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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 16th October 2005 PM WALKING
IN HOLINESS WITH THE SON OF GOD
Pastor Colin Meadows Revelation
2:18-29, Psalm 2:1-12 Ø
Listen to the Son of God: There are many voices speaking to us today. Radio,
TV, newspapers, etc. Who do we listen to to find direction for life? Listen to
the voice of Christ, the Son of God. He has the words that will transform our
lives. He is not just a wise prophet who had some interesting things to say. He
is not just a good example for us to follow. He is the exalted Son of God,
through whom the world was created, the saviour who died on a cross for our
sins, the one who now sits at the right hand of the father in heaven. Listen to
the Son of God. The Son of God thus spoke to this small church a
message of great importance. The town of Thyatira was a small trading centre, a
place of cobblers, weavers, tanners and the like. Not your mainstream city. The
church at Thyatira is spoken of as strong and growing, in contrast to many of
the other six churches in this section. The message from Christ was at first
very affirming… Rev
2:19 “I
know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that
you are now doing more than you did at first.” A lot of positive things said there. They were moving
on, stretching out to follow Christ. Not like many of the other churches. Faith
strong, love going well, service and perseverance right there. What more could
you want? All seemed good, but there was a glitch. Like when you go to the dentist and they say
‘Well all looks well here, no need to have you back for 12 months, just keep
brushing well….wait a moment, what is this… Oh,
My, we do have a problem! The church at Thyatira was like that. All seemed fine
but then the cavity appeared. There was a problem that required further
treatment! They tolerated a prophetess Jezebel and her teaching.
They had turned a blind eye to false teaching in their midst. Ø
Watch out for false teaching:
Amongst all that was good in the church Jesus found a big abscess that needed
immediate treatment. There was the false mixed in with truth. We find false
thinking a lot these days coming into our lives - in movies, on the radio, in
newspapers. But such false teaching can also be in churches. We
need thus to take care. Here the false teaching was identified as that of the
false prophetess Jezebel. Who was Jezebel? I agree with John Stott, the Bible
commentator, when he notes that the name was probably symbolic, referring people
back to the Old Testament woman of that name. Look to her, says Jesus, and you
will understand what was happening in the church at Thyratira. Her teaching was
being allowed to flow in amongst the people of God. This influence causes people
to be deceived and led into sin. The Greek word used ‘to deceive’ is the one from
which we get the English word planet. A planet is a body that wanders around the
universe. False teaching causes people to wander far from God. What was this
teaching focussed on? It appears that it was manifested in the area of
sexual sin and worship of false gods. This Jezebel spirit was so alluring and
deceptive. We need thus need to be very wise and discerning when confronting it.
The prophet Elijah knew all about this Jezebel
spirit. He was given the task by God to confront it back in the days of King
Ahab. Ahab had become king of Israel and he reigned for 22 years. His reign
however was not one to be remembered… 1
Kings 16:30
“Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those
before him…. He married Jezebel daughter of “Ethbaal king of the Sidonians
and began to serve Baal and worship him.” Jezebel brought with her Baal worship from Sidon.
This worship focussed on a god who was said to be the one who rode in the
clouds, who brought the rain for the crops, the god of thunder and lightning. It
is significant that as punishment for their false worship, God sent a drought on
the land. In response, the so called god of thunder and lightning had no answer.
Jezebel also worshipped Asherah, the female goddess. Such worship involved male
and female cult prostitutes. There were close parallels however between these
false worship activities and the worship of Yahweh, with both involving
sacrifices and offerings. Both had priesthood and sacred buildings. It was thus
easy to fuse the two together so that a person would not be sure who they were
really worshipping. This mix of worship could be detected in different
ways. Names given to children, for instance, are often a good indication of
people’s faith. We can check up on this from archaeological evidence of those
times. From pottery fragments in Samaria, there were 11 names related to worship
of Yahweh and 7 concerning Baal. While Ahab was king, Jezebel was really the power
behind the throne. Ahab was weak because he allowed Jezebel to be strong. Thus
when Elijah judged the prophets of baal, it was Jezebel who threatened him
afterwards, not Ahab. 2
Kings 19:2
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be
it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that
of one of them the prophets of baal.” Her challenge was so strong that Elijah fled. When
one takes on false teaching, we must expect strong opposition. The role of
Jezebel continued to be strong in the nation after this time. This was
demonstrated with Naboth and his vineyard. Ahab was able to take possession of
the vineyard through Jezebel’s deceptive activities. Later God judged them
both. 1
King 21:25
“There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of
the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife.” When Ahab died his son, Ahaziah came
to power and reigned for two years. 1
Kings 22:52 “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, because he walked in the ways of
his father and mother…” After Ahab’s death, Joram became king of Israel for
a 12 year period. Around the same time the king of Judah in the southern kingdom
married a daughter of Ahab. So the rot of Jezebel’s influence kept spreading. It was then that God anointed Jehu to judge both
kings, along with Jezebel. All three died during a bloody period of conflict.
Finally the evil influence was removed. However, from 874-841AD, a period of 33
years, the Jezebel spirit reigned amongst the people of God. How then should we
live in such times? Ø
Hold on to what you have:
Society is seeking to drag us in a certain way that is not God’s way. Resist
the pressure. Keep on the way that you are going. Seek to live a life that leads
to holiness, living a life that pleases God. Rev
2:25
“Only hold on to what you have until I come.” Hang in there. Don’t buckle under the pressure.
Keep on moving in the strength God provides each day. Live in a way that honours
God. Just how is that? Christ explained this earlier. Rev
2:19 “I
know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that
you are now doing more than you did at first.” Remember “Service is love in action, perseverance
is faith in action and together they produce hope.” Seek to live a life that
leads to holiness. Paul in Romans 6 challenges people to offer themselves to
righteous living that leads to holiness. Romans
6:22 “But
now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the
benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Hold on to that. Seek to keep growing day by day to
become more like Christ. Ø
Remember our amazing future: As
we persevere to the end, Christ has promised wonderful things in heaven. Is
amazing what we read… Rev
2:26-27
“To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over
the nations – ‘He will rule them with an iron sceptre, he will dash them to
pieces like pottery’ – just as I have received authority from my Father.”
This is a direct reference to Psalm 2, the psalm that
speaks of the exalted Son who will rule forever. Nations may rage against God
but he laughs. He has installed his king, his exalted Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, to rule. What is more amazing is this - Christ will share his rule with
his obedient people. But there is more. Obedient people will also receive the
morning star, Christ himself. Rejection of Jezebel will lead to us receiving
Christ. That is our amazing future if we live in obedience to
Christ, if we reject the Jezebel spirit of the age and walk with Christ. We may
be walking in love and faith, persevering as we serve others, but let us walk
also in holiness before God. Let us say ‘no’ to the Jezebel spirit of the age
and ‘yes’ to walking in holiness with the Son of God.
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