Jump Start # 2094

Revelation 2:21 “ I have her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.”

Our verse today is a tough one. It’s all so true. It’s sad, heart-breaking, and eternally devastating. This comes from the letter to Thyatira, one of the seven churches of Asia that the book of Revelation is addressed to. Among the troubles and problems in that congregation was the toleration of Jezebel, referred here as a prophetess who was misleading the people of God.

The real Jezebel was long dead. She was the wicked wife of King Ahab back in the days of Elijah. She ran the country. She gave orders and was instrumental in influencing Israel into Baal worship. She hunted down the prophets of God and killed them. After the mighty encounter on Mount Carmel, where Elijah proved to the nation that Jehovah was the one and only God, the prophets of Baal were slaughtered. She made a decree to have Elijah killed. She was killed and that’s the end of Jezebel.

Now, all these centuries later, arises not the original Jezebel, but one who is evil, scheming and opposed to the people of God. This modern Jezebel is acting like the original one. Through her false teaching, she confuses, misleads and distorts the faith that the Christians at Thyatira have. She is trouble. Instead of recognizing her as such, she is tolerated. She is left alone to continue her wicked ways.

This is where our verse is found. God has been patient with this modern Jezebel. God has allowed her to stop the wrong and start doing what is right. She doesn’t want to. She remains on this dead end street. She continues to hurt the people of God. Time is running out and the Lord will bring an end to her. Our verse today, puts before us some interesting thoughts about those who are right and those who are wrong.

First, tolerating wrong is nothing more than compromise. It’s weakening faith. It’s watering down God’s message. It’s looking the other way and allowing things that should not be allowed. To stand with God means there comes a time when lines must be drawn in the sand. Problems do not work themselves out. Problems only gain momentum and get worse. We understand this naturally. A person diagnosed with cancer doesn’t sit on the sidelines of life thinking, “It’ll work itself out.” No. That person goes to a doctor, a specialist and a treatment program is started. Surgery may be an option. But something that is not an option is believing that it will just go away on it’s own. If your roof begins to leak, you don’t think, just get it time and it’ll get better. It never gets better on it’s own. You’ll be walking about buckets on your floor if you do not fix the leak. Thyatira tolerated. They put up with these loose tongues, wicked ways and evil influences. Would things just get better in time? God did not think so.

Second, there is an element of time that needs to be afforded to someone who is in the wrong. The strong arm of justice needs to be patient. There is a difference between compromise and patience. From a distance, they may seem the same. Compromise is going along. Compromise has no intention of changing. Patience is waiting for change. Patience is offered after a person has been shown, taught and warned about what is wrong. Some people don’t know. Some don’t see it. Blasting a person out of the pew may make the church feel better, but it can destroy a soul. Patience. How much? How long? That’s a judgment call. It’s based upon seeing some movement, some action out of the person who is wrong. Are they stalling? Are they thinking? Are they just sitting and waiting for your next move? Are they getting close to changing?

We can move too fast and we can move too slow. It’s hard to know. Too fast, and a wrong person may feel like they weren’t given enough time to change. That happens. Too slow, and they may think you don’t care and are accepting the wrong that they are doing. It’s a balance. It’s easy to lean too far one way or the other. Parents have to deal with this as well. Putting up with wrong is not an option. How swift or how patient is a matter of judgment. Time needs to be offered for the guilty to change. They need to know that they are wrong and have the opportunity to make things right.

Third, some will never do what is right. That’s our verse today. God was patient with Jezebel. He gave her time to repent but she does not want to repent. Give her another year, and nothing will change. Give her a decade and nothing will change. Only, the church will be weaker and more of a mess. It’s hard to understand why some do not want to do what is right. Given the option of doing right or doing wrong, some will pick wrong. Given the chance to apologize and make things better or go on you mean ole’ ways, some will go one their mean ole’ ways. They don’t care. They don’t care about you. They don’t care about what’s right. They don’t care about the Lord. And, without realizing it, they don’t care about themselves. I gave them time, but they do not want to…sad, sad words.

