Okay, Revelation chapter 2, and
the title of this message is found in verse 18. Christ's letter
to the church in Thyatira. And unto the angel of the church,
the minister, the messenger, the pastor of the church in Thyatira,
write, write it down. Write it, he's given these words
to John the Apostle. Write these things, saith the
Son of God, God the Son, whose eyes are like a flaming fire,
and his feet like fine burning brass burned in the fire. Thyatira was a city of trade
and commerce, but like all other Gentile cities, they were taken
up with idolatry. When Paul cast the demon out
of that woman there in Thyatira, her masters got all upset because
they thought that their money would be taken from them because
they paid this little girl by the demon spirit to soothsay
and to get money. And when God cast the demon spirit
out of her, they were upset. Lydia was from this city in Thyatira. She was a businesswoman from
Thyatira who traveled to the city of Philippi and she bumped
in, accidentally bumped in to, I said that wrong, didn't I?
By the good and sovereign providence of God, I did that on purpose. I was going to see if you were
awake. By the good and sovereign providence
of God, those women were down on the riverbank seeking to worship
the true and living God, and God sent them a gospel preacher
who preached to them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
with that word, the heart of Lydia was opened. And she confessed
the Lord Jesus Christ, and it says there Acts 16, that her
family also was converted. And I'm sure that Lydia was part
of this church in Thyatira and probably one of the, if we could
say it this way, charter member of that church there in Thyatira. And the Lord was pleased to call
out a Gospel preacher and establish that church there in Thyatira
just like He did here, this church in Zebulun. was founded upon
the preaching of the gospel. And we have in our study in today's
letter, the Lord's letter to this church, Thyatira, like the
other letters, contains words of commendation and comfort to
the believers, but also sharp words of rebuke for some who
were tolerating the false teaching and false doctrine of those who
were following Jezebel, who was promoting idolatry and spiritual
fornication. She was teaching and others were
teaching to compromise the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for
the sake of unity and to say, well, can't we all just get along?
It really doesn't matter. Truth and error will not mix. Truth cannot be compromised to
support error. Those who think it does not matter
will find out that it does matter to the Lord Jesus Christ. If
you read Revelation 19 and Revelation 20, we find out what happened
to Satan, his followers, the beast, and the false prophet.
They all end up in the lake of fire. God hates that which is
contrary to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you look
right across the page in Revelation chapter 2, Verse 15, he says,
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans,
not only did they hold the doctrine of Balaam, but the doctrine of
the Nicolaitans, which God said, which thing I hate. Now it is
right for us to hate that which God hates. It is right for us
to despise that which God despises. He does not give any room for
compromise. It's the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth, or it's a lie. It cannot be both. A lie is never the truth. The
truth is always the truth. This letter is addressed to the
pastor there in verse 18, Revelation 2 of the church. the messenger of the gospel,
the servant of the Lord, who is accountable and responsible
unto the Lord for the message He teaches and the gospel He
preaches. Now, I take this responsibility
that is laid upon me very seriously. I read the other day in 2 Timothy
4, where Paul said to the young Timothy, I charge thee before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Word. I'm accountable
and responsible unto the Lord Jesus Christ for what I say concerning
the gospel of God's saving grace. It is my responsibility, primarily
in this church, to instruct you in the way of salvation in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and to promote and preach the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, to defend its truth, to defend the doctrine
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to protect it from errors of
the Nicolaitans, and from those who were following the doctrine
of Balaam, and those who were preaching the doctrine of Jezebel. Our Lord says, called those things
the depths of Satan. Satan. It is given, in verse
18, it is given by the Son of God, these things saith, doesn't
saith John or Paul, thus saith the Lord. But we ought to sit
up and take special attention. Thus saith the Lord, the Son
of God, whose eyes like a flame of fire, His feet Like fine,
fine brass. In every one of these seven letters
to these seven churches, the Lord gives a description of Himself. And He describes Himself as the
Son of God and as the Son of Man. Look back in chapter 1,
Revelation chapter 1. Verse 12, I turned to see the
voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden
candlesticks, and in the midst of seven candlesticks, one likened
to the son of man, clothed with a garment down to his foot, girt
about the paps his chest with a golden girdle. His head and
his hair were white like wool, white as snow, his eyes flame
of fire, and his feet like undefined brass. as if they burned in the
furnace, and his voice as the sound of many, many waters."
