Quote from Forum Archives on February 16, 2007, 10:34 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

 

SEVEN CHURCHES #6/9

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE CHURCH

February 11, 2007

 

TEXT: Revelation 2:18-29

 

More bad news from the culture scene, folks. There is a website created by self-proclaimed atheist Brian Flemming that invites young people to blaspheme God. Reporting for Cybercast News Service, Monisha Bansal writes, “Fighting against what he calls ‘the mental torture that is religion,’ atheist filmmaker Brian Flemming created the [website], asking teens to commit ‘the ultimate sin’ in return for a copy of his movie, ‘The God Who Wasn't There.’ The ‘ultimate sin,’ in his view, is denying the Holy Spirit, based on the biblical injunction, ‘Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin’ (Mark 3:29). The site asks people to videotape themselves saying ‘I deny the Holy Spirit’ and to post the videos on YouTube… ‘These kids apparently think this is some kind of cute stunt,’ Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America, told Cybercast News Service. ‘But to me, it's akin to dousing yourself with gasoline and running around screaming 'there is no God' while waving a sparkler.’… ‘Man's rebellion against the Creator is no new thing,’ he said. ‘It's a time-honored tradition among those who prefer to view the world through the prism of moral relativism.’… In a recent interview with Fox News, [Flemming] said ‘if parents are going to terrorize their children with religious indoctrination, I think it's important to reach those kids and let them know that there is nothing to be afraid of.’ He said the site ‘exposes the crock that is Christian doctrine and thus relieves the suffering of innocent children. Religious tyranny really has a hold on young people and they really are innocent victims,’ Flemming said, describing the gospel message of Jesus' death, resurrection, ascension and the notion of heaven and hell ‘psychological torture.’” Sadly, since the site was created about a month ago, more than eight hundred submissions have been received.

(www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1779535/posts?page=11)

From what I can tell from this article is that instructing our children who God is, that there is a heaven and a hell, and that God is watching us, we are committing “psychological torture.” This, of course, is complete nonsense. But it did get me thinking of the truth that “God is watching us,” a truth found throughout Scripture. Consider Luke 12:6-7. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” So, yes, God is watching us. Flemming and others like him think that this is bad news. They think that it is cruel to believe in a God who watches over us.

Jesus, the Son of God, thinks otherwise. He lets us know that he is watching over his Church, and that this is a very good thing. Before looking at how he keeps an eye on us, let’s consider verses 20-23 where we are told about Jezebel. Not much is known about her, but Bible scholars indicate that she was a real woman in the Church in Thyatira. She called herself a “prophetess,” but studies indicate that she was a priestess at a pagan temple who passed herself off as a prophetess of God. It is not unusual, then, that some of her false teaching would include sexual immorality. It was not unusual for temple prostitution to be one of the religious rituals included in pagan worship. Jezebel incorrectly believed that all religious rites would be the same. We are also told that she misled the Church in Thyatira by “the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” A quick word of clarification here. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul writes that it is permissible for the Christian to “eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,” and to “eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience” when invited to a meal by an unbeliever. In other words, the meat being sold or served in an unbeliever’s house had probably been part of a pagan sacrifice, but that did not mean that they could not be eaten by a Christian. Paul did add, “But if anyone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it.” In the case with the Thyatira Church, Jezebel was celebrating the pagan sacrifice. Those in the Church who ate the “food sacrificed to idols” were guilty of celebrating the pagan ritual, too.

The kind of inclusiveness that is represented by Jezebel in the Church in Thyatira is, unfortunately, exactly the kind of sin that goes on in some of our churches today. I have spoken about them many times, and do not want to go on at length this morning about them. It is a case of the Church wanting to reach out with the love God has shown us, but becoming entangled in the sins of those who need the Gospel. This is a serious mistake. We must reach the world with God’s Word. Christ’s Church cannot hide behind either the literal walls of its building or behind the figurative walls of smug spiritual perfection. Christ’s Church is called to be oriented to evangelism and mission ministries. But that in no way, shape, or form is an invitation to compromise the will of God by participating in or condoning sin. When we do, we can be sure that Christ’s warning to the Church in Thyatira is our warning, too: “So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.” It is not easy to see today how much needless suffering goes on, both physical and mental, because of these kinds of entanglements with Jezebel-like sins.