Fourth, when it finally comes to the point that some will not do what is right, then the consequences of their actions must take place. They may be asked to leave—a home, a marriage, a job, a church. Having ignored warnings about their behavior, they will now be the focus of the warnings. Others will be warned about them. Their influence and their reputation will be ruined as long as they continue to do what is wrong. Distance will separate them from righteous people. Unless they change, they will sink deeper into wrong. Their associations will be with people like them– wicked, careless, selfish and harmful. In the end, they destroy their own souls. They could have repented, but they chose not to. They could have been saved, but they chose not to. They could have turned around and helped others, but they chose not to. They could have pleased the Lord, but they chose not to. They could have saved their own souls, but they chose not to. They may point fingers at others, but it was their choices that put them there and their hard hearts that kept them there. Blame the past. Point fingers at the church. Use parents as the punching bag. But in the end, they were told and they were shown a door out of this mess. Patience and grace was extended to them, but they turned their backs to it. And, now, they will lie in the very grave that they have dug. They created a mess and they will face the consequences for that.

This is heart-breaking for parents whose child will not come back from the far country. This sucks the air out of a church whose member persists in doing wrong and influencing others to follow. This breaks the heart of God. What more could have been done? Nothing.

I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent.

Roger

Jump Start # 1633

Revelation 2:21 “I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.”

  Our verse today comes from the message written to the church at Thyatira. There were some things amiss in that congregation. Specifically, they were tolerating Jezebel who was leading God’s people into idolatry. Now, a few thoughts about this. This isn’t the same Jezebel from the book of Kings. That Jezebel, wife of Ahab, was the queen who was killed a long time ago. The original Jezebel was dead. Here, hundreds of years later, a similarly wicked, evil and godless person was working through the church. This person must have been a Christian, but they certainly were not acting very Christ-like.

Not only was this current Jezebel evil, she was having an impact with the people of God. The church was being torn up because of her. The reaction of the church was to “tolerate” Jezebel. Maybe she had been there a long time. Maybe they were afraid of her. Maybe they didn’t want to deal with a messy confrontation. Maybe she was part of a prominent family. Maybe…maybe…maybe. Whatever, she was wrong. She was doing wrong. And she was influencing God’s people in the wrong way. The church was torn up because of her. Toleration was not the answer. Problems do not fix themselves. Problems do not just go away.

Our verse is God’s response to Jezebel. God’s people wouldn’t deal with her, so God was. God’s punishment was upon Jezebel and all those who went along with her. Included in these plain words are, “I will kill her children with pestilence…” God was not in the tolerating business. He was through with this Jezebel. Change your ways or face the consequences. The wrath of God is severe.

It is here that our verse today is found. There are several thoughts that come out of this.

First, there was a time of warning, teaching, explaining and patience. A person cannot stop doing what they are doing until they first know that it is wrong. Inherit in these words is the idea of appealing to someone to change their ways. God’s word must be used. This is the reason for change. It is not to avoid a public scandal. It is not to escape the long arm of the law. It is not to keep peace at home. It is not to get the elders off your back. None of those are Biblical reasons for change. Repentance is born in the heart. It comes from the inside. It is based upon the understanding that one is not right with God. The choices made have disappointed and hurt God. One changes because of God. One changes to be right with God.

This is missing too often today. A teenager gets pregnant. A mistake was made. Poor choices resulted in a consequence to that sin that now everyone will know about. A shallow apology is made and everything is expected to return to normal. Had that teenager not become pregnant, would there have been any repentance? Did this come about only because of the consequences? If no one knew, would she had changed her ways? Was she sorry for breaking the heart and commands of God or was she sorry that now everyone will know? The same is true of a man who drinks. He doesn’t see anything wrong with it and keeps it hidden until one day he is arrested for drunk driving. Now it’s in the papers. Everyone knows. Now he feels compelled to “go forward” in church and say that he is sorry. Is he? Did the arrest wake him up or is he feeling ashamed for getting caught? Had there been no police would he had gone forward? Would he had stopped his drinking ways? Would he had changed?

A person changes, whether they are caught or not. A person changes whether there are consequences or not. A person changes because of God. Repentance is born out of a heart that understands that it is not right with God and that alone drives the person to change. The drinking stops. The fornication stops. The loose living stops. It stops because of God. The prodigal came to his senses and got up and came home. His father didn’t find him in the pigs. He came home. The penitent heart will stop wrong and come back home to God. It will put distance between wrong friends that influence. It will worship regularly. It will embrace God and His goodness. No excuses. No finger pointing. I have sinned.

