Pursuing Resilience in Revelation | The Consequnces of Corruption

Revelation 2:18–29 NASB 2020

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze, says this: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith, and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. ‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come. The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Intro

The Author: The Son of God who has…

Eyes like fire symbolizing the light and holy vision of the Lord.

Nothing is hidden from the Lord. He sees all.

Feet like burnished bronze symbolizing Christ’s stability and strength over everything.

Unlike the statue of man’s kingdom which Daniel saw, John’s vision of Christ is of a King whose feet are bronze rather than clay.

The kingdom of man is destined to fail because it is founded on nothing but usurped authority. The kingdom of Christ will stand forever because it is founded upon a stable and true King.

Our King depicts Himself as strong and ready to judge with proper vision and feet to stand in the presence of His enemies.

The recipients: The church in Thyatira.

Thyatira was a critical commercial and manufacturing hub in Asia Minor. They were known for their metallurgy, particularly the manufacture of bronze.

Thyatira was not a central city with regard to religion, but rather for commerce.

By depicting Himself with eyes of fire and feet like bronze, Jesus speaks directly to the sins of this community. His wisdom is greater than theirs, His skill better, and His strength stronger.

The occasion: To confront deadly sin, to encourage the faithful, and to present Christ as The Glorious Judge who will return to break the societies of rebellious man.

We have heard it said, “you are what you eat.” Well, we know that is a lie because of what Jesus said...

Matthew 15:16–20 NASB 2020

Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements. These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

Others may say, “you are what you do.” That too is a lie. Our vocation does not determine our identity. It goes much deeper than that.

James K. A. Smith has written a book called “You are What You Love.” Ahhh… not we are scratching at the truth. That which we love most becomes our heart’s deepest treasure and whatever we treasure will shape everything about us.

Truth

I. Jesus knows us

He knows our deeds

The church at Thyatira had actually grown in their love and deeds over time.

The Lord wants this sort of growth for us too.

He has given us the Scriptures to teach us how and the Holy Spirit to enable us to actually do it.

When our love for Christ is central in our lives, then our acting out in His ways will of course be growing.

Is Christ your greatest treasure?

Does the fruit of your life prove this to be true or does it say that something else is actually your greatest treasure?

II. Sexual sin is a vampire that sucks the life out of its victims

Sex was designed by God as the greatest way a man and a woman can treasure one another.

It is the most intimate act two people can share between one another.

Who we give ourselves to sexually we won’t be able to help but to treasure.

When sex happens out of turn, it becomes a force for corruption rather than a source of joy and life.

We must beware the false prophetess Jezabel.

Jezabel was both a real person and also a type of person we are to watch out for and avoid.

Jezabel often sets herself up as an authority, even as a speaker for the Lord.

Remember what we said before, that just because a person is prophetic does not mean we should listen to that person.

A person is not validated for us by his or her gifts, but rather by character and by how close they are walking with the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit and good doctrine are critical.

Jezabel claims to lead us to happiness, pleasure, and satisfaction but she only leads us into bondage.

Sex outside of God’s prescribed context will literally suck the life right out of us.

This includes adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, or any deviancy from the Lord’s plan of a man and woman within a marriage covenant.

Sexual sin turns our place of rest and joy into a place of sickness and death.

The bed is supposed to be a good, sacred, and restful place for us.

Sexual sin perverts our bed into a place of sickness and death.

Sin is corrupting our entire world in this way, but sexual sin is literally corrupting people from the inside out.

Sexual sin is especially dangerous because whatever we do sexually becomes a part of our identity.

This is why identity politics today have become so intertwined with the sexual revolution.

Nothing opens a person up to demonization quite like this particular sin, because it is a sin against ourselves.

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 NASB 2020

Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The destiny of the children of Jezabel is death by death.

This is to say they will experience the second death, not just the first one.

III. We who are faithful must hold firmly to our place in Christ

Jesus places no further burden on us, only a call to remain in Him and never let go.

Overcomers in Christ will join Him in judging the nations, so take heart little flock!

It may seem like we are riding a nasty bull, but hold on and we will judge that bull and we will one day break him.

Daniel saw the feet of the kingdom of man as clay, but God reveals that the true King has feet of brass.

We serve a King who never fails and if He is our ultimate treasure we will rise up in glory with Him.

Gospel

Who is God? He is the Son of God who has holy vision and stable feet.

What has God done? He has called us to holiness in Him and has promised us a wonderful future if we remain in Him.

Who are we? We are His dearly loved children who are empowered to overcome and to rule with Him over the nations.

What will we do? We will choose to treasure Christ above all, rejecting sin and embracing the life of Christ as the most comprehensively and eternally fulfilling way of living for ourselves.

Challenge

If you are what you love, then you will want to make sure that you love Jesus. All other loves will fade away, but Christ will stand forever.

We must spare no expense in our lives with regards to loving Christ. The answer to corruption in the church, in our lives, and in the world is to treasure Christ above all.

What does that look like for you today? What needs to be pruned from your life? What repentance needs to happen? How can you prioritize Christ each day?