Jesus' letter to the church in Thyatira, Revelation 2:18-29
Immanuel Sermon Audio
Seven - Thyatira
Well, amen. Thank you to our praise band for leading us this morning. You guys did a great job. Do a great job every week. We appreciate you guys. I just got to know, are you excited to be here today? Are you excited? I'm excited for a couple of reasons. Reason number one, we turned my microphone down. If you were here last week, it was the worst sound ever, and we just lived with it, and we made it through, and hopefully you understood something. But I'm not going to blow your eardrums out this morning, so that's good news. Also excited that you may have noticed the last couple of weeks, months. I don't know how long. We've had some demon-possessed lights up here in the ceiling. We just turned them off. We said forget about the lights, we're done with the lights, we don't need a strobe light up on the stage. Maybe it's a little bit darker, you can't see the radiance on my face quite so well, but that's okay. You're not going to be distracted by a light. I am also excited to be here because I like this church. This is a good church, and I'm excited to be here. I hope that you are excited to be a part of a manual, and the things that God is doing here at this church. I'm excited because of the rain. Amen. We'll take the rain, and I am also excited because today is a big day. You know what day today is? Does anybody know what day today is? Anybody, it is Sunday. Wait for it. Let the anticipation build. Today is national tap dance day. And so in honor of that, Pastor Corey is going to come up, give us a little demo on Stres Schon. No, he's not. It is national tap dance day. You can find that. I found that on Wikipedia this week. What I also am excited about is today, today, May 25th, we are exactly seven months away from Christmas, seven months away from Christmas. If your lights are still up on your house on May 25th, you're almost halfway. You might as well just leave them up and tell everybody you put them up early. Don't take them down. Leave them up. You've got seven months to think about what you want for Christmas. How many of you have already started thinking about that? Be honest, raise your hand. A couple of hands. You've already started thinking about what you want for Christmas. You've got seven months to figure it out and communicate it to the right people so that they know what to get you for Christmas. The reality is this, we like Christmas and one of the reasons we like Christmas is that for a moment in time, it is all about us. We get to say, this is what I want you to get me for Christmas and we're all hardwired to ultimately be all about ourselves. Sin has changed us. It's twisted us. It's perverted us and there's something in us that likes it to be all about us. In Christmas, at times, for all of the celebration of Jesus, at times reinforces that. In this sermon series called Seven, we're trying to take the focus off ourselves. We're trying to step back and we're trying to talk about the church and ask the question not do we want from our church, but what does Jesus want from His church? Jesus bled and died on a cross to purchase the church. The book of Acts tells us, Acts chapter 20, it belongs to Him. What does He want from us? And we've been looking in the book of Revelation, if you have your Bible, find the book of Revelation. We've been looking at Revelation 2 and 3 at the seven letters that Jesus wrote to seven different churches and in each letter there's some warnings, in each letter there's some encouragement, in each letter there's some reminders about who Jesus is and what these churches may have forgotten, but when you put it all together, you get a list of what Jesus wants from His church and so we're building that list and we're three weeks in already. The first week, we looked at Jesus' letter to the church in Ephesus and He warned that church about the danger of a diminishing love. In other words, He wants a church that loves people. He wants a church that loves people. Week two, we looked at Jesus' letter to the church in Smyrna and He warned them about the danger of fearing persecution. What He wanted from them was a church that would be loyal even unto death. So He wants a church that loves people. He wants us to be loyal even unto death. Last week, we looked at Jesus' letter to the church in Pergamum and He warned that church about the danger of theological or doctrinal compromise and what Jesus is saying, He wants from His church is a group of people who love and will fight for and defend the truth. So we're building this list, this morning we're going to add one more idea, Jesus wants a church that's holy and we see that in the warning for the church in Thyatira. This is on your outline. Jesus warns the church in Thyatira about the danger of moral or you could say ethical compromise. He warns them about the danger of moral compromise. So last week, it was doctrinal compromise, theological compromise, the things you believe and the things you profess and the things you defend. This week, it's your life and your actions and your behavior and He's warning the church about the danger of moral compromise. Look in your Bible. Revelation chapter two, beginning in verse 18, and we will read what Jesus had to say to the church in Thyatira and what the Spirit