I ask you folks, what does Romans 3.23 say? You Christians have been around for a while. For all have sinned and what? Say it. Come short of the what? Glory of God. How interesting. So cultural compromise in our life that does lead us into very serious problems is rooted in the fact that we aren’t committed to the glory of God.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. If you’ve been listening this week to the program, well, you know that we’re not in light devotional territory. We’re in Revelation chapter 2, and Jesus is bringing a sledgehammer, you might say, to a church that’s been playing nice with sin. The message to Thyatira isn’t polite. What it is, is piercing. The church was tolerating immorality, excusing false teaching. And you know something, Jesus, Jesus doesn’t just disagree. He threatens judgment. This isn’t just some ancient footnote. It’s a mirror. It’s time for the church today to take a long, hard look. Open your Bible to verses 18 through 29 of chapter 2, Revelation, as David continues this uncompromising message called Immoral Practices. First, if you believe in what this ministry is doing, we’d love to hear from you. This month, when you send your most generous gift of $20 or more, we’ll say thanks by sending you a powerful book by David called Whatever Happened to Morality? Whatever Happened to Morality is a straightforward, scripture-saturated call to return to God’s standard of right and wrong. And you’ll hear more about the book later in the program. But for now, if God’s put hope for today on your heart, put it on your heart to give, you could do so right now by calling us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also give online at davidhawking.org. And I’ll have our mailing addresses for you later in the program.
SPEAKER 02 :
right now though let’s join david six things from this portion of god’s word verse 18 the examination of the church by our lord the second thing i’d like you to notice is in verse 19 and that’s the evidence of spiritual life it was a serious situation but there are believers here the third thing i draw to your attention is the example of moral decay that was here Mentioned in verse 20 and 21. Isn’t it interesting? He says, I have a few things against you. Verse 20. Well, you could summarize it all with one word. Jezebel. Is Jezebelism in your life and mine? Jezebel. She’s a woman. She calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces the believers. Number four, she is guilty herself of sexual immorality. Verse 21, I gave her space to repent of her fornication. And those who seduce and lead others astray are often guilty themselves. Number five, she is unrepentant. Verse 21, she repented not. Number six, she was involved with occultic practices associated with satanic influence. Verse 24 speaks of the depths of Satan. Occultic practices associated with satanic influence. Turn back to 1 Kings chapter 16, Jezebelism. Someone has described Jezebelism as that which begins with cultural compromise and ends with sinful disobedience. All in the name of the Lord. Terrible. 1 Kings chapter 16. 1 Kings chapter 16. Look at verse 29. And in the thirtieth and eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, began Ahab, son of Omri, to reign over Israel. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all who were before him. And it came to pass as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took as his wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, Baal, and worshipped him. and he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made an idol, and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel before him. Can you believe this? A Jewish king literally set up an altar for Baal. Why? Because a woman he married, whom he’s not supposed to marry, but he married her anyway because she’s an unbeliever. And in the Old Testament, the Jews were not to marry those of the pagan nations around them. The New Testament says the same thing. We’re not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. And according to the Bible, she’s the one that served Baal and worshipped him. And he’s doing all this in honor of her. Turn to chapter 18 and look at verse 19. Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel and to Mount Carmel, this is the situation with Elijah, and the prophets of Baal, 450, and the prophets of the idols, 400, who eat at Jezebel’s table. Now we’ve got these prophets of paganism right in the camp of the leader of the nation of Israel, eating at their table. Look at chapter 21, please, verse 17. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down and meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs lick the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male, and him who is shut up and left in Israel, and will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin, and of… Jezebel also spoke the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city, the dog shall eat. Him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. But there was none like an Ahab who did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. Wow. Look at 2 Kings 9, verse 30 to 37. 