This morning we’re come to church number four.  For the last 3 Sundays we’ve been looking at messages given by Jesus to seven church different churches.   Thinking through how we can live today trusting God - knowing that God is in control of tomorrow.  Today we’ve come to the fourth church - Thyatira.  If you would, please turn with me to Revelation 2 - starting at verse 18. 

There’s a story about a hunter who went out into the forest to shoot a bear.  Winter was coming and this hunter was thinking that he could make himself a nice warm bear fur coat for the winter.  So, off he went into the forest.  After a while he saw a large bear coming toward him and he raised his gun and took aim.

“Wait,” said the bear, “why do you want to shoot me?”

“Because I’m cold,” said the hunter.

“But I am hungry,” said the bear, “maybe we can reach some sort of compromise.”

In the end, the hunter was well “coated” within the bear’s fur and the bear had eaten his dinner.  

The main struggle in the Church of Thyatira seems to have been compromise - compromise between what they knew to be true - the Gospel and the teaching of God and compromise with the pagan society  they were living in.

Revelation 2 - starting at verse 18.  Jesus is speaking:  “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:  “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:  I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.”

Let’s pause there and talk about this city and the situation of the church there.  Thyatira was located in what we call western Turkey.  It was about 40 miles east of Pergamum on a trade route from Ephesus to Laodicea.  Not a very exciting place.  Kind of like Delhi.  If you’re going that way you go through it.  Otherwise, what’s the point?

Religiously - in terms pagan gods - it wasn’t all that important.  It had the usual assortment of pagan temples.  Thyatira was well inland - so it wasn’t a seaport or major commercial center.  Probably its one claim to fame was that it produced a purple dye that was pretty well known.  The Apostle Paul’s first convert in Philippi, Greece, remember her name?  Lydia was a seller of purple cloth from Thyatira.

What kept Thyatira going was its existence on this trade route.  The town depended on trade to stay alive.  So the whole town was organized into various trade unions - it was union town.  There was a wool workers union - a linen makers union local #405 - leather workers - bronze workers - pottery - baking - dying - slaving - whatever - they had a union for it.  So that the whole town was organized and working together to take advantage of any sucker - any commercial opportunity - that might come along down the road.  It was because of this trade union system that Thyatira was actually a pretty prosperous city.

Now, think with me about this.  A person couldn’t do business in Thyatira unless they belonged to a trade union - at least there was no way to prosper and move up the ladder.  So, in order for a Christian to do business in Thyatira they’d have to join one of these unions made up of mostly pagans.

That was a problem.  When the unions had their meetings they got together for meals - meals that for the most part were religious ceremonies.  They met in pagan temples and began their meals by honoring the god of that temple.  Membership in a union meant a commitment to pagan rituals - idolatry - sexual orgies - worshipping the erotic idols of the Greek world.

So, while there was no overt government or community persecution against Christians - like we saw in other cities - the temptation to compromise was tremendous.  Compromise and join the union and move up or not join in and take your chances.

Here in this setting Jesus commends the Church of Thyatira.  They were loving - faithful - service orientated - patiently enduring wrongs.  There was an enthusiasm here.  Brethren and sistren who were working side by side and seeing the ministry prosper - seeing growth.  Good things were happening.  Its a busy active church with wonderful people.  If we were to look at this church we’d say to ourselves, “Wow!  They’re doing it right.  Praise God!”

Going on - verse 20:  “But I have this against you...”  We knew that was coming.  And now the rest of the story.  “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.  I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.  Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.  And I will kill her children with pestilence.”

Let’s pause here.  There’s symbolism here that we need to understand in order to get Jesus’ point.  Jesus is referring back to events that happened in the late 9th century B.C. - the account of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.  (1 Kings 16:28 - 2 Kings 9:37)

Jezebel was a Canaanite woman - the daughter of a pagan priest named Ethbaal.  Ethbaal was a really sweet guy who had killed his own brother in order to become the King of Sidon - a town up in Lebanon.  Jezebel herself was a real piece of work.  She was a priestess who worshipped the goddess Astarte - a fertility god.  And she was a Baal worshipper.

King Ahab of Israel had married Jezebel and brought her back to be his queen.  When King Ahab brought his lovely bride down to Samaria she brought with her - her gods - their priests - and all their pagan practices.  Jezebel - more than anyone else - was responsible for spreading the disease of Baal worship throughout Israel.

