Hold Fast to the Morning Star ⭐️ | Revelation 2:18-29 📖

Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives

! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth

! Today, you'll be hearing week seven of our sermon series through the book of Revelation.

We are looking at Revelation 2, verses 18-29, which is Christ's letter to the church in Thyatira.

Revelation 2:18–29

Now, here's something that is powerful to note before you listen. Thyatira was a church that was

growing in love. The text says that their latter works exceeded their first, which essentially means

they were getting better, not worse. This church had demonstrated love, faith, service, and patient

endurance. But Jesus also confronts this church. Some in the congregation were tolerating Jezebel,

a false prophetess who was leading believers into idolatry and sexual immorality. This wasn't just

a bad teaching, it was seducing people away from Christ to worship another god. The text mentions

that Christ, whose eyes were like fire and feet like burnished bronze, calls the church to repent or to

face judgment. What a reminder for us today. We live in a world where there is compromise everywhere,

and there's this pressure to tolerate corruption and to blend in rather than to stand out. But it is

Christ who searches our minds and our hearts. His eyes are like fire, and they see everything. He calls

for us to stand firm in Him and to hold fast. In this sermon, you'll hear three practical applications

for your life. First is to receive the light of Christ, to believe in Him, to receive His salvation,

and to remain rooted in Him. The second is to resist evil and to let your lamp shine. Don't hide your

light under a bushel. Let it shine. And third is to share the hope of the morning star, to help others

find the light, love, and truth of Jesus Christ. And here is the beautiful imagery that runs through this

entire message. We are like the lamps. We are like lamps that are shining in the night. And Jesus Christ

is the morning star. We are living in this darkness of this age and letting our light shine that we

received from Christ. Letting it shine in the darkness as we await for the dawn of the morning star to rise

and bring forth a new eternal day. Just like when the power goes out, you need a flashlight or a candle

until the sun comes up. Well, in the same way, we are carrying the light of Christ now as we await for

the greater light. To the faithful who hold fast, Christ promises the morning star, Himself. He promises

authority, inheritance, and to reign with Him forever. Let us refuse compromise. Let us resist evil. Let us

hold fast to Christ alone. And let us await for the coming of the morning star. Let us now listen to

today's message, Hold Fast to the Morning Star. Paul, good morning, everyone. Today we are continuing

through our study through the book of Revelation. And we've been going through these seven churches that are

found in Revelation. Let us be reminded of Christ and this imagery that we have about how He holds the seven

stars and that He walks among the lampstands, showing the sense of completedness, the sense of the church, and

walking among them, showing the power and the authority that Jesus Christ has. It's important for us to recognize that

these churches, not only were they historical, but there are specific situations that we can learn from and that we can be

mindful of. When we find it in Scripture, sometimes we wonder, well, what in the world does, how does that, what does that even

look like today? And are there patterns that happen from Scripture that we can see today? Absolutely.

It is just like how there are so many people in this life that are in darkness.

And before, feel free to turn your Bibles to Revelation 2, chapter 2, verses 18 through 29.

And I want you to, as we are turning our Bibles, I want you to get this image in your head.

We've seen throughout Scripture this image of a lamp.

As the children sang this song earlier, this little light of mine, I am going to let it shine.

And it's a cute song. It's a historical one, one that gets you going and gets you wanting to stomp your feet as the

children were doing. But it's important to realize how the symbolism and the significance of lamps are.

To receive the light of Christ. To receive the fire, the flame, the oil in the lamp.

And how important it is to not hide it under a bushel.

Or not to hide it under a bed.

But to put it out and to let it shine.

And what's so powerful about that, the implication, is that lamps are placed out when it's dark.

We think about that, you know, when it's dark, I need a flashlight.

Or I need a lamp.

But think of a moment of how there is darkness in the world.

And how we are waiting for the true light, the light of Christ to come.

And we'll see how that is so connected when Scripture talks about lamps and these little flames that are flickering.

And how we wait for the greater light in Christ.

We'll see how this is connected with this church in Thyatira.

And so, are we there, church?