has to say to us at a manual. Revelation two, 18, and to the angel of the church in Thyatira, right, the words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance and that your latter works exceed the first, but I have this against you that you tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food, sacrifice to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed and those who commit adultery with her, I will throw into great tribulation unless they repent of her works. And I will strike her children dead and all the churches will know that I am He who searches mind and heart and I will give to each of you as your works deserve, but to the rest of you in Thyatira who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden, only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works unto the end to him, I will give authority over the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my father and I will give him the morning star. He who has in here, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches, let's pray. Father we are grateful for the reign, we are grateful for your blessing and your provision in our life. Father, part of that blessing and part of that provision is the Bible and we are grateful that we have a book that contains your words. Father we believe that it is true, we believe that it is perfect, we believe that you speak to us today through the words recorded in this old, old book. Father as we read this letter that Jesus sent to the church in Thyatira, our prayer is simply that your spirit would speak to our hearts today. Help us to understand what it is that Jesus wants from his church. Father, give us wills and hearts to put that into practice once we understand and we pray all of it in Jesus' name, amen. We are going to start off talking about Thyatira, the city. We are going to jump into the letter but let me tell you a little bit about Thyatira. These are things we know from ancient documents, from archaeology, from things like that. Outside of this letter that Jesus sent to the church in Thyatira, it is only mentioned one time in the Bible and you may remember that Paul on one of his missionary journeys stopped in a town called Philippi and he met a woman there named Lydia and we learn in the book of Acts that Lydia was a seller of dyed cloth, purple cloth and she was from Thyatira. She lived in Thyatira, she was well to do, she also had a home in Philippi that Paul stayed at and that's the only other time it's mentioned but you can look back in archaeology and history and you can learn some interesting things about Thyatira. As I read about the city this week, it sort of struck me that Thyatira was a little bit like Odessa. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say the two towns were very similar in some ways. It was a fairly good sized town, we'll put a map up on the screen and you can see where it's at. You remember John wrote the book of Revelation when he was on the island of Patmos, he sent a messenger with these letters in the entire book of Revelation to these churches. First stop was Ephesus, then Smyrna, then Pergamum, then sort of up and around off the beaten path, not on the main thoroughfares of the Mediterranean Sea. You see Thyatira up there on the top right. Wasn't the biggest city but it was a good sized city. Wasn't what anybody would call maybe the most important city but it was an important city. Here's the thing you really need to know about Thyatira. In Thyatira business was good, business was booming and it was a city of industry, it was a blue-collar town and you can look at some of this research, Thyatira had more trade and professional guilds than any other city in Asia Minor. This is where the blue-collar Joe lived, this is where people made things and they got things done and they worked with their hands and there was three major industries that supported this booming economy in Thyatira. Number one, they made shoes, shoe manufacturing, they had some sort of shoe plant. It probably didn't look like our Nike factories today but they made shoes in Thyatira. Second, they died fabric or they died cloth and light bulb goes off and you say, "Yeah, Lydia was involved in that." She sold some of that cloth that they died and that they colored in Thyatira. So they made shoes, they died cloth and then they had bronze manufacturing. Bronze was readily available there and there was guys who knew how to work with their hands and they just made all kinds of stuff out of bronze. So that was the economy. They made shoes, they died cloth, they worked with bronze, this is a blue-collar town. Here's the thing, if you wanted to make shoes or if you wanted to be involved in the cloth industry, the fabric industry or if you wanted to be a bronze smith, if that's what you're called, you had to join the trade guild. No options about it. You had to join the guild. You had to be part of this sort of society of people who worked in this particular industry. Think of maybe like a union only way, way more than just a union. You had to be a part of this guild. Here's what happened in the guilds, in the shoe guild or the fabric guild or the bronze workers guild. They would get together on a regular basis and they would have parties, feasts and several things would happen at these guild feasts, none of which were very appropriate. Number