She appointed hundreds of false prophets to spread her pagan religion.  She went around trying to kill the true prophets of God.  She was personally involved in sexual immorality and witchcraft.  She herself supported over 800 prophets of Baal who ate at her table.  If there was a “Top Ten List of Evil Women in Israel” - without question Jezebel would be number one.

And King Ahab allowed himself to be seduced - he compromised with Jezebel.  1 Kings 21:25 says, “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.”

So, in Scripture - Jezebel is a symbol of people who reject the one true God and promote their own gods - who lead God’s people into immorality - paganism - idolatry - and compromise with the world.  Within the church of Thyatira - where everything on the outside seemed so positive - inside there were those who were promoting the same kinds of compromises that Jezebel had promoted centuries earlier.

A man was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, “If you kiss me I will turn into a beautiful princess.”  He bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will tell everyone how smart and brave you are and how you’re my hero.”  The man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will be your loving companion for an entire week.”  The man took the frog out, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket

The frog then cried out, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for a year and do anything that you want.”  Again the man took the frog out, smiled at it, and put it back into his pocket.

Finally, the frog asked, “What’s the matter?  I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that I will stay with you for a year and do anything that you want.  Why won't you kiss me?”

The man said, “Look, I'm a computer programmer.  I don't have time for a girlfriend.  But, a talking frog is cool.”

Jesus is saying to the church of Thyatira - you’ve listened to these people and you’ve compromised.  Rather than staying true to who you are and what you know to be true - you’ve bought the lies - you’ve kissed the frog - you tolerate them and all the garbage they’ve brought into the church.

Try this with me, “Don’t kiss the frog.”

Verse 23 - Jesus speaking:  “And all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”

Back up in verse 18 Jesus was very specific in how He introduced Himself.  He calls Himself “The Son of God.” - meaning that He’s fully God and fully man - deity incarnate - the Messiah - the Savior of Mankind - with all the authority and privilege that goes with His position.    Jesus describes Himself as having eyes like a flame of fire - eyes of discernment - burning indignation - purifying fire.  He says He has feet like burnished bronze to crush and trample out sin and punish what’s wrong.  Images familiar to the metal workers in Thyatira.

Jesus comes as the one with authority, discernment, and power to judge and deal with those who practice evil.  Jesus says, “I know your works - all the outward stuff - but I’m also searching your minds and hearts.  And I’m going to give you what you deserve.”

Jesus says, “all the churches will know” - that’s a warning to us.   Jesus sees our hearts - good or bad - compromise or no compromise - He sees our hearts and minds as well.

In Thyatira going along with the trade unions was the price of doing business.  If they needed to submit to some of the pleasures of the city around them in order to make a living - God would understand that and overlook the sin.  We’ve got to be practical with our faith.  To live in this society a person can’t be too dogmatic.  A person has to learn how to bend - how to get along.  We rationalize.  We compromise.

Not too many years ago Christians would join organizations like the Masons - or some other offshoot fraternal organization.  Because membership - the relationships within the organization - provided employment and business opportunities.  But Free Masonry is a Satanic cult.  That compromise has been an ongoing struggle for the Church.

“Business is business.” Have you heard that?  If our business practices conflict with our Christian principles - then we need to compromise - because you have to make a living.

We tell ourselves, “I don’t want to offend people by being too bold and outspoken about my faith” - and so we compromise on sharing the Gospel - compromise our Christian witness at work.  We laugh at the dirty jokes - pretend to go along with the conversation - use a different vocabulary at work.

“We need all the stuff we have because that’s the style of living God has blessed us with and He knows how He wants to use it.”  But do we let Him use it?  Is it all His?  If He asked us to step down a few rungs economically - would we?

Which is more important to us - the sports page?   The business section?  Or reading and studying and meditating on God’s word?  What do we do with our time?  What do we watch?  What do we listen to?  How do we invest and use money?  Who’s pre-eminent in our lives - God or the culture we live in?

How long - with all this compromise - like the Church of Thyatira - how long until we’ve brought the principles of business not only into our relationship with God - but into His church - to do church like the world does business?  The Evangelical Fee Club of Merced.  Pay your tax-deductible dues and you can be a member.

These are tough questions.  Tough stuff to talk about.  Because, we all rationalize.  We all compromise.  Someone has said that compromise is simply changing the question to fit the answer.  And we’ve all done that.  The point is that Jesus has told us not to compromise and no amount of rationalization will ever change that.