So, which is it? Is he the son of man, or is he
the son of God? He's both. He's both the son
of man, the God-man mediator, and he is God the son. It has
to be both. He had to be both God and both
man in one blessed person to put away our sin. Man alone cannot
satisfy, God cannot suffer, but the God-man mediator did both.
He is both God and man in one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He had to be both to make atonement
for our sin. The blood of bulls and goats
cannot take away sin. He obtained for us eternal redemption
with His own blood. You see how important that is?
It's who He is that gives eternal weight to what He did. And then
He says, further describing Himself, not only as the Son of God, or
God the Son, equal with God, He said, I am my Father, we are
one. You've seen me, you've seen the Father. As God, He has eyes
like a flaming fire. Now what does that mean? That
means He knows everything. He knows everything. Look down
here at verse 23 where it says, I am He which searches the reins
and the hearts. The Lord has a flaming eye of
omniscience. He sees everything that's going
on, and He rules and reigns over all things. His eyes are a flame
of fire, all-knowing. This is the one to whom we have
to do. All things are naked and open
before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. You remember,
David writes in Psalm 139, O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known
me. Thou knowest my downsittings
and my uprisings. Thou understandest my thoughts
afar off. God who is omniscient, he knows
even every thought fleeting through our minds. He knows all things
because he's God. And then it says secondly there,
his feet like fine brass, not just brass, but well-refined,
pure brass. Christ is the solid foundation
upon which we rest. He is our strength. He is our
stability. We rest upon His strength, His
foundation. I was remembering something years
and years ago when I was just a little tyke, but old enough
to remember. We were out in the mountains
of central Idaho camping with my father and some other relatives. And for some reason, we needed
to get across this creek. And the water was very swift
and running. And I was thinking to myself
as just a little four or five-year-old boy, there's no way I'm crossing
that creek. There's no way I'm crossing that creek. And yet
I had to get to the other side. I don't remember why. My dad
picked me up. And with his strong legs and
his feet, he walked across the water. I wasn't even concerned
about it because my dad had me in his arms. His feet were solid
and steady and certain and sure. How much more the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is our strength. He is our
stability. He is our foundation. David writes,
Psalm 146, The Lord is my refuge and my strength. The Lord is
the light of my salvation, and whom shall I fear? The Lord is
our strength. He has feet like fine brass. He is the foundation upon which
we rest. Now, being the all-knowing God,
the omniscient God, who is not only omniscient, omnipotent,
all-powerful, he says, I know. I know. Now, is there anything
the Lord doesn't know about you, about me, about anybody? He knows
all things. He knows our frame. He knows
that we're but dust. He knows all things because everything
that comes to pass in our life, He sends it. I know thy works,
He says, and He says this on every one of the seven churches.
I know thy works. I know your love. That word charity
is love. He says, I know your service.
He says, I know your faith. How does he know that? Well,
he gave us faith. Faith's a gift of God. And he
says, I know your patience. And that is long suffering. That's
endurance, enduring Perseverance in the faith. And he says, again,
and thy works, and the last of your works will be more than
the first of your works. In other words, they were growing
in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
let's look at these things individually here, four or five things. He
says, I know your works. your labors or efforts to make
the gospel known. Now we know that salvation is
not by works. We know that, right? Salvation
is a gift of God, not of works, as any man should boast. But
here he's talking about that which God works in us. It's God
who worketh in us, both the will and the do of His good pleasure.
He knows our labors and efforts to make the gospel known. In
1 Corinthians he says this, chapter 15, My beloved brethren, be ye
steadfast, saying that he's given us the victory in our Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. What is the work of the Lord?
Primarily and chiefly, it is preaching the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's praying for and supporting
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says, for
as much as you know that your labor in the Lord is not
in vain. We never preach the gospel in
vain. Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes about
the works of faith and labors of love. Faith worketh by love. And then he says, secondly, he
says, I know your work. And then he says, I know your
love. I know your love. Peter, do you love me? Remember
the Lord asked that question? Remember what Peter said? He
said, Lord, You know all things. You know. You know. I love You. I don't love Him
like I want to. I don't love Him like I ought
to. I don't love Him like I will one day in glory when I see Him
face to face. But by His grace, every believer
can say, I do love Him. I love Him. I know Your love,
the Lord said. I know You love me. Love for
Christ, love for the Gospel, love for His Word, love for one
another. Love wishes to bestow the best it can on the object
of its infection. It's the love of Christ that
constrains us. Without this love for Him, His
Word, His Gospel, we are nothing, as I read this morning from 1
Corinthians 13. And this love of Christ constrains
us. We only love Him, you remember that scripture, we only love
Him because he first loved us. We only love one another because
he first loved us. We only believe the gospel because
he's granted us faith. And then he says, thirdly, he
says in verse 19, I know, he says, I know your love, I know
your works, I know your service. I know your service, service. Some of you men were in the,
you know, when they talk about those old World War II veterans,
them old timers always had a saying, were you in the service? Did
they do that in Vietnam? Freddie's a Vietnam veteran.
Were you in the service? Well, they were in the service
of the country. Every believer's in the service of the Lord, in
the service of the Lord. The Lord said, I know your service.
I know your ministry. I know your ministry. They were
diligent to spread the gospel to others, made willing to serve
the Lord's cause and His glory in the day of His power. Now,
it's a high honor to serve the Lord. I think of my dad's generation. Many of those old timers actually
quit high school to go join the army, to go fight. Pastor Mahan
was 17 years old, and as soon as he got out of high school,
he skedaddled through the Navy and signed up. Everybody wanted
to be in the service. It used to be an honorable thing
to serve the Lord, but how much more? to be in the army of the
Lord Jesus Christ and to serve Him. What a great privilege it
is to be put in the body of Christ and to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do so by serving one another. It's a high honor. The Apostle
Paul called himself a servant of the Lord, a willing bond slave
to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know the Lord Jesus Christ
is called by God Almighty. He said, Behold my servant in
whom my soul delighteth. I want to be known as a servant
of the Lord. I've instructed the men of this church to put
that epithet on my tombstone. The servant of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You remember what those servants of the Lord said? We
read it in Acts 16. A moment ago, that woman said,
demon-possessed woman, who said, these men are servants of the
Most High God that show us the way of salvation. That's what
we show, the way of salvation. Determined to preach the Lord
Jesus Christ and Him alone. And then fourthly, he says, I
know your faith. You see verse 19? I know your
faith. And here he's talking about faithfulness.
Faithfulness. Faithfulness. is one thing the
Lord requires of His people, and one thing His people delight
to give. They are sinners saved by His
grace, who are diligent and faithful to serve the Lord. Remember in
Isaiah 6, when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, and
he said, woe is me, I'm undone, I'm a sinner. And the Lord purged
him by the blood of Christ, and was cleansed by the power of
Christ. You remember what Isaiah said then, Lord, here am I, send
me. And then remember when Saul of
Tarsus was converted? when he met the Lord Jesus Christ
on his road of rebellion against God and the Gospel, when God
whittled him down and put him in the dust. Remember what he
said? Lord, what would you have me to do? Well, Paul, go preach
the Gospel. And he did. He said, I know your
faithfulness to the Gospel. What a privilege it is to be
faithful, serving the Lord. And then he mentions your patience. Your patience. Now this word
has to do with endurance and perseverance. Endurance and perseverance. Or resignation and submission
to the sovereign revealed will of God. It's submission to the
rule of God. I know your submission. I know
your perseverance in the faith. Submission to the revealed will
of God now. Not talking about things we don't
know anything about. But the revealed will of God as it's
revealed right here in the Word of God. You have it in your lap.
So I know your perseverance, that is your resignation to the
revealed will of God. It's the Lord, let him do what
seemeth good in his sight. When Samuel came to Eli in the
temple and told him, God's going to kill your two boys, There
are rebels against me. What did Eli say? What did he
say? It's the Lord. Let him do what
seemeth good in my sight. Now listen to this carefully.
This is getting to be one of my favorite verses in the book
of Revelation. Revelation 19 verse 12 where
it says, Hallelujah for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
For the Lord God Almighty reigneth. He reigneth. He is the Almighty
God, who reigned holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which
was, is, and is to come. He reigns. He ruleth over all. Now don't look in your bulletin
right now, because I'm going to read this to you, but in your
bulletin there's an article that was written somewhere along 1932,
and it's written by a man by the name of Lorraine Bettner.
Lorraine Bettner from 1929 to 1938 was a professor in a theological
school known as Pipeville College. And he wrote a book, I have a
copy of it in my study, called The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. I would encourage you to find
a copy of it. You can get one free online and
read it. The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
by Lorraine Bettner. He's born in 1901, died in 1999.
