Thyatira - The Danger of Tolerance | A Sermon on Revelation 3:18-29

Introduction
Have you ever been part of something that started out so well—full of love, faith, and good intentions—but over time started drifting in the wrong direction? That’s the story of the church in Thyatira. They were growing, serving, and enduring—but they were also tolerating serious compromise.

Today, we’re going to look at what Jesus says to this church, how He calls them back to truth, and the incredible promise He gives to those who remain faithful—even in the dark.

Let’s listen closely to Jesus, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Revelation 2:18-29
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,^[c] 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.^[d]

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.

Jesus Sees Who We Really Are

Here we have Jesus, the son of God, the one who has flaming eyes, which means that he can see into our very soul down into the depths beyond the persona that we put on and the masks that we wear. He sees down into our hearts who we really are and why we do what we do. And it says that he has feet of bronze, meaning that he stands firm on eternal

truth that does not change with the whims of society around us that says one thing is fine is is abhorrent, you know, in one decade and then in  another decade they say that it's fine. It's okay. But Jesus' teachings and his character and his  expectations do not change. They do not change with the whims of society, but they are eternal.

Jesus Commends Thyatira

Jesus commends the people of Thyatira. He commends them for their love and their faith and their service and their patient endurance. Despite the troubles that they face and the persecution and the darkness that is around them, they continue to be loving, faithful people who serve. And that's a

wonderful thing to commend them for. And not only are they doing those things, but he also commends them for their constant improvement in these things. So, they don't settle for just doing them.  They are getting better and better and better at them. And I like that because I'm a Methodist and Methodist, we want to uh emphasize this is I think the gift that Methodism brings to the Christian world. We emphasize sanctification, growing in perfection and holiness or as some people would put it becoming more and more like Christ. And the people of Thyatira were doing that. They were growing in sanctification, becoming holier and holier, more and more like Christ, which we should always seek to do. Not just settling for salvation.  "I have received Christ and I know I'm going to heaven."  Well, that's wonderful. But we should also become more and more like Christ and grow in holiness.

Tolerating Sin in the Church
Jesus commends them. But He also corrects them. He tells them you are tolerating sin in your church and that is not a good thing. He's not happy about that. Now we talk a lot about tolerance. Tolerance can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. Tolerance is a buzzword that we hear a lot in our world today. And it's important because we live in America which is a melting pot of all kinds of different people. And when different people all live together, we have to learn tolerance so that we can tolerate different ways of thinking and speaking.  And we have to do that. And it's a good thing when we're thinking about it in those terms. But when it comes to being a church, we have to hold to the firm teachings of Jesus Christ.  In the world around us, we can't expect everyone to believe and act the way we do as Christians. I mean, recognize that according to surveys that only about 62% of Americans claim to be Christians. And that's not asking them like, "Do they believe a certain set of beliefs?"  That's just them saying of themselves, "Yes, I'm a Christian." Only 62%. That means around 40% don't claim to follow Christ, don't go to church, don't claim to believe the way we do. We can't expect them to  follow Christian rules if they don't even identify themselves as Christian. We have to learn to tolerate and let you know people live the way they're going to live. But if someone says that they're a Christian, then we have to hold them to a higher standard. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. And what is the standard according to our faith?  Everything that we believe and how we act is based on  God's holy word in the Scripture. And so we have to study this. We have to know it and we have to hold firm to it. We cannot tolerate beliefs that are contrary to Scripture. Now, there might be different ways of interpreting it. Our Baptist friends across the street may look at baptism differently than we do as Methodists. That's okay. We can allow for that different interpretations based on the same scripture. But as Christians altogether, there must be some things that we cannot compromise.  And the church in  Thyatira, Jesus says, was tolerating false teaching in their midst and false teachers.  It almost reminds me of some of the things that we hear in our world today. These false teachers in Thyatira would say they were teaching "deeper truths". They were looking at those who were holding to the the biblical way of thinking and Jesus' teaching. And the false teachers said, "Well, we have a 'deeper truth'. Those views in the Scripture, they're kind of old and outdated. We've discovered a higher path, a deeper truth." 

