All That Glitters is Not Gold

Well, today's Bible reading is taken from the book of Revelation,

Revelation 2:18

chapter 2, verse 18 to verse 29.

And to the angel of the church in Tyre Tyre 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 later 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 give her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.

Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her,

I will throw into great jubilation 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 a calling to your works.

But to rest of you in Tyre Tyre, 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.

These are the words of the Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Welcome to the visitors with us this morning.

We're in a series on the seven letters to the seven churches,

and we're picking up the letter to Tyre Tyre this morning.

I have been saying over the last few weeks that the word revelation itself

means God revealing events of our world from his perspective.

And I said last week in the start of my sermon that what Jesus revealed

was a real eye-opener for John.

That is, Christ's passion for his church and his demand that we,

as his died-for resurrection community, would reflect that passion.

It's a real eye-opener of how serious church is for Jesus,

how central it is.

Well, this morning I start by saying that what Jesus reveals

is absolutely confronting.

We've got seven letters to seven churches,

and it's God's symbolism of completeness.

That's that letter, that word, the number seven is completeness.

And so what we have here in these seven letters is a diagnostic snapshot

of the health of his church in general in John's day,

right down through the generations to us here this morning.

A diagnostic snapshot of the health of the church.

Now, this is really important for how we think about and hear Jesus

through these letters.

We should not expect to find our church in any one of these letters

so that one is relevant to us and the others aren't.

Rather, the strengths and weaknesses of each of these churches

will be evident in our church at different times.

So we ought to be looking across all seven letters,

seeing strengths and seeing weaknesses.

It's a constant struggle to make sure that all the various activities

of our church family life are an overflow of our heart

for an allegiance to Jesus.

We've seen that in the letter to Ephesus.

It's a constant struggle not to grow weary,

reminding ourselves that Jesus is worth serving in every circumstance,

including persecution.

It's a constant struggle to avoid creeping compromise

by craving acceptance and approval by Jesus.

More than that, over family and friends and neighbours and workmates.

Friends, these words of Jesus are meant to be confronting.

They need to be confronting,

because we are such slow, reluctant learners.

And the big question this morning as we launch into yet another confronting letter is,

very simply, are you confronted?

Are you willing to think reflectively and deeply about the spiritual health of our church family unit,

and yourself as part of it?

Are you willing to repent?

This series is called a reset series.

Are you willing to repent and reset,

as we need to, as a church, as a unit,

as you need to, as an individual within our church unit?

Friends, Jesus speaks words of healing and encouragement right through these letters.

And as we'll hear today,

even his warnings are delivered with opportunity and time to repent.

So, let's use this time wisely,

this series wisely,

as we identify where we need to reset.

And let's do that as we jump into the next letter now

and hear Christ's words to his community of Christians in Thyatira,

and to us gathered in Zoom this morning.

The first thing I want to say is that

Jesus commends them for being faithful in this little church.

He commends them for being faithful,

not spectacularly successful.

Verses 18 and 19 are wonderful words of encouragement.

To the angel of the church in Thyatira write,

the words of the Son of God,

whose eyes are like a flame of fire,

and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

I know your works,

your love,

your faith,

and service,

and patient endurance,

and that your latter works exceed the first.

Now, these are wonderful words of encouragement.

And remember,

since they come from the Lord Jesus,

they pack real punch.

These aren't just cheap words of positivity.

They come from the Lord Jesus,

the Savior,

who gladly got his hands dirty

to save his people.

And he speaks in terms that these tradespeople

and industrial workers,

which marked Thyatira,

would have easily identified with.

The one feature dominating the skyline of Thyatira

was a huge temple to Apollo,

the Greek sun god.

And most likely,

that temple was dominated

by a large bronze statue of Apollo.

Now, the irony of all that is

that Apollo was god of the fine arts and medicine.

And the local tradespeople in Thyatira

would understand,

in spite of the huge temple,

Apollo would not actually be terribly interested in them.

And so playing on the words,

I believe,

Jesus introduces himself as the son of God,

the one who actually came into the world

as an ordinary person

to bring real and immediate help and salvation

to ordinary people,

like the Christians in Thyatira.

He was neither lifeless nor disinterested,

but got down and dirty for his people.

Something that would resonate

with these battlers in this industrial town.