Second, our verse tells us that God gave Jezebel time to repent. This is hard on righteous people. How long should be given? How much time? There is a period of time in which Jezebel is thinking and contemplating. During that time period, Jezebel may still be doing wrong. Patience with people doing wrong is hard. We want justice is be swift. God gave her time. God’s people can be a bit thin on this. We may not be giving folks enough time to consider what they did. We may not give truth enough time to sink in. I suppose a church could err on both sides of this. They may give too much time and patience then is viewed as tolerance. Then, it is possible to give not enough time. Maybe some one was coming around. Maybe they were beginning to see sense and what is right. But punishment came too soon. How much time is hard to know. There is no formula. It will vary with each person and each situation.

Third, Jezebel did not want to repent. How was this known? Simply after some time was given, there was no change. Jezebel kept doing wrong. They was no movement in the right direction. And, here lies a lesson that is hard for us to understand. There are some who do not want to change. There are some Christians who do wrong, and they will not stop. Could it be that they love sin more than they love the Lord? Their faith is weak and influenced by the world. They do not have the conviction to resist and flee from Satan, as the Scriptures teach us. They have continued to surround themselves with people of the world who are bad influences upon them. They will not repent. They will not stop doing what they are doing. In this context, Jezebel will not stop teaching false things. She will not stop leading the people of God astray. She is destructive to the unity and the sound teaching of God’s  word. She has made her choices and she must be dealt with.

Proverbs tells us that a child that gets us way is grief to his mother. Likewise, a member who gets his way, is trouble for a church. It is not our way, but God’s way. Bringing shame upon God and His people is not right. Refusing to acknowledge wrong is not right. Digging the heels in and refusing to repent is not right. It’s hard to discipline. It’s hard at home. It’s hard among God’s people. Without discipline, the child or the Christian, heading the wrong way, will never come back. Discipline is a form of punishment. It is intended to grab one’s attention and stop wrong behavior. It is intended to bring a person back where they ought to be. It is not intended to destroy a person.

Jezebel didn’t want to change. Some are like that. Given the choice, they will stand with sin rather than God’s way. Given the choice, they will continue to do wrong.

Our call, as God’s people, is to help those who are doing wrong to see what is right. Reprove and rebuke with gentleness. Save a soul is what we are after. Snatch one from the fires, is what we are trying to do. For some it works. For others, they will choose to stand with Jezebel.

I gave her time…she did not want to.

Roger

Jump Start # 1489

Revelation 22:1 “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

  Our verse today comes from the last page in the Bible. John has been shown a marvelous tour of Heaven, God’s home. It is through John’s words, that our eyes can see the same things by faith. We need to be reminded of these powerful images in a world that seems to be getting darker and scarier every day. Violence, hatred and uncertainty fill the air. There is an escape. There is a safe haven. There is a place where evil can not breech. It is God’s home, Heaven.

There are some thoughts to be considered.

First, John was shown these things. Multiple times throughout Revelation, the expression, “And I saw,” is found. John isn’t just told about these things. John didn’t hear these things from someone else. He saw them. He was taken there and beheld these things. Similar to the opening lines of 1 John, “what we have seen with our eyes…” is the same thing that is taking place here. We know by faith. We know because one of us got to see it. We know it because God’s word is true.

Second, the water of life was a river. I live near a river. I cross it often. It’s big, wide, and very, very dirty. It’s the mighty Ohio. I wouldn’t dip a cup in it to drink from it. UGH. The river John saw was clear, clear as crystal. That’s inviting. It sounds pure and clean. It’s the kind of water you would want to wade in. It sounds refreshing.

This river was the water of life. The water of life, that which sustains us and is life giving. It wasn’t in a cup. It wasn’t in a pond or a pool, but there was a river of it. There was an abundance of it. That’s the thought. Pure, clean and abundant.

Third, this river flowed from God’s throne. It was divine. It was Heaven sent. It didn’t flow to God, but from God. This is a gift from God. This is what God wants us to have.

