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SEVEN Series - Week Four: Letters to the Seven Churches
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Part 4 of 6SEVEN
SEVEN Series - Week Four: Letters to the Seven Churches
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Connected by scripture or shared themes.
I feel opposition this morning. The adversary knows this word is exposing, and he will fight to keep you from hearing it. Let nothing distract you from receiving God's Word preached to you today.
We are in week four of an important series called "SEVEN," a teaching series through the first two chapters of the Book of Revelation. Before we begin, I want to honor the Elders in this house—Elder Eric Hayes, Elder Milton James, and myself. These are Godly men who have walked with me for a long time. They help me shepherd this church, they hold me accountable, they check me when I'm wrong, and they pour into me. I would not be standing here without the strength of these men.
One of the most important things God gave His human creation is two powerful gates: your eye gates and your air gates. Everything you allow into these gates has power to affect the deepest parts of who you really are—your mind, your soul, your will, your emotions, and your spirit.
Jesus mentioned one specific gate seven times consecutively to these seven churches: "Let those who have an ear to hear, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."
I believe the air gate has the most profound effect on a human's mind, heart, and spirit. It affects what you believe and your subsequent behavior. Whatever passes through your ear gates gets lodged in your mind and makes the twelve-inch drop to your heart, affecting your emotions and bleeding out in your behavior.
The most powerful and influential thing any human being can allow into their air gates is teaching—words wrapped in teaching, communicated as thoughts. Teaching is extremely powerful. It has the power to shape the way you think, affect the strength of your spirit, build up or destroy an inner person, create strongholds of thought in your mind, guide, control, manipulate, and deceive.
Teaching can embolden and strengthen, or it can weaken and crush. Jesus through His teaching transformed the entire world. His teaching is still transforming the world today. But teaching also has the power to bring about evil. Hitler was a powerful teacher who almost took over the world with evil teachings.
I want to show you a powerful example of deceptive teaching. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda was a well-known cult leader born in Puerto Rico. He joined a church, rose through its ranks, and launched his own ministry. At some point, he claimed two angels visited him from Heaven and told him he was Jesus Christ reincarnate—not a person who had the spirit of Christ in him, but Jesus Christ Himself, reborn.
He began preaching this doctrine. Through his teaching, he amassed a massive ministry, millions of dollars, and a devoted following. His parishioners emptied 401(k)s and life savings to support his ministry. His followers claimed Christmas was April 22nd, the day he was born.
In 2006, he went deeper into his teachings. He stood on national television and claimed he was the Antichrist. He rejected Judeo-Christian heritage from the scriptures. He tattooed 666 on himself—the mark of the beast from Revelation 13. He preached to his followers, and many of them tattooed this same mark on their foreheads, arms, and even on their children.
Through his teaching, he led many people astray and no doubt to damnation. He died in 2013. I remember watching documentaries about his ministry before his death, seeing thousands of people being led away from Orthodox Christianity. I thought: How could this man hijack supposed Christians or believers? How could he hijack a church, communities of followers, their minds, their families, and lead them astray?
Dangerous and deceptive doctrines have been preached since God created the first human beings. Notice when the enemy approached Adam and Eve in the garden—he didn't just tell them to eat the fruit. He deceived them with teaching. He said to the woman, "Did God really say?" Through teaching, he introduced doubt in her heart. Then he didn't say, "Eat the fruit." He said, "The day you eat of that fruit, you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Through teaching, he led Adam and Eve to sin against God, plunging the whole world into the sin we are dealing with today.
It was teaching that deceived the first man and woman.
The church at Thyatira faced this same situation. Let's look at what Jesus said to them, beginning in Revelation 2:18.
It's important to understand the city to which Jesus wrote. Thyatira was a small, unimportant city—a military garrison built up and destroyed many times. It was known for having a thriving manufacturing and commercial center.
Archaeological studies uncovered ancient trade guilds and trade organizations in Thyatira. These were necessary for anyone living in that city to be financially successful or socially successful. If someone wanted to be socially known, popular, financially well-off, and have influence, their best pathway was to join one of these trade organizations.
But here's the problem: These organizations were involved in pagan practices—superstition, feasts with meat sacrificed to idols, and loose sexual immorality.
So the dominant pathway to success in Thyatira was clear: Join a trade organization. Compromise your Christian values. Adopt false worship. Eat food sacrificed to idols. Or in modern context: align yourself with groups that force you to compromise your Christian conscience.
Notice Christ's greeting to this church in verse 18:
"The words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet were like burnished bronze."
He reminded them He was the Son of God—He had authority. His eyes like fire meant: I am watching you with tight scrutiny. Nothing in that church goes under the radar. His feet like burnished bronze speaks of judgment for behavior.
Jesus was speaking to a church dealing with compromise and said, "I see you selling out my children. I'm calling you to a higher standard."
I want to say something to you from the bottom of my heart: You do not have to sell out to be a successful believer.
Some of you are in jobs and industries and environments where you have the temptation to sell out, to cast off your convictions to be accepted and approved by circles of people. I want to say this to you strongly: You don't have to sell out to be successful as a believer. You don't have to compromise. You don't have to lie on your taxes. You don't have to bend the rules to be successful.
The power of God can make you successful without you selling out, in whatever environment you find yourself.
You can have convictions and still win. It might take you longer. The path might be harder. The road might be more treacherous. But you can have convictions and still win.
I'm going to give you social proof from the Word of God. In Acts 16:11-15, Luke wrote about Paul and his ministry team traveling to Philippi:
"One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods who was a worshiper of the Lord. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized and her whole household as well, she urged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay,' and she prevailed upon us."
Historically, purple was an expensive dye extracted from a rare snail and used to create clothing and garments of royalty. Lydia was a wealthy, financially prosperous businesswoman in Thyatira. She was a seller of purple.
Lydia lived in a city where the only way to advance was to sell out. But she was a worshiper of God. The scripture says she was faithful. And God prospered Lydia. She was financially wealthy, socially known, prosperous, had influence, had money. She was not only able to pray but to be an answer to prayers for others.
I want to tell all my business professionals, entrepreneurs, everyone grinding and working in the hustle: You do not have to compromise or sell out to be successful. The God of Heaven, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, with one stretch of His hand can pour water on whatever you have given birth to in His name, in any season when He's ready.
I'm not cheating on my taxes. I'm not bending numbers. I'm not compromising my business or putting it in jeopardy. I'm going to be faithful while they watch, laugh, and scorn. And in the right season, when He's ready, He will touch that thing.
The scripture says, "You will reap if you do not faint."
To all my Lydias in the spirit: You don't have to sell out. God has got you. It may hit you when you're fifty. That's all right. I won't compromise. You might lose some stuff along the way. That's all right. I won't compromise. If my hair turns gray, it's all right. I won't compromise.
I would rather stand on my convictions and wait for God to touch that thing than manufacture success in the flesh. Which one do you think is going to last and be stronger—the success manufactured in the flesh, or the one God breathes on in due time?
Let them talk. Let them doubt you. Let them do whatever they have to do. In private, remain faithful to your convictions and watch how He breathes on that thing in the right season.