They knew the value,

the beauty,

the purity,

and strength of burnished bronze.

Thyatira was famous

for its bronze casting works.

And Jesus,

verse 19,

speaks in that sort of language,

in all his awesomeness.

He's really saying to this church

at Thyatira,

I count you as really precious to myself.

I'm really quite delighted with you,

on the whole.

Now,

what are they commended for?

Well,

verse 19,

they're commended for the ordinariness,

as it were,

of getting on

with ordinary gospel living.

So,

they may not live

in an outstanding city,

like Pergamum or Ephesus.

There may not be anything

particularly exciting

in their little church,

but that does not mean

they're hidden from Jesus

or considered inferior by him.

And so,

we get the picture

of the intensity

of Jesus'

all-seeing eyes,

like a white-hot,

smelting furnace fire

that these locals

would have been familiar with.

His eyes illuminate

every thought,

every desire,

every action.

And when Jesus illuminated

the deep recesses

of their heart,

he liked what he saw,

commending them

for their passion

and getting on

with being the church.

That is a gospel-shaped

resurrection community

with actions shaped

and motivated

by their inner love

and trust in Jesus

and commitment

to live under his rule

in every circumstance of life.

And best of all,

end of verse 19,

they're growing

in spiritual maturity.

Becoming more gospel-shaped

as they go.

And so,

the tone of verse 19

commands

the ordinariness

of the church.

Steady,

focused Christian commitment.

I think it's just like

you would expect

in a small-town craftsperson.

Nothing showy,

just daily commitment

to producing

quality product.

And verse 25,

jump over there

for a minute.

Jesus is content

and delighted

in seeing

his own passion

for the church

reflected in this church family.

In a sense,

we'll come back

to the problem,

but in a sense,

Jesus is saying to them

as a whole group,

hey,

you're doing well.

Just stay focused.

Stay on track

and keep plodding along.

And he also commends them

as the real power brokers

and bright lights

in the world.

And we're going to be looking

at the promises

at the end,

and then we'll come back

to the difficult part

in the middle there.

So,

Thyatira was famous

for its bronze

workers' guild.

It was a bit like

a powerful trade union.

It had enormous influence

in the town

and surrounding district.

Effectively,

it was able to decide

who could work

and who would be excluded

socially

and in terms

of the industry.

And no doubt

this local guild

would have despised

the local Christians

for probably

their stupid beliefs,

beliefs which risked

offending

the local gods.

And therefore,

risk the well-being

of everyone.

But again,

on the contrary,

verses 26 and 27,

look at that.

Jesus encourages

his unassuming

faithful people

to see that

real power

is with them.

Look at verse 26 and 27.

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,

even as when earth

and pots are broken

in pieces,

even as I myself

have received authority

from my father.

Real power

is with them.

Why?

Because

they are aligned

with him,

the king of the world.

the image you hear

is taken from

Psalm 2,

where the Son of God

is given complete

authority over the nations

to declare

and implement

the rule of God.

And so it's a perfect fit

for Thyatira,

where clay molds

in which bronze

was cast

or imperfect pots

are just smashed

and discarded.

They knew the picture

that Jesus was giving them here.

complete power

over that

which has been created.

And the point,

I think,

is

that as faithful servants

and ambassadors

of King Jesus,

remember the one

with the piercing eyes

and trampling feet,

as ambassadors

of this King Jesus

and armed

with his powerful word,

they are more powerful.

They are building

something far more beautiful

than anything

in this world.

Now,

I take it

this would have

really surprised

the Christians

in the little-known

church at Thyatira.

They certainly

didn't look

as though

they were significant.

But the values

of Jesus

are not

the values

of this world.

You see,

again,

it was their faithfulness

that caught

Jesus' attention.

and defines

their usefulness

in Christ's kingdom.

Verse 28,

Jesus promises

that they will shine

with the same

brightness as Jesus.

Why?

Because he gladly

associates with them

and calls them brothers.

And again,

a reference

to Apollo.

It would not be

Apollo,

the sun god,

who would offer

a bright future

to the people

of Thyatira.

But Jesus,

the morning star.

And remember,

the morning star

marks the passing

of the darkness

and terror of night.

It will not

be the size

or apparent

success,

my friends,

of our church

that will delight

Jesus.

What will delight

Jesus?

