Pergamos: Christian Courage In A Culture Of Compromise

That's right. That's right. You do you Tomatoes, right? well, we do tap mention this, but we, we do want to pray for all Of our young people that's going off to school. I think Ethan, may be taking classes online out of love. But Skyler and Kelsey of course or in Greensboro on Wilmington and we do need to pray for them that they'll make good decisions and that the Lord will lead them and guide them in the way that they should go. Cuz it's very difficult. a lot more difficult in college today than it was when maybe when we attended a lot more difficult, they have a lot, a lot greater challenges I believe. Well, today we're going to continue in our series on the seven churches of Revelation. And today we come to Revelation 2:12, through 17 in the title of this message today. Is Christian Courage in a culture of compromise. I think this is a very important message for the 21st century church, not just for the church at pergamum that we're going to read about today. Are you going to see this church? Had a lot of good things going on. But they had one bad thing. if you got the doctor and he says well your blood pressure is good, you lost weight and all your blood work looks good but you don't have about 6 months to live, that's not a good thing, you can have it, you can have three good things but one fatal thing And so what we going to see in this church today is they had three good things. Very good thing, but they had one fatal thing and that is it was a church that had compromised, both morally and Theological and that is That's the death of a church when a church does that and the reason I think this is so important today is because there's so many churches in our miss that are compromising the word of God today. And they have fallen into the Trap of the secular humanist that says, everything is okay, and you just need to love everyone and you need to be tolerant of everything. That's the teaching today and a lot of churches have fallen into that Bo. If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Revelation chapter 2 and we're going to read verses 12 through 17. I will read that. And then we will we will unpack this. So he says until the angel of the church in pergamus. Write these things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know your works and where you dwell For Satan's Throne is and you hold fast to my name and did not deny. My face even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you where Satan dwells. but I have a few things against you because you have there, are those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who talked, they like to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit, sexual immorality. But you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate. Repent or else. I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. And that a terrible thing when the Lord has to fight his own church, You think he's fighting evil? He's fighting Satan hear. He says, repent or else. I'm going to come quick and I'm going to fight against them. That was in the church. He's going to fight against his own church and not a terrible thing. Verse 17, he who have his have a ear. Let him hear what the spirit says, to the churches to him who overcomes, I will give some of the Hidden Manna to eat, and I will give him a white stone and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it. I just heard it. Okay,

So this is a church that had a lot going for it, and then this is what I want you to understand. Before we even unpack this, I want you to know this. That all of these churches were in areas. but it would be very hard to minister in because they had a lot of Pagan religion around them, even here in this section here, the Bible says that these people do Church Where Satan dwells, not think about this. God is saying, pergament this city pergamum. It's where Satan's Throne is. How would you like to minister where Satan's home was? Wouldn't that be awful and it was just a terrible terrible thing. But here's what I want you to understand in, this goes for all the churches, everything that Christ talks about to these churches that what you're what I have against you. None of it comes from outside the church. All of it comes from inside. You see when the Church of Christ is persecuted by the outside, you know, what happens to Church Groves. but when a church compromises from the inside that church will die, And so what Christ is saying here is even those, you you do ministry for Satan sets up his home, you're right in the middle of ungodliness and Pagan religion. The problem is something that's going on inside your church not outside and so as a church as new Grace Church, what we have to be. Careful of is not what people think about us on the outside is what's going on on the inside. We can't put up with ungodliness and sinfulness and all of that. We have to, we can't, we have to have our convictions. We cannot compromise. This was a compromising church and although they had good works although they were faithful although they stood strong in the where Satan strong was They had compromised inside and I understand how hard that would be with all, just like today with the media and all telling us, missed that how to think what to do. What church is off to do private? I have religion. Keep your church. Keep your faith inside the fuse. Don't bring it in the marketplace. It's very easy to compromise. I mean, if you just think about some of the things that's going on in the world today 10-15 years ago, we would have been appalled by. But today it just kind of goes over the top of her head and we don't think a whole lot about it. We just think that's the way it is. You see. So it's very subtle the way compromise comes to us. Well, he says here, the city is where Satan dwells, you know, a lot of cities have names What's Chicago called? The Windy City. What's