Our hope is in Heaven. I find, even among the people of God, a fear and a dread about leaving this place. Why? This place isn’t good. It once was good when God first made it, but that’s long since gone. The place isn’t the same anymore. It’s polluted with sin. It’s marred with brokenness. Selfishness rules. The ole’ place just isn’t the same anymore. Wickedness runs untouched. Our attention is to a new land, a new place. It’s Heaven where our hope lies.

We love songs about Heaven. Our favorite sermons are about Heaven. There is such a warmth about Heaven. It is the perfect place. It is God’s home. “Won’t it be wonderful there?” is more than a song, it’s a statement.

Can you imagine your first five minutes in Heaven? Your eyes close here and then they open and you are there. One of the first things you’ll notice is that you no longer feel ill. You actually feel the best you have ever felt. The health problems that have plagued you for years didn’t come with you. But you look, and what a beautiful place. I’m not really sure what it will look like, but bright, like a sunny day, yet no sun is in the sky. There is no need for the sun, God is there. I don’t know if there were be grass, but if so, green and thick and weed free. The temperature will be perfect. But it’s the people that we are drawn to. Faces that we recognize. People that we know. Family members that we haven’t seen in decades. Folks that we worshipped with for years. All around we witness grand reunions. Parents and children embracing. Friends happily smiling with one another. Families together again. Friends together again. The ‘thank you’s.’ The ‘I love you’s’. We look around and somehow, we know everyone. There are no strangers. Not only that, everyone seems to know us. It’s like we have always known each other. Smiles, hugs and joy fills the air. Can you imagine? The place is so great that you don’t want to be anywhere else.

And in this great sea of people, all whom we know, are angels. Real angels. Then we start recognizing people that we have read about in the Bible. Our spiritual heroes are there. Noah, good ole’ Noah, and somehow he knows us. It’s like a who’s who list: David, Daniel, Abraham, Elijah, Job, Joseph, the servant girl who told Naaman about God’s prophet, Paul, Timothy, Peter, the woman with the issue of blood, the guy who was lowered through the roof while Jesus was teaching, the thief on the cross, they are all there. It’s like our Bible just exploded and came alive. All those people. We’ve loved those stories. We loved their faith and courage and here they are and they know us. More amazing than that, they are not separated from us like rock stars. They are right beside us. They talk to us. They know about us. This is unreal, we keep thinking. It gets better. There is no ending of this. There is no, “It’s closing time.” There is no, “you have to come back another day.” There is no one who gets tired. No one sleeps. Our energy level remains high. This is something that we have never experienced before.

Then there is Jesus. Right there. Right among us. He comes and stands before us. We bow. We drop to our knees. His hand comes upon our shoulder. He speaks our name. He smiles. We are speechless. Our Lord. Our Savior. Our King. Our Redeemer. Here. Right before us. He knows us. He loves us.

Can you imagine? I know I have taken some liberties in envisioning how Heaven might appear to us, but it’s thoughts about Heaven that keep us going. It is thoughts about Heaven that help us in dark times. It’s thoughts about Heaven that warm the soul and fill the heart. Make sure your thoughts are Biblical. Make sure they are true to the pages of God’s word. Don’t build artificial fantasies about Heaven. Don’t fill your mind with the alleged stories written by people who claimed to go there and come back. Stick to what God shows us. John wrote, “And he showed me…”

He showed me…why did God show John? He wanted him to know that this is real. He wanted him to know that this is what the future holds. He wanted him to see so you and I could see. God’s home. It can be your home. You must walk with God. You must obey Him. You must trust Him. Read His word. Trust Him.

Heaven—it’s God’s home, yet He invites us there. We come, not for a visit. It’s not for a weekend get-a-way. His home becomes our home. It becomes our permanent home. It’s never our place. It’s always His place. But at His place, we are welcomed and we are made to feel that we belong there.

Then he showed me…get that glimpse of Heaven in your heart and in your eyes. It will help you. It will lead you to fighting Satan even harder. It will compel you to tell others about Jesus. It will get you through the darkest storms you face.

“Then he showed me…”

Roger

Jump Start # 1301

Revelation 2:21 “I have her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.”

