This morning we return to our studies in the Revelation under the title Christ's Message to His Church. So please turn with me in your copies of the Word of God to Revelation chapter two. Revelation chapter two. We'll begin our reading at verse 18 of Revelation chapter two. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things says the son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire and his feet like fine brass. I know your works, your love, service, faith, and your patience. And as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed, I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and the hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden, but hold fast what you have till I come. And he who comes and keeps, and he who overcomes and keeps my word, and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels, as I also have received from my father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." And God had a blessing to the reading of his word. Last Lord's Day, we began our consideration of the church in Thyatira. And so far, we've looked at a brief description of the city where this church was planted, and something of how the Lord is peculiarly presented to this church, as we looked at verse 18. Then a little was said concerning Christ's approval. Verse 19, which was our first heading. Before we move on to our second heading, Christ's accusation in verses 20 to 23, I'd like to take this time this morning to underscore a few things from our first heading. Perhaps many of you were eager to hear about Jezebel today. We're going to save Jezebel for next Sunday. I want to underscore a few things here concerning Christ's approval or his commendation of this church in Thyatira. I said last Sunday that this is the longest letter of the seven to the least known and the least remarkable of the cities. It should be noted that though a portion of the description of Christ is taken from the first chapter, verses 14 and 15, as we read there in that first chapter, that vision of the glorified Christ, This is the only letter that uses the title Son of God. And it's the only place in the Revelation where this title occurs. I also said this designation emphasizes the majesty of his person, the Son of God. However, this is much more than a statement of Christ's deity. In verses 26 and 27 of our portion here that we read this morning, we read, and he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels, as I also have received from my father. Here our Lord quotes from the second Psalm as it declares the Messiah's triumph and kingdom. I will declare the decree. The Lord said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance. and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." He is the divine King, the Messiah, the unrivaled monarch, the anointed monarch of the nations. Christ is the Son of God. And as Romans 1-4 tells us, he is declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Verse 18 says, whose eyes are like a flame of fire and his feet like fine brass. In Daniel's great vision of the last days, the celestial being appearing to him has eyes like flaming torches and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze. Daniel chapter 10 verse 6. So as we behold Christ in this portion of scripture and what it says about this one who was referred to as the son of God, his eyes speak to us of his omniscience and his feet represent his omnipotence. Apollo, Tyremnus, and Apollo incarnate, acclaimed as sons of Zeus. And Zeus was considered the supreme Greek god. They are mere idols. They were these guardian deities, if you were. But neither could they guard nor protect anyone. They were but false gods. The trade guilds or the labor guilds in that day had these gods that they considered to be their protectors or their guardians. And no doubt the bronze smiths had their guardian god. But the saints need not fear these false gods because their god is the true god. And as they beheld his feet like burnished brass, he was more glorious than anything that the bronzesmiths could produce in their shops. For their mighty Savior's feet will crush their enemies, and his eyes penetrate their lies. I said last week, here we have judgment with penetrating insight. This God, their God, And our God is the sovereign of the universe. And no matter how much you are attacked, and no matter how much you are maligned because of your faith in Christ, always remember that your God is the true protector and the true guardian of his people. Their mighty Savior's feet, I say, will crush the enemies. He says, I am he who searches the minds and the hearts. Verse 23. I found that statement interesting. Pastor Greg mentioned, I think it was last week when he talked about how, you know, when you're looking to buy a car and you're doing a lot of research or if you purchase a car and you get it, all of a sudden you see them everywhere. I remember when I bought my truck and hadn't noticed many on the road, you may have experienced it, but once I start driving, I start seeing tundras everywhere. They're all over the places because we've given great attention. And he said the same thing happens when we study certain doctrines of scripture. We study a passage, and then when we start reading God's word more and more, we start seeing those doctrines unfolded in various places in the scriptures. And when I saw this, description of what Christ does and how he speaks of himself is, I am he who searches the minds and the hearts. I found it interesting that the Lord, in his investigation, looks at the mind and heart to expose the true nature of