one, they would sacrifice animals to the patron god, the guardian god of the city of Thyatira. So that was how you started off the feast. Let's kill an animal as an offering to this god who guards the city of Thyatira and we're going to talk about him in just a minute. Secondly, you drink as much alcohol as you possibly could. Thirdly, you can imagine what happens next. I don't think I need to spell it out to you. It's pretty clear as you read the things that Jesus is concerned about as he writes to this church what was going on. Pagan sacrifices, then you eat the sacrifice, you eat the meal. Number two, you get totally drunk. Number three, you corouse around. That's what you did at the guild feast. Now if you're a believer, a Christian in Thyatira, do you see your dilemma? You got kids. They want to eat. They need clothes on their back. You want to keep a roof over your head. That means you need a job. You've got to work. You say, okay, I live in Thyatira. I could go into the shoe business. I could go into the fabric business. I could be a bronze fabricator. It's all great, but you're going to have to join the guild. And once you're in the guild, you've got to participate in the feast. And when you go to the feast, they're going to offer these pagan sacrifices. Everybody's going to get totally drunk and then it's going to be total chaos. Do you want to eat or do you not want to eat? And Jesus writes this letter to the Christians in Thyatira who find themselves in a very delicate, tricky, thorny, ethical dilemma of saying, well, don't you want me to provide for my family? Yes. But Jesus says, I've got some major concerns about things going on in your church. And so we're going to break this letter down asking a couple of questions. First question is this, why do churches fall into sin? That happened in Thyatira. They went into this guild atmosphere. They fell into sin. Why does that happen? One reason it happens is that churches forget Jesus is God. They forget that Jesus is God. They begin to think of Him as if He were an equal, a buddy, a pal. And they forget that He's God Almighty. Look what Jesus says in verse 18, to the angel of the church in Thyatira, right? The words of and every introduction is different. Here's how Jesus describes Himself to Thyatira, the words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire in whose feet are like burnished bronze. If you lived in Thyatira and you knew anything about guild feast, you would understand exactly what Jesus is saying here. The patron deity of Thyatira was a god named Pythius Tyrimnus Apollo. Sometimes He was called Helius, referring to the son, Helius Pythius Tyrimnus Apollo. He was believed to be the son God, S-O, excuse me, S-U-N, son, the big thing that's up in the sky, the son God, he controlled it. He was also believed to be the son God, S-O-N, as in the son of Zeus, Helius, Pythius, Tyrimnus Apollo, the son God of the son and the son of Zeus, and Jesus writes to this church and what does He tell him right off the bat? I'm the son of God. It's not Apollo, your priorities, your understanding of me, it's uncertain, it's unsure, it's beginning to shift. I am the son of God and He says what, I have eyes like a flame of fire. You think He controls the sun, you think He controls light, I open my mouth in the beginning and stars came flying out of my mouth. I have eyes like a flame of fire, I am the son God, I am the God of the son, I am God's only S-O-N son and then He says this, my feet are like burnished bronze. I guard this city, don't think for one second that Apollo is your guardian, I'm the son of God, I have eyes like a flame of fire, I guard the city with feet of burnished bronze, you have put Apollo in my place. You're treating Him as God and you need to remember that I'm God. Now I bet nobody in this room, I bet not one person has ever been tempted to put Helius, Pithius, to Remnos, Apollo in the place of Jesus. You have never been tempted to do that. But you have been tempted to put other people or other things in Jesus' place. You've been tempted to put work in the place where Jesus belongs. You've been tempted to put another person, a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, child, parent in the place where only Jesus belongs. You've been tempted to put a thing or an amount of money in the place that only Jesus belongs. You want to know why some churches or church members fall into sin, it's because at a base level their theology gets off track and they forget that Jesus is God. So he begins by reminding this church that he is God. Number two, why did churches fall into sin? You ought to be able to fill this one in on your own by now. They forget that Jesus expects 100 percent. He doesn't ask for anything less. He doesn't expect anything less. Look at verse 19, count up the positives with me, the thumbs up. He says, "I know your works." Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they had some good works to their credit. He says, "I know your love, I know your faith, I know your service, I know your patient endurance, and on top of all that your latter works exceed the first. You're growing spiritually in some sense. I know that you're doing a lot of good things for me, but," verse 20, "I have this against you." Yes, there's some good things happening here, but I'm not satisfied with less than 100 percent. Understand that Jesus demands all of you and He deserves all of you. He expects 100 percent. Why did churches fall into sin? Number three, they presume on God's grace. They presume on God's grace. Verse 20 to 21, "I have this against you, you tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrifice to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality." So here's Jezebel, right? You're at the church at Thyatira. You want to feed your family. That means you got to be part of the guild, but you know that you shouldn't do all the nonsense that takes place at the guild feast, so you find yourself at a crossroads. Jezebel, as Jesus calls her, walks into this church and she says, "Look, look. I love Jesus. I'm not asking you to get rid of Jesus. You need to invite Jesus into your heart if you've never done that. But look, Jesus understands the pressure that you're facing. Jesus understands that you're backed up against a rock and a hard place. You've got nowhere to go. What does He expect you to do? Let your kids starve." So this woman came into the church and she said this, "Look, you are in a tough spot. Jesus understands. Give Jesus all of you, everything you are, everything you have, except the guilds." And you just need to go, you need to eat the food, you need to offer the sacrifice, you need to have a little something to drink so that they don't think you're stuck up or snobbish or fruity or whatever. And then you just need to have this little part for Apollo, everything else for Jesus. Jesus understands it's okay. And Jesus writes to this church and He says, "All of you," not just this false teacher, this woman, "all of you are presuming on my grace." Those of you who are doing what she's telling you to do, you're just presuming on grace. You're saying, "I'm going to sin now and Jesus is just going to forgive it later." Those of you who don't agree with what she's teaching, you're tolerating it. You haven't done anything about it. You're just putting up with it. You're presuming on my grace and Jezebel herself is presuming on my grace because Jesus said, "I have given her time to repent and she hasn't done it." All of you Jesus says are guilty of presuming on my grace. Understand that Jesus doesn't like that. I don't know what sort of vision or picture you have of Jesus in your head. If it's just some guy who doesn't care what you do with your life, how you live your life, the words that come out of your mouth, He cares. And He's saying to this church, "I want all of you." And this idea that you're going to go and just do something that you know is wrong and just expect or presume that I'm going to forgive it, it's insanity. He says, "I'm giving you time to repent." What does He want an unholy church to remember? What did He want Thyatira to remember? What would He want us to remember? Should we find ourselves in sin? Number one, He wants us to remember that He has authority to discipline His people. Jesus has authority to discipline His people, verse 23, Jesus says, "I will strike her children, her followers dead. I will discipline them. I will throw Jezebel onto a sick bed." Verse 22, Jesus has authority to discipline His people. You understand that the Jesus that wrote this letter is the same Jesus we sang to about 15 minutes ago, right? He hasn't changed. If you think that you're going to claim the name of Jesus Christ and then you're going to walk your own wicked, rebellious, sinful path, Jesus will discipline you. He promised to do it to the people in Thyatira. What does He want an unholy church to remember? Number two, He wants them to remember that He knows our hearts and our minds. This is interesting to me. The problem in Thyatira was very black and white. Jesus could have saved John a lot of writing and just said, "Listen. Quit going to the feast. Stop it. Knock it off. You got no business going there. Does He ever say that? No, because He knows that what's happening at the feast is an external manifestation of the sinful problems in their own heart. He knows that if He just said, "Stop going to the feast," and they just stopped, that they'd fill that void with something else, it'd be like putting a Band-Aid on cancer. And so Jesus says, "Listen, the feast are a problem, yes. But the real problem is not the feast, it's you, it's your heart, it's your mind. And you need to remember that when I'm calling you to holiness, I'm not just talking about external conformity to whoever's rules you decide to align with. I'm talking about your heart, and I'm talking about your mind." What does Jesus ask of a holy church? There were some in Thyatira who didn't like what was going on, didn't participate in what was going on. What did He ask of them? All He asked for is perseverance, perseverance. Keep on doing exactly what you're doing. Hang in there. Give in, don't fall, or succumb to the temptation, or to the pressure, you just keep persevering in your faith. Verse 24 and 25, "To the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I don't lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. Hold fast." Now, as Baptists, this is one of the most precious doctrines to us. This idea of the perseverance of the saints that God's people will endure, and they'll continue to be God's people, and we love it so much that the perseverance of the saints