Letters to the Seven Churches, Thyatira

“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 are like burnished bronze.

“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” (Revelation 2:18-29 ESV)

This is Jesus Christ speaking to the church, the body of Christ, located in the city of Thyatira. Now, this was all the believers in Jesus Christ in the entire city, and so they probably did not meet together all in one place, and the Scriptures teach that in the early days they met from house to house and in the temple courts daily. And the Lord first mentioned in the letter the good things that they were doing, but then he spoke words of correction and discipline, too, for there were things going on that needed to stop going on.

Now we want to make this practical and applicable to our lives today. I don’t know whether or not “Jezebel” was a literal woman called Jezebel, but she definitely represents a person or people of influence within the gatherings of the church who are promoting that Christians can live in sexual immorality and in idolatry. And I definitely see that in these market-driven churches (businesses) of today where they are diluting the gospel message and they are giving their adherents permission to continue in sin without discipline.

And because they are teaching a half-truth (lie) gospel message, this is just opening the door wide for those who profess faith in Jesus Christ to keep living for the flesh and in sinful rebellion against the Lord, and in sexual addiction. For so many of them are not teaching God’s requirements that we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, in his power, by his grace. But by what they teach, they are giving their adherents carte blanche to keep walking in sin, not in obedience.

And this is being tolerated within the gatherings of what are called “churches” here in America, though I am certain not in every congregation, but it does appear to be the majority. Even many who probably do not accept the diluted gospel are not speaking out against it, but they are tolerating it by their silence. And so it continues. And so it is producing many professing Christians who are living like the world, who are still walking in sin, with a large number of them living in sexual immorality, too.

So God has been calling out to his church for some time now to repent of her sins and to obey the Lord and his commandments, but it appears as though few are listening. For they are being trained, not only to accept and/or to tolerate a watered-down fleshly gospel message as truth, but they are also being trained to reject the truth spoken as though it is the lie. And so they shut out the truth and they follow after the lie, because the lie gives them permission to keep living in sin without feeling guilty about sinning.

And that “Jezebel” influence is permeating the American church overall, which is why God is calling for his church to repent and to obey him, and why he is also promising judgment if the church does not forsake her sinful ways and now follow the Lord in obedience to his commands. For God is going to judge us according to our works. And those who have denied self, who are dying to sin daily, and who are walking in obedience to his commands will have eternal life. But those who do not obey, and who continue in deliberate sin, will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, for those of us who are walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, who are denying self and dying to sin daily, although not necessarily in absolute perfection, but in practice, we are to remain steadfast in faith and to our commitments to serve our Lord faithfully in walks of obedience to his commands. We are to hold fast to the truth of God’s word even if the many oppose us and say all manner of evil against us. And we all should be sharing the gospel truth and refuting Satan’s lies.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Letters to the Seven Churches, Thyatira

Video Talk

December 10, 2024

https://youtu.be/desq7J1gVkY

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Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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