Worthy is the Lamb: Churches as Change-agents in the Culture

Worthy is the Lamb • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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Even the smallest and most “insignificant” church can be a change agent in its community when it remains faithful to the Lord.

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Text: Rev. 2:18-29

Theme: Even the smallest and most “insignificant” church can be a change agent in its community when it remains faithful to the Lord.

In his book, The Frog in the Kettle, George Barna warned the church almost twenty-five years ago about the danger of gradualism. He opened the book with this illustration: If you drop a live frog into a kettle of boiling water it will quickly jump out. Its senses tell it that the environment is dangerous. But place that same frog in a kettle full of cool water and very slowly increase the temperature until the water is boiling, the frog will stay in the water until it boils to death. The change is so gradual that the frog does not notice the danger it is in until it is too late.

This is an illustration of what has happened to American society and culture. America has changed radically in the last fifty years. All cultures change ... that’s a given. But the rapidity of change in just the last ten years is staggering. The process will not doubt continue.

Moral values, social behavior, cultural activities, family development, personal lifestyles, and even political decision-making all once revolved around our nation’s Judeo-Christian religious heritage, and cultural perspective. No longer. More recently these values have been undermined by the encroachment of secularism, hedonism, and materialism. In my lifetime we have witnessed the wholesale secularization of American culture.

For the most part, these cultural and social changes happened subtly and imperceptibly. America has been like a frog in a slowly boiling kettle of water. The Church has not been unaffected by these cultural and social changes. At the least, the church has tolerated these changes with hardly a challenge. At the worst, the church has wholly embraced these changes.

Consequently, the Church finds itself in an environment that is wholly secular, and will continue in that direction unless God grants another great awakening in our land. Functional paganism will be life-threatening to the church if we don’t stay aware of the changes and respond in an biblical way.

The most dangerous challenges to the Christian faith are the new philosophies and old heresies that compete for the minds of our members. Many churches, built to convey to men and women the water of life, are now the providers of everything but the Gospel. Their agendas have changed. There's bingo, and there are dances, and there are clubs, and functions galore, but they no longer function as conveyers of the Gospel. George Barna writes: Charged by Christ Himself to be agents to change the world rather than agents changed by the world, we have been mesmerized by the lures of modern culture.

This is not a new problem as we will see with the church at Thyatira.

I. THYATIRA WAS A SMALL CHURCH IN AN UNIMPORTANT TOWN ACCOMPLISHING BIG THINGS FOR CHRIST

1. all of us are aware of those people who suffer from low self-esteem

a. sometimes churches can suffer from low self-esteem as well

b. there are tens-of-thousands of small, rural congregations scattered around our nation who are experiencing a "crisis in confidence"

1) they are Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran

b. they frequently cannot find pastors, and when they do they, do not have them for very long

c. they frequently do not have the physical or financial resources to provide the services to a self-indulgent and self-seeking society that demands the same amenities from their church as from a five-star hotel

ILLUS. The list of activities an attendee can find can find at some of America’s mega-churches sounds like the offerings at a Club Med or a small liberal arts college: poetry workshops, creative writing, singles groups, job fairs, vocational training, musical lessons, and even auto repair clinics. Brian Norkaitis, a mega-church pastor in Los Angeles say bluntly, "What people demand today is probably more than what a small church can offer."

d. because they do not have the resources, small congregations often find themselves unable to compete with the large mega-churches

ILLUS. Let me give you some statistics. According to the National Congregations Study, the median church in America runs 75 regular participants in worship on Sunday morning. That means that half the churches in America run fewer than 75 regular attenders, and half the churches in America run more than 75 regular attenders.

The average church in America has 186 regular attenders in Sunday morning worship, but that figure is skewed by the very largest churches. In America, there are about 7,300 congregations that average more than 1,000 worships per Sunday. (Believe it or not, there are about 50 congregations in America that average 10,000 or more worships per Sunday). The National Congregations Study estimates 50% of worshipers on any given Sunday morning attend the largest 10% and the nation’s congregations.

Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Columbia University, compares some mega-churches with a giant chain store "that comes into a town and puts all the little stores out of business."