New York called? The Big Y? The Big Apple. What's Durham called? The Bull City, that's exactly the Bull City. What's Detroit called? The Motor City. A lot of cities have names in here. We see you dwell where Satan lives. So, in this lesson, we going to read Christ words to the church in a city that he himself named. And it's not a pretty name is Satan's City. So as we usually do. Number one, let's look at the destination of the letter and receive that. In first part of verse 12, and to the angel of the church in pergamus, right? When Revelation was written, pergamus was the capital of Rome's, government in Malaysia. Now, this city was built on top of a large heal and the residents there, you could see the Mediterranean Sea to you can see the Mediterranean Sea 15 miles to the West. so, if you was up there on that Hill, you could see the Mediterranean Sea, the city was a A cultural center. It was famous for its Library, the library was located on top of what was called the Acropolis, and it was really second only to the library in Alexandria. They had a reading room, they will call that that library. That was 60 ft by 72 ft. The reading room was it held over 200,000 volumes and when Mark Antony offered it to Cleopatra is when it had almost 200,000 volumes. Now when Egypt at one point they they decided that they were not going to sell any Papyrus to the pergamon. So what they did is they treated Sheep and goat skin. And they produced what they called then and what we call today parchment, so it was invented there. Matter of fact, the Latin word for parchment is Pergo mental because it comes from pergamus. And even today, when you graduate from college, your diploma is called a sheepskin. That's where it comes from. Right here in Peru. Now, we going to talk a little bit more about the spiritual condition, but let's just talk for right now. We'll leave it there. So the destination of the ladder was pergamus. It was a cultural City, it was an intellectual City. It was a beautiful city, they even had Temple there. Dedicated to the emperor will talk more about that in a point. Number two. The description of Christ, every church that Christ rights to. He gives a description of himself in the description. He gives is exactly what this church needs. So let's look at that description in the second part of verse 12. He says, these things says, he who has the sharp two-edged sword. He calls himself, the sharp two-edged sword. Now, the sword is obviously a symbol of power and of judgment. Now, remember when we, when we studied in chapter one here of Revelation, I want you just flipped back a page. Look at 1:16, what the Bible says here, when John saw the vision of Christ, he had in his right hand Seven Stars out of his mouth went a w sharp two-edged sword All right. So what is a sharp two-edged sword. The sword is the word of God. What, this church needed was the word of God. Now, let me tell you something about this sharp two-edged sword, when it's speaking of Christ judging. It means that his judgment is true. You say, what? What do you mean by that? Well, what I mean is because it's God's word, it is true and trustworthy. Did you know that we can trust God's word? I hope you do know that. I hope you think that God's word is inerrant without error and it is infallible in here. It comes from the mouth of the Lord himself. So this word is authoritative and this word is sure. So this judgment that he says if you don't change I'm going to come do this. Judgment is true. Number one, number two, it is thorough. He says the sword is sharp and he says, it's double etched in other words, just sharp. That means it's not Dull. Never had a dull. Pair of scissors. I got a pair of scissors at home and it won't barely cut paper. I can't stand those in but I won't fall more like I don't know why, but you just can't hardly cut paper with it, but this is not dump it cut. Quickly cleanly and his double edge, what does that mean? That means it can hurt. It can heal, it can cut. It can cure remember what Hebrews 4:12 says, for the word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword. That's the word of God. Penetrating of the Soul and Spirit joints, and Marrow able to judge the idea and thoughts, and intents of the heart. That's what the word of God can do. So, the sword of Christ conveys. Absolute Authority. Decisive discernment in his once. It can be an instrument of life. It can be an instrument of death. How did God create the World by doing what speaking? Has he going to send this world into Oblivion speaking? Yes he is is his word. It has Authority in the symbol of that Authority. Here is the sword in Rome. They they will did the sword as well. But gods in heaven wielding, his sword. And it's a lot more powerful than Rome sword would be. So it's the word of God. Well, we need to understand why he called himself that, it's because they had strayed away. They had compromised, they had strayed away from the word of God. Well, let's go to point number three, the diagnosis of the church and we see this in verses 13 through 15. That's read that again. He says, I know you Works which are good and where you dwell you do, you do church, and I'm in a hard area, that's what he saying, where Satan's Throne is and you hold fast to my name and do not deny my faith even in the days, in which antypas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you, where Satan, dwells, but I have a few things against you because you have their, those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who talk Bay like to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to Idols. Commit, sexual, immorality bus. You also have their those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate, he gets to the point here. And he tells them some things that is right, and some things that is wrong. I let me tell you a little bit more about pergament here before we jump into this. It was obsessed.