2 Kings 9, verse 30 to 37. When Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face. I don’t know if this is authorization for cosmetics. It’s in bad company. She painted her face and attired her head and looked out through a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace who slew his master? And he lifted up his face to the window and said, Who is on my side? Who? And there looked out at him two or three eunuchs. Interesting. They looked out at him. And he said, Throw her down. What you call a direct approach. So they, her own servants, threw her down. This is a little gross. Some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trod her under feet. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink and said, Go see now this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of their hands. Wherefore they came again and told him, and he said, This is the word of the Lord. which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as refuse upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel. Back to Revelation 2. Jezebelism, moral decay, compromise with a culture that leads to sinful disobedience, promoted in the name of religion, Terrible. The fourth thing I’d have you notice in verse 22 and 23 is an explanation of God’s judgment. And I’d point out the following. Number one, the punishment will come if there is no repentance. That’s what it says. Behold, I will. Verse 23, I will. You see it straight through here. Verse 22, except they repent of their deeds. There’s only one answer, and that’s repentance. If there’s no repentance, punishment is going to come. It’s going to involve physical disease. I will cast her into a bed, speaking of physical health problems, disease. It will involve great distress. Notice it says, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation. That’s what they’re going to experience. It’ll involve not only physical disease and great distress, it will involve future death. It says, and I will kill her children, all those who follow that teaching, with death. We’re talking about unbelievers. Now the purpose behind this for the churches is stated in verse 23. This is very interesting. You say, well, that’s not me. I’m not one of those unbelievers. But the warning is to the churches about compromising. And here’s what he says. The churches, all the churches, verse 23, shall know that I am he who searcheth the reins of the minds and hearts… and I’ll give unto every one of you according to your works. The churches will know that God knows all things, and you cannot hide from him. The principle that will not change is I’ll give unto every one of you according to your works. And if you’re going to compromise, if that’s what you’re about, and the world system is what you’re about, and you don’t repent of that, that’s your lifestyle, that’s what you want, you’re headed for disaster. And the warning to the church is stay away from this. Which brings me to the fifth thing in verse 24 and 25. And that’s an exhortation to the faithful. Summarized very clearly in verse 25 as hold fast till I come. Listen to me Christians. I believe that God holds on to me. Do you? Do you believe he holds on to you? But in Revelation he tells us to hold fast. Now, the point here is that there is a lot in life that can almost wipe you out. It’s an exhortation to be faithful in what is a dangerous environment, what is a serious situation, and the implication is that Christians are being pressured and they are being promoted and enticed and baited to compromise anything. Hold fast. Stay with the stuff till I come. Be faithful. Interesting wording here. Look at verse 24 carefully. As many as have not this doctrine and have not known the depths of Satan as they speak. He’s writing to those who are truly believers. Verse 24, unto you, not those I’m going to kill, but unto you, I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira. As many as who are not involved with this, watch out, hold fast until I come. We need perseverance because there’s a lot of pressure. Interesting, the Lord says, I’ll put upon you no other burden. The Lord knows our struggles, folks. The Lord knows the terrible problems we face in society, trying to live in this world, trying to cope with it, trying to deal with it. And God in a gracious and loving way says, I’m not putting on you any burden. I just want you to be faithful. Hold fast. I understand the pressure you’re on. Don’t you wonder sometimes if God knows what it’s like down at work? Yeah, he does. Be faithful. Finally, the sixth thing, notice the encouragement to the overcomer. Aren’t you glad God winds these things up with encouragement? Sometimes you walk out and say, man, this is heavy. This is almost overwhelming. But God always ends it with beautiful encouragement to the overcomer. It says again, he that overcometh. The invitation and the encouragement is to the individual. He that overcometh. and keepeth my works unto the end. The description of the overcomer here is interesting to me, the one who keeps my works. John loves that term. He uses the word keeps 36 times to describe the true believer, the one who keeps his commandments, who guards them, who is loyal to them, who’s faithful to them, who watches over them, who’s obedient to them. That’s his description. You say, man, I don’t know if I can keep up with all the heavy-duty commandments. Turn to 1 John 5. Just back a few pages. 