2. many of our smaller, rural churches are seriously handicapped because they have a strong sense of inadequacy

a. the result is a congregational low self-esteem which brings about the perception that "our church is insignificant and can't do much for the Lord"

ILLUS. I felt the call to ministry when I was 18 years old. I had only been a Christian for about six months. At 19 I began pastoring my first church. Every Sunday morning I would drive 25 miles past the soybean fields of northeast Missouri toward the corn fields of Iowa. I would make a left at Lancaster onto Hwy. 202 and drive another eight miles to Coatsville: Population 38 — six houses (only four of them lived in), a Ma & Pa “quick shop”, a grain elevator and a one-room Baptist Church that could seat 75. Another 500 feet north and you were in Iowa. Paul Shively was the lone deacon. He taught the men’s Sunday School class, led the worship music, and had charge of the preacher.

Most Sundays I’d go home with Paul and have lunch with his family. But some Sundays I was ‘farmed out’ so I could get to know other church members. One particular Sunday, I went home with what you’d call the Church Matriarch. She was an elderly, widowed, white-headed lady through whom most church decisions had to pass muster if it ‘twere to be done. As we sat there eating fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans, I asked her the question I had asked all of the families I’d had lunch with over my early months at the church: “What do you believe to be our church’s most important mission?” This lady didn’t hesitate one moment. She looked at me and smiled and said, “Oh honey, we believe that our mission is giving young preacher boys like you a chance to practice preach’n.”

b. in hindsight I understand that this lady was trying to give me a compliment

1) but as the years have gone by, I’ve had opportunity to mull over her statement

c. it’s a sad commentary on her biblical understanding of the mission and purpose of the Church

3. this lady saw her church's mission as being little more than a stepping stone in the shallow backwaters of the Southern Baptist Convention for young “preacher boys” to get a little experience and then move on to bigger-‘n-better churches

a. how sad, but how typical of too many small rural churches across America

4. the church at Thyatira may have been small, but our Lord is still aware of her situation

v. 18 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze."

a. Jesus is omniscient

b. nothing is hidden from his sight

c. he knows the smallest detail of the smallest church in His kingdom

A. THE LORD OF GLORY IS AWARE OF HIS SMALLEST CHURCH IN THE MOST OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACE

1. Thyatira was the least important of the seven cities mentioned in the Book of Revelation

a. the city had no illustrious history and is scarcely mentioned by ancient writers

2. it was neither a political or religious center

a. it had no great temples and no important institutions of learning

b. Thyatira was little more than a garrison town for Roman soldiers guarding the main highway which ran through the area

3. its only "claim to fame" were the numerous trade guilds which were head quartered in the town

a. the most important of these guilds dealt in the manufacture and sale of purple cloth

4. to this insignificant community came a significant message: "know [this] that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ." [Gal. 2:16]

a. how did the message arrive?

b. through the efforts of a lady named Lydia

“From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” (Acts 16:12–14, NIV84)

c. I am convinced that Lydia was a charter member of the church at Thyatira

5. no community is unimportant when there is a community of believers living there

6. no church is insignificant in the eyes o f the Lord

B. EVEN SMALL CHURCHES CAN ACCOMPLISH BIG THINGS FOR CHRIST

1. Thyatira was a small church in an insignificant community, but look at the things Jesus commends her for

v. 19 "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”

2. as with the three previous congregations, Jesus "knows" the works and deeds of the church at Thyatira

3. 1st, Jesus commends them first for their Attitudes

a. Jesus specifically mentions their "love" and “faith”

b. unlike at Ephesus where the congregation had "lost their first love" the believers at Thyatira had not grown cold

c. in this church Jesus saw a warmth and glow which permeated the people

d. their faith was punctuated by love

ILLUS. Last week I had a conversation with some non-members who are long-time attenders that was very encouraging, and another conversation with some an active, long-time member that was deeply discouraging. The non-member told me how welcome our congregation had made them feel. The warmth they had felt here was deeply encouraging to them. That kind of conversation makes a pastor’s heart skip with joy.

In the conversation with the long-time member, I mentioned another family by name that has been regularly attending our church for six months. The member gave me that “deer-in-the-headlights look, and said they had no idea who I was talking about. That kind of conversation makes a pastor’s heart sink with sorrow.