Are we here at the church in Thyatira?

It's on page 1219.

Revelation chapter 2, verses 18 through 29.

Revelation 2:18–29

Church, let's read this together.

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,

The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like what?

A flame of fire, and whose feet are like what?

Burnished bronze.

I know your works, your love, and faith, and service, and patience, endurance.

And that your latter works exceed the first.

But, uh-oh.

I have this against you.

You tolerate who?

That woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.

And is teaching and doing what?

Seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality,

and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Isn't that interesting how we have this time to partake in communion as an act of worship?

And you see in Scripture, just like in this,

an act of worship to another God.

Very interesting, right?

Verse 21,

I gave her time to repent.

Does she accept?

No, 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 what?

Mind and heart,

and give to each of you according to your works.

But to the rest of you in Thyatira,

who do not hold to this teaching,

who have not learned what some called 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 what?

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 what?

The morning star.

There it is.

He who has an ear,

let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Really interesting.

We have a lot of things that are going on here.

Father God,

we pray that as we have read the Scripture,

that your Word speaks to us.

We ask that it will be made abundantly clear,

not only what you are going for,

but what are the lessons we can learn,

and how can we apply it to our very lives.

We know that you are the God of simplicity,

but through simplicity,

there are deeper things.

May we be hungry to learn more about this church in Thyatira,

and how Christ is the morning star.

We say together, church, amen?

So, in this,

let's go into what exactly is happening here, right?

Well, we see first and foremost

that Christ is speaking to the church in Thyatira,

and this church is known for four things then.

If you look back in your Bibles,

or you can look on the screen as well,

you see here that there are,

I know your works, right?

So, we see your love,

your faith,

your service,

and patient endurance.

So, there are four things

that make up the works of the church in Thyatira then, right?

So, that's interesting that we see, right?

That Christ is introducing himself

as the son of God.

He's recognizing these four things.

And the text is mentioning

that the latter works are exceeding the first.

Now, that's kind of a weird language that's going on.

We have,

as we went over the church in Ephesus,

first and foremost,

we've got to love God and to love people.

That is the foundation

of when we think of churches,

not only back then,

but churches even today.

When we think of what happened back in Ephesus,

they had lost that love.

And what a tragedy it must be

to lose the love of God

and let alone the love for others.

Here,

love being that foundation for the church,

they had grown

in their ability to do good things

in the name of Christ.

And that's something that's very important for us

is we have,

we've got to love God.

And we've got to love others as well.

We continue to grow in the word

and we should be moved to do good in his name.

And so then we see in here,

Christ is confronting the tolerance of Jezebel.

That's kind of an interesting one, right?

Now, for some of us nowadays,

we may have heard a show of hands

or if you're online and watching this,

some of you may have heard the phrase,

a Jezebel spirit.

Have you heard that recently?

So-and-so's got a Jezebel spirit.

It's really icky, right?

It's really something you,

you don't want to be called that kind of thing.

Well, what we're going to do

is go into what exactly

the significance of Jezebel

and why does she reappear in Revelation?

I'll tell you,

when someone's calling someone a Jezebel spirit,

that's usually typically tied

into someone who's rebellious.

It's a lot heavier of a word

than people should be calling people church.

That's very important for us to know.

So, Christ has something against the church,

their tolerance.

Now, what's very interesting

for those of you

who are more scholarly

and more academic,

you have different manuscripts.

Some that follow the KJV versus the ESV,

it's different manuscripts

of the old languages.

Well, what's interesting

is that some translation are saying

that the tolerance of Jezebel

is resulting in suffering.

That's what the KJV says.

And in the English standard

and in a lot of modern translations,

it's saying you're permitting it to happen

and you're not doing anything about it.

And I think it's important for us

to note that there is suffering

that is happening

because it is falling into sin.

And it's also important to note

nothing is being done about this.

Well, you have this woman,

this prophetess,

who is just doing

these very wicked thing.

She is false

and leading believers

into idolatry and immorality.

And what I want to say

first and foremost

is how important it is.

this section

can be misused

and misread.