  This somber passage from Revelation is devoted to Jezebel. We know it’s not the actual Jezebel. She lived back in the Old Testament period, married to the weak king Ahab, she was a murderous, evil person who died a violent death. A type of Jezebel was working through the church family at Thyatira. Who ever this person was, she considered herself a prophetess, and she was busy leading God’s people astray, especially into idolatry. Worse, the context tells us that the church was tolerating her. She was busy doing bad and the good folks were doing nothing. That is all it takes for evil to survive and multiply.

The church was tolerating but God was not. The church accepted and God was demanding repentance. What God had in store wasn’t for the faint of heart. He declared that she was going to be thrown on a bed of sickness and her children were going to be killed. God had run out of patience with this wicked heart. He had given her time, but she didn’t do anything productive with that time. Now, she had run out of time. God was not looking the other way because she was a woman. God was patient to a point. She took advantage of the patience of God.

Two thoughts come to mind here:

First, why does a church tolerate wrong? Seems like a simple question, but it’s not. Sometimes who it is can lead some to look the other way. A wife of one of the leaders, the wife of the preacher, the wife of a large contributor, or instead of a wife, a child, and that’s all it takes for some to tolerate. Understand tolerance and patience are not the same. At a moment, it may seem that both, tolerance and patience, are putting up with wrong behavior. Tolerance can continue to put up with wrong. Tolerance has no end in sight. Tolerance accepts and just looks the other way. Patience is looking to an end. Patience is waiting for a change, first in the heart and then in behavior. There comes a time when patience sees no hope. The person is not changing. Jesus told the disciples not to cast pearls among the swine. Here in our passage, Jezebel does not want to repent. It’s the “does not want to” that changes everything. Someone that is slipping and sliding along, and trying—we are to be patient and helping. Someone that doesn’t want to change, the clock is ticking and will soon stop. Not wanting to change is an attitude. It’s not the same as someone who wants to, but they don’t know how. It’s not the same as someone who is just moving at a slower pace than we’d like. The not wanting to crowd isn’t going to change. Their heart is set on staying wrong. There comes a time when a family, a church, a marriage must move on. A husband who is seeing another woman and doesn’t want to change, has all but killed that marriage. A prodigal who has gone to the far country and does not want to change, has all but ruined his relationship with his family. A member who does not want to walk with Jesus will find himself out of fellowship with his church family. It’s the not wanting to that makes all the difference. God ran out of patience because Jezebel did not want to change.

Second, God is patient to a point. God is expecting and looking for improvement. He is looking for positive movement. The repentance would come about from a heart that has been touched by the word of God. The honest and good heart changes. It is that heart that responds to the word of God. The honest heart realizes the pain and wrong that has been caused by their poor choices. Sin has taken over. They have moved away from God. The goodness of the Gospel reaches that heart. It’s not too far gone. It’s still wanting to do what is right. The person grieves over his sins and turns to Christ. God is waiting. God is willing to forgive. Under the banner of the Cross, forgiveness and hope are restored. A person stands united with God, justified and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. They are sorry for their sins. They regret the wrong that they have done. Lessons have been learned. Faith grows. God is patient toward such. God doesn’t want any to perish but all to be saved.

The patience of God leads to a couple of other thoughts. First, there comes a time when God’s patience has run out with the world. At that time, Jesus will be sent. Everything changes when Jesus comes. He will gather up His people, the world will come to a sudden end and all of us, living and dead, will be cast into eternity. There is a day coming, only God knows, when He will say, “Enough. No more. Go Jesus.” Every day, is one more day of patience from God. Our stupid world continues to ignore the patience of God and spins faster and faster and deeper and deeper into sin. People are living without any compass, any conscience and any thought that each day is one more opportunity to repent before God. Some day, God will say, “They do not want to repent.” Give them another year, another decade, another generation, and they just get worse and worse. Some day, God will have enough of this.

Second, we must wonder about ourselves. Is God waiting on you and I to change? Are we stubborn? Are we fighting God? Jezebel didn’t want to change. How about you? How about me? Maybe the reason Jesus hasn’t come is because God is just waiting for us to give our hearts wholly to Him.