1) if this were one of those mega-churches I referred to a moment ago, I’d understand, but this is not Lakewood Church in Houston, TX

2) sometimes getting out of our comfort zone is getting to know some folks we don’t know very well

4. 2nd, Jesus commends them for their Actions

a. the word translated service in verse 19 is a form of the word slave

b. the Christians at Thyatira slavishly ministered to those around them

c. true Christian love always leads to acts of service

“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” (James 2:15–18, NIV84)

ILLUS. Martin Luther, the great German reformer, once wrote, "Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works."

5. 3rd, Jesus commends them for their Additions

a. Jesus pays this church the greatest compliment any congregation can ever receive from the Lord of Glory ". . . you are now doing more than you did at first."

b. this church was growing in love and faith and ministry

c. they were becoming more gracious and helpful with the passing of the years

d. they were becoming broader in their sympathies, warmer in their hearts, and deeper in their enthusiasm

e. year by year, they were working more earnestly, giving more liberally, and proclaiming the gospel with a greater fire and passion

6. could it be that these are still the virtues Christ looks for in his church today

a. isn’t love more important than large and luxurious edifices?

b. isn’t Christian service more important than the strains of a 100 voice sanctuary choir with its accompanying 30 piece orchestra?

c. isn’t faithfulness to the Word more important than finely finished pulpit furniture

7. any church, no matter how small the congregation, can doing great things for Christ when its members are characterized by love, faith and service

II. THYATIRA WAS A SMALL CHURCH WITH A BIG PROBLEM WHICH THEY REFUSED TO ADDRESS

1. even small churches can do big things for God

2. even small churches can have big problems

a. the church at Thyatira had much to be commended for

b. there were also some serious problems

v. 20 ". . . you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants . . ."

A. A FEW MEMBERS WERE WILLING TO BELIEVE A LIE

1. prophets were highly regarded in the early church

a. in Romans 12:6 it heads the list of the gifts of the Spirit

2. we must remember that the early church did not have the benefit of the New Testament as we do today

3. to fill the need for trustworthy teaching, the Holy Spirit often illuminated prophets to reveal the word of God to His church

4. from within the congregation of the Thyatira church there arose a woman who claimed the gift of prophecy and special revelation from God

5. it was obvious that she was a false prophet since her teaching misled many of the Thyatiran believers to commit acts of immorality and idol worship

a. we are not told specifically what her doctrines are, but we do know that ...

1) it was a doctrine which catered to the carnal nature of her hearers

2) it turned biblical orthodoxy on its head

3) it anesthetized the conscience and destroyed her hearer's sensitivity to sin

4) she taught that immorality was harmless and that the law of sowing and reaping did not apply to her followers

6. how many follower did this false prophetess have among the Thyatiran congregation?

a. we don't know, but the indication is that it was a sizable group with significant influence

1) vs. 23 refers to her children which is a reference to her devotees

B. THE MAJORITY OF MEMBERS WERE UNWILLING TO CONFRONT THE LIE

1. the great sin of this church was that they "tolerated" this false prophetess whom our Lord calls "Jezebel"

2. the church recognized the presence of a false prophet in their midst

a. they recognized her evil character and teachings

b. but they refused to deal with her and her followers

3. the title "Jezebel" reveals much about the character of this woman and her power and influence within the church

a. in the Old Testament, Jezebel was king Ahab's wife and an exceedingly wicked woman

b. it was Jezebel who was the virtual ruler over Israel

c. she is the most-hated women in the Bible

d. almost single-handedly she turned the nation of Israel away from God

4. the Jezebel at Thyatira was a well-liked, but wicked woman who seduced the minds of the people and encouraged them to follow her, instead of following Him who stands in the midst of the seven golden lampstands

5. if she does not repent, judgement upon her and her "children" vv. 21-23

III. THYATIRA WAS A SMALL CHURCH WHICH TEACHES US BIG LESSONS

A. 1st, THE SIZE OF THE SANCTUARY DOES NOT DETERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONGREGATION

1. in the eyes of the Savior, and Head of his Church, Jesus sees every congregation of confessing Christians as of equal value and importance

a. in 1974 my congregation of twenty-five believers in Coatsville, MO was no less important to Jesus than W.A. Criswell’s 25,000 believers at FBC, Dallas, TX

2. little churches can accomplish great things when the people of that church are full of love, faith and a desire to serve

ILLUS. One of the smallest churches in our association is probably one of the most mission-oriented. Pin Oak Baptist Church, just 12 miles down the road east of us has sent numerous people from its congregation all over Central America on mission trips. Just a few weeks ago, I shared with you how this congregation has given almost $700,000 to missions and ministry work over the last twenty years. Don’t tell me that small congregations can’t accomplish great things when faith and love rule the hearts of the people.

