When the Church Gets Caught in Compromise | Tony Evans Sermon

we want a church that will take its stand regardless of whether we get more members regardless of whether we have more money God says what is unacceptable to God must be unacceptable to God's people so you must hold in your hand two things truth and love you don't give up Truth For Love and you don't give up love for truth you have to hold both of them [Music] [Applause] [Music] simultaneously well today in Revelation Chapter 2 the Lord is going to talk about the intolerance of an overcomer if you are going to be an overcomer and not an underc if you're going to be a winner and not a loser if you're going to be Victorious and not living defeat you must have your Toleration limits there are certain things you will not tolerate you won't accept it's outside of the boundary he writes to the church at thy Tyra he says beginning in Revelation CH 2 Verse 18 to the angel that is the messenger that is the pastor of the church at thy Tyra WR the Son of God who has eyes like flame of fire and his feet are like branish bronze says this so he produces this designation to the church at thyra so let me tell you about thy Tyra it was a place known for its gilds or unions in the midst of these unions in this city called thy Tyra a church was established the beginning of that church is summarized for us in Acts chapter 16 verse4 when Paul the Apostle comes across a woman named Lydia and Lydia was a sell of purple it says purple die thyro Tia made purple dye and these dyes was part of couture clothing for the Uptown Shoppers and so uh the purple dye she was a manufacturer of it she was a distributor of it she was a wholesaler of it and Paul came and led Lydia to Christ in acts 16:14 out of that grew a church it grew out of the Salvation of Lydia well thyro to is known for its skills and its unions but let me tell you about a couple of aspects of the unions because that will help you to understand what Jesus is getting ready to say to the church now only were the unions connecting people who had the same occupation for protection and for Privileges and for rights but it each Union had its own own God so the unions had a spiritual or religious aspect to them so if you were part of thy tyus teachers union then you were expected to give recognition to the teachers union God or whatever God was tied to that Union so that was one part of it so thara was a Workers Union but it it had a religious aspect but it not only had a religious aspect the unions in thy Tyra also had a social aspect like a fraternity or a sority so there was a social aspect to the unions so there was a working aspect tied to a religious aspect tied to a social aspect so you got together with the people that you work with and you partied with them and you you enjoyed good time with them because you shared the same occupation well the problem occurred when people became Christians and belonged to the union and they were expected to recognize the Union's God and to party with the other co-workers that it involved things that went against the Christian faith and that created a crisis for the Christians in these secular occupations Verse 18 says the Son of God the one with eyes of fire and feet of branish bronze says this Jesus Christ has already been introduced as the son of man but on this occasion in verse 18 to the church at thyra Tyra he's not introduced as the son of man he's introduced as the Son of God and of course Jesus is both the Virgin birth he is now introduced to us as the Son of God as the Son of God deity he says he has eyes of fire and Jesus's eyes of fire penetrates the facade he knows when you're really Christian and he knows when you're faking it to make it because his eyes of fire penetrate to the reality of a thing he not only has eyes of fire it says in Verse 18 it says he has feet of branish bronze well what do you do with feet you walk so he's got eyes to see it and feet to get to it Jesus Christ now presents himself to this church as the allseeing authoritative one to these Christians who are caught in these unions that are being demanded that they tolerate certain beliefs and practices that compromise their Christian in faith so that's the Dilemma he compliments them in verse 19 where he says to them I know your Deeds your love your faith your service your per perseverance and that your Deeds of late are greater than your Deeds at first so you are doing better you are growing you are a congregation that I see wants to do the right thing and so I want to commend you for that but after commending them he now criticizes them he says in verse 20 but I have this against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel who calls herself a propheus and she teaches and leads my bonder servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to Idols what's Jesus's problem with this church his problem is what they tolerate he says you tolerate the woman Jezebel the problem was Toleration watch this now Jesus the son of God says I got a problem with you thyra Tyra Bible Fellowship not only not only are you doing good things but you are tolerating other folk doing bad things so you had this propheus self-proclaimed cuz she called herself a prophetess God never called her one she's a self-proclaimed propheus and she's going around speaking on behalf of God leading church members astray this is God's house and in his house there are certain things he accepts and certain things he doesn't accept or and neither does he want the other family members to accept it he says you tolerate it you accept it and he says it is unacceptable and it involves two things it involved worshiping a false god it says idolatry the unions worship the idols he says well the unions May worship the idols but I'm the only true God you don't get to worship the idols just C everybody else is doing it what he's saying is that this church tolerated Jezebel so let me tell you about jei we find Jezebel in First Kings chapter 16 and verse1 17 Jezebel was married to Ahab the king of Israel Jezebel was the daughter of a king and she was a worshipper of the god Baal she talked her husband into worshiping Baal so we got a strong will woman worshiping the king of is uh married to the king who comes to the king and says well if you going if you going to be married to me you got to go with my God so he compromised with her and when he compromis with her he's the king he's leading all of Israel into compromising with her and she got Israel to compromise that's why Elijah ask them how long will you halt between two opinions how long you going to go both ways how long you going to be one way in church and another way at work how long you going to be one way with the family of God and another way in your sorority or fraternity how long you going to be one way with your spiritual