(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Now this morning I'm going to be continuing my sermon from last Sunday morning where we were going through the sins of the seven churches and explaining why it was that God was basically threatening these churches and saying, I'm going to remove your candlestick from his place except thou repent. He's saying if you don't change these problems that are in your church, you're no longer going to be seen as a true church before me or your church will even literally cease to exist. Because if you remember in chapter one he said, the seven candlesticks which thou saw us are the seven churches. And the churches that had problems, he said, if you don't fix these problems, I'll remove thy candlestick out of his place except thou repent. Now last week we went through the first three churches. We saw Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamos. So let's get into Thyatira this morning. Look at chapter two verse 18. The Bible reads, and unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass. I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works, and the last be more than the first. Now what's interesting in that verse is that he starts out by saying, I know thy works, and then look at the last thing on the list, thy patience and thy works. So he mentions the works twice. First he says, I know thy works, then he lists some other good things about them, and he says, and thy works, and the last be more than the first. So I believe that the reason why he brought up the works twice is that he's saying that their works have increased. The last is more than the first. Your latter works, your more recent works, are even greater than the works that you've done in the past. So this is a church that's working very hard for the Lord. They're growing. They're improving. They're growing better and better. But it says in verse 20, notwithstanding, meaning in spite of that, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not, and on and on. Now flip over if you would. Keep your finger there and go to 1 Timothy chapter 2, just a few pages to the left in your Bible. First Timothy chapter 2, because when I read this passage in Revelation 2, I cannot help but notice the similarity with another passage in 1 Timothy chapter number 2, and I don't think it's a coincidence. I don't think anything in the Bible is a coincidence. And so I think that there's an obvious cross-reference here with 1 Timothy chapter 2 when the Bible reads in verse 11, let the woman learn in silence with all subjection, but I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Now in this passage, the Apostle Paul is teaching the same thing that he taught in 1 Corinthians 14, when he said, let your women keep silence in the churches. It's not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience as saith also the law, and if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it's a shame for a woman to speak in the church. This is talking about church. Obviously outside of the church and outside of the time when the preaching is happening and the learning is happening, women can speak and talk and even preach the gospel. When they go door to door, you know they're preaching the gospel to every creature. At the day of Pentecost, there were ladies there who were preaching the gospel to the unsaved out in the highways and hedges there in the streets of Jerusalem. But when it comes to time for church, in the church, women are to keep silence. And when we say in the church, it also says they're to learn in silence. So when the preaching is going on, it's not for a woman to speak. So this is a scripture that's teaching against having a woman preacher in the church. And today there are a lot of churches where even the pastor herself is a woman. Or you know, they'll have female pastors, female deacons, or bring in a female preacher as a guest preacher. It's funny, I was talking to a guy, and he was a very old man, and he was thanking me. I met this guy out and about, and he's thanking me for being old-fashioned and preaching hard and taking a stand and everything like that. And then he said, he started telling me about some woman preacher, how I should have her come as a guest preacher. And he's talking about, oh, the world has gone so liberal, and it's great that you're taking a stand. And I'm thinking to myself, you know what? It's people like you that are the problem. You're sitting there and pontificating about how, oh, this new generation, well, when you're telling me to have a woman preacher come in, you're part of this new liberal generation. And I don't care if you're 150 years old. I'm more old-fashioned than you are, and I'm 33, because of the fact that I'm staying with a book that's older than both of us. Being old-fashioned or being true to the timeless truths of scripture really has nothing to do with your age on a calendar, because this book is older than any of us. The Bible says, let no man despise thy youth. And when people have talked down to me because of my age, you'll be preaching them biblical truths and they'll just look at me like, how old are you, young man? I remember when I was your age. And that type of thing. I always just have the same answer. I always say, well, I'm 33, but this book's older than both of us. And this is where it's coming from. It's not coming from me. It's coming from the Word of God. And so my age is not relevant to that discussion. But today, it's just accepted, because we've bought into this women's rights, women equality garbage of the world. It's not a biblical teaching. And the Bible is not anti-woman or misogynistic. The Bible exalts women. The Bible exalts femininity and gives them the respect and honor that they deserve. But it also differentiates between the different roles that men and women have. And men are to be the preachers in the church and to be the teachers in the church. That's why he says, I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. That's what's being tired. Now, the wording is similar to Revelation 2. It's pretty hard to ignore, because it says in Revelation chapter 2 that he has a few things against them. Look at verse 20. Because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach. So if you look at the components there, he's saying, thou sufferest that woman Jezebel to teach. And over in 1 Timothy 2, he says, I suffer not a woman to teach. Now, obviously, there's more problem, more of a problem here than just a woman teaching. Because she's also a wicked woman. And she's also teaching them to eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication. She's seducing the servants and so forth. But here's the thing. If the Bible has a prohibition on women preaching, what type of women do you think are going to go into that field and say, I want to preach and teach in the house of God, when there's a prohibition on it? Women who disregard the word of God. So you're going to end up with the wrong type of women in those positions because the right type of woman is going to realize, hey, this position's not for me. So you're going to get the Jezebels of this world in that position. And so you wouldn't have to worry about suffering that woman Jezebel to teach if you would just not suffer a woman to teach in the first place. You'd never have a Jezebel teaching. And that's what the Bible would teach us in 1 Timothy chapter 2. It's not a coincidence that the wording is almost identical between those two passages. So it says that thou sufferest that woman Jezebel which calleth herself a prophetess to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication and she repented not. Now this again just shows the graciousness and longsuffering of God. That he gave her a chance to repent and she repented not. Look what it says next. Behold, I will cast her into a bed and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. And I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Now what I want to point out is that he said I gave her past tense, I gave her space to repent of her fornication and she repented not. I don't think at this point he's giving her any more space. At this point he just says I will cast her into a bed and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation except they repent of their deeds. Now he's saying you know these guys who are committing the sin with her need to repent of their deeds. So this woman, this wicked woman is seducing people into both fornication and adultery. You say well how can that be? I thought those are two different things. Well some of the men that she's seducing are apparently married and some of the men that she's seducing are not married. So it's you know adultery and fornication respectively. Do you think that this does not exist in 2015? Because if you do you're wrong. There's no new thing under the sun and the things that we see in scripture are things that still exist today. There are wicked women today who as the Bible says the adulterous will hunt for the precious life and there are women who would creep into churches and seduce men to commit fornication or to commit adultery with them. These women still exist today and we need to beware as men and take heed of women that are being overly friendly, flirtatious, the flattering tongue, giving you excessive compliments and trying to get together with you in the wrong type of ways that this does exist even today. The seductresses are out there and God's warning about it and he says this will destroy the whole church you know when you've got fornication adultery I'll remove the candlestick from out of his place except thou repent. Look at verse number 24 it says but unto you I say and unto the rest in Thyatira as many as have not this doctrine and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak I will put upon you none other burden but that which you have already hold fast till I come. Now that term as they speak today we would say so to speak. It's the same expression it's just a little bit older version of it. He says that so to speak they have reached the depths of Satan. Now that's a pretty strong term to use about this sin when he says you know you've known the depths of Satan. When you're a woman that's in a church and you are seducing a man to commit fornication or seducing a man to commit adultery the Bible calls that the depths of Satan. I mean that's pretty bad that's a major sin a major iniquity that's going on here and he says the rest of you just hold fast till I come just stay with it do what's right and so forth. He says in verse 26 and he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end to him will I give power over the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers even as I received of my father and I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Now quickly flip over to 1 Corinthians 5 and you say good night Pastor Anderson you really harp on 1 Corinthians 5. I think you turn to 1 Corinthians 5 at least once a month. You're right. Did you know that I turn to 1 Corinthians 5 every single month that I preach? Did you know that not a month goes by that I do not turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 when I'm preaching? Did you know that? I'm just getting it out of the way for January so that I can just move on to other things. You know get it out of the way for this month. I'll see you in February right here at 1 Corinthians 5 at Faithful or Baptist Church to preach this again. And there's a reason why I'm constantly turning here because I don't want the candlestick to be removed out of his place that's why. And this is a major, major problem in the day that we live because of the morality of our country or the lack thereof that condones fornication. And today our nation condones fornication and unmarried people are going to bed together and the Bible teaches that that is to be kept within marriage only. The Bible says marriage is honorable and all and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. And so we need to make sure that we drive this point in. The Bible says in verse 9, I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or with idolaters for then much do you need to go out of the world. He's saying look if I told you not to ever company with worldly people that are fornicators you'd pretty much have to leave the world and go live on a reservation somewhere. But what he's saying here is that the world commits fornication. But he says but now I've written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator. See this is something that we should just understand is going to be taking place outside of the church but within the church it shall not be tolerated. And the Bible says in verse 12 for what have I to do to judge them also that are without do not ye judge them that are within but them that are without God judgeth therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. And a little earlier in the same chapter he said a little leaven leavens the whole lump about that subject. That is a sin that will spread. So why is the church of Thyatira in danger of the candlestick being removed? For tolerating fornication and adultery in the church. That's why the letter is written to the angel of the church of Thyatira. You know it's his job, it's the pastor's job to regulate and to lead and to make sure that these things are pointed out and that people are thrown out if they're living in open fornication. And people that are found to be living in fornication they're always given the option get married stop living together or get out of the church because fornication is not allowed. And obviously adultery is even more serious than fornication. And the Bible teaches that if they don't get this right here they're going to you know have the candlestick removed and he calls it the depths of Satan. Now I think the people out in the world who commit fornication and adultery have not necessarily known the depths of Satan. But when you're coming into a church and committing fornication and bringing it into a church seduction and adultery that is the depths of Satan according to the Bible. Now let's go to let's go to we're going to come back to Thyatira in a second but let's look at Sardis at the beginning of chapter 3 there. Says in verse 1 unto the angel of the church and Sardis write these things saith he that at the seven spirits of God and the seven stars I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. For I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis that have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. Now in