With a love for the state.

Not what I mean by that that had crossed the line into a Dollar Tree. In other words, if you didn't love the government and if you didn't support the government and the politics of the state, then that meant you were not a good citizens and it would have been dangerous to have done that and you would have been opposed and I can't you see that happening in our own country today. If you don't do exactly what the government says, and you don't do this and you don't do that. And you had you go here and you can eat this and you can't eat that. If you don't do, it's like you're going to be silenced. We're going to cancel you out. In other words, in Rome only Caesar was Lord, not this so-called Christ. Now, Christians could follow Christ. If they wanted to But Society expected them not to let their Christian convictions. Get in the way of their public duty to obey the government. And other words, your face is fine. If you want it you just leave it inside the church. That's called privatized faith. And that's exactly what the secular humanist is telling us today. We don't want to hear this Christian. Don't you bring this into schools? Don't you bring that in the marketplace? Will let you go to church. You just keep everything that you say and all your feelings and what you think, you keep it inside those walls about church, don't you? Bring it out here. That's exactly what we're going through today. In America, Faith displayed in the Public Square is not welcome. Now, Jesus knew the Peril that they were in, and he talks about this, and their faithfulness. And he talks about that, they had maintained their witness to Jesus in such a bad environment. So let's see if he mentions here for things that Christ knew about their fate. And I, let's look at the first one. Number one Christ, knew the circumstances of their fate. Again, pergamus was a center of paganism and idolatry. No other City anywhere. Did Christ ever give a name of Satan City? He said this is where Satan dwells. Now he may have been talkin about the altar of Zeus that was also on the Acropolis 100 ft Square. 40 ft High had some impressive sculptures around the base of it. Part of that part of that Ultra Zeus is in a museum. Today, in Berlin, that could have been the reason he said, Satan's Throne. It was also a center for the god of asclepius. Who was that? You say he was the god of healing. Temples to ask Lafayette was the nearest thing to what we would call our hospitals people from all over. Asia would come to program them because they had healing powers. There are two people thought and they would go there to one of the temples that was devoted to this God is slap you. So the Christians imperva were surrounded by Pagan beliefs and Pagan practices, right in the midst of Satan's Throne. So you know it was hard in Christ. Says, I know the circumstances of your face, do you know that he knows the circumstances that you're into, you may have a job where you're kind of ostracize or something like that. People kind of look down on you because your Christian beliefs Christ knows, he understand, he knows your circumstances, don't matter if he want else knows, but Christ knows number two, He knew the conviction of their faith. Look at the second part of verse 13. He says a new hold fast. To my name. Very simply it don't matter what the circumstances were friends. It is possible that you can hold fast to the name of Christ goes. These people did. It doesn't matter about the pressure that you're under or the persecution that you go through. It doesn't mean that we can't be faithful. These people in permanent, they were faithful. So where we live our faith, when you think about us in America, at least, in in recent times, we've never been persecuted for Our Fate. We're just free. As we won't be, we can go to church, anytime we want to an end and we're never challenged. But sometimes our faith may be stronger if we are challenged because it becomes so easy to become complacent. In our Christianity if we're never challenged but a must when a Christian confess his faith. He did it knowing that there was going to be consequences, but yet they still stood up and he said you hold fast to my name. So he knew the circumstances of the Fate, he knew the conviction other fake. He even used the courage of their fate and I'll look at it in the the next part of verse 13. He says and you hold fast to my name and did not deny my faith. And then he says, even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you. Where Satan dwell, he recognized their courage. Now let me ask you something who's antypas. Who's that? You ever heard of him in the Bible? Never mentioned in the bible set for here. Matter fact I look through secular history. I can't find anything written about in there. What? Evidently he would just a nobody. But he's mentioned here in Scripture. No one escapes. Jesus is his attention. Did you know that? No one. I don't care if anyone else knew who antypas was or not. We don't the Bible doesn't talk about him, other than here. Jesus knew antypas. And he knew since he's the first, and the last and he sees all the people that's faithful to him. Matter fact, I looked up the word, the name antypas, you know what it means, it means against antipasto, it against all opposing forces, and would not recant. His faith in Christ and he was killed for. His pee was a martyr. He was killed for his faith. In Jesus knew of his faithfulness and he knows of your faithfulness as well. Well, think about this, he knew the circumstances where they live, They were convicted. They, they, they stood up. They were faithful. They were courageous Christians. You say what I say? I'm not a pretty good. Considering, where is where it is? But then, we come to the last one. He knew the compromise of their faith. So in spite of all the faithfulness in some areas, the Christians in pergamus had compromised their faith in other areas. The church had allowed idolatry And immorality and Theological liberalism to creep into the congregation. Remember, they lived in Satan Hometown. So some of Devil's ministers had made their way into the church and they were promoting something that the Bible calls the doctrine of Balaam. Look at it here in verse 14. But I have a few things against you because you have there, are those who hold the doctrine of Baal, Who's ever heard of Balaam in the Old Testament? Anybody in here ever heard of Dale Well, if you want to read about Balaam, you have to go to numbers 25. I wish we could go there and read the story but we can't. But let me tell you how they compromised on. Tell you a little bit about the story. They compromised morally. You say what, how do you know that? Well, let me tell you a little bit about bela-bela, was a pagan prophet in the Old Testament. And he claimed that he could influence the Gods. Against one's enemies. In other words, he was a prophet for her. You could go to bounce a bail. I don't like these people over here. I want you to curse them, he said, well for the right price, I'll Curson and you want to feed them. Well, there is a a team. Name balak and he was the king of Moab. And when the children of Israel was wandering through the Wilderness on their way to the promised land, they had to come through Moab and Bailey didn't like the children of Israel and he wanted, he fit the Balaam, he said Balaam. Look, there's a mighty Army. I want you to curse this nation? Well course, we know the children of Israel in God's people. So balum said, I might for the right price, I'll do it. So, he paid him and he started cursing Israel. And guess what happened? Every curse that he couldn't find his phone turned into a blessing. God, just continue to bless them more and more and more. And they like, when the bands that look, he said this is not happening, right? He said everything that you do turns out good for Israel. He said how I told you to kersal. What can we do? And then Bay and then Balaam gave Bay like a better idea. He says, I tell you what you do, he said we can't curse them. He said, so what I want you to do is you get the women of Moab to seduce the men of Israel into having sex with them and marrying them. And then we will corrupt them through a Pagan religion. And that's exactly what happened. You say what? How do you know it? Corrupted them because the numbers 25 God sent a plague among the Israelites because they intermarried with the moabite and he killed 24,000. Men of Israel, the plague because they intermarried with them, and then started worshipping the gods of Moana. you say well, what's the moral of the story if you can't conquer them, You can't corrupt them and friends. That's the exact same things that happened in churches from the outside. The church will never be conquered. But you get people on the inside. You can corrupt a church. And this is exactly what happened. And they started celebrating the idols of the Moab culture and they adopted there, if you want to call it sexual ethics. So the doctor in the Bell compromise in Morality, that's what happened, but also look in verse 15. Does he also have those who hold the doctrine of niggalations which thing that I hate. So the doctor about them if you can't curse them corrupt and that was what was happening in permanent, the church was tolerating evil in its myth. Now, what is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? Well, let me tell you what the word pergamus means he comes from a root word. Which we get our English word. Bigamy and polygamy. