Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ, who is our Morning Star. Amen.

Ascended Lord Jesus, you who are all-knowing and all-seeing, look down upon us with your mercy when we sin. Gently discipline us so that we may learn the consequences of our actions. You do not tolerate sin, nor should we. Also, make us strong as individual Christians and as a congregation of believers to lovingly point out the sins of our Christian brothers and sisters. Allow us to be your messengers of love to let others know that you will not let their sins go unpunished. This is a difficult prayer, but make us strong to do as you command. Amen.

There was a church near Thyatira that taught that once you accepted Jesus Christ into your life and were baptized, you could live in sinless perfection. If you faltered and sinned, however, then you would be rebaptized. A visitor to that church heard this teaching and asked to be baptized. He was tired of being unsuccessful in dealing with his habitual sins. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of winter and the river was nearly frozen. Still, the man was persistent and got the church elders to baptize him in the river. After the man and two elders came out of the freezing cold water, the man was so excited, he said, "I feel so good, I’m not even cold." One elder turned to the other and said, "He’s lying, we have to do it again."

This story illustrates that being a Christian does not mean we will be perfect. Being a Christian means that we will be forgiven. Having a right relationship with God does not make us robots without free will. We are forgiven, but we are not prevented from sinning.

Jesus sternly pointed out that though they were Christians in the congregation of Thyatira, they were also, definitely, sinners. There were some among them who were caught up in sexual sins and false doctrines. Instead of leaving the sinful ways of the world behind, some of the Christians brought the world into the church. The rest of the congregation may not have been involved in those sins, but they allowed those sins to continue without renouncing them. They were guilty by association. They needed to get rid of those sins. Jesus said, "I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, her teachings and her sexual immorality." Jesus makes it clear that toleration of sin incurs the same divine anger as the sin itself. You cannot tolerate sin and get away with it.

Thyatira was a small town that was famous for making purple dyes. Jesus had some good things to say about this small-town church, but he had even more bad things to say. He said, "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you …" "Nevertheless," what a horrible word. Jesus saying "nevertheless," is like the girl you love telling you "I love you, you’re fun to be around, you’re cute, BUT I just want to be friends." After that "but," the rest is pretty crummy. After Jesus’ "nevertheless," it was worse than crummy.

There was a woman, who was a member in Thyatira, who was leading Christians astray. Jesus calls her Jezebel, which wasn’t her real name, but it does indicate what kind of woman she was. The original Jezebel, wife of wicked King Ahab, introduced Baal worship into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and led the Israelites into gross idolatry. The "Jezebel" in Thyatira was encouraging the Christians to engage in sexual immorality and take part in sacrificing to idols. The worst part was that she was allowed to disrupt the teachings of this hard-working church and introduce immoral, heathen practices. No one had the guts to stand up to her. Some even joined in her sin and accepted her teachings. Jezebel and her followers typify church members who want the blessings they see in the church without renouncing the sins they enjoy outside of it.

At times, you may think that it is "loving" to tolerate sin. God does not see it that way — ever. Jesus will put sin and immorality in its place. God is merciful and patient — wanting all sinners to come to repentance. However, when sinners repeatedly refuse God’s call to repent and reject the time of grace that he has given them, he will judge them. Jesus said, "I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead." Jesus allowed sexual diseases to attack Jezebel and her followers.

In the same way Jesus allows sexual diseases like AIDS to plague America and other countries. Some may say, "No loving god would allow such a terrible disease as AIDS to exist." Indeed a loving God does allow AIDS not only to exist, but to cause millions to suffer, in the hope that those sinners who have been afflicted will turn to him in repentance and seek his forgiveness. For all who repent of their sins, whatever their sins may be, there is full and free forgiveness. God allows people to suffer, out of love for their eternal souls.

Sadly, though, many will not take advantage of God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation. They will refuse to look in faith to Jesus and ultimately they will die in their sin. God wants people to turn back to him. If they repent, all is forgiven. If not…

The congregation in Thyatira had turned a blind eye to the sin that was going on in their congregation. They had become indifferent to sin.