Well,

as in this church

here,

faithfulness

will delight

Jesus.

one of the

greatest dangers

for any church

is longing

to be

trend-setting,

showy,

spectacular.

Because we think

that that is

what will count

most for Christ's

kingdom.

That is what

will mark us out

as a growing,

go-ahead,

exciting church.

And it may well do

in terms of the

world's criteria.

But we'll have

Christ's blessing

when we are

faithful in the

basics

rather than

when we chase

the spectacular.

Now,

hear me carefully.

This is not

to say

that we shouldn't

challenge ourselves

into new enterprises

and be creative.

but we mustn't

do so

at the expense

of faithfulness

in the basics.

Now,

it seems to me

this is another

huge potential

point of reset

for us.

And turn it

into a question

then.

What do you

crave most

for our church

family?

Do you crave

faithfulness

more than

anything else?

Is that what

you want

us to be

as a unit

together?

Or do you

crave some

alternative

to faithfulness?

Perhaps you

do crave

success.

Perhaps you

crave reputation

with other

churches and

other Christians

so they look

at our church

and go,

wow,

that's a

switched on

church.

I wish I

was part

of it.

Do we

crave greater

numbers to

show that we

are growing?

Do we crave

better buildings,

more exciting

programs,

and so the

list could

go on?

None of

those things

of themselves

are bad

to crave

for.

But if

they're a

substitute for

faithfulness,

then they

become bad.

Do you

crave

faithfulness

more than

anything else

for us as

a church

and for

yourself as

a believer?

Well,

the second

point then I

want to just

highlight this

morning is

avoid the

temptation to

make the

gospel fit

society.

Now,

in spite of

the church

as a whole

being commended

by Jesus,

there is a

great danger

within it.

And the

great danger

comes from a

few influential

individuals among

them.

The problem I'm

calling this

morning is the

Jezebel factor

because it may

well be a

single person

called Jezebel,

but most likely

given the

picture language

and everything

else in these

letters,

most likely

this Jezebel

represents a

small but

growing group

of people

within the

church,

clustered

around a

particular way

of thinking

and a

particular way

of living

under the

banner of

being Christians

and people

who have

effectively

changed the

gospel message

by removing

certain behavior

from it.

Now,

it appears,

if you look

at verses

21,

22,

and 23

there,

it appears

that they

were very

convincing.

They spoke

what everybody

considered to be

deep things

things that

thought,

wow,

that's really

enlightened.

That sort of

stuff would

really free

me and

bring me

to maturity

as a

Christian.

That's the

sort of

stuff that

only mature

free Christians

would understand.

But Jesus

mocks their

views.

They may

well be

deep,

according to

their criteria,

but they

don't reflect

Jesus or

God.

He calls

them the

deep things

of Satan.

That's how

vile they

are to

the Lord

Jesus,

the Lord

of his

church.

Most likely

the scenario

would be

that they

argued that

attending

pagan feasts

didn't mean

you were part

of them,

so there's

no issue.

It would

go something

like this,

and we know

that this

sort of

teaching was

in the

early church.

We don't

know exactly

if this

was the

teaching at

Thyatara,

but it

certainly

fits what's

been said

here.

It would

go something

like this.

The deep

thing is that

as long as

a Christian

keeps his

mind or

her mind

pure,

believing the

right things

and fellowshipping

with other

Christians on

Sundays,

then what

they did

during the

week wasn't

really a

gospel issue.

It was just

to be thought

of as part

of living

life.

You have to

live life,

that's what

you have to

do, so

it's okay

providing you

keep other

things right

and pure.

Now we

can understand

how appealing

this theology

would have

been.

For a

start, it

would make

life much

easier in

Thyatara,

because just

about all

of community

life was

built around

worship of

gods.

And then

again it

would have

suggested that

Christians were

really community

minded, and

that would have

made them more

acceptable.

And perhaps

even the

argument would

be that these

things would

open up more

evangelistic

opportunities.

But then it

also gives

the opportunity

to dabble in

some of the

alluring aspects

of what we

would call

today a sex

saturated

society, a bit

like Iran

I suppose,

and lots of

ways.

So the

thinking of

this Jezebel

factor gave

people the

opportunity to

dabble in

some of the

alluring aspects

of that, while

convincing

yourself still

that you were

just showing

that Christians

have red

blood in

their veins

too.