There are some people out there

that say,

well, see,

this is why we don't have women

in ministry.

And that's inaccurate.

This is a very specific situation

of a woman

who had power

and abused that power.

This is not

ammunition to say,

well, this is why we don't have

any women in ministry.

And I want to speak to that

because this is one of those verses

that can be misused

and used in such a way

to unfortunately attack

women in ministry.

That is very inaccurate

because this is a very specific situation.

Here's what I mean.

Jezebel, in this sense,

is leading people

into sexual immorality

to the point

where they're worshiping another god

or having them partake in meals

as acts of worship.

That's very different

than someone

who is dedicated

to the Lord

and leading people to Christ.

Do we all understand that?

That's very different.

And unfortunately,

what we find

is something

that is inaccurate

or what some people

would call

misinformation on that.

So tolerance,

in this sense,

is allowing someone

to do wrong

and it's because

of their permissiveness

that Christ

is going to intervene

in here.

Christ is warning

of the sickbed

for Jezebel

and tribulation

for those who do not repent.

And let us remember,

when we talk about repentance,

it is changing your mind, right?

It's so important for that.

When we're doing wrong,

we've got to repent of that.

We've got to change our mind

in understanding

why it is wrong

and how can we course correct.

It's just like how

when you see in Scripture

repent and believe,

it's change your mind

about Christ

so that you come

to believe in Him.

Well, we continue

to repent,

seeing how God

is going to mold us

and make us more like Him

to make us more holy

and also to act upon

the faith that we have

in Him.

And so,

Christ offers mercy

to all of those

who repent.

it's a reminder for us.

Should we fall into sin,

we've got to change our minds

to get back on the course

and to remain in Him.

To remain faithful to Christ

is so important for us.

It goes on further,

going back here,

it says,

to all the churches who,

I am He who searches mind and heart.

The language talks about

knowing your inward parts.

Isn't that interesting?

It's very similar

when we find in Scripture,

before you were born,

I knew you, right?

The inner workings

of who you are.

Well,

before you're born,

God knows your inner workings

and certainly after the fact

that you're born

when you're here on the earth,

God knows who you are,

your inner workings.

So that's important as well.

And so,

hold fast to what I come.

Verse 24,

to the rest of you in Thyatira

who do not hold this teaching,

who have not learned,

I'm not going to lay any other burden.

You keep doing what you're doing.

And it's important that

when there's a scandal,

when there is something

that is happening

where someone is partaking in sin

or in evil

or whatever it is,

for us that are not partaking in it,

we just remain in Christ

and by golly,

we keep journeying in Christ.

we remain,

we hold fast

as the language is saying.

And so,

Christ is commanding

to hold fast

until I come.

And the promise then

is the morning star,

which is the light of Christ.

And we start to see

how some of this,

when I had gone over

the parabolic language

of the parable of the lamps,

a lot of that language

is finally getting tied in

to what we see in Revelation.

In other words,

we are waiting in darkness,

shining the light of Christ,

waiting for the brightness

of the light of Christ to come.

It's fascinating

how that kind of connection

begins to happen

within Scripture.

Let's go to that next slide here.

I want to show you something.

When you see in Scripture

this language of

eyes like fire,

right,

and feet like burnished bronze,

this is the same type of language

that we see in Daniel

Daniel 10:6

chapter 10, verse 6,

where the prophet Daniel

is kind of seeing

a heavenly figure.

Some scholars say

this is actually Christ

that he's seeing.

Some say it's an angelic being.

But in any case,

it's the same kind of description

that is being shown

in Revelation

and in Daniel.

And it's fascinating

when we see that kind of thing,

right?

Now, obviously,

in Daniel,

he's talking about

the arms and the legs

compared to the feet,

right?

Obviously,

different parts of the body,

but still kind of

the same idea with this.

And that's really fascinating

when we see that.

We can go to the next slide here.

And what's important for us

is that

what are the things

we can learn

from this?

It's very interesting

to see, like,

okay, you have Jezebel,

you have all these things

that are going on

and remaining firm.

Well, the first thing here

is recognizing

that Christ refines

and searches our hearts,

right?