man. You remember the words in 1 Samuel chapter 16, when Samuel was commissioned to go and anoint a new king because God had enough with Saul. So he went to the house of Jesse and he called Jesse to bring his sons forth that he might find out which one of those young men would be the next king. And Jesse brings out his son, I think the first Eliab, he brings out and the Lord tells Joseph, no, Samuel, pardon me, Samuel, no, this is not the one. And we read this in verse seven of the first Samuel, chapter 16. But the Lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees. For a man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. We judge things by what we see. We are impressed many times by what we see outwardly, but God looks far beyond what can be seen by the human eye. If you notice in those qualifications for elders in the Church of God and deacons, those qualifications that are laid down speak more of a man's character than it does of his gift. It says he must be apt to teach, but it speaks more about his character, that which cannot be seen except for by his example and how he walks. But the true nature of that man is really seen by God. God looks at the heart, and so he has laid down in his word those qualifications that he's looking for in the hearts of men that we might judge rightly. and not be swayed and infatuated or awed by man's oratory or man's stature. We say that about our presidents. Some of them look presidential, and some of them don't. We judge by outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. This, beloved, should be comforting. Not that God will see perfection when he looks at our hearts. By nature, our hearts are deceitful, above all things, and desperately wicked, and who can know them? We read in Jeremiah 17, 9. But our Savior is perfect, and by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Then in verse 16 of Hebrews 10, we read these words. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts and in their minds. I will write them. Does that sound familiar? It should. As Pastor Greg has been preaching through the Ten Commandments and the law of God, let me underscore these things as it just leaped out to me on these pages of the Revelation as God searches the hearts and he searches the minds. And what God has done for his people in the New Covenant, he has given them new hearts. He has put his law in their hearts and in their minds he has written them. For what the law could not do, Romans 8, 3, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Beloved, God has given us the ability to obey his word. Paul says that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us. The new covenant blessings we read of in Jeremiah 31 31, in Hebrews 8 8, And Paul said back in Romans 7.22, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. Why do we delight in the law of God after the inward man? It's because God has put his laws in our minds and in our hearts. We should bring the words of Ezekiel 36 to our minds. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues, and you will keep my judgments to do them. Paul said the great, or John, pardon me, says the great indicator that we are born again is this, 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, or not grievous, as the King James says. So if we're a child of God and we love God, and God has put his law in our minds and on our hearts, God's law is our delight. And when God looks at our delightful hearts, those hearts that love his law, because he searches the hearts and the minds, he is delighted in those who delight in him. Brethren, we ought to be thankful to God that he has done this work for us, because this has not come by way of our Father Adam. only through our great God and our King who looks upon our hearts. So when the believers hear that Christ searches the minds and hearts, he or she takes comfort in the fact that God has not only put his laws in their minds and written them on their hearts, but he grants the ability by the Spirit to obey them. When these commandments are unfolded in our hearing in the days to come, and you find yourself struggling with keeping those commandments and those laws, you need to plead to God because God has given us the ability to keep His law, not perfectly. Our great Savior, our great champion has kept the law perfectly for us. But because we have come to him by faith, he has given us, by his spirit, the ability to obey his law. And so when we're bombarded with sin, the attacks of the evil one, we mortify the deeds of the flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what Romans 8 tells us. We are not left on the battlefield unarmed or without help. Christ is our champion. James Edwards said, Paul does not say, in Romans 8, 3 and 4, that one must keep the law in order to be saved, but that one must be saved in order to keep the law. Augustine understood Paul correctly. The law is given that grace might be sought, and grace is given that the law might be fulfilled. is fulfilled in us as we move forward and obey God and seek to keep his commandments. And fulfilled it was in these believers in Thyatira. Verse 19 says, the Christ who has penetrating eyes says, I know your works. He's speaking about their conduct, but he's speaking about more than that. He's speaking about the totality of their life. I know your works. He knows the seen and the unseen. All you know about Ernest Henderson is what you see on the Lord's Day, or if you should venture on to, see there, I forgot the street I lived on. Grosbeak Lane. You might learn a little bit more about me. You just learned something about me just