12.280 --> 00:10:13.200 in the Lord. 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:18.800 When we deal with change as God's people, I'm not primarily here for behavior modification. 00:10:18.800 --> 00:10:21.120 That's not what we're after as God's people. 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:23.040 We're here for heart transformation in Jesus. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.360 And we know when Jesus has your life, he will begin to direct your steps. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.660 And so and so we talk about agents for change in this world. 00:10:31.660 --> 00:10:35.070 It's the gospel that becomes transformative in a culture. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:39.480 And then and then it changes how that culture lives in light of who Christ is. 00:10:40.380 --> 00:10:47.220 But the Lord wants to use you as that agent of change, as that change is first started to happen in your own heart and life. 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.000 And so this is Jesus's prayer for us, that we would be lights in the midst of darkness. 00:10:51.160 --> 00:10:56.340 And God doesn't just care what you believe, he also cares in how you do it. 00:10:56.380 --> 00:10:59.800 Because we can take the truth and just bludgeon people over the head with it. 00:10:59.880 --> 00:11:01.420 And that's not God's desire for us. 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:08.620 In fact, throughout Scripture, over and over again, we're reminded of the kind of people we should be when we talk about leading 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:14.100 as example as shepherds in this world, the kind of leaders he calls us to be. 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:17.360 And these are in your notes as there's multiple verses you can look up. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:24.420 I just picked one of these passages, but these verses are important to think through because it not only talks about how we stand 00:11:24.420 --> 00:11:27.880 or the truth that we stand for, but also how we stand for that truth. 00:11:28.300 --> 00:11:36.020 And so it's important, if you read any of these verses, to think about the composure of God's people in the midst of a broken, fallen Babylon and 00:11:36.020 --> 00:11:43.040 Titus, chapter three, verse two, it says to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to 00:11:43.040 --> 00:11:46.100 show perfect courtesy toward all people. 00:11:46.180 --> 00:11:48.020 This doesn't mean that you can't stand for truth. 00:11:48.020 --> 00:11:49.400 You need to stand for truth. 00:11:49.560 --> 00:11:49.800 But. 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:53.560 But it does deal with how you interact with people who might oppose you, right? 00:11:53.560 --> 00:11:54.380 Verse three. 00:11:54.420 --> 00:11:55.560 Here's why. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:03.060 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:05.240 hated by others and hating one another. 00:12:05.560 --> 00:12:12.800 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in our righteousness, but according to his 00:12:12.800 --> 00:12:13.600 mercy. 00:12:14.940 --> 00:12:18.900 And the reason that you're even where you are in your relationship with the Lord is not because you were impressive. 00:12:19.140 --> 00:12:20.190 It's because your God is. 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:24.360 And he's reminding us that we all had a past, or we all have a past. 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:27.700 And it's only because of the grace of God that we are where we are today. 00:12:28.540 --> 00:12:35.620 And because of that, it doesn't bring us with this attitude of devaluing people around us, but rather helping them discover 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:42.170 their value in Christ because we know where we once were apart from Jesus, and we know where we are only because of Jesus. 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:49.860 And the only way that change happens is in this world, is that we discover the truth that sets us free, and the only way people are 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:53.540 going to discover that truth is through the compassion of God's people, sharing it with them. 00:12:54.520 --> 00:12:59.320 And so he's saying to us, look, he's acknowledging, look, you live in a broken world. 00:12:59.420 --> 00:13:00.760 And because of that, there is adversity. 00:13:01.820 --> 00:13:05.020 But how you choose to respond in that midst is what produces change. 00:13:05.760 --> 00:13:08.800 You become the agent that God desires to work through in this world. 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:12.050 How far are you willing to go for the sake of the gospel in your community? 00:13:12.880 --> 00:13:13.940 Will you be inconvenienced? 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:16.830 Are you willing to lay yourself down? 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:24.580 Someone has got to lead by example, and more than anyone, it should be God's people, far and above anybody else because 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:26.160 of the one that you follow. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.700 That's the way he led. 00:13:28.420 --> 00:13:30.920 He gave everything that you might have freedom in him. 00:13:31.280 --> 00:13:31.320 So. 00:13:31.400 --> 00:13:33.890 So let me give you this point, point number one in your notes. 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:37.060 What is crucial for us to do if we desire to live this way? 00:13:37.060 --> 00:13:40.540 Number one, know your God. 00:13:42.300 --> 00:13:44.020 No, you are God. 00:13:44.160 --> 00:13:51.760 When you read the seven letters to the churches, it starts off the same way with every church that God begins with the description of 00:13:51.760 --> 00:13:58.140 who he is and when he describes who he is, and he's basing it off of Revelation one. 00:13:58.160 --> 00:13:58.440 Right? 