As it mentions

in Hebrews 4, verse 13,

Hebrews 4:13

that no creature

is hidden from his sight.

I always love,

you guys remember

the story of the garden

where God's saying,

where are you, Adam?

I always love that.

It's like as though

God doesn't actually know

where Adam is, right?

He's calling for him

to come and out of hiding,

hey, let's deal

with this kind of thing, right?

And so I've always found

God having a sense

of humor in Scripture,

especially what you find

back in Genesis here, right?

And that it's important

for us to know

Christ knows our intention, right?

When we think of the things

that we think of,

that's why it's so important

for us to think about

what we think about.

What are you filling

your mind with, right?

When we talk about the heart,

what is your intention

for God and for other people?

And so it's important for us

that not only do we seek out Christ,

but we have the Lord refine us, right?

That's the same kind of language

of transformation

or becoming sanctified, right?

The language of being more holy

and becoming like him.

And ask yourself the question then,

how is Christ purifying

your life right now?

Or is he?

If not, perhaps it's a call for you

to ask the Lord

to search your heart and your mind

and to continue to mold you.

Because I find that as a Christian,

as I have grown in my faith,

I hope you can say this as well.

It's wonderful to see

how God changes you

and then you look back

at who you were.

Not even a year ago

or even a few months ago.

You see how God is working in you,

continuing to transform you.

The second thing then

is Jezebel shows a pattern

of abused power.

Now, we'll go into that.

You know, let's go to that

next slide, actually.

I want to show you some examples

of what exactly Jezebel is doing here.

Now, throughout 1 and 2 Kings,

we see this constant battle between,

I mean, we see throughout

through all Scripture,

the battle between good and evil, right?

That's why we trust in the living God.

We trust in Jesus Christ

because he's victorious.

But here you're seeing Jezebel,

who she went and served Baal

and worshipped him, right?

Someone that is serving another God

and to the point where

I am going to go against

the people of God.

That's important for us to understand.

Not only did she worship another God,

but she was waging war

against the people of God.

That is the pattern

that you see not only

in 1 and 2 Kings

throughout Scripture,

but also what is happening

in Revelation 2 here.

Now, do we know

if they are giving the title

Jezebel to this prophetess?

Some argue that.

Some are saying

it's someone who has that same name.

Never name your child Jezebel.

Can we not do that, right?

You don't want to live up

to that name, okay?

So, in any case,

it could have been

someone literally named Jezebel

or it could have been

we're just going to give you the title

because it's just like

what happened in the past.

There is some debate on that.

But in any case,

you see in this other verse

with the green here,

there was none

who's referencing King Ahab

who sold himself to do

what was evil

in the sight of the Lord,

whom Jezebel,

his wife incited.

Right?

So, we're talking about influence.

We're talking about

this sense of

I'm going to make

people turn against the Lord

and do evil in his sight.

So, when we see that

in the Old Testament,

we can actually have

an understanding of what,

a better understanding

of what's happening here.

In other words,

Jezebel in the Old Testament

and this Jezebel in Revelation

is using their power

and their influence

to turn people away from God

to sexual immorality,

offering their bodies

to another God

and partaking in these meals.

That's a very specific thing.

And so, when you hear someone say

they've got a Jezebel spirit,

that's a very heavy title

and I don't think that should be

loosely just thrown out at people.

This is a very specific thing

that happens

that Christ is against

in this case.

And so, I show that to you

just as how important for it,

for us to understand

who is Jezebel?

What did she do?

And why is it here

in Revelation again?

Let's go back to the interpretation

that previous slide here.

Right?

It's a pattern of abused power.

We have to think for us,

if you want to bring it home,

is how you influence people.

Some of us are in positions of power.

Some of us have positions

where we can influence people.

We have to consider

what God has given to us, right?

Time, talent, treasure, testimony,

but also how we influence people.

You would be absolutely amazed

at how you can lead people to Christ

or lead people away from them.

Now, I don't know about you.

I don't know any Jezebels.

And if you do,

pray for them.

