What Are You Holding On To?

Apocalypse: Faithful to the End

What Are You Holding On To?

I . Stories of Importance of Holding On…

· Bench press fail...sprain...while watching teaching on Thyatira "don't let go of what you have"

o Pain of holding onto anything now...dropping things more...importance of thumbs!

Sometimes we let go of what we need to be holding on to…distraction, not taking it seriously, other priorities, etc.Sometimes we hold on to things we should let go of!Story: Water Skiing and getting dragged through the water…

With our recent move we continue to work on letting go of different belongings that are weighing us down…GIVE IT AWAY!

Working on projects outside with Kids: Carrying too many things and dropping stuff...LET IT GO!

What Are You Holding On To?

II. How many times are we holding on to things we shouldn’t be holding on to?

A few weeks ago we looked at how the church in Pergamum was on the slippery slope of syncretism…by combining other beliefs, worldviews, and pagan gods with their faith…

- They were “the place where Satan has his throne” and they were pressured into just embracing the way of the world around them…

- We should not try to ESCAPE or EMBRACE these cultural, religious, and spiritual differences:

o There is a third option! We are called to ENGAGE the world around us with TRUTH and LOVE.

Well, today we come to 4th church of the 7…the smallest and most insignificant of the 7 cities that is given the longest letter…and as it sits in the center of the 7 letters we know that this is very intentional and that it’s message is at the heart of the message to the 7 churches.

These are all connected and this is at the center.

Stand. Read. Pray. Revelation 2:18-29 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

Revelation 2:18–29 NIV

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’ To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

18-19 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

- Son of God

o Thyatira had worship of Apollo, son of Zeus, also known by a local name…sun god…

- blazing fire & burnished bronze

- I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance

- You are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

- The church is not only tolerating the TEACHING, like at Pergamum, but tolerating the one who is Practicing and Promoting this life!

- Jezebel – back to Old Testament evil queen…who led the people towards spiritual prostitution…that actually involved physical prostitution too…

o She was a master manipulator and controller…

- She calls herself a prophet but is not…like the Apostles, Jews, etc…things are not as they seem.

- Two ways she is misleading: Sexual Immorality and food sacrificed to Idols (Acts 15).

o Porneia

- Back to Acts 15…these were the simple things that they were to avoid…they were called to be different!

o These were significant things…

o Ceremonial and Moral implications…because to follow Jesus means to believe that these things matter:

1. Bloodshed mattered, sacrifices, because the life is in the blood…HIGH view of the Sacredness and Value of Life…Systems of violence…murder, etc. that matters…

2. How we care for the weak and helpless…who were those most impacted by ritual prostitution? What did this create in society?

- Lots of abortion and children raised by prostitutes…to become prostitutes…

3. How we live our lives as sexual people?

- It’s not just a physical thing but it is spiritual and we have a designer who designed us as sexual beings…this is something sacred.

4. Who and what we worship?

- There are spiritual realities behind the physical world we see…these idols were not just stones…the things that want our attention, affection, and allegiance are not just material things…we are in a battle against principalities and powers seeking to distract us, deceive us, distort how we see God/ourselves/others, and destroy us!

21-23 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

- This was not a sudden consequence like lighting…there was time to let go of it…time to turn around and go a different direction.

- Romans 1, says that those who distorted God’s design for their sexuality received back in their body the penalty for their sin…meaning this was a natural consequence…this was probably a venereal disease or some other consequence in line with her choices…

- Those who commit adultery with her could certainly be people having sex with her but most likely, following in the line of the way the prophets spoke of unfaithfulness to God, referring to those who are participating with her in her sin…actively practicing and promoting this…

- Her children would be those who are listening to her and following her…

- YIKES! He sees, He’s in the midst and nothing gets past Him…and yet He is merciful and allows time for repentance and even gave warnings to change direction!

24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

- He writes to the those who weren’t holding to Jezebel’s teaching…

o Here described as “Satan’s so called deep secrets”

1. They may have called them “deep secrets of God” and Jesus is riffing on that…

2. They may have believed that in order to be truly free from sin one had to plumb the depths of sin without shame…

- Hold on to what you have until I come!

o Repeatedly in these letters we’re told to HOLD ON!

o Don’t grab on to the wrong stuff…don’t be distracted by other stuff…HOLD ON!

o What did they have?

o Deeds, Love, Faith, Service and Perseverance

26-29 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

- Repeatedly the churches are told what awaits those who are victorious and faithful to the end.

- Authority:

o In this case Jesus borrows a picture from Psalm 2 where the Messiah is promised rulership over all of the nations of the earth…significant power and authority to do as He wills…

o This authority was lost in the garden and now belongs to Jesus…

o Jesus is offering to share that authority with them.