You want

to show

people that

Christianity

doesn't have

to seriously

curb your

former lifestyle.

We're just

ordinary people

like everybody

else.

You can see

why people

would like

that teaching.

Christ's

judgment on

such thinking,

very, very

clear, very,

very threatening

words, very,

very absolute

words.

What's

appealing may

well be

damning.

And again

in verses

21 to 23,

the same

piercing eyes,

the same

powerful figure

that gently

commends

faithfulness,

now becomes

terrifying as

he describes

how he will

purify his

church.

There will

be consequences,

severe

consequences.

Jesus will

not stand

idly by

and allow

his church

to be led

into destruction.

Christ is

calling here

for his

people to

be expressing

deep purity

in every

area of

life, and

perhaps

especially

sexual

behavior in

this context.

Christ's eyes

have quite

hot intensity

to find

and burn

out impurity.

again, it's

an industrial

picture of

the furnace.

White hot

intensity to

find and

burn out

impurity.

Christ's feet

are like fine

brass.

They're free

from impurity,

and that's

what he

wants his

people to

be like.

See, boil

it all

down, and

we can talk

a lot about

the actual

specific details,

but boil it

all down as

this.

I think their

culture was

shaping how

they lived

the gospel

rather than

the gospel

shaping how

they lived

their culture.

Christ wants

us to be

like him

in a world

that constantly

wants to

make us

impure and

corrupt.

And Christ

will take

drastic measures

to bring us

to repentance

and new

purity.

Friends,

this whole

Jezebel

factor, I

think we

could say

that it

appears to

be the

mood of

evangelicalism

in our

generation.

We have

so-called

evangelical

church

leaders who

remove issue

after issue

from the

script of

the church

saying that

these things

aren't really

gospel issues.

So as long

as we keep

focused on

Jesus, we

can do this

and this

and this

and this

and this.

And so

we find

in our

world today

in

evangelicalism

we find

adultery,

homosexuality,

divorce,

just open

slather and

watching movies

with sex

scenes,

drugs and

so on.

There no

longer seem

to be real

gospel issues.

Young people

sleeping together

before they get

married.

They're just

not even

reading now

on some

radars.

And it's

no surprise

that people

love this

new easy

Christianity.

Many

evangelicals,

you'll hear

them now

saying that

when it

comes to

evangelism,

well, if

we have to

join their

after work

drinking

sex-saturated

conversation

sessions to

get the

gospel out,

then that's

what we

ought to

do.

If we

have to

get involved

in sport

at the

same level

as our

non-Christian

friends,

then that's

what we

have to

do.

If we

have to

make

cafe latte

and hipster

dress,

the focus

of church

because that's

what people

expect these

days,

then that's

what we

have to

do.

I don't

know where

that leaves

me,

but I've

heard that

said.

Friends,

if we're

to have

Christ's

approval as

a church

family,

we must

be faithful.

Having

our lives

shaped by

the gospel

at every

point of

our day.

Look at

verse 28.

Jesus

promises,

I will

give him

the

morning

star.

Are you

drawn to

the darkness

and alluring

autonomy and

immorality of

this world?

And believe

for me,

it is very

dark and

very alluring.

and it's

constantly

trying to

blur the

guidelines and

the edges

for us.

Are you

drawn to the

darkness and

alluring autonomy

and immorality of

this world?

Or are you

drawn to the

bright morning

star who

dispels

darkness and

gives you

light and

life?

question of

faithfulness.

Is this

another point

for us as a

church to

consider whether

we need to

reset significantly?

Whether you

individually need

to repent and

reset significantly?

thank you very

much for

listening.

Let me pray.

Lord,

open our

minds to

your confronting

word.

Open our

hearts,

Lord,

to feel that

word impact

on us.

And lead us,

Lord,

individually and

together as a

church unit to

take whatever

actions are

necessary to

repent.

We thank you,

Lord, that in

your graciousness

you pursue us

when we stumble

and wander into

sin.

And we thank

you, Lord,

that you give us

time and

opportunity to

repent.

Lord, I pray

that we might

think reflectively

as a church

family, that we

might reset

where we need

to reset, and

that ultimately

we might praise

you for both

exposing our

sin and

helping us move

through it into

new purity.

Help us, we

pray.

Be merciful to us,

we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.