Pray that God will intervene

in their life

and that they may repent.

Just as Christ was offering

Jezebel to repent.

I pray that we don't have any of those,

but I would be foolish to say

it's never going to happen again.

It is in those cases

that we stand firm

and we don't fall into

that type of seduction

or that temptation as it were.

And so,

use your power,

your influence for good.

Right?

This is the same pattern.

We also think of the responsibilities

of pastors and shepherds,

that we are to lead people

to Christ

and to offer ourselves,

our bodies, as it were,

to the Lord.

Not in sexual immorality,

but in purity.

We don't send people into darkness.

We send people to light.

That is important for us.

And this whole thing about meals

and partaking in that,

let us just remember

when we partake in communion together,

we worship the living God

and we say thank you

and we reflect on that.

Let us,

and I hope none of us

ever partake in a meal like that

as an act of worship to another God.

It's very clear in Scripture

to not do that.

The third thing then that shows up

is that Christ is our hope,

the morning star,

that there is a reward

for remaining in Christ

even in the presence of evil.

We think of how things

are going on today

with, well, things globally,

things that are going on in Sudan

and the terrible things

that are happening there.

We think of things that are going,

I mean, we can go on and on

about just all of the tragedies,

the war,

all of these things

that are happening.

In the face of evil,

we stand firm,

trusting in Christ,

the living hope.

you can't take away

the love that God has for us.

You can't.

And no matter what

politician, government,

regime ever happens,

we believe in the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords,

whose power is far greater

than any human being.

And so,

in this,

Christ,

as the morning star,

will share in the inheritance

and his authority

to reign with him forever

in the new heaven

and in the new earth.

And so,

as I gave you this imagery

about the lamp

that shines in the darkness,

Christ being the morning star,

we await for the day to break.

Just as scripture says,

joy comes in the morning.

And so,

ask yourself,

are you living your life

settling into the night?

Or are you living your life

in anticipation

for the light to come?

I know we're getting,

I'm getting a little far here.

Let's keep going.

Let's go to our application then.

So,

how should we respond?

How do we live this out?

Well,

the first thing,

the first most important thing

is to receive the light of Christ.

We've got to believe in Jesus Christ

and receive his salvation

and we remain rooted in Christ.

We have him as our firm foundation.

That is the ultimate decision.

That is the greatest decision.

Right?

Receive salvation.

Receive the light of Christ.

Receive and to remain in him.

Never be afraid

to go to the Lord.

Never be afraid to seek him

and to ask him to search you.

Consider the words of the Psalms.

I love it.

Psalm 139

where it says,

Search me, O God,

and make me true.

Ask God.

Now,

don't only ask God for salvation,

but ask him

to be more like him.

Because God will mold us

in some incredible ways.

Love,

patience,

joy,

the peace that surpasses

all understanding.

I mean,

we can go on and on

about all of the wonderful things

that God gives to us.

And even when we have

this language of receiving

the morning star

or the white stone,

all of these things

is showing the gifts

that the Lord has for us.

Ask yourself

if you have received salvation,

if you have that light of Christ.

The second thing then

is to what, church?

Resist evil.

Right?

And let your lamp shine.

Right?

And we can see

how this gets connected, right?

We don't hide our lamp

under a bushel.

We don't hide it under a bed.

As we journey in faith,

we will face pressures

from the world.

It can be at work.

It can be people

that are against your faith.

It can be people

that say,

you know what?

You used to be

this kind of person.

Why aren't you

that person anymore?

Could be those kind of things.

In any case,

we stay the course

and we resist evil.

That's where we use

the language

of standing firm,

remaining rooted.

Right?

Because we have that

solid rock in Christ

which we can build

our house upon.

Very important.

And this is just like how

when we recite

or when we pray

the Lord's Prayer,

lead us not

into temptation

but deliver us

from evil.

It's wonderful

how things are

connected as this.

Are you being asked

to partake in evil?

That's a question

that you can reflect on.

And in those moments,

may you resist evil.

May you stand firm.

May you navigate

or maybe even help someone

resist evil

in their life.