Here's something powerful about Lydia: She was the first Christian convert on the continent of Europe. She may have been part of the very first church planted on that continent—the church at Philippi.
It is doubtful that we would have Christianity in Europe today if it was not for Lydia and the Church of Philippi. How's that for not selling out? That's influence and legacy that lasts. She's gone, and we're still talking about her to this day.
There would be no Christian church in Europe if it wasn't for Christians like Lydia—the first Christian convert on that continent—and the church at Philippi, a church that was sacrificial, generous, sold out to the gospel, and working with Paul to spread the gospel.
Their fruit remains to this day.
Now look at what Jesus said to the church at Thyatira in verse 19:
"I know your works, your love and your faith, your service and your patience and endurance."
Notice: I know your works. But they didn't lose their love like Ephesus. They weren't bound up in materialism. These people loved God. They loved each other. They loved the sinner. They loved the work of Jesus.
This was a church where, if you walked in, you could feel the love of the people. No pretense. "We don't always agree, but you are my brother and my sister. I love you because I'm commanded to." The Bible says let love cover a multitude of sin.
They were faithful—they didn't quit. They didn't bow. They were on mission for Jesus. Probably had missions programs, sending out evangelists. They were on fire for God.
Their service and patient endurance meant they went through trouble, all kinds of issues, pressure from outside. They never strayed. They never went away from Jesus.
This church had it going on. If you went to that church on Sunday morning, you would say, "Man, that church is popping." The Instagram is growing. Facebook is growing. Numbers have grown. Children's ministry is off the chain. Gatherings are off the chain. People are coming in for large gatherings. They're meeting in small groups. They're hanging out after church, exchanging numbers. It's fellowship in the lobby, fellowship in the parking lot. So-and-so is going to so-and-so's house. People are eating fried chicken together.
That's the type of church you want to be a part of. The vibe is good. Great signage. It's the real deal. This is a church you want to be a part of.
But notice the stinging rebuke of Christ to that church in verse 20:
"But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols."
Your church is blowing up, but you allow that woman Jezebel to teach. She's teaching on the pulpit. She's teaching in small groups. She's teaching in the lobby. She's moving around the church—teaching, teaching, teaching.
This is a church that was popping, growing, filled with love and faithfulness. But they allowed one person to undermine the entire community. One person to handcuff the community with their teaching and their life and their doctrines. One person of influence to damage an entire body of believers.
It only takes one misguided person to shipwreck a church. One whisperer. One gossiper. One person who likes to sow seeds of division. One person with bad teaching in the bathroom, teaching in the parking lot, teaching on the platform, teaching in abuse.
Jezebel was going through that church—teaching, teaching, teaching—wrecking lives and perverting all these believers who were misguided by this false prophetess.
Notice the word tolerate in the text. In this context, tolerate means allow—not grace, not be nice to them, but allow her to teach.
You're so inclusive you allow her to teach that way, and you do nothing about what she's doing in the church.
This is important: Tolerate here means you always have a choice. You always have a choice of who you listen to. You always have a choice of what you allow into your gates. You always have a choice of what you allow to grow in your heart.
Whatever you let into your gates is going to get into your heart. Whatever you don't deal with in your heart is going to grow. That's your choice.
I've been saying this since our church was born: You've got to be careful about the teaching you listen to. The podcast you listen to. The books you read. The conferences you go to. The online streams you watch. The gossip you entertain with nobody there to defend themselves. The lies you listen to from the devil in your own mind.
You've got to be careful about what you allow into your gates—about what teaching, what church you attend, where you sit, what you listen to, the doctrine you hold to.
Some of us, if you look back over your shoulders, you realize you've been messed up in certain seasons because of the people you listened to with no filter for what they're saying, no filter for what's coming off the platform.
You should know enough Bible that when you hear stuff being preached that's wrong, it should be like static in your soul. That's the power of reading the scriptures. Even if you're not a theologian, if you just read, you come across stuff like "Love one another deeply and be gentle." Then when you hear stuff that's opposite of that, something should be like static in your soul. "This doesn't sound right."
That's why I said don't entertain gossip and slander. Slander is satanic. You stop that and say, "No, go and talk to someone. Let's pray for so-and-so." You don't entertain that stuff. You don't listen to every person behind a podium. Not every platform was built by God.
This is called protection of a shepherd: Stop lending your ears to every person who got a title in front of their name.
I called Jezebel "false"—not because of her name, but because of three words in the text: "who calls herself a prophetess."
This is significant. The scripture teaches us in Ephesians 4 that there are five offices that God gave to the church, and only Jesus can put a person in that office. A person has no right or authority to operate in one of these offices except Jesus ordained them.
"It is he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers." (Ephesians 4:11)
Jesus appoints these five offices. Let me say this one more time: Apostles—you got all these people running around calling themselves Apostles. There are no big-A Apostles alive today. They died during the first century. There are no Apostles who are authoritative in our scriptures. It is Jesus and Jesus only who gives the apostles, the prophets, the pastors, the teachers, and the evangelists.
No person can just take these titles to themselves except Christ puts them there. But you can do that if you want. You're going to answer to Him in the day of judgment.
The Bible says, "Those who teach will incur a greater judgment." This discourages us from doing this. For those who do this, they will incur a greater judgment.
Why did Jesus give these five offices?
"To equip the saints for the work of the ministry." (Ephesians 4:12)
They were given to you as gifts to equip you to do the work. Stop looking at me like I'm a superstar. Why are you not doing the work? Why are you not serving? Why don't we have more people in the parking lot, more people in productions? Why don't we have more mothers in the children's ministry? Why don't we have more men doing security when churches are getting robbed? Why don't we have more people on the worship team, more people in productions, more people who are admins?
He did not call me to make you comfortable in a chair. He called me to equip you to do ministry. How do I equip you for ministry? With teaching and opportunities to do that.
You think me standing here every week and saying "join a team, be faithful to give"—you think that's just platitudes? No, this is biblical equipping. One day you're going to give an account for what you did in that body.
A day is coming—it could be today if you die in a car crash—when you're going to stand before Jesus and give an account for what you did in this body.
He says you're going to give an account for every nasty, foul, uncounted word that comes out of your mouth. Everything that comes out your mouth, you're going to give an account for. Everything you did in this body—what you did with your time, what you did with your money, what you did with your gifts.
That's why I keep trying to tell you: Stop sitting on that stuff. At what point does that register in your heart? Serve. Give. Come to the gathering. Be faithful. Build up the church. Shut down nonsense. Do all you can to love on the bride. Be fruitful in the things of God.
You're going to have to give an account. What are you going to say? "I built a great business." He'll say, "So what?" "I blew up on social media." "So what?" He's not against those things, except if they come at the expense of having nothing to do with His work.
I'm convinced that this is an end-time church, and I'm preparing people for trouble that's coming in the future. That's why I teach the way I teach. So when you're in trouble, you don't depend on my voice. You can open the scriptures for yourself. I don't want to just make you feel awesome every week. I want to tell you the truth so you could go back and check behind me like the Bereans.