Tolerance and patience—they are not the same.

Roger

Jump Start # 584

Revelation 2:21 I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.

Our Jump Starts are taking a quick look at what Jesus said to the seven churches in Revelation. Many of the churches were troubled and had left their position with the Lord. What Jesus tells them will get them back on course. This is a unique way of looking at these things, focusing upon the rebukes of Jesus. This is often not the pleasant type of verses that we would rather think about, but this is reality. Often churches, often Christians, often we, need to hear these things to get back where we ought to be.

Our verse today is addressed to the church at Thyatira. That church had a problem. Someone, possibly a woman, was leading the Christians astray. Using a parallel from the O.T., she is called Jezebel. The original Jezebel took the prize for being wicked. She was married to Ahab the king. She was a worshipper of Baal. She killed God’s prophets and put out an assassination order on Elijah. She signed her husband’s name to letters and ran the country. Wicked, evil and hurtful was her ways. Now, all these hundreds of years later, the church at Thyatira had someone that was parallel to Jezebel. Not only was someone doing their evil work among the brethren, but they were successful in leading Christians to listen and follow her corrupt ideas. The church was tolerating her. Christ was set to bring down wrath upon this corrupt person and all who went along with her.

Our verse today is found in the midst of what Jesus says to the church. He gave this Jezebel time to repent, but she does not want to repent. Interesting thought.

First, people need time to repent. They need to know what they are doing is wrong. Some don’t know. They need to come to reality with what the Scriptures teach. Moving too quickly may bring discipline upon someone before they even know that they did wrong or were given time to change. God always allows a person the opportunity to change. God is gracious. He will forgive. The Biblical approach is to show a person through the Bible that their actions are not correct. Then, show them how they can get right with God. For some, that will be hard. It means some radical changes in their life. Sin has messed up their thinking and taken them down a long and dark road. There is more to it than simply come back to church services. Values, priorities, thinking has to be changed. Satan redefines words and allows us to become so selfish that we think the universe revolves around us. It doesn’t. But we can sure think that way.

It take time. Righteous folks can be impatient waiting for the wicked to change. This is a judgment call. How much time do I give a person? A day? A week? A month? It depends upon each person. We can move too quickly and we can move too slowly. With some situations, rapid movement is necessary to protect the church. Other situations allow for growth and progress. Our passage says that God gave her time to repent. The problem wasn’t that she didn’t know, nor, was she not given enough time. Those were done.

Second, some, like this Jezebel, do not want to repent. They don’t want to come back to God. They remain in the land of sin and in the wilderness of being lost. They want nothing to do with the Bible, God’s people or church. They are willing to ruin the marriage for an affair. They are willing to destroy all that is good for the pills or the bottle. They would rather hang out with people who are vulgar, lost and nasty in mouth and attitude than to associate with the holy. Time was given. Warnings were sent out. They do not want to come home. This story doesn’t end well. It’s not like the prodigal who came to his senses. These modern Jezebels’ never do come to their senses. They remain with the pigs and invite others to join them. It’s hard to understand. It’s especially hard to understand, knowing that they once walked with the righteous and now they have gone back to the land of being lost. The future course is not a good one. They are headed for a headon crash with God. They will not survive the judgment. Hope, Heaven and goodness have been tossed out like trash. They’d rather party with the pagans, dance with the wolves and die with the sinners. And so they will. And what a loss it will be. h

We think about all the good that they could have done, and all the potential lost. All the opportunities thrown away. Gone. Turned their back on the loving Savior. Walked away from grace and forgiveness. Denying that God made them and made them for better things.

Parents are crushed with this is one of their children. Churches are stunned when one of the members goes this way. And I can’t help but imagine that Heaven sheds a tear at the loss of one of God’s children. The world becomes a bit darker. The kingdom loses a worker. The family is set adrift. Children lose a godly chance and opportunity.

God longed for Jezebel to turn from her wicked ways, but she did not want to. How sad. How about you? Is God calling you home but you are fighting Him? You want to keep one foot in the land of sin, you are not ready to leave what you know is wrong. Someday, you may run out of time. Then it will be too late and such a loss. Home with God, living as He wants you is the only way to be.

Roger