doesn't quite roll off the tongue very nicely, so we made up our own little version of it, and I'll start it and you finish it. We just like to say, once saved, okay, you got it. You got to pass the Baptist test. You guys are in. Easy. I believe it. We sang about it earlier. I think the last song that we said, we sang about Jesus holding on to us. He's going to keep us secure. No scheme of hell, no power of man can snatch us from Jesus' hand. We are secure, and as Baptists, we like to say, once saved, always saved, but you understand that when the world hears us say that, what they hear is, pray a prayer and then do whatever you want with the rest of your life. Pray a prayer. You're in. Did you pray a prayer? Did you go to VBS as a kid? Did you walk the aisle? Did you get up in the baptister? You did all the... You're in? Oh, I know that you haven't darkened the door of a church in the last 40 years, but at VBS, 1963, you prayed a prayer. And saved, always saved, you're in. Now listen to me. Some of you are getting nervous. I'm a Baptist, and I'm a Southern Baptist, and if you want to call it once saved, always saved, that's fine. I'm in. I'm with you. I believe in the eternal security of the believer. I believe what we sang earlier, that when Jesus has you in His hand, no scheme of hell, no power of man will be able to snatch you from Jesus' hand. I'm with you on all of that, but I'm telling you that when we go back to Baptist default mode and start talking once saved, always saved, we miss out what Jesus is telling the church to do. Jesus didn't say to those of you who are holding in there and hanging fast, "Hey, it's time to kick your heels up because don't you know once saved, always saved?" Jesus says, "Listen, to those of you who haven't gone down this mess of filth, here's what I want you to do, hold fast, persevere, don't stray from the path you're walking, you keep plugging along, you keep following me." He doesn't give him some sort of cliche assurance of, once saved, always saved, he says, "I want you to persevere. I want you to endure. Is Jesus going to hold on to you?" Absolutely. Question about that, what's your job, persevere, hold fast, endure, Jesus asks for perseverance. What does he promise a holy church? Two promises, both interesting. Number one, Jesus promises authority in heaven, authority in heaven. Verse 26 and 27 to the one who conquers, who keeps my works until what? The end, who perseveres, who holds fast, to him, I will give authority over the nations and he will rule them with the rod of iron, is when earthen pots are broken in pieces. Even as I myself have received authority from my father, you say, "What does that mean?" He's going to give us a scepter, a rod of iron, and we're going to rule the nations. I don't know exactly what that means. Here's what I do know. In the Old Testament, Psalm chapter 2, you can go back and read it this afternoon, "God the Father is talking to God the Son, and God the Father says to God the Son, the Messiah, one day I'm going to let you, the Messiah, rule all of the nations of the earth." Not just Israel, but all the nations, all the peoples, all the kingdoms, all of it will be yours. In Jesus, here in Revelation 2, says, "Look, if you hold fast, when I'm ruling the nations, you will be ruling with me." I'm going to give to you some of the authority that the Father has given to me, and we're going to rule together. You say, "Well, what does that look like? Am I going to be a governor? Am I going to be? I have no idea what you're going to be." But I do know this. The alternative is not as good as this because the only alternative to ruling with Jesus is being ruled by Jesus. The Bible talks about that. On the last day every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That submission, forced submission, listen to me, you do not want the last day to be the first day that you submit to Jesus. You need to submit to Jesus today. If you have never repented of your sin, confessed your unworthiness to God, put your hope and your faith and your trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You need to do that today. And once you do that, it's not just come up and let's pray a prayer and then we're going to pat you on the back with a once-saved, always-saved. It's, "Hey, pray the prayer and persevere. Be fast to the end because the one that holds fast to Jesus' words until the end gets to rule and have authority with Jesus in heaven." What does Jesus promise a holy church? Number two, He promises the morning star. He promises the morning star. That's verse 28, "I will give Him the morning star." You get yourself into a lot of trouble here if you just start speculating, well what do you think that means? What do you think He's talking about? Well, I think He's talking about this. Well, I don't know. I heard my Aunt Mary talking about this and I think she's talking about this. I don't know what this is referring to, but maybe He's talking about this. Listen, let's let the Bible interpret the Bible. Take your Bible and turn to the last chapter of the Bible, the last chapter in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 22, verse 16, Jesus tells us exactly what it means. Revelation 22, verse 16, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches." We understand He's writing this book to churches. And Jesus