this passage about the church at Sardis he talks about the fact that they have a name that they live but they're dead. So this is a church that's living in the past. They have a great reputation from the past when they were doing great things for God so they have that name and that reputation but now they're dead and he says be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. So he's saying you're almost completely a dead church. In the past you were alive and you were on fire for the Lord but now you're dying. And he says remember therefore. Again he's trying to get them to go back in their mind to the way things used to be. And there are so many churches today that are changing and God is saying remember, repent, go back to that and hold on to what you still have that's about to die. Strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die. The few things that you're still doing that are right. But the point that I really want to drive in with both this church and Thyatira is in verse 4 where it says thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. Now if we look at this church in Sardis it's clear that this is not a good church because of the fact that they have a name that they live but they're dead. Now would you say a dead church is a great church to be a part of? I mean if somebody said, not just somebody, if Jesus said, Faithful Word Baptist Church is a dead church. I mean wouldn't you be shocked and you'd think wow we really need to fix something here. I mean if Jesus showed up and said you know Faithful Word Baptist Church, you're a dead church. That's a pretty serious insult. He could say to us you know well you have a name that you live but you're dead. You know you're living on past glory and so forth. I mean that would be a very serious indictment of our church. So this is a church that has major major problems but yet he says that they have a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. Now this tells me that it's still possible for you to be a great Christian even if your church is not a great church. Now the reason I bring that up because obviously I strongly believe that you should go to the best church in your area. You know if I were in a dead church and there were a great church across town or a great church across the street then I'd want to be where the action is. I want to be where the Holy Ghost is and I want to be where the power is and where the excitement is and where the people are being saved and where great things are being done for God. I don't want to go to a dead church. What we have to understand is there was Sardis Baptist and that was pretty much it. So at that point this is the church. Now you know what a lot of people are doing today when they live in Sardis is they just say oh I don't go to church anywhere I just can't find a good church. Don't you hear that all the time? I can't find a good church in my area I just don't go. But you know what you'd be better off to go into Sardis Baptist even if it's a dead mess to go to Sardis Baptist Jesus looks down and is pleased with you for being a righteous godly Christian even in Sardis. He says thou hast a few names even in Sardis that have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. So I would love for Jesus to look down and say that I'm worthy and to be pleased with me and to not lump me in with those around me that are perhaps dead. Now he said something similar to Thyatira because to Thyatira look at verse 24 of chapter 2 he said but unto you I say and unto the rest in Thyatira as many as have not this doctrine and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak I will put upon you none other burden. What does that mean? He's saying you know what just keep doing what you're doing. You guys are doing great. I'm not talking to everybody because everybody hasn't been involved with this Jezebel and this garbage and been allowing it to happen. There are some people that do not have this doctrine that have not known the depths of Satan and he says I will put upon you none other burden but that which you have already hold fast till I come. So what is he saying to Thyatira? Look it's a bad church. Fornication and adultery are being tolerated and happening. Not a woman teacher in the church but he says you know what at least there are some people in that church that are godly righteous people and he said I'm going to bless them and they just need to keep doing what they're doing. Same thing in Sardis. Yeah the church is dead but you know what some of you aren't dead. Some of you are on fire for the Lord and you guys are worthy. You guys are going to walk with me in white. You guys are doing a great job. He's praising the few that are good in these churches. Look the answer is not to get out of church but that's what people are doing today in the last days and the Bible says not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching. Do we see the day approaching? It's closer than it was yesterday. So do we need more church or less church? More assembly or less assembly? So therefore when you see people saying oh in the last days all the churches have apostatized that is a lie. The Bible says that in the last days God's people will be strong and do exploits in the last days and even back then forget the last days this is the first century A.D. and in the first century A.D. there were churches that were dead. Churches that are living in the past. Churches that are lukewarm. Look Laodicea was lukewarm almost 2,000 years ago. So what we see here is that there have always been good churches and bad churches. There have always been churches that used to be good and now they're going kind of liberal or going soft or not soul winning anymore or allowing sin to run rampant whereas they used to cry out against sin. It's the same situation today in 2015 and in Revelation chapter 2 and 3 it's the same thing. These seven churches you can find these seven churches in Arizona. You can find these seven churches in America today wherever you are. But the thing is that the same solution that God gives in chapters 2 and 3 is the same solution today. You go to the church that you can find the best church and you hold fast till he comes and you don't defile your garment and you don't be involved in the depths of Satan and you don't get dead and you don't go soft and you keep standing strong. You do the first works. You keep the first love. Even if the church is not in lockstep with you, you've got the Lord Jesus Christ and you can do it on your own. But today people just don't go to church and they say, ah, no good church in my area. But you know what? If you were in Sardis and you just said, ah, no good church in my area. You know, God's not praising you for that because that's a sin to not go to church. And you're not going to get the praise of Jesus there. Whereas if you go and you live right and you're going to church, well then, you know, Jesus is pleased with you. It's not your fault. Plus, if all the people who don't go to church would actually go to church and go to the best church in their area, which 99 times out of 100 is going to be an independent fundamental Baptist church, if they would actually get in these churches, the people who are laying out because they're so much more right on than the