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Jesus’ Letters to the Seven Churches
“Thyatira: Struggles with Holiness”
January 27, 2019
Introduction
This morning, we are continuing our series on Jesus’ letter to the seven churches in Revelation.
The typical pattern for these letters is that Jesus has words of encouragement and words of warning for the churches.
That’s exactly what we see in the church of Thyatira.
Read Text
Illustration: Least Important.
Scholars point out that the city of Thyatira was the least important of the 7 cities.
Thyatira wasn’t the capital city like Pergamos.
Thyatira wasn’t as beautiful as Smyrna.
Thyatira didn’t have the prominence of Ephesus.
Thyatira was a working man’s city.
It was a labor union town.
Thyatira was the least important of the seven cities.
But the letter to the church of Thyatira is the longest of the seven letters.
That shows that every church is important to God.
Whether large or small, every church matters to Jesus.
Whether it’s a thriving or struggling church, every church matters to Jesus.
The church at Thyatira mattered to Jesus.
Superior Avenue Baptist Church matters to Jesus.
The church a Thyatira was a wonderful church.
The church at Thyatira was a thriving church.
Jesus had high praise for the church of Thyatira.
But this thriving church in Thyatira struggled with holiness.
1.
A thriving church ...
Illustration: Billboard business in Atlanta is booming
Theological: The church of Thyatira was a thriving church.
Things were booming at the church of Thyatira.
Look at v. 19.
The church at Thyatira was a loving church.
The church loved God and loved people.
If you walked into the church of Thyatira, you were going to be loved.
You were going to be encouraged to love the Lord.
The church at Thyatira was a loving church.
The church at Thyatira was a serving church.
God calls us to serve Him.
The believers in Thyatira didn’t sit the sidelines.
They rolled up their sleeves and did the work of the Lord.
The church at Thyatira was a serving church.
The church at Thyatira was a faithful church.
Most translations use the word “faith” in verse 19.
The better translation is faithfulness.
The believers in Thyatira were dependable, reliable, consistent.
The Lord could count on them.
The church at Thyatira was a faithful church.
The church at Thyatira was a persevering church.
Believers in all these cities were under tremendous pressure to conform to culture.
When believers didn’t conform to culture, they were persecuted.
The believers in Thyatira persevered through the persecution and hardships.
The church at Thyatira was a persevering church.
The church at Thyatira was a growing church.
The church could receive no greater compliment from Jesus than they received in v. 19.
(AMP) I know your record and what you are doing, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your recent works are more numerous and greater than your first ones.
The church at Thyatira was a growing church.
The church at Thyatira was a loving church.
Thyatira Was a serving church.
The church at Thyatira was a faithful church.
The church at Thyatira was a persevering church.
The church at Thyatira was a wonderful, thriving church.
Practical: Verse 19 is a great model for the church today.
We need to be a loving church.
Do people feel loved as soon as they walk into this church?
Do we encourage people to love the Lord?
We need to be a serving church.
But do we sit out ministry opportunities that the Lord lays before us?
Or do we roll up our sleeves and do the work of the Lord.
We need to be a faithful church.
Are we dependable?
Are we consistent?
Are we consistent to be here every week?
This month, our spiritual habit is reading the Bible daily.
Have you been consistent to read the Bible every day this month?
February’s spiritual practice is prayer.
Are consistent in our prayer life?
Are we consistent?
Can God count on us?
Are we a persevering church?
Do we keep going no matter what or at the first sign of trouble do we quit?
Verse 19 is a great model for how the church needs to be today.
The church at Thyatira was a vibrant, thriving church.
But we need to realize that no matter how thriving a church is, every church has struggles.
Every church has struggles.
The church at Thyatira was thriving church that struggled with holiness.
2. … that struggles with holiness.
Illustration: Holiness
Theological: Holiness means to be set apart for God’s purpose.
Holiness means to be distinct, different.
Holiness means to be pure and righteous.
I like Tim Keller’s definition of holiness: To be holy means to be wholly God’s.
It means no area of your life doesn’t belong to him.
It means no priority of your life is not judged by him.
It means no part of your heart does not belong to him.
It means to be totally devoted.
God calls and expects us to be holy.
(CSB) But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
(KJV) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
The church of Thyatira was a loving, serving, faithful, persevering, and growin church.
But the church of Thyatira also needed to be a holy church.
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