Don’t let that happen to you. I’m afraid that many of you probably deal with the sin of your fellow church members like this, "Don’t do anything. Say nothing. We don’t want to be judgmental. We don’t want to embarrass anybody." Or, "Tell the pastor, let him deal with it." Our politically correct American society encourages you to approve of and embrace any kind of lifestyle. As a result, many of you, too, have been infected with an indifference toward sin. You tolerate sin in your own life. You tolerate the sins of your fellow members. You tend to say nothing because you have given up. You feel that there is nothing you can do to stop people from living together in sin, gossiping, taking the Lord’s name in vain. You feel that there is no way you can criticize someone else for not coming to worship or Bible study or communion, because you don’t have a perfect attendance record. You tend to focus on yourself and try not to think about what others are doing.

That is exactly what happened in Thyatira and that got them into a lot of trouble with the Lord. Jesus said, "I will give you what your deeds deserve." If you feel safe in your sin, you are anything but safe! Listen to how Jesus described himself: "These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze." When you hear that description of Jesus, you don’t exactly think of the hymn "Beautiful Savior," do you? Eyes like blazing fire? Feet like burnished bronze? What was Jesus getting at here?

Jesus was stressing his deity. As the Son of God he has eyes like "blazing fire," that can pierce the facades, the disguises, the false pretenses of people. Nothing is hidden from Jesus. His feet are also like "burnished bronze" which can trample sin under foot and crush his enemies. Jesus knows if you are holding on to specific sins. He knows if your motives are impure and selfish. The Lord’s eyes see all, and his feet will crush all sin. Confess your sin and get rid of it. You don’t want the alternative. Jesus is telling you that you cannot tolerate sin and get away with it. Instead, you must hold onto what you already have been given.

When dealing with your child when he has done something wrong and horribly messed up you want a fast and immediate remedy through drastic action – grounding, curfew, and taking away the Gameboy. The only action that will have lasting effects, however, will be if you deal with your son’s sin using Law and Gospel. Show him his sins and show him his Savior. That is exactly what Jesus tells us to do with ourselves.

Jesus says, "Hold on to what you have until I come." He means that we are never going to rid sin from ourselves or our congregation. The only thing we can do is to keep confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness. Holding onto God’s Word and Sacraments will be all you need need. This is a life-and-death message from the Son of God "whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze." My superior and yours, the King of kings and Lord of lords, wants you to know that he is the one to whom all humanity will give account. And he will be heard.

"Hold on to what you have until I come," says our Lord. He will help you. Your difficulties will last only a little while. Remember this when you feel the temptation to tolerate sin. You have needs, but Jesus knows all about them and still cares for you. He promised you in the Sermon on the Mount: "Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness and [all that you need] will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

Jesus gives this beautiful promise, "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations." To the victor go the spoils. We will be given authority over the nations. Jesus said, "He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery -- just as I have received authority from my Father." We will reign and rule with Jesus in heaven. All of God’s enemies will be lying at our feet – broken and beaten – like pieces of pottery. No one can stand against the power of the almighty God. It is a much better position to be standing alongside of him.

Jesus also promises to those who hold on to all of God’s Word and teach others to do the same, "I will give the morning star." The morning star is another name for Jesus. What better gift can Jesus give than himself? Jesus’ coming, past and future, signals a bright new day with light that chases away the darkness of ignorance, fear, and guilt. His Word brings enlightenment, the knowledge of salvation. When he died on the cross for the sins of the world, darkness covered the earth. Yet at that moment, the light of salvation dawned on the whole human race. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the Morning Star.

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods but he could never hit the target. Becoming discouraged, he headed back for lunch. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the stone fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today, didn't you Johnny?" And then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck." So Johnny did the dishes. Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing, and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "Well, that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck." So Sally fished and Johnny stayed.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he killed the duck. She knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long would you let Sally make a slave of you."

I don't know what's in your past. I don't know what one sin the enemy keeps throwing up in your face. But whatever it is, I want you to know something. With his blazing eyes, Jesus Christ saw the whole thing. But because he loves you, he has forgiven you. Perhaps he's wondering how long you'll let the enemy make a slave out of you. If there is something you can learn from the congregation in Thyatira it is to find the sin in your life and in the lives of those you love and get rid of that sin. You cannot tolerate sin and get away with it. Hold onto the Word and Sacraments that you have been given. Then Jesus will grant you forgiveness, authority, and his bright Morning Star for now and for eternity. Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. (Revelation 22:21)