Jesus says their deeper truth is actually depths of Satan. Depths of Satan! He says it because it's not truth.  It it's trying to rewrite what God has said and twist it and say that any of the ones who were holding firm to the Scripture is just old and outdated and obsolete.  

We have already talked about sexual immorality. Other churches that Jesus wrote letters to were struggling with sexual immorality. And this was common because the pagans around them practiced all kinds of different sexual immorality. And so the Christians within the church were constantly being tempted to do what everyone else was doing. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? In the world we live in, I don't have to tell you the ideas of our society about human sexuality have changed a lot through the decades and Pleasant Grove Methodist has already made our decision as a church to stand firm on traditional, biblical orthodox Christina teaching.  And so what we know believe and where we are going and I don't  want to a horse that's already dead.

But those in Thyatira were also struggling with teachers who were telling them to compromise about idol worship. And that's what I want to focus a little bit more on today. What is idol worship?

Modern Idol Worship
The common way that we look idolatry is someone bowing down to worship an idol or a statue or a false god. And that was certainly the case sometimes in the ancient world.  But the problem for Christians in the first century was sometimes more nuanced.  

The majority of people that lived in Thyatira were not Christians. They were pagans. And they worshiped gods and had religious festivals. And they sacrificed animals to their pagan idols. And then they would have a festival and eat the meat of the sacrificed animals. And who doesn't love a good steak or a good hamburger?  And so these Christians were smelling this wonderful meat roasting. And maybe their pagan neighbor was bringing home some leftovers from the feast and offering it to their Christian neighbors. And the Christians were faced with a dilemma. Should I eat this meat that has been sacrificed to a false god, to an idol? And what does that say if I do?  By partaking of that food, they were not only eating food that had been sacrificed to an idol, but it was sort of making a statement to their neighbor who was a pagan that they also were participating in this religious ritual of eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. 

And Christians around the ancient world had already had a big council in Jerusalem decades before and discussed this and agreed Christians should not eat meat sacrificed to idols, consume blood, or participate in sexual immorality.  

But there were some in the church of Thyatira that were saying "No, it's okay to do it."
Jesus was not okay with their false teaching.

Well, that was what they struggled with in the first century. We don't really have that problem today.  I don't know of anybody who is sacrificing meat to idols. Is that something that you deal with on a regular basis? I don't think so.

So, does that mean we don't struggle with idolatry today?  Absolutely not.  We we struggle with idolatry even more in other ways.

We studied a great book called, Counterfeit Gods on a Wednesday night here at the church about 10 years ago. It's by the late, great Timothy Keller--a wonderful preacher, teacher, Presbyterian

actually. He had some a really good points about idolatry and what that means in the modern context.  Timothy Keller defines idolatry as anything that is more important to you than God,
anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God,
or anything you seek to give you what only God can give.

And I think this is something people today right here in Dalton, Georgia, struggle with a lot all the time.  We are constantly being tempted to put something else before God or to expect other things besides God to fulfill us in ways that only God can. And so the questions I would put before you three question today as you consider whether or not you personally are struggling with idolatry.

First, what if anything is more important to you than God?  And that could be anything.
Second, what if anything absorbs your heart and imagination more than God?
Third, who or what, if anything, are you seeking to give you what only God can give?

And when we're thinking of idols and idolatry, it's not necessarily a bad thing that becomes an idol in our lives.  A lot of times it is a very good thing, but it becomes bad for us because we treat it as the ultimate thing.

So I'll just give you one example.  Our children.
We love our children and we're supposed to love our children. For many of us, they're the most  important thing in our life. But listen to what I just said. Are your children or your grandchildren the most important thing in your life?  

That sounds good. And the world would say they should be the most important thing in your life.  But they cannot be more important than God because your children cannot fulfill you in ways that only God can. 

And as a matter of fact, if you try to use your children to fulfill you as if they were God, that's not fair to them. That's putting a burden on them that they cannot fulfill. 

How awful if you're doing that to your spouse or your job or your church or your pastor or your friend or anything.  They cannot be God for you.  It's not fair to expect created things to be God for you. That is idolatry and it is a sin. And sin not only hurts you, but it hurts the one whom you are treating as an idol.

Now, most of us would not say or think consciously, "I put this thing above God."
We don't think about things that way.  But you have to ask yourself the honest question, Where are you really keeping your treasure?"  

You know what Jesus said? When He was teaching about money, which is a common idol for people, He said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

You can look at your bank account. What do you spend most of your money on?  That's an indication of what you highly value. What do you spend most of your time on? That is an indication of what you highly value. What do you spend most of your energy on? That is a top priority in your life.

And of course we know intellectually, logically, that God is supposed to be the most important thing for us or else we have broken one of the first commandments:  "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

So we have to ask ourselves and we have to think honestly as we evaluate our life and our spirit.  Is God really first or are we guilty like the people of Thyatira of worshiping an idol?

Now sometimes we can't answer those questions for ourselves. We have a way of rationalizing things in our own mind and that's why it is important that we are part of a Christian community with other people who we give permission to hold us accountable. Do you have a friend, a partner in Christ in whom you can confide and whom you can trust with the wisdom and the permission to share with you how you're struggling?

You know, I was thinking about it.  It's kind of tricky, isn't it? I mean, if somebody comes to you, even if it's somebody in the church you like, and they come to you and they say, "Amy, you know, I just want to tell you I love you and I see you struggling this, this, and this."

If someone says that, immediately we're like, "Well, who asked you!  Mind your own business!"
Well, I thought about that and I said, "You know, perhaps we should give someone permission to say those things by asking them."

Perhaps this week you should go to someone that you truly trust and and look up to as a Christian with wisdom and ask them ask them, "Hey, I want to grow in holiness. I want to become more like Christ, but I can't always see my own faults. So, I'm asking you, what do you see in me? What's one thing that you see in me that I need to work on?"

Boy, that's getting real, isn't it?  See, this holiness thing, this growing and becoming more like Christ,  it's serious.  The Christian life. It's not all about just coming to church and hearing an awesome song by the choir and getting goosebumps. That's the fun part.

But the challenging part, the real part, is where we grow.  Jesus commended the people of Thyatira for growing and he challenged them about idolatry.

What would He say to us today?   

Jesus’ Message to the Faithful

Jesus said, "The faithful will rule the nations with the authority of Christ." This is a quote from Psalm 2:9 where it's talking about how David is going to rule as king. But he's also mysteriously talking about the Messiah who will rule for all time. And it's also talking about the kingdom of Israel and the people of Christ, us, the faithful, who will rule the nations with all authority.

This is God's ultimate vision for His people, that we would rule over the nations.  What is it that God told Adam and Eve? He said, "You will rule over the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and the animals of the land." It's the wonderful privilege God invited humanity into.  He invites us, even though we were made from the dirt, to be co-rulers with Him over all creation.  

Ultimately, this is God's plan for us to return to this. We're not just going to be in heaven playing harps. We're going to rule over the all creation with God.  We will have the same authority as Christ. 

And Jesus also says, "I will also give those who remain faithful a morning star." And I love that. Always wondered it meant. So I looked into it and it makes a lot of sense. 

The first star you see in the morning after it's been dark all night is the morning star.  What a beautiful image for these people of Thyatira struggling by being a tiny minority of faithful godly people in a pagan society. Darkness is all around.  Persecution  is heavy. People being arrested, tortured, and murdered because they believe in Jesus Christ. It was very, very dark. And Jesus says, "Just hang on. If you'll just hang on through the darkness, I will give you the morning star." 

It's kind of like that saying "The light at the end of the tunnel." The morning star is that first star that you see right before the darkness is over. Right before the darkness fades away, I will give you that morning star. 

But it goes even deeper than that. Jesus actually said in Revelation 22:16, "I am the bright morning star." So he's saying, "If you'll just hang on, then you will have me." When you cling to Christ in the darkness, He will be there when the darkness ends.  And He will continue to be your light and your hope and your forever king. 

So if you're facing darkness, if you're facing some kind of suffering, hang on!  Because guess what? Jesus has already won the victory and you will win the victory, too. 

Now, some people say, "Well, I'm sick. What if I die? Does that mean that I didn't win the victory?"

And that's the beautiful thing of our Christian faith. Even if you die, you still have the victory because it's not over.  This life will come and go for all of us. Even if you never struggle with cancer or kidney disease or lymphoma or anything, everyone faces death.

But the Morning Star, comes when the darkness is over and the darkness will end.
The darkness of this world will end. And then there will be the Morning Star and light eternal as we walk with Christ and rule with Christ over all creation for all eternity. 

Conclusion & Closing Challenge
We live in a world not so different from Thyatira’s. There is pressure to compromise—on truth, on holiness, on what it means to be faithful to Jesus. Sometimes it doesn’t come with loud rebellion but with a quiet tolerance of sin, false teaching, or the idea that deeper spiritual “truths” can somehow bend God’s Word.

 But Jesus sees. His eyes are like flames of fire, burning through every appearance and straight to the heart. He sees your love, your service, your faith, your perseverance—and He also calls you to holiness. 

So I ask you today:

• Is there anything you've begun to tolerate that Jesus would call you to turn away from?
• Are you holding fast to Christ in both your heart and your actions?
• Are you walking in the light, even when the world feels dark?

Because here’s the promise: if you stay faithful—even when it’s hard, even when others fall away—you will reign with Christ. You’ll share in His authority. And best of all, you’ll receive the Morning Star. You’ll receive Jesus Himself.

So hold on. The night is almost over. The Morning Star is rising. Stay faithful—and you will shine with Him.

The 7 Churches of Revelation | A Sermon on Revelation 1:9-20

Introduction
I’m really excited to kick off a brand-new message series with you today.  We’re diving into the Seven Churches of Revelation.  These 7 churches were real communities of believers. Jesus had specific words for each of them. And here’s the powerful part:
He’s still walking among His churches today, just like He was back then.
He holds us in His hand. He sees everything.
And He still speaks with wisdom we need for our lives today.

In this series, we’ll read the seven letters Jesus sent to His people nearly 2,000 years ago.  We’ll listen closely to what those letters say to us as a church called to shine in the 21^st century.  Before we dive in, let me clear up a few things that will help us read Revelation the way it was meant to be read:

First, it’s Revelation, not Revelations. There is no “S” on the end of Revelation. One vision. One message. One incredible unveiling of Jesus Christ. 

Second, this book wasn’t written as some distant, cryptic code about the end times.  It was written to encourage real Christians in the first century who were facing real persecution. Yes, it has layers of meaning that stretch across time and eternity, but it was first and foremost to help first century persecuted Christians.  And they needed real, immediate help—not a book focused on things that would happen thousands of years in the future.  That being said, Revelation can speak to us too, but only if we understand how it spoke to Christians in the first century.

Third, Revelation is full of vivid, powerful symbols. So don’t get stuck trying to picture dragons, beasts, and lampstands as literal things. Instead, look for what they represent. The meaning behind the image is where the real power lies.  OK, let’s dive right in.

Revelation 1:9-20
⁹ I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. ¹⁰ It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit.^[a] Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. ¹¹ It said, “Write in a book^[b] everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. ¹³ And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man.^[c] He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. ¹⁴ His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.^[d]

¹⁹ “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.^[e] 20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels^[f] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

The Author
First of all, who wrote the book? Who received the revelation? It was John. This is a specific John—he is one of the twelve disciples. He is the one who wrote the Gospel of John, the letters of John, and here he is receiving the Revelation of Jesus Christ. John is known as the beloved disciple. He was very close to Jesus while Jesus walked upon the earth. He was in the inner circle along with his brother James and Peter, the leader of the disciples. He was there and saw Jesus being transfigured, with Moses and Elijah appearing beside Him. He was there when Jesus was crucified on the cross. Jesus said, 'This is my mother,' and in a cryptic way, He entrusted the care of His mother to John.

John is also a brother to those to whom he is writing. He’s a brother because he’s a Christian, but also because he has shared in their suffering. He is giving them a word from the Lord to help them through their persecution, but he’s not doing it as someone who has lived a comfortable, cozy life. John has faced troubles and tribulations. He has seen people he loved tortured and killed. He himself is currently in exile on the prison island of Patmos simply because he has testified that Jesus Christ is alive and that He is the Messiah and the Son of God.

As John shares this revelation with the seven churches, he is able to say, 'I know what you're going through—I'm going through it too. I'm a brother.' He received this revelation on the Lord’s Day, which is significant. It shows that Christians in New Testament times were worshiping on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Most early Christians were Jewish and traditionally worshiped on the Sabbath (Saturday), but they began to worship on Sunday because it was the day Jesus rose from the grave. It became the Christian tradition to gather on the Lord’s Day to worship.

The 7 Churches
John is told to write this down and send it to the seven churches. These are real churches that were located in what is today modern-day Turkey. They were not the only churches at the time—there were also churches in Jerusalem, Rome, and Alexandria—but these seven were chosen to receive this revelation.

The seven churches named are: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

It’s important to understand that in New Testament times, when they said 'church,' they weren’t talking about a building. They were talking about the gathering of believers. Today, when we say 'church,' we usually think of the building—'I’m going to church this morning'—meaning a location like Pleasant Grove Methodist or Grove Level Baptist.

But literally, 'church' means the gathering of the believers. Each city would have a gathering of believers. They might not have had a church building like we have today. They might have gathered in homes, or even in secret. Still, you would say that is the church in Jerusalem, or the church in Ephesus—it’s all the believers living in that city.

So when we talk about these seven churches, we’re talking about seven different communities of Christians—not buildings, but people—whom Jesus was addressing through John’s revelation.

7 Lampstands
There are a lot of symbols in this passage we’ve read, so let’s go through some of them. The first is the seven lampstands. Jesus tells us in the passage that these represent the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

It’s fitting that they are represented as lampstands because they are meant to shine God’s light into a dark world. This has always been the purpose of God’s people. Even in the Old Testament, God said that the Jewish people were to be a light to the nations—a light to the Gentiles living in darkness.

In the New Testament, we see that the Church now fulfills that role. The Church is represented as candles or lampstands burning brightly for Christ, because that is the purpose of the Church. And that is the number one thing we need to receive from this today: if we are part of the Church, what is our purpose? It is to shine the light of Christ.

We sometimes get this wrong. We think the Church is where we come primarily to get fed, to get a blessing, or maybe to celebrate a tradition we love, or even to be entertained by good music or a good message. But those things, while meaningful, are not the purpose of the Church. The purpose of the Church is to shine for Jesus Christ.

Just like it was in the first century, it is for us today as well.

Son of Man
In the passage, it says that the one like the Son of Man is walking among the churches, among the lampstands. Who is this 'Son of Man' figure? It is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. From Daniel 7:13, we learn that the Messiah—Jesus, the glorified and risen Christ—is given authority by God and referred to as the Son of Man.

As we read through the description of this figure, it becomes clear that this is Jesus. He is wearing a long robe and a golden sash—garments that resemble those of a high priest and a king. Jesus is both. He is our great High Priest who intercedes for us, and He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Often when we picture Jesus, we think of the baby born in a manger, or the suffering Savior hanging on the cross. But in this vision, we see the glorified Lord—radiant, powerful, and full of majesty. There is nothing weak or broken about this Jesus. He wears the robe and the golden sash as our reigning Lord.

His hair is white, not from age or weakness, but as a symbol of divine wisdom and purity. His face shines like the sun—radiant with overwhelming holiness. His eyes are like flames of fire, meaning He sees into the very soul of a person. He knows the true condition of your heart, your family, your church, and your community.

His feet are like polished bronze—strong, stable, and unshakable. His voice sounds like rushing waters—majestic and authoritative. And from His mouth comes a sharp double-edged sword—not literally, but as a symbol of the power of His words. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Jesus' words pierce deeply. He speaks to the seven churches—and He speaks to us, too. To the discouraged, the distracted, the faithful, the weary, and the wandering: Jesus speaks. We don’t need to guess what He wants. We can hear it clearly in His Word, especially in the letters we’ll be studying throughout this series.