When we think we’re escaped the consequences of our sins or that compromise really isn’t that big a deal - we have Jesus’ words of warning here that we need to listen to.  “I know where you live.  I know how you live.  I love you too much to let sin to persist in My Church.  So, judgment is coming.”

At God’s command Elijah wiped out 450 of Jezebel’s prophets in one day at the brook of Kishon.  Two sons of Jezebel died in pain and dishonor.  The 70 remaining sons were killed by order of King Jehu - so that the entire line of Ahab was wiped out.  Each son was  beheaded and their heads were piled up outside the gate of the town of Jezreel.

Ahab died in disgrace.  Jezebel was thrown off the city wall - trampled under foot - and eaten by dogs.  When they went to bury her all they could find was her skull - her feet - and the palms of her hands.

Verse 24:  “But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira - those who haven’t compromised - who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them - who have not followed the teaching of Jezebel - I place no other burden on you.  Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.”

Hold Fast! - in the Greek it means:  “Hold on with great strength.”  The word has the idea of holding on by putting up a strong defense.  Resistance is not futile.

Once upon a time, a beautiful, independent, self assured princess happened upon a frog in a pond.  The frog said to the princess, “I was once a handsome prince.  One kiss from you and I will turn back into a prince and then we can marry, move into the castle with my mom, and you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children and forever feel happy doing so.”

That night, while the princess dined on frog legs, she kept laughing and saying, “I don't think so.”

What was that phrase?  “Don’t kiss the frog.”

Choose to resist with great strength.  Choose not to buy into the world’s system.  Choose to set boundaries that will keep you far away from compromise.  Never give the world greater authority over your life than God.

Because ultimately what Jesus is talking about isn’t about economics or how to do business in the world - or how to survive in this world.  It isn’t about creature comforts and our standard of living.

The bottom line is holiness - purity in our relationship with God - the core of who we are - as individuals and as a congregation - living out our relationship with God without compromise - without sin - in total surrender and openness to Him.  

In Hebrew the word “holy” is “kadhosh” - meaning to be separate.  God is holy - pure - without sin - majestic - awesome - separate from His creation.  Our lives become holy when we come to God for salvation.  Our lives are no longer our own.  We’re bought with the price of the blood of Jesus Christ.  God has called us to be holy in character and pure in living - without compromise - separate from the world.    

Then In verse 26 Jesus gives us this promise:  “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end - to the one who doesn’t compromise - who hangs on - to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also 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.”

Jesus quotes from Psalm 2 - a Psalm that describes the reign of our Lord:  “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt shatter them like earthenware.” (Psalm 2:9)  Its a declaration of Jesus’ absolute authority over the nations - authority which Jesus will delegate to His disciples.  Those who hold fast will one day rule and reign with Jesus. (1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 3:21; 20:6)

Then Jesus says that He will give to the Church the “Morning Star” - which is a description of Jesus Himself - the “Morning Star” - rising from the east - returning for His church.  In other words - the physical reunion of Jesus with His church.

Bottom line - here’s the promise:  Jesus will appear for His own - for those who belong to Him - who are true Christians - those who have been kept back from the evils of this world - and we - the church - will rule and reign with Jesus forever.

Yosemite in the Spring is awesome.  Yosemite anytime is awesome.  But, in the spring - along with the cliffs and trees and stuff - the waterfalls are full - powerful - awesome.  You know what I mean?

Monday I went up to Yosemite and happened to go by Yosemite Falls - which after summer was barely a trickle - some moisture on the side of the cliff.  The river below the falls was bone dry. 

At the bridge - you know where the viewing area is - the bridge that goes over where the river is suppose to be - you know what I’m talking about?  At the bridge over these boulders - at the viewing area - there are these tourists staring up at this moisture on the cliff.  Tourists that have come thousands of miles to see Yosemite - the cliffs - and these awesome waterfalls.  They’re taking pictures - individual pictures - group pictures - lots of pictures - of themselves and this moisture on the cliff.

I thought to myself, “Its too bad they’re having to settle for this.  Its too bad they can’t see this waterfall when its full.  They really have no idea what they’re missing.”

When we compromise we settle for so much less than what God desires to pour into our lives - what by His love He continually offers to us.  Who needs the world?  Who needs to kiss frogs?  We have Jesus.