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.960 Revelation one, he gave this grand introduction to his identity. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:09.080 And then, as he writes these letters to the churches in chapter two and three, he's writing about his attributes to begin with, according to 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:10.920 where the church finds itself. 00:14:11.880 --> 00:14:19.080 So he's saying, here's how the attribute of who I am helps you understand how to move forward, because it's who I am that should guide you 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:20.320 in the midst of your circumstances. 00:14:21.420 --> 00:14:23.990 So knowing your God becomes crucial. 00:14:24.540 --> 00:14:31.600 You know when you when you read these, the introduction to each of these churches, chapter two and chapter three, what we find is these churches aren't always impressive, 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:34.900 but the one who is magnificent is the Lord. 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:43.320 And it's when we're willing to take our eyes off ourselves and put our eyes on him that we really start to live for the purpose for which we were created, that 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:45.940 we walk in the way in which God has called us to. 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:47.860 Not because we're great, but because he is. 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:49.980 And our calling is based on who he is. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:50.660 Right. 00:14:50.660 --> 00:14:52.560 It's his authority that we walk with in this world. 00:14:53.460 --> 00:15:00.500 And so in the church of Thyatira, in the midst of the struggle that they are facing, because of the pressure around them in their society, God reminds them 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:01.000 of who he is. 00:15:01.040 --> 00:15:01.650 And look at this. 00:15:02.040 --> 00:15:09.200 He says in verse 18, and to the angel of the church in Thyatira write the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:10.440 are like burnished bronze. 00:15:11.540 --> 00:15:12.160 It's interesting. 00:15:12.160 --> 00:15:19.430 As he as he takes these ideas of who he is in light of their situation, what he, what he wants them to see is the purity and authority of God above all else. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:20.220 Right? 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:25.590 Because in this society, the idea of the flame of fire is one that is a pure. 00:15:25.640 --> 00:15:29.280 It's an eye that can see everything, both external and internal. 00:15:29.280 --> 00:15:31.840 That the fire is one of purity. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:32.840 So God sees everything. 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.040 He's not blind to it. 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:40.760 And the idea of this bronze brass, this burnished brass, that is this statue of authority. 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:43.680 Meaning out of all the authorities they could bow to, it's. 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:46.350 It's God's pure authority that has power. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:52.380 And what's interesting is it describes God in this passage as it refers to him as the Son of God. 00:15:52.680 --> 00:15:57.460 And when you go back and you look in Revelation chapter one of this description, it's laid out for you for the Lord. 00:15:58.060 --> 00:16:05.520 It doesn't use the term Son of God in that section, but rather it uses in verse 13 the phrase Son of Man. 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:12.960 It's rather interesting, all these letters written to the churches as it as it draws from chapter one, and it inserts it in chapter two 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:13.900 for each of these churches. 00:16:14.300 --> 00:16:19.940 It doesn't really change the description of God, except in this one passage where it refers to him rather than the Son of Man. 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:21.540 It uses the term Son of God. 00:16:21.640 --> 00:16:23.290 And the question is, why in the world would it switch? 00:16:24.180 --> 00:16:26.910 And I think the reason is likely twofold. 00:16:27.160 --> 00:16:29.040 It doesn't come out and outright tell you. 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:29.810 But I want you to understand. 00:16:31.380 --> 00:16:38.400 In first century, Caesar was often referred to as the Son of God, which is a term of deity and a 00:16:38.400 --> 00:16:39.100 term of authority. 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:47.020 And not only that, they had the temple to Apollo in Thyatira, which was the sun god, 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:51.580 and knowing they could bow down to Apollo, or they could bow down to Caesar. 00:16:52.060 --> 00:16:54.490 What is declaring here is that Jesus is the ultimate authority. 00:16:54.640 --> 00:16:56.460 He is the true Son of God. 00:16:56.640 --> 00:17:04.260 Now, when you want to understand terminology in the Scripture, what is important is that you don't define it according to your 21st understanding, 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:11.480 21st century understanding, but rather you go back to the terminology of the Bible and the way in which people would understand it during 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:12.310 that time period. 00:17:13.060 --> 00:17:15.579 And we looked at that phrase with the Son of Man. 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:23.010 We talked about what made that unique because in, for example, Psalm chapter eight, we are all called the Son of Man in Scripture, 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:23.920 right? 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:29.260 But when it comes to Jesus, there was something unique about him that referred to him as the ultimate Son of Man. 