7 Stars
There is also this image: the Son of Man—Jesus Christ—is holding seven stars in His hand. The passage tells us these are the angels of the seven churches. Now, this can be a little misunderstood. What does that mean?

The word translated as 'angels' can mean heavenly beings, but it also means 'messengers.' In the New Testament world, there was an idea that each church had an angel who watched over it. That’s one interpretation. But there’s another, more practical interpretation too. The early church often saw pastors, bishops, or church leaders as the messengers of God to the churches—God’s representatives delivering His Word.

When Jesus holds these stars in His hand, it’s a powerful image. He’s holding the leaders. He’s protecting them. He’s sustaining them. And that matters especially because this letter was written to people facing intense persecution. Guess who faced the most danger? The leaders. Because leaders are the ones who step out front. They’re the ones who get noticed. And when the authorities wanted to punish someone, they went for the leaders.

So this image says something powerful: Jesus sees the leaders. He holds them in His hand. He cares for them.

I can tell you, as one of your pastors—I need your prayers. Being a messenger isn’t always easy. But it’s comforting to know that Jesus holds me in His hand. And not just me—He holds all of us. Because we’re all called to be His witnesses. We are His people, and He is walking among us.

Closing Meditation
Revelation was shared to help persecuted Christians in the first century looks past their immediate experience.  It called believers to recognize God was at work behind the scenes and that His eternal Kingdom was breaking into our world despite the awful things they were seeing the evil kingdoms of the world perpetrate.

As we close, I want to invite you to close your eyes and try to imagine what God is really doing behind the scenes in our own lives.  So, close your eyes…

… and begin to imagine this room—our church sanctuary—as it really is right now.
Not just filled with people… but filled with lampstands.
One for every believer. One for every family. One for our church.

Each lampstand is glowing because God has given it His own light to shine…
And now, look—Jesus is here…  The risen Lord. The Son of Man.
His robe flows with heavenly majesty… His sash gleams with golden light.
His eyes burn with compassion and truth. His face shines like the sun.  And He is walking…

Jesus is here.  He is not pacing in anger… not rushing by…
But gently, purposefully, walking among us, His lampstands.

He pauses beside you.  He sees you.  He knows your name.
He sees the burdens you’ve been carrying…
He sees the faith no one else noticed…
He sees the doubt you've tried to hide…

He knows your weariness.
He knows your prayers.
He knows your joy.
He knows your sin.

And still… He lays His hand on your shoulder…  and says to you,

“Don’t be afraid.  I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One.
I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever.  I died for you, because I love you.
I rose for you, so you can live forever with me. 
And now I reign forever, and my Kingdom lives in you.”

Stay with Jesus in this moment.
Let Him speak.
Let Him comfort.
Let Him correct.
Let Him restore.

Now, in a moment, we’ll open our eyes…
but may we not forget what we’ve seen.
Because Jesus is still walking among His churches.
And He’s walking among us.

Amen.

 

The Last Days

Introduction

2020 may go down as the worst year in the last century! 2020 will always be remembered as a unique leap year. It had 29 days in February. 300 days in March. Five years in April. (And we stopped keeping count after that.) 

It’s been bad y’all.  I cannot believe that “Tiger King” was the most normal part of 2020 so far.  If 2020 was made into a drink, it would be a colonoscopy prep.

There have been a lot of jokes made about 2020 being a bad year.  But “the year 2020” is the worst joke

of them all.  Can we just skip to 2021 and start over? (But then, how do we know if 2021 will be any better?) 

With all that’s been going on, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people like this: “Pastor, is this the end of the world?  Do you think Jesus is coming back soon?”

It’s on everybody’s mind—especially

if you grew up with a Christian background.

Jesus said he would come back one day and create a new heaven and a new earth and the world we live in now will be destroyed and replaced (see Revelation 21). 

So I want talk about the last days and get to this question:  Are we living in the Last Days?