churches, then maybe we could turn some of these churches around. And even if you can't turn them around, you can still be a godly influence. You can at least kind of be a voice for fundamentalism in these churches and a voice for hard preaching and a voice for soul winning. A lot of churches where you could bring up, hey, let's start a soul winning program. And even if the pastor has gotten backslidden and is not into soul winning anymore, a lot of times he'll still let you start a soul winning program in the church. And then you could help fire things up and get things going. You know, I could tell you a lot of stories about churches where the pastor is not a bad guy, but he's not that great of a guy either. He's kind of a middle of the road kind of a guy, where if you get a bunch of fire breathers in his church, they'll start pulling him in the right direction and he'll start growing and going in the right direction. Now, it shouldn't have to be that way. Ideally, you have the pastor as a strong leader, you know, leading the people. But it's better than nothing to be a good influence in the Thyatira Baptist Church. And just sit at home and eat chips off your chest and say there's no good church, so I'm just doing it on YouTube, or I'm just doing it on whatever. Every time I preach that, I always get emails from people saying, Pastor Harrison, I was literally eating chips when you ... I get multiple. Everybody thinks it's the Holy Spirit just talking right to them though, because I'm like, you're in your pajamas and you're eating breakfast, and they're like, that was me, I was doing that. And I'm like, yeah, guess what, you weren't the only one. There are a lot of people at home eating chips off their wife beater and eating their breakfast. But the bottom line is that we need to get in church in the last days. Don't forsake the assembly. Be like this herald camping guy who tells you, oh, the church age has ended, and you just need to get out of the church because they're all apostate, come out of her, my people. This isn't Babylon. Your church is not Babylon. It's not getting rained with fire and brimstone. You don't need to get out of it. What a misuse of scripture. What a twisting of the Bible. But the Bible continues here in chapter 3. I've got to get through a few more churches here. We already talked about verse 5. We covered that in last week's sermon. I don't want to go into that. Let's look at verse number 7, get into the church of Philadelphia. It says that the angel of the church in Philadelphia writes, these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it, for thou hast a little strength and has kept my word and has not denied my name. Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not but do lie. Behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown. Now in this scripture we have another good church, meaning that they didn't have any serious problems. Because out of the seven churches, five of them had serious problems and are being threatened with the removal of the candle. Two of them, we talked about this last week, but the two churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, that are not being threatened, that do not have serious problems in the church, are both being persecuted. Because the Bible says, Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So when you find the perfect church, be prepared to be persecuted because the two churches that are doing well are getting persecuted. And in both cases they are being persecuted by the synagogue of Satan. The Bible says, of course, fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Back in chapter two about Smyrna, he says, I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but of the synagogue of Satan. The reason he's tying that in is because all throughout the book of Acts, the people who persecuted the Christians were always the Jews, every single time. It was the Jews who would follow them from city to city. And a lot of times the local population of Gentiles was embracing the word of God and then the Jews would come and stir up the persecution of God's people. And it was throughout the book of Acts, 90% of it is the Jews doing the persecuting. And that's what this is a reference to. Those who say they are Jews and are not but do lie. Somebody said, well, that's the Jehovah's Witnesses. They say they are Jews and they are not. But here's the thing, the Jehovah's Witnesses weren't around back then, number one. And number two, the Jehovah's Witnesses don't meet in a synagogue. They meet in a kingdom hall. And the Jehovah's Witnesses are teaching God loves us and he doesn't love you. But here's the thing, these people are going to be told in chapter three here, I'll make them to know that I've loved thee, talking to the Gentiles. Because there are the Jews who believe that they are the special chosen ones and that, you know, God loves them more because they're Jewish, which is a lie. Because the Bible teaches that in the New Testament, the chosen or the elect are those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a whole sermon in and of itself that I've preached many times. It says in this passage in verse 10, because thou has kept the word of my patience, will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown. So God's message to this church that's doing right is just keep on keeping on, do what you're doing. Hang on, hold fast till I come. He says don't lose your crown, don't let anyone take your crown. You can lose rewards where you apostatize and then God will take away your rewards, take away your crown. This is also taught in 2 John where it says look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought but that we receive a full reward. So he's saying we want to receive a full reward, we don't want to lose anything because you're not taking heed and because you go out of the will of God and so forth. So they need to just continue on doing what they're doing. Now verse 10 is a verse that's often misused and misunderstood. I've heard people literally say I believe in the pre-tribulation rapture for one reason. Revelation 3 10, case closed. I mean I'm serious, this was their big verse. Come on, show me a verse that says it's pre-trib. Revelation 3 10 is crystal clear. Now yeah, clear as mud in Revelation 3 10. It says because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation. But if you put on your, you know, Darby Schofield Larkin glasses, you read it like this. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the seven year tribulation. Crystal clear folks. Now here's the problem with that teaching though. The problem is that if that were true, if this were about the rapture, which of course it's not, but if this were about the rapture, this would be teaching works-based salvation. Because the Bible calls the rapture salvation. Because it's the salvation of our body. It's the redemption of our body. Because right now our soul and spirit has been saved, but the body will be saved, redeemed, at the rapture, at the first resurrection. And the Bible talks about whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved in reference also to the fact that we will be raptured. So, if you're going to say that this verse teaches a preacher of rapture, you're saying that in order to go up in the rapture, in order to be saved, you have to keep the word of his patience. Now is keeping God's word a prerequisite for being saved? Think about what you're saying. I mean, if you're going to say that Revelation 3 tends about the rapture, you're saying you have to keep the word of your patience in order to be saved. And that is a false doctrine, because you just have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. The Bible says, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. You don't have to keep, look, if we had to keep God's word to be saved, none of us is saved. Because we've all broken God's word. We have not kept all of it. We have, you know, what do you like, the rich young ruler? I've kept all these things, because I'm trying to help you understand the word keep. I've kept all these things from my youth up. Is that what you believe? Have you kept all these things from your youth up? Because I haven't. But I'm saved by grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast. So it's amazing to me that people are so attached to their pre-tribulation rapture doctrine, and they hold on to it and cling to it for dear life, to where they're willing to sacrifice salvation doctrine, to hang on to their stupid Bible prophecy interpretation. They're willing to throw salvation doctrine out the window. Good night, what do you say? It's like when teachers like Sam Gipp in his zeal for, you know, got to hang on to that pre-trib rapture. I know it's pre-trib, I know it's pre-trib, I know it's pre-trib. They want to hang on to it so much that literally Sam Gipp said, Jesus is not my Messiah. Because he had to prove that it's pre-trib. He did a whole sermon, it's on YouTube, watch it. I put it there, I uploaded it. But you know, because he sent me a CD, Pastor Anderson, you know, I doubt you'll listen to it, but you know, I did a whole sermon against you, I did a whole sermon against you and your sermon and your movie after the tribulation. I'll listen to it. So I listened to his sermon, and in the sermon that he's preaching against after tribulation, he says, Jesus is not my, Jesus is not my Messiah. And then he makes fun of people who would call Jesus their Messiah. He says like, oh, you say, well, he's my, he's my Messiah. He ain't your Messiah. And you know what the, you know what Messiah means? Christ. So basically, who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. He's anti-Christ. So this guy in his zeal to promote the pre-trib rapture is going to literally deny that Jesus is his Messiah and say, Jesus is not my Messiah, Jesus is not your Messiah. Oh, yeah, you know, this is the pre-trib rapture, teaching work salvation. And they're like, well, we didn't mean it that way. We're not teaching work salvation. Then this verse doesn't apply, and have it both ways. Don't tell me that keeping the word of God's patience is how you get saved. No, you don't keep anything. He keeps you. We're kept by the power of God unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. He does the keeping. We don't do the keeping. He keeps our souls safe and secure. We don't have to keep God. Or else we're all doomed, because we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. But even, let's just say for a second, even though it's ridiculous. Let's just say, OK, this is about the rapture. Let's just say, even though that's ridiculous, that teaches work salvation, whatever. Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of salvation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Does that say anything about the tribulation? Now I know they both start with a T and end in shun, but temptation and tribulation are two different words, not the same thing. And here's what's great. When you look at the hour, to them, hour becomes years, seven years. Just meant, you know, if you, well, you just have to put these on and then it all works. OK. But they put this on and then all of a sudden, you know, an hour becomes seven years. So here's what's funny about it. If you look up every time the word hour is mentioned in the book of Revelation, none of it's about the tribulation. In fact, let's just look at just one example, I don't want to spend the whole night on this or morning. Yeah, all night. I'm going, it's going to be a long sermon. It's going to be all night. But look at Revelation chapter 18 here. It says in verse 10, standing afar off for fear of her torment saying, alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. Is this about the tribulation? No, this is God's wrath. This is God's wrath being poured on Babylon in one hour. Look at verse 17, for in one hour, so great riches come to naught. They cast dust on their heads and cried weeping and wailing saying, alas, alas, that great city wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her coarseness, for in one hour is she made desolate. Go back to chapter 14, verse 7, saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come. All of these references to an hour are talking about God's wrath, God's judgment. So if anything, in their warped imagination, Revelation 3.10 would prove a pre-wrath rapture, not a pre-tribulation rapture. But it doesn't even prove that because it's not a works-based salvation. So whatever God is keeping them from, and by the way, these are the literal churches. This happened thousands of years ago, but the thing is, whatever he's keeping them from is something that not every believer is going to be kept from. Only believers who are dedicated and keeping the word of God's patience are going to be delivered. You see, there are things in life where if we keep God's word and do what's right, we'll be delivered from them. And if we live a life of sin, we won't be delivered from them. Look at King Saul at Mount Gilboa. Was he delivered from the Philistines? Now he's in heaven, King Saul's in heaven right now, he's a believer, but was he delivered from the Philistines at Mount Gilboa? Why? Because of disobedience to God's word. What about King Josiah? Godly man, great man, wonderful leader. But what about when he disobeyed the Lord and went and fought against the King of Egypt and meddled with strife not belonging to him, he died. Did God deliver him from Pharaoh Necho of Egypt? No. Why? Because of his disobedience to the Lord. Even believers can disobey the Lord and be swallowed up in various physical punishments and judgments upon this earth, nothing to do necessarily with end times prophecy, but just in general. Whereas God will often deliver the righteous from physical peril. He will physically rescue godly people, David fought in a lot of wars. And remember toward the end of his life when he was getting a little bit weaker, but he just kept wanting to go to battle. And David just wanted to keep fighting, even though he was an old man and help him. And when they came and helped him, they said, hey, you need to stop going to battle with us. No offense, David, but you know, you're just not have what you used to have. And you know, you're worth 10 of us and we don't, you know, we don't want you to die on the battlefield. But David who fought in so many wars and had so much danger, he lived to be an old man and died in bed of natural causes. Look at the apostle Paul. I mean, talk about a guy with some