1 John 5. Very interesting statement here. Jesus said in John 14, if you love me, you’ll keep my commandments. And a lot of people read that and say, man, what a heavy trip. We’re into legalism, are we? No, not the commandments of Jesus. They are surprisingly very simple. The one that appears more often than not is a simple statement, follow me. And we should have known that because 1 John 5, look at this, verse 2. By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome, are not grievous, said the old King James. They’re not a heavy burden. Not at all. And the true believer, he’s described as being one who keeps his works and his words and his obedience unto the end. That’s a true believer. Come back to Revelation 2 again. According to the Bible, a part of this encouragement is that dominion is going to be given to people who love the Lord and follow him. It says in verse 26, he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power, authority over the nations. Do you know we’re going to rule and reign with Jesus Christ? You may be totally insignificant now. You may think, hey, I’ve never had a position of anything. People are always telling me what to do and, you know, I’ve never had any of this position. First of all, position in this world isn’t worth anything. And if you want it, you probably haven’t had it much. Because those who’ve had a lot of it are sick of it. I mean, you talk about hassles. There were a couple of CEOs just clapping. You want to drive yourself to the funny farm and just get positioned. You know, lots of trouble up there. Be thankful you don’t have it. But I’ll tell you one day, we’re going to be ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ. He’s going to honor us. He’s going to exalt us. You humble yourself. He’s going to lift you up and exalt you. And if that isn’t enough, look at this one in verse 28. I’ll give him the morning star. You say, what in the world is that all about? Turn back to Daniel chapter 12. Daniel 12 verse 3. I’ll give him the morning star. Daniel chapter 12. By the way, for those of you who like to search a lot of things out in this regard, Proverbs 4.18 is interesting. It says, The path of the just is like the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. But here in Daniel 12.3, here’s what we read. Start with verse 2. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. They that be wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the what? The stars forever and ever. But our text says I’m going to give him the morning star. Turn to 2 Peter chapter 1. We only have two more verses, so hang in there. 2 Peter chapter 1. What does it mean, I’ll give him the morning star? 2 Peter chapter 1. And look at verse 19. Peter says, We have also a more sure word of prophecy, unto which you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. We’re supposed to be faithful to the Lord. To be faithful to Him. We have a sure word of prophecy, and we’re going to be committed to the Lord. Because God’s sure word of prophecy and what’s coming is like a light in the dark place. And we’re waiting until the day dawns and the day star rises in our hearts. What does that mean? Turn to Revelation chapter 22. Revelation 22 verse 16. We know who the person is that’s been talking in the first person singular throughout the book because he calls his own name here. I, Jesus. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning what? Star. I’ll give you the morning star. When you’ve got Jesus, you’ve got all you need. Amen. Lord, you have taught us that we are in the world, but we’re not to be of it. And you told us that we are not to be friends to that world. We are not to love that world. That world is dangerous. It’s a system promoted, controlled, influenced, directed by Satan and designed to defeat us and to destroy us and to turn our hearts away from the Lord. Lord, you have taught us that we are in the world, but we’re not to be of it. And sometimes we don’t know where the line is. It’s confusing. But when we desire to glorify you, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, when we desire truly that your honor and integrity be maintained at all times, then we’re on the right track. Teach us, Lord, not to compromise. Teach us, Lord, not to allow things in our life that tear us down, that cause offense, that hurt. Lord, teach us how to live for you. Lord, we failed so often in this. Thank you for your forgiveness and your grace and your mercy. But teach us, Lord, through your word. Teach us the danger. Lord, I pray for those that may be involved in things they know are not right, that God, you by the Holy Spirit, will convince them to say no, to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live soberly and righteously and godly in this present age. Lord, how we need that message. And Lord, to those of us who are facing such a struggle, every day we go to work, there’s pressure. And many of us are not privileged to work with believers or in believing organizations. We must face the world every day, and we seek to win them to Christ. God, help us to know how to love them to Jesus without compromising with their sinful practices. Lord, thank you for the promise to those who overcome. To the true believer, you said, I’ll give you authority over the nations. You’re going to rule and reign with me. You don’t need to worry about what the world is