- Power

- Presence

o He offers Himself!

Thyatira wasn't just accepting the teaching...but fully practicing and promoting it!

- Adjusting theology and practice to go along with cultural trends of sexuality and power...

- But Jesus was promising True Authority and Power to those who are willing to Let Go of those things and Hold on to what is True!

We have Christians, and the world, living an intolerant tolerance...mandating the celebration of things that God’s word says should not be celebrated...in the name of tolerance they are intolerant and unloving to those who disagree that it should be celebrated!

In the name of Love!

They are not only HOLDING to it…practicing it…but PROMOTING it and dare I say, wanting to PROHIBIT others from disagreeing with them.

NOT called to Embrace or Escape the World around us but to ENGAGE the World with Truth and Love!

We should not try to ESCAPE or EMBRACE these cultural, religious, and spiritual differences: There is a third option! We are called to ENGAGE the world around us with TRUTH and LOVE.That means being WITH people. That means being willing to take a stand for truth. To speak the truth even when it hurts because the truth matters. It means being willing to stand for truth even when you may be persecuted for it.It means being willing to serve and love those who would hate you...or who think that you hate them because you disagree with them!It means being willing to be different!To hold on to Jesus…to Hold on to Truth…and not let go despite the world around us!

How WAS the early church different?

- Their Sexual and Moral Ethic were founded in an understanding that God is creator and that we are made in HIS image and therefore every life has value…and every part of life has value and should be lived out in accordance with God’s desires and design!

2 Timothy 4:12 Paul told Timothy to “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

SPEECH:

- No Impure Speech - Pure Speech

- Thanksgiving...

- Seasoned with grace...

- Truth

- Talking too much (God wants you to have big ears and a little mouth)

- Humor, slang, etc.

CONDUCT:

- No Selfishness or Self-Seeking –

- *Service, *Submission (revolutionary submission):

- Integrity - Authenticity/Genuineness:

- Joyful

- Peace

- Fruit of the Spirit

- *Self control

LOVE

*Self-Sacrifice (Agape Love) - No bloodshed, etc.

- Peacemakers

- Forgiving others and Repenting when wrong

FAITH

- No Idolatry - *Single Hearted Worship/devotion

- No Greed…because they trust in God

- Faith & Truth: just, right, integrity

- Single Minded/Hearted Worship: No idolatry

- Fruit of the Spirit

PURITY

- Purity - No Immorality - Godly *Sexuality

- The church in Corinth had a similar problem to Thyatira when Paul had written to them a whole generation earlier…

- 1 Cor 6...Called to be temples of the Holy Spirit!

- Nowadays Christians are more informed by Glee then by God's Word!

- We have Christians watching Game of Thrones or other things that are anti-Christ...WHY?

- “What’s wrong with it?” That’s the wrong question. The right question is: “What’s RIGHT with it?”

· Lack of Spiritual discernment in what we watch, listen to, or read.

HOW were they able to live differently? It goes back to what Eirik shared last week:

They thought differently:

Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

- Later on Peter also wrote to believers:

2 Peter 1:3-11 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

2 Peter 1:3–11 NIV

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

V - Where will WE land on this as a church? Are we holding to teachings of syncretism and compromise?

- Are you holding on to something that you need to let go of that doesn’t line up with God’s desires and design for life?

Have their been ideas that have lodged themselves in the depths of our soul that are actually a reflection of other beliefs or ideologies but not founded on truth? Is the Truth of God’s word really transforming our lives daily?

Our THEME Passage for this year:

Hebrews 10:23-27

Hebrews 10:23–27 NIV

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Are we getting into God’s truth and allowing God to discern and divide our attitudes and actions? To expose our motives? To cause our lives to be Holy, Set Apart for God’s purposes?

If you look at your life today and you see areas of Syncretism or Compromise...I want to invite you to REPENT! Turn back to the one who is Faithful and True...turn back to your first love and the things you did at first…

Recognize

Repent

Renounce

Renew

Repent of the lies you’ve believed! Renounce any and every agreement you’ve made with the Father of Lies be accepting these things and acting on them!Make a Renewed commitment TODAY to give Jesus all of you Attention, Affection, and Allegiance. Ask His Spirit to fill you and Guide you into all truth and to Transform you by the Renewing of your Mind...as you make a plan to get in the Word!

If you find yourself not engaged in that…DON’T let Go…HOLD ON to what you have!

A couple of Resources I’ve found helpful for purity:

- Discipleship Relationships

- Guidebooks

- Explore what the Bible has to say about how we should live…as image bearers, as sexual beings, as people who are given authority flowing from our relationship with the one who has all authority…

- www.vidangel.com

- Conqueror Series