I want you to grow in maturity into the knowledge of God. And for this, it makes me unpopular and unwanted. I've accepted to be okay with that if it means no blood is going to be on my hands in the end.
The driving force of the New Testament is for you to grow up. Stop your nonsense. It's about maturity. It's about learning how to be a worshiper, how to pray, how to check your own heart, how to put down sin, how to turn away from ungodliness, how to check gossip and slander, how to not put yourself in nonsense, how to apologize, how to do right by other people.
It's about how to love Jesus, how to love brothers, how to love the sinner and stop condemning them. Stop tearing down other people. It's about growing into maturity, not being led by your emotions.
Hebrew says to a church that by now some of you should have been teaching. But I still have to take you back to elementary things—like faith, like generosity, like loving Jesus and people, like coming to the gathering, like living in community, like being faithful on a team.
Man, these things are elementary. By now you should be in a pulpit with a pastor or leading a small group. By now—it's been how long? Twenty years? Can't feel lonely up here. You don't see the way they're looking at me?
"So that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, but speaking the truth in love we grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Ephesians 4:14-15)
You can't do that without discipline, without coaching, without correction, without rebuke, without hard biblical teaching, without tough conversations, without being faithful.
Who was this Jezebel the church was tolerating? Was her real name Jezebel, or was she a false prophet with that name, or a false prophet with a Jezebel-type nature—what people call a Jezebel spirit?
More than likely, her real name was not Jezebel, but Jesus called her one. The real Jezebel was introduced in 1 Kings. She was the wife of King Ahab, one of the most evil kings of ancient Israel.
Jezebel was one of the most evil and wicked women in history. When she married King Ahab, she shut down worship to God in the whole nation and set up worship to false gods named Baal. She had an army of false prophets. She went against Elijah on Mount Carmel—my wife and I have been to that mountain in Israel.
This was the same Jezebel that sent Elijah a death threat: "By this time tomorrow I'm going to get you." He was so afraid of it that he went running into depression. Elijah became so depressed from one threat from Jezebel that God had to replace him with Elisha. How's that for the influence of one woman?
King Ahab wanted a piece of land next door to his kingdom that belonged to a man named Naboth. Naboth had it in his family for decades and wouldn't give it up. King Ahab went to sleep. Jezebel heard about it and said, "Now you're a sucker." She went above the king and handcuffed that land. She put people to death. She was gangster.
This Jezebel in Thyatira saw Christianity blowing up in the city and wanted to be a part of it. So she weaseled her way into the church. She was friendly, nice, bubbly. Everybody liked her. She was cool, hanging out at people's houses, going to dinner. Everybody loved her.
Then she got in the pulpit and started teaching doctrines of heresy. Because of her influence in the church, they believed her. She forced her way into that church and was accepted by the pastor. She began to aggressively feed the church with false doctrine, leading people astray.
Let me give you four distinctives of a Jezebel spirit—whether it's in a woman or a man:
1. A Sensual Manipulator. There's nothing wrong with being sexy, wearing nice clothes, getting your hair done, getting a dope beat. But it's a problem when you use what you got to deceive, trap, connive, take down innocent people. That's Jezebel-ish. That's somebody else's spouse. That's Jezebel-ish.
2. A Deceptive Persuader. A person so gifted in speech they will talk you out of your drawers and your bank account. Once they got the bag, they're gone. That's Jezebel-ish. Excellent communicator can teach and dig around in your ear to get into your heart for no other purpose than to deceive.
3. An Idol Worshiper. A woman or man who loves created things more than God and encourages others to do the same. "Yo, this crystal you got—you gotta get one. I know you're a Christian, I know you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to protect you, but this crystal right here, you gotta get one. It'll protect you." That's Jezebel-ish.
4. A Domineering Controller. Emasculating men. Can't be submitted to authority. Loves to fight all the time. Nobody can tell you nothing. You dominate your husband and make him a boy. That's Jezebel-ish. You control your house with an iron fist. You make your son a slave, your husband a slave, people in your home slaves. That's Jezebel-ish.
These are the top four traits of Jezebel. You can fill in the rest. If you see these operating in you, man, ask God to help you flee from that behavior. It is Jezebel-ish.
It's amazing because this woman was allowed by the leadership of the church to come in as a guest and then as a regular teacher to lead believers into living lives of immorality and compromise. "You could love Jesus, go to church, and do whatever you want. No foul. Thank you."
Now watch the grace of Christ. Verse 21:
"I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality."
Notice the love of God. Jesus is watching a woman tear up a church, and He's tapping on her heart: Stop. Yeah, gossip, stop. Slander, stop. Conversations in the dark, stop. False teaching, stop. False down to, stop. Jezebel, stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.
He's tapping on our hearts: Stop it. Stop it. Stop. Stop.
What is grace? It is time for you to turn. What about grace—is it going to run out? Yes. When do you die? Grace is God giving you time to get right, make it right. That's grace.
What causes you to refuse grace? Pride. Jezebel was full of pride. "Nah, I got this." She wouldn't repent.
God was calling her to repent—to turn from her sin, to turn to Him, to live a higher life. But she refused to repent. She was prideful.
Now watch how Christ responds to this unrepented false prophetess. Verse 22:
"Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation unless they repent of their works."
Jesus said: "I will throw her on a sick bed." You love running through the church with your hips and with your lips. You love beds just what He said to that prophetess—"I'm going to throw you on the next bed." It won't be with a dude. It will be with sickness.
"Those who commit adultery with her"—those who want to go down the path with what they're doing—"I'm going to give great tribulation unless they repent of their works."
"I will strike her children dead so that all the churches will know that I am the one who searches the mind and the heart, and I will give to each one of you according to your works." (Revelation 2:23)
Why did Christ threaten her so bad? Look at the last part of the verse: "So that all the churches will know that I am the one who searches the mind and the heart." He said, "I'm going to make an example of Jezebel so that all the churches in Asia will know—don't play with me."
Notice He said He'll strike her down and her children—punishment for false prophecy. Notice He said He's going to bring pain against all those having adultery with her. This is an adulterous church—people because, watch, when you hang around with people with bad behavior, it spreads. It corrupts.
Christ was saying: Repent or I'm going to visit you with trouble.
Notice the anger of Jesus against this false prophet who was tearing up a Christian church. This shows you how Christ feels when people are tearing up a church. He hates that behavior. That's why He wanted them to deal with Jezebel, to deal with divisive people. You've got to deal with divisive people because Jesus is serious about that kind of behavior.
And look how He finishes. Verses 24-25:
"But to the rest of you in Thyatira, to those who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan—to you I will say: I do not lay on you any other burden, except to hold fast to what you have until I come."
He said to those of you who don't lean into that nonsense, who do not hold to her teaching, who have not learned what some called the Deep Things of Satan, "To you I will say: I do not lay on any other burden except hold fast to what you have until I come."
Some of us love to say everything's got to be deep. Everything's got to be deep. We want to go deep. You know what? You could dive so deep you go past the Word of God into nonsense. You know some of you are so deep you dive past the Word of God into bad doctrine that leads you away from Jesus, away from the church, away from the Bible.
You could be so deep that you put yourself in error. Some of us—you know, we talk about the motherland and Hebrew Israelites and there were errors in the scripture and it's the white man's religion. And all of that nonsense. Some of you, you're so deep you dive past the Word of God into error.
Why does everything have to be so deep? You know, at the end of the day, most of the stuff in the scriptures is elementary. Love God. Love others like yourself. I don't need Greek for that. Serve with whatever gifts you've been given. I don't need Greek for that. Be generous, for God loves a cheerful giver. I don't need Greek for that. Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves. Be devoted to teaching, be devoted to fellowship, be devoted to prayer. Come on, come on, come on, saints.
A lot of this stuff is elementary. Some of us want to be so deep. You know what deep people do? You go past the Bible. You start reading articles on the internet. You start looking for things to go against the scriptures. Then you read something that says, "Man, the Bible got contradictions. I don't believe it." And then you start reading stuff about the motherland and you're mad at white people and all this foolishness.
Don't pass the 66 books past Revelation into what Jesus called the Deep Things of Satan. The only thing deeper than the Bible is the pool of Satan. If you dive past this, the only thing you land in is the reservoir of Satan. Where Jesus says the deep things of the devil. You're so deep, you're satanic.
This is not even authoritative to you because you read it has a mistake? No. You haven't interpreted it right. If you dive past this, the only thing you're going to land in is satanic teachings.
That's why for doctrine, I don't go past Genesis to Revelation. Don't go past Revelation for doctrine. Closed. Notice that's why Jesus says, "Hold fast to what you have."
You know what you have? Whatever true doctrine you have. Even in the middle of talk, even in the middle of hell, He says hold on to what you know.
I'm talking to somebody. You'll be at your job and one conversation will have you doubting Jesus. Hold on to what you know. You read something on the internet, you start doubting God. Hold on to what you know. You hear something go in your ear and it got your heart all messed up. Hold on to what you know.
What do you know? Hold on to what you know. Stop being led to and fro by everything you hear, feel, and read.
The Thyatira Christians were struggling with discernment. That's why I pray over you every week that you will grow in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, because it gives you this word called discernment.
When you have discernment, you start to sense: This is wrong. That's wrong. This doesn't sound right. I see them preaching—that's wrong. Went to the conference—that's wrong. This person got a name—that's wrong. "Prophet So-and-so, Prophet So-and-so, Apostle So-and-so, Bishop..." Hey, you need discernment.
Discernment will help you feel in the spirit. That's a real one. That's a false one. I heard that, but that doesn't sound right to me. Like, you gotta have discernment above emotions and so-and-so conference. That's what they did not have. They let Jezebel in there because they did not have discernment.
Now watch how Christ closed the letter to them. Verses 26-28:
"The one who is victorious and does my will to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations—'He will rule them with an iron scepter, He will dash them to pieces like pottery'—just as I have received authority from my Father. To the victor I will also give the morning star."
This is so powerful. I believe Thyatira is a picture of the end-time church because He's talking about ruling over nations and kingdoms. You know when this happens? It happens in the millennial reign of Jesus when He returns, when the new heaven and earth comes down, when the New Jerusalem comes down, when we have our white robes and our crowns and we stand before God.
He says: Some of you, those of you who have been faithful—you think you have a job now? Or you don't listen, you're going to reign over nations. Who's leading a prayer team? You're going to reign over nations. You think you're just running a sound booth? You're going to reign over nations.
If you just remain faithful to the end, I'm going to exalt you to the point that no matter what they said about you in this life, when they see you on the other side, you're going to be reigning over nations.
He's saying to them: Man, this is like a picture of the end-time church. Stay faithful to the end and I'm going to reward you beyond anything you can hear.
And how does He finish? Verse 29:
"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
He wasn't her to hear. This is so serious. Devil, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Let him hear what the Spirit is saying to you.
Why is this so important? Listen to the final charge the great Apostle Paul gave his son in the faith, a pastor named Timothy:
"I charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
You only want to hear people that don't make you feel convicted. You only want to hear people that tell you how to have a great life, eight steps to fifteen blessings. Those are the people you love to listen to. These are the things that blow up. Things blow up where we keep people sick, compromised.
They gather for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and because of that teaching, they turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths, becoming apostate Christians.
I want to encourage you, my brothers and sisters: Guard your air gate. Push back against false teaching. Push back against false books, false conferences. Push back against slander and gossip and all these things that tear up a church and tear up your mind.
Listen: When you turn on the television and hear it, shut it off. When you go online and see it, shut it off. Turn away from it, man. Guard your gates.
Grow in the knowledge of God. When you hear things that aren't right, it should sound like static in your soul.
Hold fast to what you know to have been true.
I want to exhort you like Timothy: Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.
Every head bowed and every eye closed. I'm talking to you. Before we leave, there is a man in this room, there is a woman in this room. You are religious, but you are not saved. You are a churchgoer, but you're not saved.
There are people in this room—man, you've been around the things of God, but you really don't belong to Him. And hear the Spirit of God beckoning to you right now in love. This is true teaching.
You are, and I am, a sinner. You've broken God's laws. I've broken God's laws. The scripture says if anyone dies in their sin, you're going to be separated from God for all eternity. But God, not wanting you to perish, sent His Son Jesus into the Earth. If anyone would put their faith in Him, they shall be saved. They shall become sons and daughters.
And listen, God already knows His elect. He already knows who belongs to Him. He was winning you, coming after you, before the foundation of the world. This is just me setting up the date with a moment that God already ordained for you.
You know who I'm talking to. You can feel it in your belly. I just want you to acknowledge that He's working in your heart right now.
If that's you, you're saying, "Preacher, pray for me. I'm surrendering my life to Christ. I'm walking out of here a brand new man and woman. I've been playing around. I want to do this thing for real."
I just want to know who I'm talking to. If I'm talking to you, my brother, I'm talking to you, my sister. On the count of three, I want you to throw your hand up so I can see you.
One. The Lord is calling you. Two. This is your moment of salvation. Three. Throw your hand up in the air. Keep it there.
[People respond with hands raised.]
I see that hand. I see that hand. Keep it there. [Continues calling out hands raised.]
Put your hands down. I want everybody just pray this with me so they don't have to feel alone. Just say:
"Lord, forgive me for all of my sin. I repent. I surrender my life to you. Amen."
And now, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray over those who already belong to You from the foundation of the world who are just acknowledging in public that You are moving them into a relationship with You. It was a work that was done since You were nailed to the cross, before the foundation of the world. They are Your chosen.
I pray over these 30 men and women that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit, their eyes would be enlightened and open. I pray You would breathe on their lives, leading them into purpose.
God, in the name of Jesus, I pray they would mark this moment where something changed on the inside of their life. I pray they would run after You with their whole heart, God, in the name of Jesus, and that they would find community where they can grow and be taught and grow after everything that You have called them to do.
I pray, God, You would protect them from the evil one. That You would help them to know they'd be forgiven of all this and it has been wiped away from them as far as the East is from the West. Their name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. They are Your sons and daughters.
And now, Father, You said when one sinner repents, all of Heaven rejoices. So Father, we just rejoice right now for our new 30 brothers and sisters. We pray heaven for them, God. We thank You, God. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate.
I feel opposition this morning. The adversary knows this word is exposing, and he will fight to keep you from hearing it. Let nothing distract you from receiving God's Word preached to you today.
We are in week four of an important series called "SEVEN," a teaching series through the first two chapters of the Book of Revelation. Before we begin, I want to honor the Elders in this house—Elder Eric Hayes, Elder Milton James, and myself. These are Godly men who have walked with me for a long time. They help me shepherd this church, they hold me accountable, they check me when I'm wrong, and they pour into me. I would not be standing here without the strength of these men.
One of the most important things God gave His human creation is two powerful gates: your eye gates and your air gates. Everything you allow into these gates has power to affect the deepest parts of who you really are—your mind, your soul, your will, your emotions, and your spirit.
Jesus mentioned one specific gate seven times consecutively to these seven churches: "Let those who have an ear to hear, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."
I believe the air gate has the most profound effect on a human's mind, heart, and spirit. It affects what you believe and your subsequent behavior. Whatever passes through your ear gates gets lodged in your mind and makes the twelve-inch drop to your heart, affecting your emotions and bleeding out in your behavior.
The most powerful and influential thing any human being can allow into their air gates is teaching—words wrapped in teaching, communicated as thoughts. Teaching is extremely powerful. It has the power to shape the way you think, affect the strength of your spirit, build up or destroy an inner person, create strongholds of thought in your mind, guide, control, manipulate, and deceive.
Teaching can embolden and strengthen, or it can weaken and crush. Jesus through His teaching transformed the entire world. His teaching is still transforming the world today. But teaching also has the power to bring about evil. Hitler was a powerful teacher who almost took over the world with evil teachings.
I want to show you a powerful example of deceptive teaching. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda was a well-known cult leader born in Puerto Rico. He joined a church, rose through its ranks, and launched his own ministry. At some point, he claimed two angels visited him from Heaven and told him he was Jesus Christ reincarnate—not a person who had the spirit of Christ in him, but Jesus Christ Himself, reborn.
He began preaching this doctrine. Through his teaching, he amassed a massive ministry, millions of dollars, and a devoted following. His parishioners emptied 401(k)s and life savings to support his ministry. His followers claimed Christmas was April 22nd, the day he was born.
In 2006, he went deeper into his teachings. He stood on national television and claimed he was the Antichrist. He rejected Judeo-Christian heritage from the scriptures. He tattooed 666 on himself—the mark of the beast from Revelation 13. He preached to his followers, and many of them tattooed this same mark on their foreheads, arms, and even on their children.
Through his teaching, he led many people astray and no doubt to damnation. He died in 2013. I remember watching documentaries about his ministry before his death, seeing thousands of people being led away from Orthodox Christianity. I thought: How could this man hijack supposed Christians or believers? How could he hijack a church, communities of followers, their minds, their families, and lead them astray?
Dangerous and deceptive doctrines have been preached since God created the first human beings. Notice when the enemy approached Adam and Eve in the garden—he didn't just tell them to eat the fruit. He deceived them with teaching. He said to the woman, "Did God really say?" Through teaching, he introduced doubt in her heart. Then he didn't say, "Eat the fruit." He said, "The day you eat of that fruit, you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Through teaching, he led Adam and Eve to sin against God, plunging the whole world into the sin we are dealing with today.
It was teaching that deceived the first man and woman.
The church at Thyatira faced this same situation. Let's look at what Jesus said to them, beginning in Revelation 2:18.
It's important to understand the city to which Jesus wrote. Thyatira was a small, unimportant city—a military garrison built up and destroyed many times. It was known for having a thriving manufacturing and commercial center.
Archaeological studies uncovered ancient trade guilds and trade organizations in Thyatira. These were necessary for anyone living in that city to be financially successful or socially successful. If someone wanted to be socially known, popular, financially well-off, and have influence, their best pathway was to join one of these trade organizations.
But here's the problem: These organizations were involved in pagan practices—superstition, feasts with meat sacrificed to idols, and loose sexual immorality.
So the dominant pathway to success in Thyatira was clear: Join a trade organization. Compromise your Christian values. Adopt false worship. Eat food sacrificed to idols. Or in modern context: align yourself with groups that force you to compromise your Christian conscience.
Notice Christ's greeting to this church in verse 18:
"The words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet were like burnished bronze."
He reminded them He was the Son of God—He had authority. His eyes like fire meant: I am watching you with tight scrutiny. Nothing in that church goes under the radar. His feet like burnished bronze speaks of judgment for behavior.
Jesus was speaking to a church dealing with compromise and said, "I see you selling out my children. I'm calling you to a higher standard."
I want to say something to you from the bottom of my heart: You do not have to sell out to be a successful believer.
Some of you are in jobs and industries and environments where you have the temptation to sell out, to cast off your convictions to be accepted and approved by circles of people. I want to say this to you strongly: You don't have to sell out to be successful as a believer. You don't have to compromise. You don't have to lie on your taxes. You don't have to bend the rules to be successful.
The power of God can make you successful without you selling out, in whatever environment you find yourself.
You can have convictions and still win. It might take you longer. The path might be harder. The road might be more treacherous. But you can have convictions and still win.
I'm going to give you social proof from the Word of God. In Acts 16:11-15, Luke wrote about Paul and his ministry team traveling to Philippi:
"One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods who was a worshiper of the Lord. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized and her whole household as well, she urged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay,' and she prevailed upon us."
Historically, purple was an expensive dye extracted from a rare snail and used to create clothing and garments of royalty. Lydia was a wealthy, financially prosperous businesswoman in Thyatira. She was a seller of purple.
Lydia lived in a city where the only way to advance was to sell out. But she was a worshiper of God. The scripture says she was faithful. And God prospered Lydia. She was financially wealthy, socially known, prosperous, had influence, had money. She was not only able to pray but to be an answer to prayers for others.
I want to tell all my business professionals, entrepreneurs, everyone grinding and working in the hustle: You do not have to compromise or sell out to be successful. The God of Heaven, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, with one stretch of His hand can pour water on whatever you have given birth to in His name, in any season when He's ready.
I'm not cheating on my taxes. I'm not bending numbers. I'm not compromising my business or putting it in jeopardy. I'm going to be faithful while they watch, laugh, and scorn. And in the right season, when He's ready, He will touch that thing.
The scripture says, "You will reap if you do not faint."
To all my Lydias in the spirit: You don't have to sell out. God has got you. It may hit you when you're fifty. That's all right. I won't compromise. You might lose some stuff along the way. That's all right. I won't compromise. If my hair turns gray, it's all right. I won't compromise.
I would rather stand on my convictions and wait for God to touch that thing than manufacture success in the flesh. Which one do you think is going to last and be stronger—the success manufactured in the flesh, or the one God breathes on in due time?
Let them talk. Let them doubt you. Let them do whatever they have to do. In private, remain faithful to your convictions and watch how He breathes on that thing in the right season.
Here's something powerful about Lydia: She was the first Christian convert on the continent of Europe. She may have been part of the very first church planted on that continent—the church at Philippi.
It is doubtful that we would have Christianity in Europe today if it was not for Lydia and the Church of Philippi. How's that for not selling out? That's influence and legacy that lasts. She's gone, and we're still talking about her to this day.
There would be no Christian church in Europe if it wasn't for Christians like Lydia—the first Christian convert on that continent—and the church at Philippi, a church that was sacrificial, generous, sold out to the gospel, and working with Paul to spread the gospel.
Their fruit remains to this day.
Now look at what Jesus said to the church at Thyatira in verse 19:
"I know your works, your love and your faith, your service and your patience and endurance."
Notice: I know your works. But they didn't lose their love like Ephesus. They weren't bound up in materialism. These people loved God. They loved each other. They loved the sinner. They loved the work of Jesus.
This was a church where, if you walked in, you could feel the love of the people. No pretense. "We don't always agree, but you are my brother and my sister. I love you because I'm commanded to." The Bible says let love cover a multitude of sin.
They were faithful—they didn't quit. They didn't bow. They were on mission for Jesus. Probably had missions programs, sending out evangelists. They were on fire for God.
Their service and patient endurance meant they went through trouble, all kinds of issues, pressure from outside. They never strayed. They never went away from Jesus.
This church had it going on. If you went to that church on Sunday morning, you would say, "Man, that church is popping." The Instagram is growing. Facebook is growing. Numbers have grown. Children's ministry is off the chain. Gatherings are off the chain. People are coming in for large gatherings. They're meeting in small groups. They're hanging out after church, exchanging numbers. It's fellowship in the lobby, fellowship in the parking lot. So-and-so is going to so-and-so's house. People are eating fried chicken together.
That's the type of church you want to be a part of. The vibe is good. Great signage. It's the real deal. This is a church you want to be a part of.
But notice the stinging rebuke of Christ to that church in verse 20:
"But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols."
Your church is blowing up, but you allow that woman Jezebel to teach. She's teaching on the pulpit. She's teaching in small groups. She's teaching in the lobby. She's moving around the church—teaching, teaching, teaching.
This is a church that was popping, growing, filled with love and faithfulness. But they allowed one person to undermine the entire community. One person to handcuff the community with their teaching and their life and their doctrines. One person of influence to damage an entire body of believers.
It only takes one misguided person to shipwreck a church. One whisperer. One gossiper. One person who likes to sow seeds of division. One person with bad teaching in the bathroom, teaching in the parking lot, teaching on the platform, teaching in abuse.
Jezebel was going through that church—teaching, teaching, teaching—wrecking lives and perverting all these believers who were misguided by this false prophetess.
Notice the word tolerate in the text. In this context, tolerate means allow—not grace, not be nice to them, but allow her to teach.
You're so inclusive you allow her to teach that way, and you do nothing about what she's doing in the church.
This is important: Tolerate here means you always have a choice. You always have a choice of who you listen to. You always have a choice of what you allow into your gates. You always have a choice of what you allow to grow in your heart.
Whatever you let into your gates is going to get into your heart. Whatever you don't deal with in your heart is going to grow. That's your choice.
I've been saying this since our church was born: You've got to be careful about the teaching you listen to. The podcast you listen to. The books you read. The conferences you go to. The online streams you watch. The gossip you entertain with nobody there to defend themselves. The lies you listen to from the devil in your own mind.
You've got to be careful about what you allow into your gates—about what teaching, what church you attend, where you sit, what you listen to, the doctrine you hold to.
Some of us, if you look back over your shoulders, you realize you've been messed up in certain seasons because of the people you listened to with no filter for what they're saying, no filter for what's coming off the platform.
You should know enough Bible that when you hear stuff being preached that's wrong, it should be like static in your soul. That's the power of reading the scriptures. Even if you're not a theologian, if you just read, you come across stuff like "Love one another deeply and be gentle." Then when you hear stuff that's opposite of that, something should be like static in your soul. "This doesn't sound right."
That's why I said don't entertain gossip and slander. Slander is satanic. You stop that and say, "No, go and talk to someone. Let's pray for so-and-so." You don't entertain that stuff. You don't listen to every person behind a podium. Not every platform was built by God.
This is called protection of a shepherd: Stop lending your ears to every person who got a title in front of their name.
I called Jezebel "false"—not because of her name, but because of three words in the text: "who calls herself a prophetess."
This is significant. The scripture teaches us in Ephesians 4 that there are five offices that God gave to the church, and only Jesus can put a person in that office. A person has no right or authority to operate in one of these offices except Jesus ordained them.
"It is he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers." (Ephesians 4:11)
Jesus appoints these five offices. Let me say this one more time: Apostles—you got all these people running around calling themselves Apostles. There are no big-A Apostles alive today. They died during the first century. There are no Apostles who are authoritative in our scriptures. It is Jesus and Jesus only who gives the apostles, the prophets, the pastors, the teachers, and the evangelists.
No person can just take these titles to themselves except Christ puts them there. But you can do that if you want. You're going to answer to Him in the day of judgment.
The Bible says, "Those who teach will incur a greater judgment." This discourages us from doing this. For those who do this, they will incur a greater judgment.
Why did Jesus give these five offices?
"To equip the saints for the work of the ministry." (Ephesians 4:12)
They were given to you as gifts to equip you to do the work. Stop looking at me like I'm a superstar. Why are you not doing the work? Why are you not serving? Why don't we have more people in the parking lot, more people in productions? Why don't we have more mothers in the children's ministry? Why don't we have more men doing security when churches are getting robbed? Why don't we have more people on the worship team, more people in productions, more people who are admins?
He did not call me to make you comfortable in a chair. He called me to equip you to do ministry. How do I equip you for ministry? With teaching and opportunities to do that.
You think me standing here every week and saying "join a team, be faithful to give"—you think that's just platitudes? No, this is biblical equipping. One day you're going to give an account for what you did in that body.
A day is coming—it could be today if you die in a car crash—when you're going to stand before Jesus and give an account for what you did in this body.
He says you're going to give an account for every nasty, foul, uncounted word that comes out of your mouth. Everything that comes out your mouth, you're going to give an account for. Everything you did in this body—what you did with your time, what you did with your money, what you did with your gifts.
That's why I keep trying to tell you: Stop sitting on that stuff. At what point does that register in your heart? Serve. Give. Come to the gathering. Be faithful. Build up the church. Shut down nonsense. Do all you can to love on the bride. Be fruitful in the things of God.
You're going to have to give an account. What are you going to say? "I built a great business." He'll say, "So what?" "I blew up on social media." "So what?" He's not against those things, except if they come at the expense of having nothing to do with His work.
I'm convinced that this is an end-time church, and I'm preparing people for trouble that's coming in the future. That's why I teach the way I teach. So when you're in trouble, you don't depend on my voice. You can open the scriptures for yourself. I don't want to just make you feel awesome every week. I want to tell you the truth so you could go back and check behind me like the Bereans.
I want you to grow in maturity into the knowledge of God. And for this, it makes me unpopular and unwanted. I've accepted to be okay with that if it means no blood is going to be on my hands in the end.
The driving force of the New Testament is for you to grow up. Stop your nonsense. It's about maturity. It's about learning how to be a worshiper, how to pray, how to check your own heart, how to put down sin, how to turn away from ungodliness, how to check gossip and slander, how to not put yourself in nonsense, how to apologize, how to do right by other people.
It's about how to love Jesus, how to love brothers, how to love the sinner and stop condemning them. Stop tearing down other people. It's about growing into maturity, not being led by your emotions.
Hebrew says to a church that by now some of you should have been teaching. But I still have to take you back to elementary things—like faith, like generosity, like loving Jesus and people, like coming to the gathering, like living in community, like being faithful on a team.
Man, these things are elementary. By now you should be in a pulpit with a pastor or leading a small group. By now—it's been how long? Twenty years? Can't feel lonely up here. You don't see the way they're looking at me?
"So that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, but speaking the truth in love we grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Ephesians 4:14-15)
You can't do that without discipline, without coaching, without correction, without rebuke, without hard biblical teaching, without tough conversations, without being faithful.
Who was this Jezebel the church was tolerating? Was her real name Jezebel, or was she a false prophet with that name, or a false prophet with a Jezebel-type nature—what people call a Jezebel spirit?
More than likely, her real name was not Jezebel, but Jesus called her one. The real Jezebel was introduced in 1 Kings. She was the wife of King Ahab, one of the most evil kings of ancient Israel.
Jezebel was one of the most evil and wicked women in history. When she married King Ahab, she shut down worship to God in the whole nation and set up worship to false gods named Baal. She had an army of false prophets. She went against Elijah on Mount Carmel—my wife and I have been to that mountain in Israel.
This was the same Jezebel that sent Elijah a death threat: "By this time tomorrow I'm going to get you." He was so afraid of it that he went running into depression. Elijah became so depressed from one threat from Jezebel that God had to replace him with Elisha. How's that for the influence of one woman?
King Ahab wanted a piece of land next door to his kingdom that belonged to a man named Naboth. Naboth had it in his family for decades and wouldn't give it up. King Ahab went to sleep. Jezebel heard about it and said, "Now you're a sucker." She went above the king and handcuffed that land. She put people to death. She was gangster.
This Jezebel in Thyatira saw Christianity blowing up in the city and wanted to be a part of it. So she weaseled her way into the church. She was friendly, nice, bubbly. Everybody liked her. She was cool, hanging out at people's houses, going to dinner. Everybody loved her.
Then she got in the pulpit and started teaching doctrines of heresy. Because of her influence in the church, they believed her. She forced her way into that church and was accepted by the pastor. She began to aggressively feed the church with false doctrine, leading people astray.
Let me give you four distinctives of a Jezebel spirit—whether it's in a woman or a man:
1. A Sensual Manipulator. There's nothing wrong with being sexy, wearing nice clothes, getting your hair done, getting a dope beat. But it's a problem when you use what you got to deceive, trap, connive, take down innocent people. That's Jezebel-ish. That's somebody else's spouse. That's Jezebel-ish.
2. A Deceptive Persuader. A person so gifted in speech they will talk you out of your drawers and your bank account. Once they got the bag, they're gone. That's Jezebel-ish. Excellent communicator can teach and dig around in your ear to get into your heart for no other purpose than to deceive.
3. An Idol Worshiper. A woman or man who loves created things more than God and encourages others to do the same. "Yo, this crystal you got—you gotta get one. I know you're a Christian, I know you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to protect you, but this crystal right here, you gotta get one. It'll protect you." That's Jezebel-ish.
4. A Domineering Controller. Emasculating men. Can't be submitted to authority. Loves to fight all the time. Nobody can tell you nothing. You dominate your husband and make him a boy. That's Jezebel-ish. You control your house with an iron fist. You make your son a slave, your husband a slave, people in your home slaves. That's Jezebel-ish.
These are the top four traits of Jezebel. You can fill in the rest. If you see these operating in you, man, ask God to help you flee from that behavior. It is Jezebel-ish.
It's amazing because this woman was allowed by the leadership of the church to come in as a guest and then as a regular teacher to lead believers into living lives of immorality and compromise. "You could love Jesus, go to church, and do whatever you want. No foul. Thank you."
Now watch the grace of Christ. Verse 21:
"I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality."
Notice the love of God. Jesus is watching a woman tear up a church, and He's tapping on her heart: Stop. Yeah, gossip, stop. Slander, stop. Conversations in the dark, stop. False teaching, stop. False down to, stop. Jezebel, stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.
He's tapping on our hearts: Stop it. Stop it. Stop. Stop.
What is grace? It is time for you to turn. What about grace—is it going to run out? Yes. When do you die? Grace is God giving you time to get right, make it right. That's grace.
What causes you to refuse grace? Pride. Jezebel was full of pride. "Nah, I got this." She wouldn't repent.
God was calling her to repent—to turn from her sin, to turn to Him, to live a higher life. But she refused to repent. She was prideful.
Now watch how Christ responds to this unrepented false prophetess. Verse 22:
"Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation unless they repent of their works."
Jesus said: "I will throw her on a sick bed." You love running through the church with your hips and with your lips. You love beds just what He said to that prophetess—"I'm going to throw you on the next bed." It won't be with a dude. It will be with sickness.
"Those who commit adultery with her"—those who want to go down the path with what they're doing—"I'm going to give great tribulation unless they repent of their works."
"I will strike her children dead so that all the churches will know that I am the one who searches the mind and the heart, and I will give to each one of you according to your works." (Revelation 2:23)
Why did Christ threaten her so bad? Look at the last part of the verse: "So that all the churches will know that I am the one who searches the mind and the heart." He said, "I'm going to make an example of Jezebel so that all the churches in Asia will know—don't play with me."
Notice He said He'll strike her down and her children—punishment for false prophecy. Notice He said He's going to bring pain against all those having adultery with her. This is an adulterous church—people because, watch, when you hang around with people with bad behavior, it spreads. It corrupts.
Christ was saying: Repent or I'm going to visit you with trouble.
Notice the anger of Jesus against this false prophet who was tearing up a Christian church. This shows you how Christ feels when people are tearing up a church. He hates that behavior. That's why He wanted them to deal with Jezebel, to deal with divisive people. You've got to deal with divisive people because Jesus is serious about that kind of behavior.
And look how He finishes. Verses 24-25:
"But to the rest of you in Thyatira, to those who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan—to you I will say: I do not lay on you any other burden, except to hold fast to what you have until I come."
He said to those of you who don't lean into that nonsense, who do not hold to her teaching, who have not learned what some called the Deep Things of Satan, "To you I will say: I do not lay on any other burden except hold fast to what you have until I come."
Some of us love to say everything's got to be deep. Everything's got to be deep. We want to go deep. You know what? You could dive so deep you go past the Word of God into nonsense. You know some of you are so deep you dive past the Word of God into bad doctrine that leads you away from Jesus, away from the church, away from the Bible.
You could be so deep that you put yourself in error. Some of us—you know, we talk about the motherland and Hebrew Israelites and there were errors in the scripture and it's the white man's religion. And all of that nonsense. Some of you, you're so deep you dive past the Word of God into error.