2. 85% percent of SBC churches are just like us

a. small churches in small communities most people have never heard of

b. yet they are doing big things for Christ which go unheralded by the world

c. why? because the world does not recognize our agenda

1) love, faith and service are not virtues which make headlines

B. 2nd, TOLERANCE IS NOT ALWAYS A VIRTUE

1. for many in our culture, tolerance is the only real virtue, and intolerance the only vice

a. the message to Thyatira goes against the grain of modernity by setting limits to tolerance

b. the main criticism of Church at Thyatira is that they have tolerated something — and someone — that should not be tolerated (vs. 20)

2. the situation at Thyatira was similar to that at Pergamum, except that the false teaching centered on a single individual

a. this is unique in the seven messages

b. whatever the false teaching is being taught by this false teacher, Christ compares this false prophet to Jezebel

1) this woman represents the sum of all evil in the Old Testament Scriptures

ILLUS. For some of your think “borg queen,” Bellatrix Lestrange and Queen Cersei all rolled into one.

3. whoever this Jezebel is, she is leading God’s people into immorality and idolatry

a. the church must not put up with it — there can be no toleration of such teaching in the Body of Christ

b. in an era were virtually everything is tolerated in the culture, there are some things the Church cannot, and must not tolerate

ILLUS. In 2006, Ann Holmes Redding converted to Islam. What made this news was that for nearly 30 years, Redding had been an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church. Her priesthood ended in April of 2009 when she was defrocked. The reason? For three years Redding has been both a practicing Christian and a practicing Muslim. Redding told her congregation and her superiors that she felt her new Muslim faith did not pose a contradiction to her staying a Christian and minister. Thankfully this was a situation where sound theology prevailed, and Episcopalians said, “No. You cannot be a professing Christian, and a professing Muslim at the same time.” But what I’m amazed at are the number of churches around the country who continue to invite her into their pulpits where she tells congregations of her “spiritual journey” of synthesizing the two faiths.

c. what’s at stake here is nothing less than the Gospel

1) Christianity and Islam are diametrically opposed on the most important of issues — the identity of Jesus Christ

2) the Confessing Church declares the deity of Christ while Islam denies it — how Ms. Redding synthesized that, I’m not sure

4. how sad that so many professing Christians will listen to people like Ann Redding and marvel at her deep spirituality not realizing that she is a Jezebel leading people away from a biblical faith

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1, NIV84)

5. the Apostle Paul also warns the church against false prophets and against being seduced by their clever words

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, NIV84)

C. THE CHURCH MUST PLACE A RENEWED EMPHASIS UPON DISCIPLING ITS MEMBERS

1. more and more Christians – even whole churches – are embracing new philosophies and old heresies which are antithetical to the Christian faith

a. many have unwittingly embraced elements of Eastern religions, secular philosophies and even paganism

b. the result is a spiritual malnutrition

ILLUS. John MacAuthor tells the story of a farmer who was trying to reduce his production costs so as to make more money. One of his most expensive costs was feeding his mule. His plan was simple. He decided to gradually substitute sawdust for oats in his mule’s diet. Everything went fine for a while. The mule scarcely noticed. In the end the mule was satisfied with sawdust, but he finally died of malnutrition.

3. the same is true spiritually

a. the changeover from truth to error in the church at Thyatira was probably a slow process, and so the people didn’t recognize the difference.

b. but, before you they knew it, many of them were spiritually dead

4. in Colossians, the apostle Paul revealed to his readers his goal in Christian ministry

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28–29, NIV84)

My prayer for this congregation — for each of you — is that we will be a people of faith, a people of Christlike love, a people of service, and a people who will tolerate only biblical truth from this pulpit and our teachers.

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