The Compromising Church

Good morning!

2 things before we get to our text

Last week I said Smyrna was the only church that did not receive a rebuke from Jesus (wrong, Philadelphia)

<sad about sunsets/lost people>

Revelation 1:12-16

Prayer

We’re continuing our walk through chapters 2 & 3 in the book of Revelation

7 churches in 7 weeks, each week focusing on one of the churches that this letter is written to, 

The apostle John, exiled to the isle of Patmos, received a vision from the Lord, 

Apocalyptic vision (Greek work apokalypsis, means to reveal/unveil)

God is pulling back the curtain so we can see a glimpse of His plan and His work throughout eternity

John was given this vision, he wrote it down, and sent it out

And the courier who carried this letter stopped at these 7 towns on his way

We’ve talked about the loveless church in Ephesus

We’ve learned about the persecuted church in Smyrna, who was standing strong in the face of immense pressure

And today we’ll be dealing with the church at Pergamos (Pergamum, same place)

“the compromising church”

A church that is also facing persecution but instead of holding up, it’s compromising

Compromise isn’t always a bad thing

Like most tools, it’s super handy when it’s performing the job it was intended to do

Hammers are made to hammer, and as long as you’re hammering nails no one is going to say anything about it

If you use that hammer to assault someone, its a problem

If you’re married there are ways you compromise in your marriage daily

Megan cooks almost every meal we eat, but sometimes on rare occasions she doesn’t want to cook

I don’t wanna cook, so we compromise; the kids get a frozen pizza and we get Mexican takeout

I’ve heard horror stories of churches splitting b/c they can’t compromise on the color of the carpet

One group wants one color, another group wants a different color, they can’t come to a resolution, and they split

Hopefully that hasn’t happened here, hopefully it never will

but if it does, I’ll settle it.  

I’m a millennial, you know what color I’m picking?  Gray

Colorblind: I’m kind of a gray expert, I see gray where gray’s not there

Compromise is a tool and it’s a really good one but there are times when compromise is not an acceptable tactic

B/c there’s this thing called TRUTH

John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

There are no other acceptable answers

Different religions are not different paths to the same heaven, there is truth, truth is a person, truth has a name and His name is Jesus

We cannot compromise on truth

Here’s what I want us to think about today:

Will we be a church who compromises, or will we be a church who 

remains faithful to the truth (repeat)/follows God’s commands in scripture 

Will we be a church who overcomes?

v.12

(You’re gonna hear me say this a lot)

Angel: “messenger”; pastor (Jesus holds the stars in his right hand)

Lampstand: the church (lamp stands shine the light of Jesus)

Sword

“He” who has the sword is Jesus

The Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the one who was dead but is now alive forever

John in his gospel calls them the Word (capital W); 

logos - everything about everything

John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

(Speaking w/ the Pharisees) Matthew 12:34 – Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Jesus is full of grace and truth so when He opens His mouth, grace and truth spill out 

(what about when we get angry and hate spills out - uh oh)

When Jesus speaks it’s the truth, It’s a sword (listen to this):

Ephesians 6:17 – And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The truth is gonna hurt sometimes (no pain, no gain)

I love to teach little kids that I coach this: hard things are worth doing <football, marriage, job>

Following God isn’t going to be easy all the time but it is always worth it

The church in Pergamos has it hard right now

Founded as a Greek city, local legend claimed that the Greek deities Zeus, Athena, and Heracles were in the city's pedigree

Temple worship was a big deal

Temples to the gods of the Greeks, temples to the gods of the Egyptians, and when Rome took over they began to worship caesar, too

They would worship anything and everything except the one true God

The church faced persecution for this

Christians lived a radically different life than those around them b/c they would share their table with anyone but they would not share their bed

(think about that)

V.13

Jesus knows His church and He knows where you dwell

No matter where you are, no matter your surroundings, no matter the persecution

Jesus is near (walks among the lamp stands)

Christians in Pergamos faced social pressure to conform

(Sound familiar at all?)

Would’ve been excluded from certain aspects of society, outcasts

B/c they didn’t participate in these everyday, normal occurrences that flew in the face of God’s commands and His will for their lives

The church gets a commendation here for remaining strong in the face of this pressure

(Hold fast, don’t deny your faith)

Martyrdom was on the table 

Antipas; early church tradition was burned to death on a pagan altar

Why? B/c the truth matters

We, today, have to be bold enough to stand for the truth

The Bible does not need us to qualify it or make excuses for it

“It’s 2024, this is all outdated….” Nope!

Be strong

There’s an “I love you, but….” Coming…….v.14-15

There are some in the church who are compromising

Is compromise always bad? No

I’m an engineer, HVAC design

what’s the goal? Have a system that works (nobody calling to complain - don’t ever think about me again)

Often on any project there are a number of ways to approach the task at hand (I could do this THIS way and it would work OR I could do it THIS way and it would do the same thing)

Easy right? Big complication: Budget

If the owner can’t afford the perfect solution then we have to start compromising

It’s what engineers do

Some compromise is ok, but there comes a point where the compromise will kill

If I compromise too much, humidity, moisture is the enemy, mold, terrible

You don’t want your bridge designer to compromise on the piers over the river, you’ll just stick with taking the ferry

The church cannot compromise on what the word of God says

Rooted in pride

We know better than God knows

That’s what got us into this whole sin-mess in the first place

Pride that God’s commands are good for everybody else but I’m gonna be able to do it my way

Pride that ‘those christians are stupid and need a book and their sky daddy to tell them to be good, moral people' 

Everybody is dealing with pride

Look around! Not going great

Pergamos (certain people) are caving to the pressure and are compromising

Given themselves over to idolatry, sexual immorality 

Nicolaitans were promoting promiscuity in the church, Ephesus was opposing them, Pergamos says “that's cool, come on it”

(God’s word is clear then, today, and forever; sex is for one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage)

By them compromising they’re causing their brothers and sisters to sin as well

Their sin is bringing others down with them

Matt Chandler: “Compromise happens when we cater to the predominant culture’s values that stand opposed to the reign and rule of Jesus.”

We have a king; not our boss, not our friends, not our spouse, not the president

Not ourselves (‘as long as I’m happy’)The command?

v.16

Repent!

Don’t cave to the culture

Don’t live your life straddling the fence with one foot in the Word and one foot in the world

Submit to God

It’s the only way

We want to live lives partially submitted but expect to be fully blessed

“God I want ALL of you but you can only have part of me”

Doesn’t work; Jesus will come and fight this and he fights it with the truth, the word of God

Why? B/c God wants all of you

He wants what’s best for you and He knows what’s best for you is Him.

v.17

Manna: spiritual blessing

Just as the Israelites in the wilderness received sustenance from Heaven

So will the overcomer receive blessing from God

What blessing?

Holy Spirit; God who dwells in us, who guides us, helps us to remember all things

White stone:

Awarded as a trophy for an athletic achievement

Invitation to banquet

God’s gonna make all things new and He wants you to be there

No longer will sin stain our existence, God has washed us clean with the blood of His spotless lamb, Jesus

This white stone has a new name on it b/c Jesus bought us at the cross

Our sin debt was paid by God himself who came and lived and died

And when you believe that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross counted for you then you’ve got a new name

You’re not defined by your scars, you’re defined by His

For God so loved the world He gave His son……

<reconciled, Gospel>

The invitation to this banquet is open to all:

(Close us out) Psalm 23:5-6 – You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

VIII.Prayer

Invitation