Why does everything have to be so deep? You know, at the end of the day, most of the stuff in the scriptures is elementary. Love God. Love others like yourself. I don't need Greek for that. Serve with whatever gifts you've been given. I don't need Greek for that. Be generous, for God loves a cheerful giver. I don't need Greek for that. Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves. Be devoted to teaching, be devoted to fellowship, be devoted to prayer. Come on, come on, come on, saints.
A lot of this stuff is elementary. Some of us want to be so deep. You know what deep people do? You go past the Bible. You start reading articles on the internet. You start looking for things to go against the scriptures. Then you read something that says, "Man, the Bible got contradictions. I don't believe it." And then you start reading stuff about the motherland and you're mad at white people and all this foolishness.
Don't pass the 66 books past Revelation into what Jesus called the Deep Things of Satan. The only thing deeper than the Bible is the pool of Satan. If you dive past this, the only thing you land in is the reservoir of Satan. Where Jesus says the deep things of the devil. You're so deep, you're satanic.
This is not even authoritative to you because you read it has a mistake? No. You haven't interpreted it right. If you dive past this, the only thing you're going to land in is satanic teachings.
That's why for doctrine, I don't go past Genesis to Revelation. Don't go past Revelation for doctrine. Closed. Notice that's why Jesus says, "Hold fast to what you have."
You know what you have? Whatever true doctrine you have. Even in the middle of talk, even in the middle of hell, He says hold on to what you know.
I'm talking to somebody. You'll be at your job and one conversation will have you doubting Jesus. Hold on to what you know. You read something on the internet, you start doubting God. Hold on to what you know. You hear something go in your ear and it got your heart all messed up. Hold on to what you know.
What do you know? Hold on to what you know. Stop being led to and fro by everything you hear, feel, and read.
The Thyatira Christians were struggling with discernment. That's why I pray over you every week that you will grow in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, because it gives you this word called discernment.
When you have discernment, you start to sense: This is wrong. That's wrong. This doesn't sound right. I see them preaching—that's wrong. Went to the conference—that's wrong. This person got a name—that's wrong. "Prophet So-and-so, Prophet So-and-so, Apostle So-and-so, Bishop..." Hey, you need discernment.
Discernment will help you feel in the spirit. That's a real one. That's a false one. I heard that, but that doesn't sound right to me. Like, you gotta have discernment above emotions and so-and-so conference. That's what they did not have. They let Jezebel in there because they did not have discernment.
Now watch how Christ closed the letter to them. Verses 26-28:
"The one who is victorious and does my will to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations—'He will rule them with an iron scepter, He will dash them to pieces like pottery'—just as I have received authority from my Father. To the victor I will also give the morning star."
This is so powerful. I believe Thyatira is a picture of the end-time church because He's talking about ruling over nations and kingdoms. You know when this happens? It happens in the millennial reign of Jesus when He returns, when the new heaven and earth comes down, when the New Jerusalem comes down, when we have our white robes and our crowns and we stand before God.
He says: Some of you, those of you who have been faithful—you think you have a job now? Or you don't listen, you're going to reign over nations. Who's leading a prayer team? You're going to reign over nations. You think you're just running a sound booth? You're going to reign over nations.
If you just remain faithful to the end, I'm going to exalt you to the point that no matter what they said about you in this life, when they see you on the other side, you're going to be reigning over nations.
He's saying to them: Man, this is like a picture of the end-time church. Stay faithful to the end and I'm going to reward you beyond anything you can hear.
And how does He finish? Verse 29:
"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
He wasn't her to hear. This is so serious. Devil, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Let him hear what the Spirit is saying to you.
Why is this so important? Listen to the final charge the great Apostle Paul gave his son in the faith, a pastor named Timothy:
"I charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
You only want to hear people that don't make you feel convicted. You only want to hear people that tell you how to have a great life, eight steps to fifteen blessings. Those are the people you love to listen to. These are the things that blow up. Things blow up where we keep people sick, compromised.
They gather for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and because of that teaching, they turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths, becoming apostate Christians.
I want to encourage you, my brothers and sisters: Guard your air gate. Push back against false teaching. Push back against false books, false conferences. Push back against slander and gossip and all these things that tear up a church and tear up your mind.
Listen: When you turn on the television and hear it, shut it off. When you go online and see it, shut it off. Turn away from it, man. Guard your gates.
Grow in the knowledge of God. When you hear things that aren't right, it should sound like static in your soul.
Hold fast to what you know to have been true.
I want to exhort you like Timothy: Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.
Every head bowed and every eye closed. I'm talking to you. Before we leave, there is a man in this room, there is a woman in this room. You are religious, but you are not saved. You are a churchgoer, but you're not saved.
There are people in this room—man, you've been around the things of God, but you really don't belong to Him. And hear the Spirit of God beckoning to you right now in love. This is true teaching.
You are, and I am, a sinner. You've broken God's laws. I've broken God's laws. The scripture says if anyone dies in their sin, you're going to be separated from God for all eternity. But God, not wanting you to perish, sent His Son Jesus into the Earth. If anyone would put their faith in Him, they shall be saved. They shall become sons and daughters.
And listen, God already knows His elect. He already knows who belongs to Him. He was winning you, coming after you, before the foundation of the world. This is just me setting up the date with a moment that God already ordained for you.
You know who I'm talking to. You can feel it in your belly. I just want you to acknowledge that He's working in your heart right now.
If that's you, you're saying, "Preacher, pray for me. I'm surrendering my life to Christ. I'm walking out of here a brand new man and woman. I've been playing around. I want to do this thing for real."
I just want to know who I'm talking to. If I'm talking to you, my brother, I'm talking to you, my sister. On the count of three, I want you to throw your hand up so I can see you.
One. The Lord is calling you. Two. This is your moment of salvation. Three. Throw your hand up in the air. Keep it there.
[People respond with hands raised.]
I see that hand. I see that hand. Keep it there. [Continues calling out hands raised.]
Put your hands down. I want everybody just pray this with me so they don't have to feel alone. Just say:
"Lord, forgive me for all of my sin. I repent. I surrender my life to you. Amen."
And now, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray over those who already belong to You from the foundation of the world who are just acknowledging in public that You are moving them into a relationship with You. It was a work that was done since You were nailed to the cross, before the foundation of the world. They are Your chosen.
I pray over these 30 men and women that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit, their eyes would be enlightened and open. I pray You would breathe on their lives, leading them into purpose.
God, in the name of Jesus, I pray they would mark this moment where something changed on the inside of their life. I pray they would run after You with their whole heart, God, in the name of Jesus, and that they would find community where they can grow and be taught and grow after everything that You have called them to do.
I pray, God, You would protect them from the evil one. That You would help them to know they'd be forgiven of all this and it has been wiped away from them as far as the East is from the West. Their name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. They are Your sons and daughters.
And now, Father, You said when one sinner repents, all of Heaven rejoices. So Father, we just rejoice right now for our new 30 brothers and sisters. We pray heaven for them, God. We thank You, God. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate. We celebrate.