But here's what he said. This is a paragraph out of that
book. Although the sovereignty of God is universal and absolute,
It's not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with infinite
wisdom, holiness, and love. And this doctrine, when properly
understood, is the most comforting and your reassuring one. Who
would not prefer to have his affairs in the hands of a god
of infinite power, wisdom, and holiness, and love, rather than
to have them left to blind fate, chance, Lady luck, that's my
thought, or the laws of nature, or short-sighted, myopic, perverted
self. Aren't you glad that God rules
in rain? Further quoting Lorraine Bettner,
those who reject the sovereignty of God should consider what alternative
they have left. If you throw that out, what do
you have left? Nothing but doubt, confusion, and despair. God ruled
and reigned over all things. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. And then the last thing he says,
the sixth thing he says, in verse 19, in verse 19, he said, I know
your works. He said, the last of thy works
should be more than the first of your works. Now, I had to
think about that a little bit because I don't understand some
things so quickly when I read them. Your last works are more
than the first. He's saying this, I know that
you're growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord makes us by his will, by his sovereignty
to abound more and more in love, in graciousness, in forgiving
one another. He makes us to abound. The last
to be more than your first. Grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and
forever. Amen. Desire the sincere milk
of the word that you might grow thereby. This is another evidence
of faith in Christ and growing in grace. As believers grow old
in the faith, they learn to grow more dependent upon the Lord
Jesus Christ, grow more in love and zeal for the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Growing in grace is like this.
I was telling my son and my grandson this morning, I was showing my
grandson how to milk a cow. how to milk a cow. He had this
little stool for this desk and I showed him how my father taught
me how to milk a cow, how to milk a cow, hand milk a cow.
Some of you have probably done that, some of you older ones,
how to hand milk a cow, but my dad was a dairy man. And they
milk, in the beginning, they used to milk by hand. And I will
teach you, my grandson, this morning, how to milk a cow. And
here, I said all that to say this. Growing in Greece is like
a cow's tail. Now a lot of times when we'd
milk a cow, we'd take his tail and we'd tie it up to the side
of the barn so when we're sitting there on a milk stool milking,
he couldn't swish us in the face. And sometimes they do that. But
the thing about a cow's tail is this, I'm getting a little
bit carried away here, but to make this illustration about
growing in grace, growing in grace is like a cow's tail. The longer it grows, the closer
it is to the ground. You see, a growth in grace is
not one, well, I'm getting along. I'm doing better. I'm alive. No, that's religious pride. Growing
in grace is a growth in humility, in contrition, knowing that God
is God in all things, and we are totally, 100%, dependent
upon Him for all things. That's growing in grace. How
do we grow in grace? By desire that sincere milk of
the word that you might grow thereby. Grow thereby. Now, verse 20, and I'm not going
to deal with the rest of these verses on this message. I'm going
to have to make this a two-part message. because I've taken too
much time in the first part of this message, but I'm only on
page 5 and I've got 10 pages, so I'm going to have to quit.
Just to give you, we'll come back and look at this next week,
but in every one of these churches that he writes these seven letters,
with the exception of two, the letter to Sardis and the letter
to the Church of Philadelphia, he has also a word, five times,
he has a word of rebuke. A word of rebuke. Now God, as
I told you over the years, God surrounds us with two things. Promises lest we despair. warnings lest we presume. And that's what he does in five
of these letters to these churches. He gives them a rebuke. Notwithstanding,
he says, I have something against you because you have permitted
the false preaching of the gospel to subduce my servants, to make
them go astray, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And he
says, repent or face me in judgment. Now that's just plain and simple.
There is no alternative to the Gospel. If the Gospel is the
Gospel, and it is, and the true grace of God is true, then anything
other than that is not the Gospel and must be condemned strongly,
strongly, in strong terms. God is God. Beside Him there
is no other. That six-point outline that Brother
Rob Barnard preached in 1954. In that first Bible conference
in Ashland, 1954, he preached a message called Six Stubborn
Statements. We'll go over those six statements
next week. But you can go to Sermon Audio
and look up Rothbarnard and you can bring up that message. Six
stubborn statements. And he said, God is either sovereign
or He's not. Man is either totally depraved
or He's not. God either elected a people into
salvation or He didn't. The Lord Jesus Christ either
affectionately atoned for all their sin or He didn't. He either
calls them out by His powerful grace or He doesn't. And they
persevere until the end or they don't. There's no middle ground. He either is God or he's not. The gospel is either true or
it's not. He is the only Savior, the true
God, our Savior, or he's not. Now you know what it is, don't
you? Because God has taught you. All right, we'll leave it right
there.