 The Apostle Paul wrote about the

“End Times” to a young man named Timothy.  Paul perceived the end was near for him and he wanted to giv some advice to the next generation of Christian leaders.  Paul knew, as we all do, that the next generation will not do things exactly the way we do them.  That's as it should be; they will live in different times and must adapt to their times.  Even so, we hope the next generation will hold fast to the essential values we've help dear, even as they adapt for their context.  Paul wrote to advice Timothy to be true to the essential elements of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be ware of those who would try to lead people astray by changing the message and living in ungodly ways in the last days. 

2 Timothy 3:1-5

¹ You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. ² For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³ They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. ⁵ They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

Does It Seem Like the End is Near?

With all that’s going on, it’s no wonder that people are asking if the end is near.  And when we read what Paul wrote to Timothy here, it may sound very familiar.  And other places in Scripture teach similar themes about the “Last Days”.

Paul wrote Timothy: in the last days there will be very difficult times.  These are some of the most difficult times we have faced in a long time.  And we definitely see a lot of selfishness and greed all around.  So much of the public discourse, business practices, and even personal behavior of people today is saturated with selfishness and greed.  And Paul told Timothy in the last days, people will be puffed up with pride and scoff at God.  That's a very accurate description of the way people act these days.  Scoffing means to make fun of or ridicule someone so as to discredit them.  People don't even listen to each other anymore and they certainly don't listen to God.  Instead, they write God and others off as stupid and not even worthy of giving the time of day.

And Paul told Timothy when the end is near, people will love pleasure rather than God.  I see this so clearly right now.  I always knew the attitude was there, but I see it so clearly during this pandemic.  People are "afraid" to come to worship God in a public gathering.  And I get that it is risky and some people because of health issues or other legitimate reasons do indeed need to avoid public gatherings like a church worship service.  However, I see some of the same people who are avoiding church because it is too risky also quite willing to go to entertainment venues for pleasure.  It's to "unsafe" to worship God but "worth the risk" for the sake of pleasure.  Really?  It seems we have our priorities all out of wack!

Paul writes, in the last days, people "...will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly."  You can see this clearly in America today.  While church attendance has been declining for decades, we actualy see a surge of interest in spirituality among the population.  People are intrigued by things like new age religious philosophy, eastern religious techniques, yoga, and self help.  There have been television series made about spiritual mediums who contact the dead and talk to them.  So it's not that people aren't "religious"; it's just that people prefer to dabble in religion as an intriguing hobby.  They will try a little religion they way they will try a fad diet.  They take a little bit of Christianity and a little bit of Buddhism and a little bit of this or that and blend in all up into a cool little cocktail they can sip and and show to their friends like the latest, hippest craft beer.  And if their "religion" or "spirituality" ever comes into conflict with something they want ro like, they can always just set their cocktail aside and grab something new that's more pleasant.  Hardly anyone is ever deeply committed.  Few ever turn to Christ and fall on their knees and completely surrender and say, "Jesus, You are Lord!"  Your Lord is the absolute sovereign of your life.  You do what your Lord says, even if you don't want to, even if it challenges you or changes you. And so, may people today act religious, but they reject the power that could make them godly.

These are all characteristics of the “End Times” and we see them clearly in our world right now.

And I pray that everyone reading this will repent of any of these attitudes and actions, immediately, because we do not know how much time we have left.  Jesus promised he would return.  And he will return in your lifetime.  Either he will will return for the whole world or he will return for you.  One thing is certain, you will come before Jesus at the end of your life.  The question is:  will that be a very good thing or a very bad thing?

