MONDAY MORNING PASTOR

Yesterday I preached from Revelation 2:18-29 on the church at Thyatira. The title was "Don't Miss Christ Tolerating Jezebel."

There are some sermons/passages that are tougher to preach than others and this is one of them. A needed message but a penetrating passage that shines lights on so much of our souls, not just sexuality. Jezebel, though seducing the church to sexual immorality, was also weakening their conscience and sensitivity to the Spirit of the Lord. This is the power of her seduction: "desensitize and destroy." In this way the influence of Jezebels (female and male) on the church far exceeds the sensual and invades every area of our life seeking to have us to tolerate that which we know the Lord does not tolerate.

Before we move to the broader side of her influence let's consider why she has such a focus on sexual impurity. If you know a basic scope of the New Testament you know that the gospel message moved from the Jews towards the Gentiles. As this was taking place in the book of Acts it was astonishing to the Jews that the Gentiles were receiving the Holy Spirit and being saved. Yet, the tension arose surrounding whether the Gentiles should keep the law or not. In short, the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 concluded that the Gentiles should only be made to do a few things, one of which was to abstain from sexual immorality.

Now, consider this fact: one aspect of the Gentiles inclusion into the church was their abstaining from sexual immorality. Since this was the case how do you think the devil would focus his attention on the Gentiles? Sex, you guessed it! This is why sexual immorality is such a problem in the church today because the devil knows that our witness and testimony - God's glory! - is attached to our remaining sexually pure. Jezebel is running the Satanic party platform as she stumps around the churches to advance that agenda. She understood that the best way to silence the church was to sexualize it and degrade its witness. Sex, however, is both a tactic and a diversion.

The influence of Jezebel's (false teachers planted in the church by the devil) digs deep into the recesses of our souls to sexualize us but also to change our perception of the world and events so that we no longer discern their essence or end. Whenever we tolerate pride, it's the Jezebel influence. Whenever we tolerate isolation, it's the Jezebel influence. Whenever we tolerate poor health and poor marriages, yep, it's the Jezebel influence. In speaking with a young man after church about the message, I mentioned to him the things I just wrote above. His response was this: How is that Jezebel? How is pride Jezebel influence? The questions, though innocent and honest, are actually proof of the Jezebel deception.

If we think the influence of Jezebel is only about sexuality - which is the way too many perceive it - she has won. If her seduction can get the church focused on sexuality we will, by default, assume that we are spiritually okay if we are sexually pure even though we may be spiritually dysfunctional in other ways. For instance, one might conclude the following: “I may not read the Bible, but that's okay because I am sexually pure”; “I may not pray, but that's okay because I don't watch porn;” I may hate a person in the church but that's not as bad as the man who committed adultery;” or, I don't like people of a different culture, but it's alright because I saved myself for marriage”! This is the grande deception of Jezebel!

Jezebel highlights sex because it is a weakness for so many, for sure, but she also does it to create an ungodly focus on sex in the church. Sex is the front door that Jezebel opened and the church ran to it while she came in through the back door wreaking all kinds of havoc! This is true, not only for the church, but for us personally. Many souls are being internally destroyed by tolerating Jezebel because they are missing her deceptions.

Anytime I am the focus or anytime I want the praise - it is Jezebel. She only wants you to love yourself and own your own body and reject any authority that seeks to guide you in a path different from the one you choose. This Jezebel teaching has so permeated the culture of America that we are driven by its slogans such as "Obey your thirst" or "Have it your way." Unfortunately, these slogans work because they tap into what is most true about us: we want what we want, when we want it and the way we want it. It’s the Jezebel influence.

May the grace of our Lord be our powerful protection against the deception pontifications of Jezebel.