family and a whole another way with your biological family how long you going to go both ways cuz he wants you to know as long as you go both ways you'll never be an overcomer because you you are not operating on his standard he says you tolerate it you accept it even if you're not doing it you are allowing it and it's going unaddressed it is shameful today what churches are beginning to allow it is shameful today cuz this woman is in the church she's a power broker in the congregation it is shameful today how churches are dumbing down God's standard because they don't want to offend they don't want anybody to call them intolerant he says to them you have tolerated Jezebel you've tolerated her and she's doing damage to the church and God says well and I'm not even being mean about it look at verse look at verse 21 I gave her time to repent oh and she does not want to repent of her immorality now we're gonna get into we're gonna get back to this thing of repentance because it's it's one of the most powerful words in the Bible is a powerful word because it opens up the door of God changing his relationship with you so repentance it means to turn okay he says even though this woman Jezebel is been promoting immorality been promoting uh idolatry I gave her an opportunity to fix it yes he did repent yeah so God creates Windows of repentance opportunities within a timeline before he moves he says I gave Jezebel even though she was involved in this this kind of wickedness and even though she was influencing other people to this kind of wickedness I gave her a window of opportunity to turn what was her problem she does not want to repent sin is bad but but not wanting to repent is worse cuz now you've entered into the category called Rebellion this woman was not struggling she was a rebel and she was influencing other people and other folks were around there saying well that's her business I ain't got nothing to do with that oh here's here's the way we say it I'm not supposed to judge okay so so let's get this straight let's get this straight because we people are confused on this thing you are to always judge the distinction between truth and error that you must judge you must judge legitimately you must judge biblically you must judge lovingly you must judge responsibly and then you get the sympathetic thing well well God is a god of love yeah well that's half a God that's one side of God Romans 11 says knowing the goodness and severity of God see you got these two sides of God I can love you but I must reject that idea because it goes against What God Says and God is my standard so you must hold in your hand to two things Truth and Love and the two must be kept together you don't give up Truth For Love and you don't give up love for truth you have to hold both of them simultaneously God is Not lowering his standard to please folk and so he's saying you tolerate you accept you you [Music] dismiss the standard and so what is a result of that is he goes on to say I will throw her Jezebel on a bed of sickness and Those who commit adultery with her into Great Tribulation unless they repent of her Deeds so that's bad news and good news the bad news is he says I'm gonna throw her on her bed of sickness one way God God disciplines us is with sickness he allows sickness all all sickness is not due to discipline but some sickness is and one of the ways he dispens he says I will throw on a bed of sickness so let me tell you what happened to Jezebel Jezebel kept going kept going would not repent would not repent and then she crossed the line okay she crossed the line and God said that's it so one day she's sitting up there in the window she falls out of the window hits ahead blood splatters everywhere she laying on the ground and she dies from the fall okay this is this is in uh in second Kings chapter 99: 30-35 and so she's out there blood is splattered so the men come to get her body to bury her but when they come to get her body there's nothing left but her skull and her feet cuz the dogs have devoured her not only did God take her life it was the shame of being eaten by because you would not repent and he says and for Jezebel and her followers these are those who were practicing what she was doing there would be the discipline of God and you say well I don't believe God is like that that was that was in the Old Testament well this verse is in the New Testament and so is Hebrews chapter 10 verse 30 and 31 because Hebrews chapter 10: 30 and 31 makes it clear he says vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord and I will judge my people I will judge my people not to be mean but to bring corrective measures into their lives there must be a standard that the kingdom of God holds to that we get back in line with if we're out of alignment so that the Church of Jesus Christ is distinct in the culture because no longer will it be popular to be one of the culture used to be popular you could be one of the culture but now you take a Biblical stand for life you take a Biblical stand for marriage you take a Biblical stand for order you take a Biblical stand and you going to be on the out now why would this be a problem if you were working in thyroid Tyra well now if you belong to this Union and this union says to keep your job to get a raise on your job to get promoted on your job you got to go along to get along okay if if you don't party with us the way we party nothing wrong with a a good party but when it goes left if you don't if you don't go left with us if you don't go worship with us I'm going tell you now you're not going to make it in this company you're not going to make it in this career unless you've made that decision in advance unless you've decided in advance that there are certain boundaries I will not cross then what you have to understand is that you are making a choice between the true God the Son of God and and the false gods who will not be there when your world crashes so I'm going tell you that now cuz those false gods are not real they're just convenient cuz let me tell you something about an idol folks only pick Idols they can control see that see folk pick Idols because they can tell an idol what to do the problem without our God is you don't get to control him see that's why folk don't want that God cuz that God can't be dumbed down to the culture and so he says to them he says I'mma judge the children but he still gives them an out he says unless you repent repentance would remove the fact of the of the Judgment of God but he makes it clear I say to the rest verse 24 who are in thy Tyra who do not hold this teaching watch this now who have not known the Deep things of Satan as they call them I have no other burden on you okay let me let me talk to you a little bit to the rest of you who are not compromising who are repenting to the rest of you he says who do not accept the teaching of the deep things of Satan so that raises a question isn't it what are the Deep deep things of Satan so they're not so deep things and they're deep things a satanic thing is an invitation to disobey God that that's a satanic thing we all face that we all have fallen short in that where we've disobeyed God that's that's satanic but let me tell you what a deep thing of Satan is a deep thing of Satan is not only when you disobey God when I disobey God when we disobey God a deep thing of Satan when you really going down to Hell to hang out with him is when you call evil good now you didn't just you didn't just go to the bottom of the pit and you're hanging out with the devil see as long as you call evil evil you're saying something true about it but the moment you go to call evil good this is legitimate this is okay that's why why Romans 1 says things got worse and worse and worse not only did people do the things but they they applauded those who did them in other words they gave approval and you see today what we clap for what we affirm what we celebrate and we call we call wretched good and we we celebrate the most evil of people the most evil of lyrics the most evil of terminology the most evil of actions but we we applaud it and we say ain't that nice and ain't she great and wasn't that funny and isn't that nice and and we go along and all of a sudden what we used to shut at and say ooo boy that's nasty we now say that's the Deep things of Satan you you now gone and youve now partying with the devil but he says for those who do not accept the teaching of the deep things of Satan who don't call evil good he saysi have no greater burden for you this is a great statement I have no greater burden for you one of the things that God says about his Commandments is that they are not burdensome but that's a striking statement because I'm feeling the weight I'm feeling the weight they are not burdensome he says but I have no greater burden for you God says if you reject the teaching of Satan then you will lift the burden from you how will rejecting that teaching when it could cost me my job lift the burden from me because now the Son of God is working for you and not working against you now the Son of God the one with the eyes of fire and the feet of bronze listen I don't want to be misunderstood if you take a stand for intolerance where God is int tolerance there may be some negative things for those who live Godly in Christ Jesus the Bible says will suffer but when God is on your side and I I've shared it I I share once more my experience with this was when I was at the bus station they had a scam going I was working night shift and they had a scam going going through Seminary working night shift and what they would do was punch other people in when while they were sleeping and they would get paid were working while they were sleeping but they would be punched cuz they would be punched in by somebody else and then it was the next person's turn the next night to punch you in so you could get paid while you slept so they sleep for two hours but they'd be getting paid for two hours cuz somebody else punched them in so when I went to work there they told me this is how we roll This is and This Is Your Night This Is Your Night to punch in him he'll punch in you the next night so now I'm caught on the horns of a dilemma I'm on the horns of a dilemma cuz I'm poor okay okay I I I don't have no M I'm making $300 a month okay so I'm on the horns of a dilemma uh and then everybody's doing it so now I'm going to be the odd man out if I don't participate in the scam so after getting up some carriage and remembering I'm studying for the ministry after all that uh I uh I say okay okay guys I can't do that I I can't participate in that cuz that's stealing and that's I just can't do that they said well no you don't understand everybody does this yeah I know but um I I can't do that okay so now I am a nonparticipant in the union I'm an odd man out so I'm feeling the weight of this literally because when buses came in I would be left to unload them by myself the other guys wouldn't come cuz I wasn't participating so I or they would just come and take a bag and then leave so now I got the weight of non-participation because there was a standard in that situation that I would not acquest to so I'm feeling the weight of this the weight of this it's the right thing but sometime the right thing can be weighty and so I'm doing the right thing but I'm feeling it's a little heavy a month and a half later I get called to the office I get called to the office the supervisor says Evans I need to see you so I'm wondering you know what's wrong I go in I sit down he said we are aware of the scam we are aware I've got we got a night guy coming around and we are aware of people punching other people in when they're really not working we're also aware that you were not participating so from now on you are the new supervisor for the night share you talk about a burden being lifted because in that op in that occasion I accepted the teaching so I know this could be weighty right now when you feel like what is this gonna mean for me on my job and and I'm not talking about you going preaching on your job I'm just talking about you having the Divine standard on your work and that's why he says hold fast till I come verse 21 the one who overcomes and he who keeps my Deeds until the end to him I will give authority over the Nations you may get some of it now you get most of it later but he says I'm going to give you the ability to rule with me and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of the Potter are broken to Pieces so I shall receive Authority from my father I will give to him the morning star that is intimacy with Christ based on revelation 22 he that that ha an ear let him hear what the spirit of God says to the churches what he's saying to you and me is to take your stand with love with kindness but with Clarity that there is a boundary here and that boundary we do not cross and when we do cross it we repent and get back in line so that we can continue on and have the eyes of the son of God cuz just like the Son of God saw you leave it the eyes of God saw you come back to it and when he sees you come back to it he can now respond to you based on your present condition at whatever level he feels appropriate and so we want a church that will take its stand for God regardless of whether we get more members regardless of whether we have more money regardless of whether we get more notoriety it is the Divine standard that we we must hold to at all [Music] cost a

Channel: Tony Evans

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Id: E87pUZfql8Q

Length: 27min 49sec (1669 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 04 2024