says, "I am the root and descendant of David the what? Bright morning star." I'm the morning star. And Jesus is saying, "Look, if you will persevere in holiness, if you will be a separate people, the kind of people I want you to be, you get authority in heaven at my side, and best of all you get me." We need to hear the balance of that in this letter to the church in Thyatira. There's going to be a lot of great stuff in heaven. You understand that, right? There's going to be joy like you've never experienced. There's going to be things that you see and that you hear that you can't even imagine. There's going to be a reunion with Godly Jesus loving people who have died and gone on before us. The Bible says there's going to be no more sickness, no more death, no more crying, no more pain. Jesus even says, "You get to have authority over stuff. You get to rule over stuff. You get to be put in position of responsibility." You hear all that and we say, "That's great, but don't miss the fact that the highlight of heaven is not the health, it's not the joy, it's not the reunion with loved ones, it's not the authority that Jesus is going to give you. The highlight of heaven is Jesus. And if you think to yourself, "You know what? I could take some of that authority one of these days. I am ready to have some authority." And I'll take the no more sickness because I'm tired of my allergies and I can't wait to see Aunt Myrtle, she's going to be there, this is going to be a great place. And if you don't ever think about Jesus, you've missed it. It's not about Aunt Myrtle. It's not about the authority that Jesus is going to give you. It's not about the fact that you're never going to get sick again. It's about Jesus. And Jesus says, "If you be the kind of people I'm calling you to be, if you live like the kind of church I'm calling you to be, you get me, I'm the pearl of great price. Not heaven, me, and you get me. How do we do it? How does a church pursue holiness? Four ideas. You can look these verses up later on your own. Number one, know the Bible. You've got to know what God requires of you. Know the Bible. Psalm 11911, "I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Number two, love God supremely. Love God supremely. With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. Love Jesus so much that sin is uninteresting and boring by comparison. Know the Bible. Love God supremely. Number three, refuse to follow the culture. We live in a time and a place where there are plenty of pontificators who want to tell us what is right and wrong. And how antiquated we are, and how backward we are, and how hateful we are. And the Bible says Romans 12-2, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Do not let culture tell you what is right and wrong and what's acceptable. Know the Bible. Love God supremely. Refuse to follow the culture. Number four, live in community. Book of Hebrews tells us to keep meeting together because we need each other. We need each other to encourage one another. Hebrews says continue meeting together as some of you are in the habit of doing, encouraging each other all the more as you see the day approaching. The day that Jesus comes back is getting closer and closer and closer. And until it gets here, our job is to meet together to encourage one another and to say to each other, look, here's what Jesus has called us to do. And here's who He's called us to be. Let's do it together. I want you to bow. We're going to pray. Guys are going to come up. We're going to sing another song. But I want you to think about what Jesus had to say to the church in Thyatira. I want you to think about what the Spirit may be saying to you this morning. You should just take a moment for reflection in your own life. Jesus wants a church that loves people. He wants a church that's loyal even to death. He wants a church that loves the truth and he wants a church that's holy. Father, we come to you grateful for the Bible, grateful for the words that Jesus spoke to this church and the words that your Spirit is speaking to us this morning. Father, we want to be the kind of church that Jesus would have us to be. We are His. And our prayer very simply is that Jesus would have His way in us as individuals, in our families and at a manual. Father, it's a privilege to be part of your church. To pray that it would be one we do not take lightly. Father, I pray specifically for those who may be here this morning, who have never submitted their life to Jesus Christ. And Father, I pray that they would do it today. I pray that the last day would not be the first day that they bow before Jesus. Father, we pray for those of us who, for different reasons, different times in our life, have been lulled into complacency by the idea that we can pray a prayer and then live however we want to live. Father, we repent of that. We believe wholeheartedly that Jesus will keep His people to the end. But Father, we hear you this morning. We hear Jesus. We hear your Spirit calling us to persevere. Father, we want to sing to you. We want to join the angels in heaven who are lifting up the name of Jesus Christ, who are praising you for the cross, for the empty tomb, and for the new life that you've poured into us. Father, be honored as we give you glory through song. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen.