Revelation 2:18-29 Practice Makes Perfect
Notes
Transcript
18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.
21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.
22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.
23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you
25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.
26 To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.
27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.
28 They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
29 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
Tacos and Germany
My practice of being away from tacos changed what my body liked/disliked about them. So, I had to re-train my body with the practice of eating tacos.
Practices define us. They are the outward explanation of an inward exposition.
Background
Thyatira, like other cities, had an economy built around the trade guilds.
The city, although not as glamorous as other cities, was important because it sat along a couple of trade routes.
Textiles, like linens, were important.
Lydia, who Paul meets in Acts 16, was a dier of purple and was from Thyatira.
The major trade was the smelting of copper and bronze.
This is probably the reason Jesus is described as, Revelation 2:18
18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
This is also the image of someone who is firmly rooted and grounded, but who has eyes to see and discern the truth of what is really happening.
Also, the patron deity, Apollo Trimnaeus, was the deity of the bronze trade. He was pictured on coins with the Emperor and the emperor's title “son of god.”
The good
19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.
The church, unlike Ephesus, seems to be growing in their love and practices of faithful living. The church is constantly improving on what it means to live out the faith in a changing world, well, most of the church.
Problems with Practices
But, like in Pergamum, a false teaching has crept in and has challenged the practices of some of the believers.
In fact, Christ seems to have a stronger reaction to Thyatira which leads me to believe it is more prevalent, but there are those who haven’t fallen to the false teachings.
Jesus/John reminds us of the apostasy that Jezebel in 1 Kings 16-22 did when she led and supported pagan idolatry.
The people in Thyatira have fallen to “Spiritual Prostitution’ wherein they “mess around” with the other faiths while still claiming fidelity to God, YHWH.
God has been patient, but he will come in justice too
The teaching is that it is ok to practice what the pagan world practices, and it seems that some are saying that those who know “deeper truth” are invited to practice these pagan rites and rituals in order to prove that they have no bearing on our lives.
But, this is completely wrong!
Our practices indeed define us. We show who we really are by the things we do!
Our practices indeed define us. We show who we really are by the things we do!
What do your practices say about you?
The grumpy clerk at Safeway self checkout...
Make a 3 column list. In one column write the things you believe, in another write the things you should do based upon those beliefs, and in the last column write the things you actually practice. Are they congruent?
Jesus loves everyone, God is gracious, Heaven and earth will meat again, Sin corrupted the world, Jesus will come back, Jesus was crucified and resurrected...
What practices should you do, or not do, in light of our beliefs?
What practices do you actually do?
I have been reading a book on hospitality titled The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World. The author, Rosaria Butterfield, discusses how it was Christian hospitality that ultimately led her to Christ and away from the alternative lifestyle she was living. But, it’s not about her, it’s about whether or not the followers of Jesus PRACTICE what Jesus instructed us to do...
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
What’s the point? If you want to know what someone truly believes, look at the way s/he lives. Look at what they do.
Remember PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!
Practice defines us!
So, the question for our church is what do we do? What do we do as a church, yes, but also what do we do as individuals?
If we made a list of the things we believe, then the things our beliefs should lead us to do, and then a list of the practices we actually do would the list be balanced? Would we be who we claim we are to be?
So, we claim to love, but do we actually love people? Do we give to those in need? Do we speak truth, in love, when it is needed? Do we open our homes to the one without? Do we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give medicine to the sick etc…
Baptism, communion, potlucks etc...
This is why Christ says that we will be judged according to the things we do.
23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.
IF NO TIME GO TO REWARDS...
IF NO TIME GO TO REWARDS...
Practices are the definition of who you really are and who you are becoming.
But, we must recognize that many times people are affected by practicing something before they really understand it. In other words, although our teaching informs our practice, there are times where practices inform our understanding and teaching.
Paul declared Romans 12:1-2
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Paul first discusses changing our behavior and then also allowing God to transform our minds. It appears that somehow our behavior and practices go together like peanut butter and jelly.