now. Grandpa. But brethren, we look on the outward. God looks at the unseen and the seen. And so in our passage this morning, there are some things that Christ, the all-seeing Christ looked at that we did not open up last week. He says in verse 19, I know your works, your love, your service, your faith, and your patience. Your love. Galatians 4, 5, 14, for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. This is the kind of love that these people had in Thyatira. It was that agape love. It was the highest kind of love. It was a love of the will. It was a kind of serving kind of love, a humble, a service with humility. It was not mere sentimentality. It was not mere emotional love. The world calls all kinds of things love in our day, but what God's looking at and what God sees in this people and, Lord willing, in our lives as well, is this agape love, this sacrificial love. Romans 13, 10 says, love does no harm to our neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Then in verse 9 the Apostle cites the 7th commandment, the 6th commandment, the 8th commandment, the 9th commandment, some of your Bibles may not have the 9th commandment in there, and the 10th commandment. And if there are any other commandments, and there are, they are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The fifth commandment is not mentioned, which would round out the second table of the law. But these also kept the first table of the law, the greatest law, to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Those are the first four commandments, rounded up in this, that thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. Christ would not commend their love if they neglected those commandments which had reference to God. He's looking at their love, and he commends it. He approves of their love, because it's the kind of love that he has commanded in his word, and it's the kind of law that his people love to obey. And these, in Thyatira, obeyed God. They loved God, and they loved their neighbor. So they kept the Sabbath principle, and did not profane. but showed reverence for anything whereby God makes himself known. They made sure they worshiped in the way in which he appointed and not with images. And they were like those in Thessalonica who turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." Which brings us to our second thing, to serve. They were servants. He commended them for their service. He says, you all were deacons. And that's what the word there is, is deacons. Not the office bearers, but they were rendering voluntary service for the benefit and help of those needing it and freely rendering it. They were busy. They were busy about serving others. We ought to be busy about serving others. Thank God. That fruit is seen much in this place. It warms our hearts and it should warm your hearts as well as we see the body of Christ here at Grace Fellowship Church coming together and serving one another, sacrificing for one another, driving across town to take a meal to one who is ill or helping those who need work done in their yards. The Bible calls us to be busy about this kind of service. We read over in Ephesians chapter four that these Thessalonians were like this exhortation of they believed that they, and they took seriously the instructions of their pastors. Thus these in Thessalonica were busy. They were busy saints. They were equipped for the work of service. They were equipped for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. What was their aim? Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure and the stature of the fullness of Christ. Is that your desire to see your brothers and your sisters look more like Christ? We say that to men when we're counseling them to be heads of their families, that your wives should be more like Jesus because she lives with you. Your children should know something of the mercy and the kindness of our Savior because they live under your roof. Can the same be said of us as churchmen? that those with whom I share the pew with or share the seats within this sanctuary, they are more like Christ because they know me. Ask yourself that question. Can I think of anyone whom I've had an influence on and encouraged them in their walk with Christ that we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. They were, as the apostle describes himself, in Timothy in Philippians chapter one, they were douloi. They were bond servants. They were slaves of Jesus Christ, self-sacrificing servants who, in lowliness of mind, esteemed others better than themselves. Brethren, this example and word of exhortation should ring loud in our ears. Let each of you look out not for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Do we think of others more highly than we think of ourselves? Or has that Adamic soil still sought to produce sprouts and plants of selfishness in our hearts? Sometimes we are selfish in our dealings with our spouses, sometimes with our children, sometimes with our Church members. Brethren, the exhortation is this. If we will be commended for our service and our love for one another and our giving to one another, we must consider others above ourselves. Thirdly, their faith is commended. And I don't believe this is a reference to the body of truth embraced by the saints, which we read of in Jude 3. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude encourages the saints to contend earnestly for the faith. Be those who understand the gospel and the word of God, that in the face of error, in the face of falsehood and false religions, that you might be able to stand and give a reason for the hope that is in you, that you might be able to explain clearly to people the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and how guilty and dead sinners can be saved by the grace of God. That's the body of truth, the gospel and the truths that are contained in the holy scriptures. But I think the writer here is speaking more of their personal trust in God through Jesus Christ. They were like the saints in Pergamos who held fast to Christ's name and did not deny their faith in him. Chapter two, verse 13. This is the faith spoken of in Hebrews 11. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Or some of your versions may say, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Like those mentioned in the Hall of Faith, Abel and Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them. embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. It was Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and Rahab, Gideon and Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. And then the Bride of Hebrews talks about those great cloud witnesses, this great company. It is said of some in whom the world was not worthy. They were sawn asunder. They were persecuted. But they stood fast, and they held to their faith in God. They believed God to be their portion and protector. And He is their God. He commends them for their faith. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily ensnare us, and let us run with endurance. the race that is set before us, looking onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set for him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. When we consider Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith, we can't help but to marvel at his commendation of this church in Thyatira. He calls them a patient people, and he commends them for their patience or their perseverance. This Greek word, hupomone, the same word is used in Hebrews 12, 1, when it calls us to run with hupomone or endurance the race that is set before us. Look to the one who endured the cross, despising the shame. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. God calls us to patient endurance. Our Lord is our great example of one who endured suffering. The Bible says he despised the shame. He endured. Linsky says this means bravely to hold up under affliction that comes from adverse things. How do we do in the midst of trials? When difficulties come into our lives, how do we respond? Do we crumble? Or do we remember our great savior? Do we take this exhortation from the scriptures? and pray it in and examine and see the example of our Savior, our great Savior, and how He endured. And the Bible says that is what we must do in the midst of our trials, in our difficulties, in our struggles. We need to look to Him and see how He endured and plead with Him that He would give us the same. The writer says, your last works were not indeed better, but more numerous than the first. The Lord here bestows high praise and full credit for all that he, with his all-seeing eye, beholds in the church in Thyatira. We should always know that Christ's eye is upon us and desire this commendation for our lives, that he might be pleased with our lives, that we might do those things which are pleasing in his sight. Now, concerning this last works being more than the first, I mentioned last week that John Owen had a word for those of us who perhaps have more miles on the odometer as most. He set forth this exhortation from Psalm 92. Psalm 92. You say, Pastor Ernest, okay, you might be talking to your demographic, but as my mom used to say, keep on living. You may not be here yet, but should God be pleased to give you more days, These words should be an encouragement to you. They were to me. John Owen writes and he opens up this passage in Psalm 92, beginning with verse 12. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is upright. Owen opens this up, and I'm going to share this with you. It was a blessing to me. And I hope, brethren, you will find profit for your own souls. Owen says, And ordinarily it is so in the holy, wise providence of God, that afflictions and troubles increase with age. Have you not found it so? That the older we get, the more we encounter troubles and afflictions. He says it's like Peter. which the Lord declared unto him, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walks whither thou wittest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hand, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wittest not. He talks about these infirmities and the decays of life. And those are things that are common to those of us who are advanced in years. And those things have a tendency of slowing us down and making us inactive and lethargic and wanting to give up. The excellency of this mercy, the psalmist expresses in a heavenly manner in the portion of scripture I just read from Psalm 92. He says the promise in the 12th verse respects the times of the Messiah or the New Testament. For so it is prophesied of him in his days, the righteous shall flourish. Psalm 72, verse 7. Namely, through the abundance of grace that should be administered from His fullness as in John 1 and Colossians 1. And herein consists the glory of the gospel. And not in outward prosperity or external ornaments of divine worship. The flourishing of the righteous, I say, in grace and holiness is the glory of the office of Christ and of the gospel. Where this is not, he says, there is no glory in the profession of our religion. He's saying that we're making a profession of faith that we love Christ and we're God's people and we're walking with him and there's no fruit coming forth in our lives, then we ought to be, it ought to be suspect and we ought to be careful that our profession may not be valid. The glory of kings is in the wealth and peace of their subjects. The glory of Christ is in the grace and holiness of his subjects. Christ is glorified when his people are holy. Even in old age, they must be holy. He goes on and says, this flourishing is compared to the palm tree and the growth of the cedar. The palm tree is the greatest, most beautiful and fruitful and the cedar of the greatest and longest growth of any trees. So are the righteous compared to the palm tree for the beauty of profession and faithfulness and fruitfulness in obedience and onto the cedar for a continual constant growth and increase in grace. The words that follow in verse 13, those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. The way and means whereby they are called so to grow and flourish. This and this is their implantation in the house of the Lord, that is, in the church, which is the seat of all means of spiritual life. both as unto growth and flourishing, which God is pleased to grant unto believers. To be planted in the house of the Lord is to be fixed and rooted in the grace communicated by the ordinances of divine worship. Unless we are planted in the house of the Lord, we cannot flourish in his courts. Unless we are partakers of the grace administered in the ordinances, we cannot flourish in a fruitful profession. The outward participation of them is common to hypocrites that bear some leaves but neither grow like the cedar nor bear fruit like the palm tree. The apostle prays for believers that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith, that they may be rooted and grounded in love. Rooted, built up, and established, Colossians 2. The lack thereof is the cause that so many are fruitless professors. They have entered the courts of God by profession, but were never planted in his house by faith and love. Let us not be deceived, he says, and let us not deceive ourselves. He says we may be entering into the church and may partakers of the outward privileges of it and not so planted in it as to flourish in grace and fruitfulness. Owen says if we're going to continue to grow and bring forth fruit, and our latter works would be greater and more numerous than our first works, we must give ourselves to be planted in the house of God under the means of grace, Sometimes Christians get older and they think, I've done this, I've studied this, I know those doctrines, I've studied these things, I've memorized so many scriptures, I've led so many people to the Lord. And they listen to the preacher, I heard that before. I know that doctrine, I've heard that before. And that's the heart of pride. but to sit there as a sponge and desire to soak up the truths of God's Word and to be ministered to by God's Spirit through the preaching of His Word, to be encouraged by the singing of God's hymns in this place, is necessary for those of us who are getting weaker to flourish and to be fat, as it were, in the things of God. Beloved, let us be diligent with our canes and our crutches and our wheelchairs and whatever we have to make our way to the house of God. Because this is the place where God will bless his people, even in old age, to be fruitful and useful in his kingdom. Not resting on our past laurels and achievements and the things we've done. And you who are young, Should God be pleased to give you more days, may you continue to grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And when you get to this age, I'll be gone. When you get to be my age, I'll be gone. But may you look back on this day and remember that old John Owen was encouraging you to flourish, to be like the cedars of Lebanon. like the palm tree and bring forth fruit in your old age. And we shall do that to the praise and the glory of our great God. And one day we shall see him as he is. And all this weeping and wailing and sorrow and sickness and pain shall all be done away But we thank God that we are not orphans. We've been adopted into his family, and he gives us everything that we need. All that pertains to life and godliness has been given to us in Christ. And so, brethren, let us live like children of the King. Let us live like those who love the Lord Jesus Christ with sincerity and truth. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank you that we have this account and this record of these churches. We thank you for your honest assessment, your sobering, truthful assessment of these churches. We see many of these things in our own lives, and we plead with you, Father, for your mercy and your grace, that you would help us to be all that you commend and that we not be all that you condemn. Father, we thank you for all that you've given us in Christ. We pray, Father, for those who are in this place who are not your children. Oh, Lord, we pray. We pray, Lord, that these words that are preached from this pulpit, the truths that are taught in the Sunday school classes here, would not fall on deaf ears. We pray, Lord, that your spirit would come with power, and that it would enter the hearts and the minds of these young people in this church, and that they might not desire to be done with this place when they become of age. Oh Lord, we pray that they might long to be in the courts of you and serve you with your people and serve you in the world and give you glory and proclaim the praises of you who brought us out of darkness into your marvelous light. For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.