The good news is that not everyone in the Church in Thyatira was deceived by Jezebel. “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come.” This is why it is good news that Jesus is keeping an eye on his Church. It is not “psychological torture” for God to watch us. On the contrary, it is an expression of His good mercy on us and His immense love for us.

Looking again at verse 19, we read, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” These are all the things that we want our Lord to know about. These are all the things that please Him. In both letters to the Corinthian church, Paul quoted from Jeremiah, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” If we have anything good to say or good to show, it is because we are faithfully receiving and using God’s gifts, and we should give Him the credit. We want to give Him the credit. Jesus knows his Church, and that is good news.

Jesus knows our deeds. No surprise here. Everyone knows our deeds. We are what we do! Hypocrisy is no easier to identify than by comparing a person’s words with his/her deeds. Parents are caught in hypocrisy all the time, especially by their teenagers. It is almost impossible to avoid. But we should work to avoid it. The reputation of the Church is determined by her deeds. Christians do the work of Christians, as defined by Jesus Christ in the Word of God. Jesus kept the commands of the Father; likewise, so are we to keep His commands and do His will. I hope that this does not surprise anyone: those who do not do the deeds of Christians are not Christians. As I preached last week, we are to have a complete witness. Jesus is keeping an eye on our deeds.

Jesus knows our love and faith. This is the root of those deeds that Jesus is also keeping his eye on. Anyone who turns to God receives the Holy Spirit in his/her life. This should be evident to everyone. The first fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. God is love. We are motivated to love because of the love God has given us. Similarly, we believe through faith. God’s love comes through faith. Genuine faith, in turn, is something that can be seen. Faith produces deeds that are from and for God. Displays of love and faith, then, are how an unbelieving world sees Christ in us.

Jesus knows our service and perseverance. Christ’s Church is instructed to serve. The well-known final chapter of Matthew tells it like it is: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (vs. 19) The purpose of Christ’s Church is not for entertainment, enhancing our reputation, or complaining about hurt feelings. Our purpose is to serve God. We have a place to worship, and that is wonderful. I am all for being inside out of the cold. But this is not where we are to stay. This building is not for us. It is for God’s work. Our Cormack Circle ministry of hosting funeral dinners is a perfect example of how we can use both the building and ourselves to serve. Having a place to meet after a funeral for those in our community is a service to God. The Stickin’ With Jesus ministry team is another example. They have a place to rehearse, and they go out into many communities to share God’s Word. Our purpose is to serve God.

Perseverance, or long-suffering, is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Churches in Revelation receiving their scrolls were encouraged to persevere persecution. They had to endure great struggles. We are to also persevere. We must be patiently faithful even when it does not appear that our service and deeds and love are returning any fruit. God has blessings for those who follow His Word. Jesus is keeping an eye on our service and perseverance.

Jesus knows our current works. To the Church in Thyatira, it was written that “you are now doing more than you did at first.” They were commended for their increasing devotion to their Lord. This is the condition that the Lord should find in every church. With the variety of believers using their variety of Spiritual gifts, every individual church should be making advances in some area of ministry. Now, we are not infinite. Only God has the infinite capacity to do everything. But we are certainly not incapable of reaching more people in ministry and increasing in good works. When we recognize the adversities like those faced by the Church in Thyatira, we must surely be motivated to do our own good works where the environment is nowhere near as hostile to the message of Christ. Sometimes it’s slow going, but that’s where perseverance comes in. We are to do more than we did at first.

Because he keeps an eye on his Church is why our Lord is our perfect Judge. How easy would it be for any human judge to pass an appropriate sentence if he had perfect knowledge of the case? Humans do not have that perfect knowledge, though, so we have to rely on trials and evidence and all that legal stuff. Our Lord keeps an eye on us, though, so that we can live with the assurance that His justice is perfect. In fact, it is more than perfect, because He has already born the sentence for our sin. He has taken away the penalty and nailed it to the same cross which bore Him in His suffering. That is an incredible act and an incredible mystery. This unfathomable depth of love for us, His frail and broken creation, is exactly the reason why it is such good news that He is keeping an eye on the Church.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana

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