near remittances. They stoned him and thought he's dead. He stopped moving and they walked away and he literally got up and was alive and walked into town. What about when he shipwrecked? What about when he spent a night and a day in the deep of the ocean? What about when he's being arrested and beaten? They're trying to tear him in half. What about when he five times? What happened at the end of his life? You know, the, the theologians and historians will try to tell you he's beheaded. No, that's not what the Bible teaches. He died of natural causes. I mean, putting himself out there that much being persecuted that much. So many near misses, so many close calls. People are saying, we will not eat any bread or any water until we've killed Paul. We will eat. Now I think those people eventually ate either that or they're all died shortly thereafter. But these guys swore, they said, we're not going to eat or drink anything until we've killed Paul. And then the 200 get him out of there. And then it reminds me of these protesters who come to our church. We're going to keep protesting until you stop preaching hate and we're going to shut you down. Two weeks later, they're all gone. You know, that's probably how those guys were that were going to kill Paul. You know, they were at, they were at a buffet a week later, you know, chowing down. And so, you know, what we see in the Bible is that God will often physically deliver his people from judgments that come to think about when God judged Judah and set the sword in famine and pestilence and Nebuchadnezzar. But who made it out alive and prospered? Jeremiah. Jeremiah got out and had, and he was even given a little bag of money and, and, and he was okay. You know, he went through his time, you know, down in the dung and in the mire and he went through trials and tribulations, but in the end he was delivered. Now other people were not delivered. Steven was not delivered. But my point is that it makes way more sense when we look at Revelation 3, 10 in the light of the rest of the Bible, that this is talking about being spared physical judgments and, and physical turmoil that's coming upon the earth. Back then, literally, and in the future, possibly figuratively. But again, it's talking not to all the saved, so it can't be about the rapture. It can't be about the rapture because it's not saying if you're saved, you'll be delivered. He's saying if you keep the word of his patience. So what is he talking about? Well, if you think about it, the Bible says in Luke about, you know, praying always that you'd be counter-worthy to escape all these things and to stand before the Son of Man. Talking about praying to even survive the events of the tribulation, perhaps, and to, to be alive and remain unto the coming of our Lord. So anyway, I just wanted to deal with that scripture quickly, but let's just quickly look at the final church here, and then I'll kind of just wrap things up for you. It says in verse 14, and the angel of the church of the lay of the sea is right. These things say the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Now I, there's so much to preach in these chapters, and I don't have time to cover it all because I'm trying to focus on the seven churches, but I really like how at the beginning of each message, Jesus refers to himself in a different way. It's always Jesus talking, but he calls himself all these different things. He that hath the seven stars in his right hand who walk in the midst of seven golden candlesticks. He has the seven spirits of God. He was dead and is alive. He has the sharp sword coming out of his mouth. He's the Son of God. His eyes are like a ... His feet are like fine brass. He opens and no man shuts. He shuts and no man opens. He just describes himself. And then I love what he says in this verse where he says, these things say the Amen. So I mean, Jesus is the Amen. Jesus is the Amen. And then you say Amen to that. That's pretty interesting. But if you stop and think about it, what does the word Amen mean? Well, Amen is not really a native English word. It's a word that's literally just transliterated from Greek into English. Now transliterate is different than translate. Translate would be if I took a word like in Spanish, I took a word that everybody knows like queso, right, in Spanish. If I were to translate that, then I would say cheese, right? And it would be a totally different word. It would be the English word that has the same meaning. But transliterate is when I take a word from one language and I leave it the same and just make it an English word. Like for example, a word like taco. You know, it just comes straight into English as taco, unchanged, T-A-C-O. Well that's how the word Amen is because in Greek, Amen is spelled basically A-M-E-N. Okay I mean, you know, alpha, mi, epsilon, ni, but same thing. You know, Amen, A-M-E-E-N. It's the same exact word. So there are certain words that are just transliterated in the Bible where they're just brought straight over. Like for example, hallelujah is a word that's Hebrew meaning praise the Lord. And it's just brought straight in. So if you were to translate the word hallelujah, it would be praise the Lord. But instead it's just transliterated where it just becomes an English word. Hallelujah. Okay. That's how Amen is. Well Amen means truly, okay. So whenever you're reading the Bible and it says verily, verily, I say unto you, actually if you're reading a Greek New Testament it says Amen, Amen, I say unto you. So that's what every time it says verily in your King James, it says Amen in a Greek New Testament. So the word Amen, that's what it means, the truth, truly, verily. And so basically this is very similar to when Jesus Christ said I'm the way, the truth, come to life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. That's what he means when he says I'm the Amen. So when I'm preaching and you say Amen, what you're basically saying is that is the truth that you're saying right now. You're saying yea verily, what you have said is the truth. That's what you're saying when you say Amen. And I decided to point that out because some people don't know what Amen means. So Amen is an acknowledgement that you agree with what's being said. But when you hear something that you really like and you agree with it, you say Amen. That means like yea that's true, you're voicing your approval for what is being said. And so Jesus says I am the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Now notice this doesn't say the first thing God created as a lot of modern versions will change this to something along those lines of you know the first creation of God or something. No Jesus is not a created being. Jesus was in the beginning with God and he was God. He was not a created being. He has neither beginning of days nor end of life the Bible says. And so Jesus is the beginning. So it says in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. That's the first mention of Jesus, the beginning. He said I am the beginning. I am the ending. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And so here he says I'm the beginning of the creation of God. He's where it all comes from. By him all things consist. He is the beginning of God's creation. It all started with Jesus. Without him was not anything made that was made. And so the Bible says I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou work cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Now God is rebuking them for being lukewarm, for not being on fire, for being happy and half out. Now I've heard some people who are trying to prove that you can lose your salvation, which obviously you can't, because Jesus said I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. But they'll say, well the Bible says you can be spewed out of his mouth. Now here's the problem with that. Number one, we're not literally in his mouth. So we can't literally be spewed out of his mouth. There are things in the Bible that are literal and things in the Bible that are figurative. God cannot literally spew us out of his mouth because we're not literally in his mouth in the first place to be spewed out of it. And what the Bible is saying here is a parable or being figurative of a drink, right? When you drink a drink you want it to be cold or hot. Who likes iced coffee? You enjoy iced coffee. Who likes hot coffee? Who doesn't like any coffee? And that's where I'm at. I don't like any coffee. I don't drink coffee. But if I did drink coffee, I would do the iced one with like so much sugar and cream it that you don't even know it's coffee anymore, caramel, whipped cream, to where it just becomes more like an ice cream cone. You know, that's my kind of coffee if I ever do coffee. But I don't even do that. So you know, people like a cold drink and people like a hot drink. A lukewarm drink is usually not that popular. Now certain drinks are better warm, certain drinks are better cold. There are some drinks that are good lukewarm. Like I like to drink coconut water at room temperature. That's the best way in my opinion to drink coconut water, better than ice cold. But most drinks I'd prefer it to be cold or hot. Hot chocolate, you know, you want it hot or you want a cold glass of chocolate milk. So what he's saying here is an illustration of, you know, if it's cold you liked it for being cold, you liked it for being hot. But when it's lukewarm, you spit it out, you know, gross, it's no good. So what is he trying to say here? It's a parable. You can't take it too literally, folks. It's clearly an illustration of the fact that lukewarm Christianity makes God sick. Makes him sick. Spew, he wants to spew you out of his mouth because of the fact that it makes him sick. Now a lot of people will misinterpret this passage and say, well, you know what? If God doesn't want me lukewarm, I'm just going to go all the way cold. There are a lot of people out there. There are people out there, that's what they do. I mean, I've literally talked to a lot of people where I'm to them and I say, you know, why don't you come to church anymore? You know, come back to church. We miss you at church. And they say, well, you know, I'm just not really ready to get all the way in and I don't want to be lukewarm. So I'm just going to, for now, I'm just going to be out. And then when I'm ready, I'll get all the way in. So I'm going to be cold for a while. But you know what? When they're like, okay, I'm ready now. Ready to be fired. If you're not, look, today's the day. If you're not ready today, you're not going to be ready tomorrow. And so they misinterpret this passage. But look, we always have to kind of let the Bible interpret itself. And look what the Bible says in verse 17, because the Bible in verse 17 helps us understand. It starts with the word because. Shouldn't that show you right there that it's not a new thought, since because is a conjunction? Okay. So he says because. So why will, he's going to tell us why he's going to spew you out. He's going to tell you why he doesn't like you lukewarm. Because thou sayest I'm rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing and know it's not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Here's what he's saying. What makes him sick is when people think that basically lukewarm or half in half out Christianity is acceptable and good and right in the eyes of God. What's making him sick? The fact that they're saying I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. What's making him sick? The fact that they don't know that they're poor and miserable and wretched, or I got that wrong, but the fact that they know not that they're wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. That's the problem. So what God's saying here, I believe, is that if a person comes to church and maybe they're not as far along in their Christian growth as they should be, maybe they're not as fired up as they should be, maybe they're a new believer, maybe they're just a babe in Christ, or maybe they're just not living for the Lord. That's okay as long as they acknowledge their sin and realize that they need to do better and as long as they're working on it and growing and going in the right direction. That doesn't make God sick. You think God's sickened by a brand new believer who's just barely going out soul winning because they're just getting started and they're just getting into it and just learning and growing and doing right. And maybe a brand new believer or somebody who just got back in church who's maybe just reading a little bit of Bible every day because they're just getting into it and just growing and just starting and getting moving. That doesn't make God sick. You know what makes God sick is people who consider themselves mature, godly believers, and they sit around patting themselves on the back and they're totally lukewarm. And they're not on fire for the Lord. They're not doing great things for God. They're not taking the stance. And they're living a life in a day with sin. That's what makes God sick. See, it's not the guy who's humble and says, you know what? I'm not everything I need to be. I am a weak Christian. I'm a new believer. I'm backslidden. But I'm here in church to try to do better. And I'm trying to learn and grow. And I'm failing. You know, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. And I'm willing to acknowledge that. Doesn't make God sick. God knows our infirmities. God knows that we are but flesh. And he knows that we are clay and dust. He understands our weaknesses. What is making God sick? If we actually let the passage interpret itself, the thing that makes God sick is what they're saying, that they have it all together. And when they don't know that they're failing. So if we are a person who is not a great Christian but we're willing to admit to ourselves and the Lord, I'm not a great Christian and confess our sins and want to improve and be humble about it, that doesn't make God sick. So you see how people are misinterpreting this when they're like, oh, well, since I'm not ready to just become the most fired up church member, I'm just going to get all the way out of church because God wants me cold or hot. No. You know what you need to do is just acknowledge I'm not where I need to be. Well, you've already done that. Well, now you just need to stay in church and keep improving and growing and doing better. And you're not sickening to the Lord until you start patting yourself on the back and until you forget about the room that you need to grow. That's what makes him sick. And you know, God is sickened by entire churches today. Because this is to the church at Laodicea. There are some churches that think they're pretty awesome. And we would look at them, and we're not even Jesus, but we would look at them and be like, wow, you guys are dead. You guys are liberal. You guys are lame. You know, we wouldn't say that to them, but that's what we're thinking. Oh, what in the world? But they think they're awesome. I mean, they're just, you know, that's where God doesn't like it. It's the attitude. It's the heart. And you say, well, I think you're misinterpreting this passage. Yeah, but I'm not the one who wrote verse 17. And verse 17 makes it clear that that's the because. So you can have another because if you want. You can say, well, I think it's just because. I think it's just because they were not doing everything they were supposed to be doing. That's why. No, he said he's mad because they say and because they know not. Those are both things that happen in their heart and in their mind. It's the attitude. Now, look, I don't mind hanging around with people who are Christians, who are poor, who are poor Christians. And they're not doing a good job for the Lord as long as they're going the right direction. I'd rather, in fact, let me just bring up, I'm going to close with this. Let me just bring up two guys as an illustration. I'm going to come up here. Garrett, have you said in the front row, you got to come up here. So look, let's have you face this way. And let's have you face this way. And let's say there's a continuum of Christian growth. Let's say over here, this represents just the worst Christian who's just living a very worldly and godless lifestyle over here. And then over here, we've got the Apostle Paul or something. Somebody who's just super dedicated, super fired up, living for the Lord over here. And then here, we have where most people are going to be, somewhere in between. None of us is the Apostle Paul, and I hope none of us is that guy. So we're all going to be somewhere in between, right? Well, honestly, if we look at this guy right here, he's less spiritual on paper as far as what he's doing for the Lord and the sin in his life than this guy. Because this guy is closer to the standard of a very righteous, godly person, right? But see, here's the thing. This guy is slowly moving this direction, right? And this guy is slowly moving this direction, right? You know what? I'd rather hang around with this guy. Seriously, why? Why would I rather hang around with this guy? Because you know what? At least this guy's growing. This guy's got his heart right. This guy is moving forward. This guy is improving. OK, this guy, even though he's more spiritually mature than that guy, he has less sin in his life than that guy. But you know what, though? This guy's heart is all wrong. Because he's pitched his tent towards Sodom. You know, he's basically, I'm just kidding. You know, look at how he's facing. Look at the direction that he's going. He's going the wrong way, the wrong path. And you know what? This guy is going to be a worse influence on me than this guy. Go ahead and have a seat, guys. So that should help illustrate to you what's wrong. Now, Laodicea would be like that guy who's right here in the middle, facing that way, saying, oh man, I am an awesome Christian. I'm just curious how many cities I'm going to be over in the millennium. It's got to be in the double digits. You know, he thinks he's got it together, but he's actually going downhill fast. So that's the thing. But this guy, you know where Brother Garrett was, this guy will, it will be sometimes the guy who says, oh man, that guy's doing way better than me. I don't want to be lukewarm. I'm getting too close to the middle here. Because look, in order to go from here to here, you're going to pass through the middle, right? I mean, if I'm saying, you know, I'm pressing on the upward way, new heights I'm gaining. It's going to be a period where you're right here. I mean, you don't just go like, you know, it's not going to happen. There's going to be a period where you're here and God's not spitting you out. You know, like, he's like, okay, you're good. You're good. You're good. You're good. You're good. Oh man. You make me sick. Oh, it's horrible. Okay. You're good again. But that's what a lot of people will think. They'll be like, you win somebody to Christ over here. You get them saved. And then they're like, okay, they're going, oh man, I'm lukewarm. I better just, yeah. But that's what people do. I can name for you people who've literally said that to me. It's the attitude. It's the direction that was wrong with Laodicea. So let me just wrap it up like this. We need to be in church, period. Be in church. Well, but I live in Sardis. Be in church. Well, it's Thyatira. Be in church. And in our churches, if we don't want to lose the candlestick, if we want to be continuing as a bonafide, godly church that God can use, from these four churches, we can learn a few things. Number one, we need to get fornication and adultery out of the church. Keep them out. Don't allow them. Don't tolerate them. Number two, we need to make sure, according to Sardis, that we don't live in the past. And it's, you know, our church is to thank God through his grace. But you know what? Don't live in the past. Let's not just say, oh man, 2014 we did so much. We're gonna take like a year of Sabbath of rest. We're gonna rest the land for a year. No, we need to make sure that 2015 has new exploits. And that we're not living in the past, okay? And then thirdly, with Philadelphia, we need to understand there are gonna be many adversaries. Because of the fact that when we do right, God said, he said he's the one who opens the door and no man shuts it. And I'll just read this quickly from 1 Corinthians 16, nine. Don't turn there. It says, for a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. So when you do right, you're gonna be persecuted. So the lesson to the third church that we went over this morning is, don't buckle under the pressure. Don't fall away in times of temptation and tribulation. That was the message to Philadelphia. He says, look, if you keep my word, if you keep the word of my patience, I'll keep you from the hour of temptation. You don't have to fail. You don't have to fall away. You don't have to give in to the persecution and the threats and the attacks. You can stay with it. That's the message to Philadelphia. And then fourthly, the message to Laodicea was, don't be lukewarm, and especially don't think it's okay. Don't be lukewarm in your heart. Don't be lukewarm in your mentality. Look, we all have shortcomings, but let's realize that and be humble and realize we need to do better. We need to grow. We need to improve. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much, Lord, for these four churches that we went over this morning and the things that we can learn, Lord. Help Faithful Word Baptist Church to learn all four lessons, Lord, that all four of them apply unto us. No fornication, Lord. We can't live in the past. We should never buckle under the pressure and persecution, and we need to always realize that there's more room for growth and to stay red hot for your service. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.