John Wesley, in setting up his discipleship program, had a section/group called a “Class.” The class was the aspect of discipleship that dealt with practices. The things you are to avoid, to practice, and the things that are good at considering; “means of grace” is the term Wesley would use for these things.
Yes, there were teaching groups and instruction groups. But EVERYONE had to attend the Class group where PRACTICES were discussed.
“Wesley believed that learning comes through experience. Methodism was an experiential system, as opposed to those which primarily emphasized either cognitive acquisition or belief in propositional truth” (D. Michail Henderson, A Model for Making Disciples: John Wesley’s Class Meeting pg 131).
“As a practicing Anglican, he (John Wesley) always affirmed that God’s grace was the agent of change, but the activities of devotion enabled that grace to become effective in people’s lives” (SAME pg 135).
“The process of becoming a Methodist started with doing what a Methodist does, enabled and enforced by the techniques for behavioral change built into the class meeting mode. The behaviors to be acquired were clearly defined in the Rules, and their frequent repetition aided the new converts in their first learning task: to act like a Methodist. In Wesley’s system, doing the will of God, even on the most rudimentary level, always precedes cognitive ‘knowing.’ True knowledge, for a Methodist, was the natural outgrowth of proper practice; NOT VICE VERSA” (Same, pg 141 CAPITALIZED EMPHASIS ADDED).
For Wesley, you practice what you preach, but you also practice before you preach/understand. In other words, you would eventually preach what you have practiced.
REWARDS
REWARDS
So, Jesus has a reward for those who claim and practice the same things.
Rule the nations
There is a direct quote from the Greek translation of Psalm 2
The word for rule can also mean shepherd. Shepherds guide, but they also ward off intruders.
This is probably the reason for the Iron Scepter
It is a reminder of a staff that is tipped with iron. It allows the sheep to be guided, but also protected. There is grace, compassion, and judgement in being a good shepherd/governor in God’s Kingdom.
In a kingdom, such as Rome/USA/any nation and all nations that try to use their authority to “oust” the people of God, Jesus has a message of hope. As long as we remain faithful, although we might not be accepted in our earthly kingdom, we will not only be accepted, but magistrates (OR AMBASSADORS…) in the Kingdom of God initiated and fulfilled in Christ.
As we celebrate our independence as a nation may we do so humbly. May our celebration be a time of thanking God for his patience (as he declares in v.21) in not fully judging us. But, may we also be reminded, that although it is wonderful to be citizens of the United States, ultimately our home and destiny is in a greater Kingdom. May we remember what Paul says in Philippians 3:20 Philippians 3:20 (NLT) 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
The gift of the morning star I believe this to be a POWERFUL image of our Hope in the Kingdom of God.
Think Venus which is considered to be the “Morning Star”
Venus shines brightest before dawn. When the world is in darkness, the light of Venus shines bright declaring that there is hope for another day to dawn.
Christ declares himself to be the Morning star
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”
Christ is also the one who, ultimately, brings hope to a world that is in chaos and darkness. God has not forgotten his plans/promises. A New Day, a New Kingdom is coming. Christ, through his life, death, resurrection and ascension point to that new day.
This gift is two fold
The very presence of Christ! Those who remain faithful will have Christ’s presence with them.
But, the gift doesn’t only have at it’s object the “Morning star.” It is also the same gift that the morning star gives; hope. In other words, the gift of the morning star refers to the gift of hope that it brings. Like Venus, like Christ, we when we live faithfully and practice faithfully to our teaching and understanding, Shine in the darkest, confusing times. But, we shine and tell a story. All is not lost! We point forward to the Light that is to come. We point forward to the New Day, the New Creation, The Kingdom of God fulfilled in Christ. The gift of the morning star is our ability to shine a ray of hope in a world that is cast in darkness!
So, what are you practicing? Does your life, not only in the words you say, but in the practices you follow, point to our hope in the Kingdom of God to come?
Do we point to the promise of a greater kingdom, a greater plan, a greater creation, or do we settle for what we have here?
Do we practice what we preach? Do our beliefs and actions fall in line with each other?
Let’s practice living into the New Community, the New Creation that the gift of the Morning Star gives us.