It's very important.

And then finally,

share the hope

of the morning star.

I want to turn there.

We'll have a little bit

of time here.

I want to show you

something that I think

is very interesting

throughout Scripture

in here.

In Genesis,

we all know

that in the beginning

God created the heavens

and the earth

and the earth

was out

with formless

and void.

There was darkness

that was over it.

And then God said,

let there be light.

The implication

is that

it's actually

a mini creation story

within the creation story.

The world being

in darkness

and the light

of Christ

coming

and breaking

through.

How powerful

is that?

Just as how

Jesus says,

I am the light

of the world.

Whoever follows me

will have the light

of life

just like how

Christ is saying,

I will give him

the morning star.

And then as we're

going in Revelation

to the one

who conquers,

I will give

the morning star.

We can see.

And if you need

it even more clear,

Jesus identifies

himself as

I am

the bright

morning star.

What beautiful

connections here,

church.

stars and light

shining in the

darkness.

I want you to

think as we

close here.

Today,

we live

in darkness

as though

the night

is here

and we hold

our lamps

in anticipation

and waiting

for Christ

to come.

We await

the light

of the morning

star and

we await

for God

to say,

let there

be light

and there

will be

light.

So powerful.

And there's

always an end

to every storm.

There's light

at the end

of darkness

and there's

morning

after the

night.

And that is

why

we shine

our lamps

brightly.

We wait

for the greater

light to come.

Think about it.

when you're

in a dark

room,

let's say

the power

is out.

You've got

a little

lighter,

right?

Or a candle.

There's only

so much light

that is

illuminating

in the room.

But my

gosh,

when the

sun is

out,

I can

see everything,

right?

And we

think of

that when

it comes

to Christ.

That his

light is

unlike any

other light.

And this

is why we

share in the

gospel message,

right?

It's that.

Let's go

back to

the application.

That's why

we share

the hope

of the

morning star.

Because there's

so many

people that

don't have

that light.

They're not

holding a

lamp yet.

A lamp

that's lit.

Well,

think about

it.

If the

power goes

out and

it's dark

and you've

got the

lamp and

your friend

doesn't,

hey,

buddy,

you've

got to

have a

lamp

here.

We've

got to

find you

one.

Let's

get you

some

light.

Let's

get you

a candle

kind of

thing.

That is

the kind

of

imagery

we

think

of

when

we

share

the

gospel

so

that

they

too

can

have

the

light

and

that

they

too

can

wait

for the

greater

light

to

come.

We

tell the

world

of the

hope

of

Jesus

and

we

speak

of

how

God

has

worked

in

our

life.

Think

of

that

imagery.

Hey,

I'm

holding

a lamp

here and

it's

shining.

Do you

want to

see where

you're

going?

Let's

get you

a lamp.

Go

to the

light.

See how

simple

God is

when we're

thinking of

this kind

of

language?

We can

think

literally

like,

hey,

bud,

you're

in the

darkness.

I've

got to

get you

a

flashlight,

right?

But we

think in

the

spiritual

sense

how

powerful

that

is.

We

speak

of

his

promises

and we

have to

think,

church,

of how

important it

is for

the world

to know

of Jesus

Christ more

than ever

before.

Because there's

still a lot

of darkness

as we

wait for

the light

to come.

People need

to know

that there

is more

to the

confusion,

the darkness,

the sin,

and the

evil that

exists in

the world

today.

It does

not,

the existence

of evil

does not

change our

call.

We share

in the

hope of

Jesus

Christ for

others.

We share

the gospel,

we grow

as we've

received

salvation

and we

do good

in the

name of

Christ.

And I

want you

to think

as we

close,

who can

you share

the light

of Christ?

Ask

yourself that.

Think of

someone that

you can

share in

the gospel

message with

this week,

the next

person that

you know,

a friend,

a family,

a co-worker,

a student,

whatever.

Think of

that.

In closing,

let us

think of

this

beautiful

imagery

of Christ

being the

morning star.

We are

in this

darkness

shining,

holding these

lamps together

as we

wait for

the dawn.