Are we living in the Last Days?  Yes!  But so was Paul when he wrote these words to Timothy nearly 2,000 years ago.  God has been working for a long, long time to save the world from the devastation and death humanity’s sin brought on Creation.  The plan God details in Scripture goes all the way back to Genesis—some four or five thousand years ago.  The most important aspect of God salvation plan was for His Son, Jesus, to come preach the Good News of God’s salvation, to give His life on the cross for our sins, and to rise from the grave.  Jesus did all these things.  We are in the last stage of God’s plan.  But God is being patient.  2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 

We are living in the last days, but no one knows when the end will come.  Jesus is full of wisdom and power.  If people knew the day and hour Jesus was coming back, they would procrastinate.  Probably, mo people would get worse before they thought about getting better.  If they knew they had two years left, they would think, 'Why worry about that now?  Let's have some fun before we need to get serious."  They would be even more selfish and greedy and prideful.  They would live sinful lives for as long as they could—turning their backs on God—and then, at the last minute, they would turn to God and beg for forgiveness.  That’s why Jesus said, “No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.” (Matthew 24:36).  And he warned, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:44)

How Bad Are Things Right Now, Really?

I know when we look around at the world today, it seems like it may all be unraveling and the world is coming to an end. I get that.  I understand that feeling.  However, as bad as 2020 has been for us, I want to help you keep things in perspective.  According to Google, there have been 727 thousand deaths worldwide from COVID-19.  That's awful.  Every one of those deaths represents someone's mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter.  My heart goes out to them.

At the same time, let's compare the difficulties in our times to those of other eras.  50 Million people died worldwide from Spanish flu in 1918.  And near the same time 40 Million people--soldiers and civilians--died around the worldwide during WWI.  And between 1941-1945, six million Jews died in the holocaust (nearly six times as many as have died so far from COVID-19.)  These are staggering figures.  I'm sure many people living through those tragedies looked around and thought, "These must be the last days."  Maybe they were even praying for it so God would come and get them out of that mess.  

And of course, right now, things are for people financially in our country.  The economy is suffering from months of shutdown and disruption.  Many people have lost jobs.  And I know it's a struggle.  At the same time, again, let's keep it in perspective.  Do you realize that Americans--even in financial difficulties--have it way better than most of the rest of the world?  I googled this and found out that the average annual income for Sierra Leon (where our church sponsors Nick and Heidi Griffiths as missionaries) is only $504.  (That's not a typo. That $504 per year, not per month).  And this is not just the case for Sierra Leone.  Similar poverty for the average person exists in Kenya, Guatemala, El Salvador... and the list goes on and on and on.  And People in third world countries have been living that way for decades.  Don't you know someone living in those conditions would look at us in our country and think, 'So you think the end of the world is coming because you lost your job and you're on unemployment?"  Meanwhile, they're digging through trash at the city dump trying to figure out how they can get they next meal.

Or what about the young boy in our own country who lives in an abusive home and has for years?  Or what of the teenage girl in Atlanta who is being trafficked for sex?  Do you think a year ago they were thinking everything was fine, but know because of COVID-19 it must be the end of the world is coming?  It's all about perspective.

Paul, writing to Timothy nearly 2,000 years ago, thought the end was eminent.  He wrote his letter with that perspective.  Interestingly, most church historians believe Paul lived for several more yers, even traveling to Spain to preach the Gospel of Christ. So even Paul was a bit misled in his perspective in regard to when the end would come.  However, Paul was martyred--along with thousands of other Christians in the first century.  Some of them were were even fed to lions in the Roman coliseum.  Don't you think that kind of cruelty made them wonder if they were living in the Last Days?

We don’t know if the signs of the times mean that Jesus is coming back today, tomorrow, or even this year. What we do know is: His return is closer today than it was yesterday.  And we don't know how much time we have left.

Conclusion

Well then, what difference does it make?  

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15) It was his first sermon recorded in the Scripture and it was His message throughout his ministry. And we need to take it to heart, because we do not know how much time we have.

If you feel nervous because of all the bad stuff happening, good! You need realize how vulnerable you are and how important it is that you repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ. This is the whole point of the Bible’s warnings about the last days.  You need to get your heart right with God.

If you are not a Christian, you need to recognize that Jesus is Lord. Turn to Him. Follow Him. Live the way He said we should live. Trust Him. You will find salvation. You will also find peace—even in the midst of bad times.  And if you are already a Christian, times like these ought to remind you and motivate you to get busy doing the things Jesus told us to do—loving God, loving our neighbors, making disciples, praying and working for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven.

What do you need to do today?  What commitment are you going to make?