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:36.620 And what it means in Psalm eight, the Bible refers to the Son of Man as one who is given rule and authority over this world to 00:17:36.620 --> 00:17:40.640 represent God as we bless those around us. 00:17:40.760 --> 00:17:44.280 But what continue to happen in Scripture is that man, rather than live for God's glory. 00:17:44.280 --> 00:17:45.070 Live for his own. 00:17:45.560 --> 00:17:50.930 And so God ultimately promised a deliverer who would not be a son of man, but the Son of Man the one. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:56.960 And in Daniel chapter seven you're introduced to him, which is Jesus Christ himself, the. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:59.220 He's also described in Revelation as the Ancient of Days. 00:17:59.280 --> 00:18:04.450 So you see this picture of Jesus being deity who becomes flesh to give his life to deliver us. 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:06.560 And so you have this idea of the Son of Man. 00:18:06.560 --> 00:18:09.500 But here in this verse, he describes him as the Son of God. 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:17.440 And some people reading this in the 21st century mentality might look at it and say, well, what it's saying is that God had a kid, right? 00:18:17.540 --> 00:18:22.420 And let me just tell you, that's not what this passage is saying, right? 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:29.270 And when you see this term, Son of God, this is this is a phrase that's again common to human beings. 00:18:29.460 --> 00:18:36.600 In fact, Jesus used this phrase to refer to humanity in Matthew chapter five verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons 00:18:36.600 --> 00:18:38.320 of God, right? 00:18:38.340 --> 00:18:45.500 But there's also this distinguishment in the idea of the Son of God as being the one that while we're sinful and broken, there will come 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:47.820 one, the Son of God, who will be our deliverer. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.190 And there are several verses in the Bible that you can look at to understand what this means. 00:18:52.560 --> 00:18:55.300 But one important one is John chapter one, verse 14. 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:57.920 It says this in John chapter one. 00:18:57.980 --> 00:18:59.520 The first 18 verses of John. 00:18:59.620 --> 00:19:02.980 Chapter one is a declaration of the identity of Jesus. 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:07.880 And the rest of John shows how that Jesus lived his life in light of who he was. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:14.480 But in verse 14 it says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:14.840 Look at this. 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:18.610 The glory is the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:24.500 That phrase, the only son or in the King James says, the only begotten son. 00:19:24.620 --> 00:19:28.800 This phrase in Greek is monogenes or monogenes. 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.760 And it's literally two words. 00:19:30.760 --> 00:19:35.070 In English it's mono one and genius, which is jean, or where we get the word genetic. 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:40.290 And what it's saying about Jesus is he is the only one of this kind or class. 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:47.860 It's saying there's this uniqueness to him and the only one of this kind of class that's saying to you that he is made up of the same substance as 00:19:47.860 --> 00:19:48.710 the father. 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:53.590 So who the nature of God the Father is the nature of Jesus. 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:59.210 And when you read what Scripture says about the nature of Jesus, it tells you over and over again, He is God in the flesh. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:03.560 In Colossians two nine, the fullness of God dwells in him in the bodily form. 00:20:04.040 --> 00:20:10.530 And in Hebrews chapter one, he is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:16.140 And so what he's saying is, if you want to know what God the Father is like, look at Jesus, because he is exactly the same. 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:18.790 The nature of God is in him. 00:20:19.340 --> 00:20:21.560 And so to know God is to know Jesus. 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:24.500 And so this becomes important for us to know our God. 00:20:24.500 --> 00:20:31.600 Because Revelation chapter two, everything that he's saying to the church of Thyatira is based on the power and 00:20:31.600 --> 00:20:34.220 authority of who this Christ is. 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:34.720 So. 00:20:34.820 --> 00:20:41.940 So whatever God calls you to do in this world, it's important to understand that what God calls you to is not based on the power of who you are. 00:20:42.100 --> 00:20:44.240 It's not to say, Jesus, thank you for saving me. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:45.600 Now the rest is up to me. 00:20:45.780 --> 00:20:52.960 It's to say everything I do in this world, as I move as an ambassador for Christ, is not based on my authority and power, 00:20:53.040 --> 00:20:54.700 but based on him. 00:20:55.260 --> 00:20:59.710 And the Bible tells you there's no temptation that's overcome you, that such as common to man. 00:21:00.020 --> 00:21:01.330 But God will make a way of escape. 00:21:01.560 --> 00:21:03.740 And what is saying that's first Corinthians 1013. 00:21:03.760 --> 00:21:07.740 And what it's saying to you and to me is that God will never disappoint you. 00:21:08.540 --> 00:21:08.720 Right. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:15.720 It's based on his power and authority that you're able to move in this world, even in terms of temptation, like Thyatira is facing right now, that if 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.860 you remain faithful, God will not fail you. 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:22.380 He will not disappoint you that God is not surprised by what you're going through. 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:22.580 God. 00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:26.340 God already knows and God still calls you to pursue him. 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:31.220 Not not because you're impressive, but because he is. 00:21:33.040 --> 00:21:34.360 No your god. 00:21:35.800 --> 00:21:40.480 It's when we become confident in who he is that we can become confident in what we're called to. 00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:47.100 Because everything we're called to do is not based on the power possessed within me, but rather in him. 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:55.980 Number two, related to that, when you understand who God is and his authority and power, it gives us the opportunity to do this walk with 00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:58.560 godly courage and compassion. 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:01.780 Walk with godly courage and compassion. 00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:02.790 Look at this. 00:22:02.860 --> 00:22:10.020 In verse 19, he talks to the church in Thyatira, and he's acknowledging, as he's done with each of these churches, some of the good things that 00:22:10.020 --> 00:22:11.300 they've done in the Lord. 00:22:11.300 --> 00:22:18.580 He says, I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your letters, your latter works 00:22:18.580 --> 00:22:20.080 exceed the first. 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.130 But then he says this, but I have this against you. 00:22:24.620 --> 00:22:30.940 And here's some of the beautiful things about God's people, is that the Lord still acknowledges where they're getting it. 00:22:31.040 --> 00:22:38.160 Right in him, right where their hearts might be surrendered, and at the same time, where he's about to acknowledge where 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:38.840 they're struggling. 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:47.200 You know, maybe if we're just honest with our own relationship with the Lord, we might feel like this often, this verse, this might be like the reoccurring theme of your life. 00:22:47.800 --> 00:22:49.160 Like, man, get it together, Nathaniel. 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:52.240 Like, why do I keep falling in this area? 00:22:52.260 --> 00:22:55.400 You know, I just got this struggle and I can't seem to conquer it. 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:57.620 But here's what it's saying in your life. 00:22:57.620 --> 00:22:58.130 Is that God? 00:22:58.560 --> 00:23:03.360 Why you might get on the struggle bus sometimes that God God sees where your heart is in him. 00:23:03.360 --> 00:23:07.360 God sees the things where you're given over to him, but he also sees where you're struggling. 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:09.220 And this is he. 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:12.420 While he wants to celebrate what the church is doing, that's great. 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:13.460 What you celebrate, you replicate. 00:23:14.080 --> 00:23:15.520 You want to continue to look at that. 00:23:15.540 --> 00:23:19.920 Don't just look at where you're falling at life and make that like your whole life, right? 00:23:20.040 --> 00:23:24.560 You want to acknowledge where God's doing some great things in your life and then be honest where there's struggle. 00:23:25.520 --> 00:23:26.710 And this is what he's doing with Thyatira. 00:23:27.260 --> 00:23:28.730 God's got you here to influence change. 00:23:29.080 --> 00:23:30.950 But there's this area where you're compromising. 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:33.800 But I have this against you. 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:36.060 And here's what he says to the church. 00:23:36.060 --> 00:23:43.080 He says that you tolerate that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching 00:23:43.080 --> 00:23:48.950 and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:53.590 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:55.770 Here's what he's saying. 00:23:56.520 --> 00:24:04.140 Jezebel in the Old Testament married one of the kings of Israel, King Ahab, and she introduced idolatry to Israel. 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:06.450 And through that idolatry came sexual immorality. 00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:12.150 And it became a temptation for Israel to move away from the true God and follow false gods. 00:24:12.820 --> 00:24:15.280 And it led to Israel's demise, right? 00:24:15.340 --> 00:24:17.900 The introduction of this false god and idolatry. 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:19.800 And it destroyed the church. 00:24:19.800 --> 00:24:25.980 And honestly, let me be frank with Thyatira, by the end of the second century, Thyatira is gone. 00:24:27.300 --> 00:24:30.020 It's unique if you study Thyatira and Light of Ephesus. 00:24:30.100 --> 00:24:33.010 And Ephesus was a was a church that lived on truth. 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:35.000 But if you remember, they left their first love. 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:38.350 And the church of Thyatira, they have all kinds of love. 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:40.050 But they've walked away from the truth. 00:24:41.060 --> 00:24:47.770 And God's people are called to live in both truth and love, courage, boldness, and the truth and compassion for the people around us. 00:24:47.820 --> 00:24:48.700 We're not here to throw stones. 00:24:50.020 --> 00:24:52.020 We're here to use the truth to reach hearts. 00:24:52.300 --> 00:24:55.760 But Thyatira continued to walk in quote love. 00:24:55.760 --> 00:24:58.260 And by the end of the second century they were completely gone. 00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:01.280 They compromised. 00:25:01.280 --> 00:25:03.440 So Jezebel was a real woman in the Old Testament. 00:25:03.620 --> 00:25:11.020 But when it comes to the New Testament, I don't think we're talking about a particular woman named Jezebel again, doing the same things, but 00:25:11.020 --> 00:25:14.890 rather I think there's a as a group within the church that's introducing a false teaching. 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:21.540 And in that false teaching, it's tempting God's people to compromise on the truth of who God is, after all, remember? 00:25:21.540 --> 00:25:29.080 And they could lose their jobs if they don't bow down to these false gods, or at least they don't participate Ticipate in and the behavior 00:25:29.080 --> 00:25:32.400 of these people as they go to these feasts to honor these false gods. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.080 And it's given over to all sorts of debauchery. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:39.790 And so the church is faced with this pressure to compromise. 00:25:40.420 --> 00:25:45.820 And Thyatira seems to be embracing this false teaching. 00:25:46.020 --> 00:25:53.140 But one of the things I want you to see in this passage, I think, is important for all of us, is the way God speaks to about 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:54.600 Jezebel in this story? 00:25:55.300 --> 00:26:02.420 Because I think in a religious mentality, the default of people in a religious mentality is to look at Jezebel 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:07.800 and think, what a, what a terrible thing, and just throw stones and curse her and cast her aside. 00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:08.060 Right. 00:26:08.080 --> 00:26:12.340 But I want you to see what God says about Jezebel in verse 21. 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:20.650 and let me just say, I think it's the same heart that he has towards this church right now that is being given over to this temptation. 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:25.220 What it says in this passage is that I gave her time to repent. 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:34.200 What it's saying is, Jesus didn't immediately look at Jezebel in this context and just cast her out and throw stones 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:35.340 and say, what a terrible person. 00:26:37.280 --> 00:26:40.020 But his heart was that her heart would turn to him. 00:26:41.360 --> 00:26:43.320 And I think the same thing is true for Thyatira. 00:26:43.540 --> 00:26:45.820 There are some that are giving into this temptation right now. 00:26:46.840 --> 00:26:49.000 But God's heart is not to cast the church aside. 00:26:50.580 --> 00:26:55.380 God's heart is that their heart would turn to him, that they would. 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:57.580 They would see the greatness of who he is. 00:26:57.580 --> 00:26:59.670 And as it says in this passage, repent. 00:27:00.780 --> 00:27:03.960 And this becomes important for all of us to think about. 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:10.700 Because in a religious mentality, the tendency is when someone messes up, people judge, they devalue. 00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:11.740 They throw stones. 00:27:12.780 --> 00:27:19.370 And particularly in this particular, in this instance, they could do the same thing, that there's no redemption, no hope for Jezebel. 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:24.920 In fact, in fact, even in our own culture, there was in the 80s and 90s in America there. 00:27:25.120 --> 00:27:28.710 I think there was the pinnacle of the purity culture movement. 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:37.200 There was this there was this need to among religious people to come before, especially younger crowds, a high school, college 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:39.240 age and give the purity talk. 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:44.320 And they would do it from a religious mentality and not from a gospel centric mentality. 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:48.220 And the religious mentality left people in guilt and shame rather than in freedom. 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:52.180 And who Jesus is finding redemption through him and the way it often worked was like this. 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:57.440 You'd get a speaker, come before all these young people, and maybe they'd have a conference over the weekend. 00:27:57.480 --> 00:27:59.210 And one of those conference talks would be on purity. 00:28:00.040 --> 00:28:06.420 And I saw this example happen multiple times as a, as a young adult, where the speaker would come out and he would take a rose. 00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:09.300 And some of you already know where I'm going with this, because you've probably seen this, right? 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:13.110 He would take a rose and he would hand it out to the crowd and he'd say, go ahead, look at the rose. 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:14.640 Touch it, do whatever. 00:28:14.660 --> 00:28:15.940 Just pass it around. 00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:17.020 Everyone take a look at it. 00:28:17.060 --> 00:28:18.730 I want everyone to pass it through their hands. 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:20.440 And at the end, just bring it up to me. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:20.580 Right. 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:23.840 And so the speaker would start talking about the importance of purity. 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:31.000 And then when we get to the end and come back on the stage, the speaker would hold up that flower, that rose, and he would say this, who in the world 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.880 wants this, right? 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:35.030 I mean, it's been touched. 00:28:35.240 --> 00:28:35.940 It's been used. 00:28:36.520 --> 00:28:39.040 It's not even worth holding anymore. 00:28:39.040 --> 00:28:40.300 Who in the world would want this? 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:43.740 And a religious mentality. 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:45.140 That's what's communicated, right? 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:46.160 You're broken. 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:47.000 You're messed up. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.480 You can't get your crap together. 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:51.040 And because of that, you're worthless. 00:28:51.040 --> 00:28:52.660 You're devalued. 00:28:52.780 --> 00:29:00.280 But I want you to understand that if you've grown up with that, you've ever heard that you've ever been taught that maybe you even think that right now, that 00:29:00.280 --> 00:29:04.580 the struggle in your heart is that you lack understanding of what the gospel even teaches. 00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:08.240 Because the answer to that question is Jesus does. 00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:11.340 Jesus wants that rose. 00:29:11.580 --> 00:29:13.480 Jesus loved that rose. 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:18.670 Jesus gave everything for the brokenness of that rose so he could find freedom in him. 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:26.600 This is what Christ is saying in his verses to the idea of Jezebel, that his interest is that her heart would 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:33.260 turn because right now, where she is apart from him, is a place that we as a church should desire no one to be. 00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:41.680 I mean, that becomes what the importance is of your position in this world, that you find your identity in Christ so that you walk in the midst of brokenness, that 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:44.640 there's always hope because of what Christ has done for us. 00:29:44.680 --> 00:29:46.660 Jesus wants that rose. 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:51.300 I think one of the most beautiful stories in all of the gospel that brings this to light is in Luke chapter seven. 00:29:52.580 --> 00:29:53.380 Luke chapter seven. 00:29:53.540 --> 00:30:00.340 Starting in verse 36, there is this dinner taking place where Jesus is among the elite religious leaders of his day. 00:30:00.840 --> 00:30:04.240 And here they are on their high horses, thinking they're so great because of their performances. 00:30:05.340 --> 00:30:12.400 And in this dinner party walks in this woman and she is weeping, and she 00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:19.420 comes before the feet of Jesus, and she washes his feet in her tears, and she takes this oil that she brought, and she 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:23.800 anoints his feet and she wipes it clean with her hair. 00:30:24.560 --> 00:30:27.520 And the religious leaders look at Jesus in all their piety. 00:30:27.540 --> 00:30:34.540 And they say, this man can't be a man of God, because if he if he was a true man of God, he would understand that this is a sinful woman touching his feet, and 00:30:34.540 --> 00:30:36.160 he would never allow that to happen. 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:37.240 Religious mentality. 00:30:38.560 --> 00:30:45.680 And at that moment, Jesus looks at Simon and says, it's interesting, Simon, when I came into this dinner party, no one gave 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:49.880 me any water to wash my feet, and no one even anointed my head. 00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:56.860 But this woman washed my feet with her tears, and she anointed my feet and wiped them clean with her hair. 00:30:57.740 --> 00:30:58.910 And then he gives Simon an illustration. 00:30:59.300 --> 00:31:02.640 He says, suppose someone is forgiven of a debt. 00:31:02.660 --> 00:31:09.700 Two people are forgiven of a debt, actually, and the first person is forgiven of a debt of 50 denarii, but the next person is forgiven of a 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:11.060 debt of 500 denarii. 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.730 Who do you suppose is more grateful for that forgiveness? 00:31:15.360 --> 00:31:19.460 And Simon looks at Jesus and says, I suppose as the one the person forgiven the most. 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:21.340 And so he says who? 00:31:21.540 --> 00:31:24.040 He who is forgiven deeply, loves deeply. 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:29.200 That woman, more than anyone, understood the transformation that only Jesus can bring. 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:38.060 So when it comes to the idea of what it means to make a difference in this world, I know we can look at the brokenness of our life and we can despair and think, what can possibly 00:31:38.060 --> 00:31:38.640 be done? 00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:46.820 But can I tell you, the more you understand the greatness of who your God is, the more you walk in this world with courage and compassion to those around 00:31:46.820 --> 00:31:46.980 you. 00:31:47.060 --> 00:31:51.270 Because you know what Jesus has done for you and therefore you know what Jesus can do for others. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:58.380 And when you read this story of Jezebel, this is where God's heart begins, that he's called her to repent. 00:31:58.380 --> 00:32:05.940 But unfortunately, rather than, than than turn to him, they continued to tolerate what was destroying them. 00:32:06.040 --> 00:32:13.260 And can I tell you, for all of us, everyone in this room, in our society and American society, there's 00:32:13.260 --> 00:32:16.960 certainly a need for the Lord in terms of sexuality. 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:18.800 God, where are you? 00:32:18.800 --> 00:32:20.910 In light of this. 00:32:20.940 --> 00:32:24.030 Everyone in this room has. 00:32:24.280 --> 00:32:26.280 As a as a component of their life. 00:32:26.280 --> 00:32:27.320 Your sexuality. 00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:31.060 All of us has something about our sexuality in which we are called to surrender to the Lord. 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:36.460 In fact, every aspect of your sexuality is called to be surrendered to the Lord and not just your sexuality. 00:32:37.600 --> 00:32:44.760 Everything about you is called to be surrendered to the greatness of who God is, because God calls you to look different in 00:32:44.760 --> 00:32:46.530 this world because of who he is. 00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:51.600 It's when it comes to live for God. 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:56.420 We our body is distinct from our soul. 00:32:56.420 --> 00:33:01.220 But what you do with your body is not disconnected from your soul. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:06.320 That your body becomes this outward reflection of what your heart is truly given over to. 00:33:07.420 --> 00:33:14.440 And God's desire is that you discover who you are in light of who he is, and that it will affect change in your life, that you'll surrender to 00:33:14.440 --> 00:33:17.560 that completely and say, Lord, it's not about living for what it is. 00:33:17.620 --> 00:33:20.540 What I desire, but it's about living for your desires through me. 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:22.720 God, what is it you want for me? 00:33:23.400 --> 00:33:27.350 How is it I can surrender my life for your glory in this world? 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:28.840 And? 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:35.980 And so Scripture calls all of us every aspect of our life given over to him and including our sexuality, to discover 00:33:35.980 --> 00:33:39.240 the purposes for which it was created in him. 00:33:40.800 --> 00:33:47.590 And there's, as I said in first Corinthians ten, verse 13, there is nothing unique to you that's uncommon to the rest of humanity. 00:33:48.340 --> 00:33:50.690 It's not a new temptation that we are facing. 00:33:50.700 --> 00:33:58.290 In fact, when you look at Roman society in the first century, we may look at America and think there's a change in sexuality today, 00:33:58.700 --> 00:34:03.600 but even in compared to Roman society, the things that the Romans did would cause Americans to blush. 00:34:03.600 --> 00:34:09.100 If you if you read about it right, like you may look at us today and think, wow, we're kind of all over the place. 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:12.060 Roman society even more. 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:14.260 Right. 00:34:14.260 --> 00:34:21.260 But there was a change made in the first century through the power of the church that lived according to the way God 00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:22.139 had called them to. 00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:30.139 And it's the same thing for us today that God calls us to surrender all that we are to who he is because of the goodness of who he is. 00:34:30.260 --> 00:34:31.659 But when we don't do that, look at this. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:38.860 Verse 22, behold, I will throw talking about Jezebel onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation 00:34:38.860 --> 00:34:42.900 unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. 00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:47.440 And all the cultures will know that I am he who searches mind and heart. 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:49.600 And I will give to each of you according to your works. 00:34:49.620 --> 00:34:50.360 Let me just say this now. 00:34:52.040 --> 00:34:55.150 What's happened in Jezebel has begun to impact the next generation. 00:34:55.179 --> 00:34:56.400 You're seeing through children, right? 00:34:57.200 --> 00:35:04.500 And it's not until someone is willing to give their lives over to Christ completely, and to be the leader, to be willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others to 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:07.600 the glory of God, that any change or transformation is going to happen. 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:09.640 Now you look at this and think, well, this is terrible. 00:35:09.640 --> 00:35:10.410 These people are dying. 00:35:10.640 --> 00:35:17.920 But let me just tell you, this has been true from the beginning, from Genesis chapter one, Jesus's life and Jesus 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:20.020 apart from Jesus, its death. 00:35:20.660 --> 00:35:28.160 And here they are lying on their sick bed because they're walking a life contrary to the reason in which they were created in Christ Jesus. 00:35:28.900 --> 00:35:32.460 And the production of that is nothing but death, because God Himself is life. 00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:37.260 And it's not until our lives are given over to him that we find ourselves made new and who Christ is. 00:35:37.340 --> 00:35:44.400 I mean, I think even this morning, like some of us could be sitting on our sick bed because our hearts aren't truly given 00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:45.340 over to him. 00:35:46.500 --> 00:35:53.700 But what God's desire for us is that you would flourish like that rose, that you would see the beauty of who you are not in 00:35:53.700 --> 00:35:56.730 your own strength, but in Christ's strength on your behalf. 00:35:58.460 --> 00:36:02.620 So point number three, let me give you this last point because I, I need to conclude here. 00:36:02.660 --> 00:36:05.300 But last point is that you would hold fast. 00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:08.140 Hold fast. 00:36:08.280 --> 00:36:09.500 Look at this verse 24. 00:36:09.500 --> 00:36:16.540 But to the rest of you at Thyatira who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan. 00:36:16.860 --> 00:36:17.320 To you. 00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:20.220 I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 00:36:20.540 --> 00:36:23.540 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 00:36:23.700 --> 00:36:25.520 I love this about following Jesus. 00:36:26.200 --> 00:36:28.280 I mean, he's saying, look, you want to know what your life should be about? 00:36:28.540 --> 00:36:28.880 Really? 00:36:28.900 --> 00:36:29.700 It's one thing. 00:36:30.620 --> 00:36:31.600 It's one thing. 00:36:32.500 --> 00:36:37.000 God, may I enjoy your presence in my life all the days that you give to me. 00:36:37.980 --> 00:36:39.700 God, may my heart be surrendered to you. 00:36:40.420 --> 00:36:43.670 Apart from that, you can bow to so many different gods. 00:36:44.080 --> 00:36:48.000 Trying to please people, trying to find joy in the things of this world. 00:36:48.380 --> 00:36:50.000 But your heart was never made for those things. 00:36:51.020 --> 00:36:53.560 Your heart was only made for one who is the Lord. 00:36:54.360 --> 00:36:58.190 And it's not until your heart's given over to that you discover the reason you've been created. 00:36:58.780 --> 00:36:59.700 And this is what he's saying. 00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:01.870 I don't want to lay these burdens on you, is what he's saying. 00:37:02.100 --> 00:37:06.130 I really just one thing for your life and that you would cling to it with everything. 00:37:06.160 --> 00:37:08.730 That's what this Greek word hold fast is cling to with everything. 00:37:09.140 --> 00:37:16.240 Because this is where true transformation takes place in your life, and then through your life into the hearts of others, that you would be that living 00:37:16.240 --> 00:37:17.960 example of Jesus in this world. 00:37:18.720 --> 00:37:21.020 Because of this one thing, what Christ has done for you. 00:37:21.020 --> 00:37:21.780 Hold fast. 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:29.160 I think part of the reason he's telling him to hold fast is because he knows they're going to continue to face adversity, but he wants them to walk in the richness 00:37:29.160 --> 00:37:30.160 of who he is. 00:37:31.140 --> 00:37:32.140 You know, I think about church history. 00:37:33.200 --> 00:37:40.520 One individual that stands out to me more than any other in this, at least around the time of Revelation, is an individual by the name of Augustine. 00:37:40.860 --> 00:37:43.650 Augustine became a believer in the fourth century. 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:51.480 I referred to him in the very first lesson we talked about in Revelation, because he wrote The City of God, which is a book that's connected to a lot of Revelation themes. 00:37:52.460 --> 00:37:59.140 But, Augustine, he said this it is no advantage to be near the light if your eyes are closed. 00:38:00.120 --> 00:38:01.840 And it's the same thing this morning for us. 00:38:02.680 --> 00:38:05.480 And here we are talking about the beauty of what Jesus does in our lives. 00:38:05.560 --> 00:38:11.640 But it's not going to affect any change in our hearts unless we really say to the Lord God, have your way with me. 00:38:12.220 --> 00:38:16.790 Augustine was a man who whose life was given over to a religious belief called Manichaeism. 00:38:17.160 --> 00:38:19.780 I mean, he followed the ways of the world to the fullest. 00:38:20.340 --> 00:38:24.620 His life was given over to his own personal pleasures until he met Jesus. 00:38:25.520 --> 00:38:26.310 And in meeting Jesus. 00:38:26.990 --> 00:38:27.980 Augustine said it like this. 00:38:28.060 --> 00:38:32.500 He said, there is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future. 00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:34.000 Isn't that true? 00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:37.600 I mean, it's what leads us to walk with humility in a broken world. 00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:42.520 That though I may be perfected in Jesus, it's only because of Jesus. 00:38:42.560 --> 00:38:43.300 I am where I am. 00:38:44.020 --> 00:38:45.020 Thank God for it. 00:38:45.780 --> 00:38:50.720 And at the same time, because it's Jesus and what he's done in me, I'm not here to throw stones at people. 00:38:51.960 --> 00:38:54.660 I'm here to just simply point to the one who delivers freedom for them. 00:38:55.920 --> 00:39:02.920 And when a church walks in that grace proclaiming its truth with such courage, it only happens in truly understanding the power of 00:39:02.920 --> 00:39:04.860 the one that you follow with your life. 00:39:05.700 --> 00:39:07.220 But in so doing, God brings change. 00:39:08.380 --> 00:39:08.660 Church. 00:39:08.660 --> 00:39:12.580 Can I just say, God wants you to be an influence in our culture. 00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:15.300 But it's never going to happen if you look like the world. 00:39:16.060 --> 00:39:18.140 Maybe you could ask, what are our guilds today? 00:39:19.120 --> 00:39:20.910 Where is it that you might be compromising? 00:39:22.260 --> 00:39:22.740 Where is it? 00:39:22.740 --> 00:39:23.330 Do you make excuses? 00:39:23.640 --> 00:39:30.190 Maybe in particular in terms of your sexuality, where you say things like, well, I'm lonely and this is this is just what I need or. 00:39:30.420 --> 00:39:33.610 Well, we want to be married one day, so we'll just pretend like it now. 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:34.340 You know what? 00:39:34.340 --> 00:39:35.440 Whatever it might be. 00:39:36.140 --> 00:39:41.580 And I don't know what you watch on your televisions, but can I just tell you it's an indication of something happening in your heart. 00:39:43.160 --> 00:39:46.840 It's a reminder of what your true God, what your true God really is. 00:39:47.940 --> 00:39:50.520 But God wants to use your life to make a difference in this world. 00:39:51.160 --> 00:39:54.120 And the way it happens is when it's completely surrendered to him.