Let's

pray together.

Father God,

we thank

you for

this time,

this opportunity

for us to

go over

this wonderful

church in

Thyatira.

We just

pray,

first and

foremost,

that we

recognize that

your Son,

Jesus Christ,

is the

Son of

God and

He is the

fulfillment

of prophecy.

We pray,

Father,

that lives

are transformed.

We pray

that if

anyone has

not made

a decision

for Christ,

they believe

in the

death,

burial,

and resurrection

of your

Son,

Jesus Christ.

We pray

that individually

and collectively

as a church,

we may grow

in the

deeper things

of God

and not in

the deep

things of

Satan,

as the

Scripture mentions.

we pray

that we

can have

the ability

to discern

right from

wrong,

truth from

lies,

good from

evil,

and that we

can stand

firm and

hold fast

in our

faith so

that should

there be

a Jezebel,

or should

there be a

synagogue of

Satan,

or should

there be

Satan's

throne,

that we

can resist

that.

That we

can stand

firm and

we continue

on the

journey that

exists in

you,

just as

you have

shown us

that Christ

is the

shepherd leading

us to

green pastures.

We are

awaiting,

and may

we wait

upon you,

for we

are like

holding those

lamps,

waiting for

the light of

Christ,

the morning

star to

come.

I pray,

Father,

that as we

close our

time today,

that this

imagery of

standing firm,

this imagery

of lamps

shining in

the darkness

waiting for

the dawn

will resound

with us,

that we

will remember

it and

take it to

heart,

and that we

may share

in the gospel

message,

share in the

words of our

testimonies,

and live and

love like

you.

It is in

the name of

Jesus Christ,

the morning

star,

that we pray,

and we all

say together,

amen,

church?

Amen.

Thank you for

tuning in to

Ontario Community

Church.

If this message

encouraged you,

I encourage for

you to share it

with a friend

or a family

member.

Maybe you know

someone who is

struggling with

compromise,

or maybe you

know someone who

just needs to

hear about the

hope that we

have in Christ.

Remind them that

Christ knows

their heart,

Christ understands

their circumstance,

and he calls for

each and every one

of us to come

to him,

to remain in

him,

and to hold

fast until he

returns as the

bright morning

star.

Let us receive

his light.

Let us resist

evil with the

power of the

Holy Spirit.

Let us share in

the gospel with

others who are

still in the

darkness.

In today's

sermon, we

learned that we

are like lamps,

shining in the

night, awaiting

the morning

star.

And just as a

lamp helps us to

see in the

darkness, we

carry the light

of Jesus Christ

today.

We await the

full dawn of

when Christ

returns as the

morning star to

bring eternal

light.

That is our

hope, that is

our future, and

that is what we

hold fast to.

Think about this.

If the power goes

out and you have

that flashlight, but

your friend doesn't,

you would obviously

help them find a

flashlight to or

shine the light

upon them.

That is what

sharing the gospel

is like.

We have the

light of Christ.

Let us help

others find the

light of Christ so

they too can wait

for the greater

light to come.

You're welcome to

visit Ontario

Community Church

dot org for more

information about

our church, how to

connect with us, or

how you can get

involved.

Just visit our

website.

Next week, we

will continue in our

sermon series through

the book of

Revelation with the

Church in Sardis,

found in Revelation

Revelation 3:1–6

chapter 3, verses 1

to 6.

We will be looking at

Christ's message to a

church that has a

reputation for being

alive, but is

actually dead.

And what does it

mean to wake up, to

strengthen what remains,

and to remember what

we have received?

Grace and peace to you

in our Lord Jesus

Christ.

May you receive the

light of Christ.

May you resist evil

and let your lamp

shine brightly.

May you share in the

hope of the morning

star with others, and

may Christ search your

heart and refine you,

making you more like

him.

May you hold fast and

wait with joy for the

dawn when Jesus Christ,

that morning star,

returns.

He searches your heart

and he knows your

circumstance.

May you turn to him,

and may you come to

know Jesus, the way,

the truth, and the life.

God bless you.

God bless you.

God bless you.