saying now. One day you will govern them. And you have said you will give us the morning star, our Lord Jesus Christ. We have hope in him. He’s our coming King of kings and Lord of lords. Lord, I pray for anyone that’s really not sure of their relationship to Jesus Christ. You will cause them by the Holy Spirit to turn to the Lord before it’s too late. We thank you, Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, one of our strong objectives here at Hope for Today is to proclaim the gospel, how you get born again. The first thing I would recommend is to repent of your sin. Confession of sin is a part of getting right with God. Come clean with the Lord. Secondly, understand that a church, an organization doesn’t save you. Hope for Today can’t save you. We can tell you how to get saved, but the only one who can save you is our Lord. Right now might be a good time for you to just open your heart to Him. Lord, I know I’m a sinner. And I need to confess my sin to you and to trust what your Son has done for me. He’s my Savior. I receive Him as my Lord and my King. And thank you for loving me as you do. And I give my heart to you, and I want to see you in heaven. God bless you.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking. And if you just gave your life to Jesus Christ, or maybe you’d like to know more about what it means to be a Christian according to the Bible, well, we’d love to send you David’s booklet called What Is Christianity? And a Bible study by mail as our free gift to you. We’re not asking for anything from you if you’re new to the Christian faith or if you’re not yet a Christian but you want to know more. Call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada to request yours. Bible is 24253. Or go to our website, DavidHawking.org, DavidHawking.org, and use the contact form. David’s back in just a moment to close out our time today. But first, Matt’s here, and we have an excellent resource that you might want to add to your home Bible study library.
SPEAKER 03 :
True freedom is inseparable from recognizing God’s absolute sovereignty and his righteous standards. Today, however, we face an alarming crisis. The prophet Jeremiah stated, For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. That’s Jeremiah 2.13. But Matt, there is still hope.
SPEAKER 04 :
Amen. Our Lord graciously invites us to repentance, humility, and righteousness.
SPEAKER 03 :
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7.14 You know, this is a critical moment for spiritual renewal. To rekindle our dedication to God’s eternal commandments.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and once again, shine brightly as a beacon of righteousness. That is it. That is it. Well, we strongly encourage folks to get a copy of your dad’s book, David Hawking’s book, Whatever Happened to Morality? This month, we’ll send it to you as our thanks for your gift donation of $20 in support of Hope for Today’s Ministry.
SPEAKER 03 :
It provides timeless biblical guidance for getting back on the path back to God and His everlasting truth.
SPEAKER 04 :
Whatever happened to morality? Our thanks for your gift donation, $20 or more this month. Get your copy of Whatever Happened to Morality by calling 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE if you live in Canada. And Bible is 24253. And if you’d like to drop us a note to share your testimony, maybe a prayer request or even make a financial donation, we could use your help there as well. You can write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, send your letter to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Let’s get back to David.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thanks for listening, and we’re teaching the book of Revelation. We’re right now in chapter 2, verses 18 to 29, and some of the consequences as well as blessing. He does say to hold fast that which you have already. Hold fast. He does say, he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he, the Messiah, will rule them with a rod of iron. As the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shiver, even as I received of my Father. Well, he’s also going to give them the morning star, the blessing of the return of the Lord. And if you have an ear to hear, then you better listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The church of Thyatira was guilty of immoral practices. And God was upset, and he said, you’re headed for serious trouble unless you repent of your deeds. That message is repeated several times in the churches of Revelation. There are seven churches. They all existed in John’s day. And we’ll move on to another church in chapter 3. God bless you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, thank you, David. And friend, if you missed any part of today’s broadcast or a recent program, just head over to davidhawking.org and you can catch up on the latest programs. We keep them posted for a limited time so folks can listen again. On our next program, you know, it was the last thing they expected to hear. Jesus was looking at a church that thought they were doing just fine. What he said to them, though, was, you’re dead. No accommodation, no praise, just a blistering call to wake up before it’s too late. We’re going to Revelation chapter 3 next time on Hope for Today.
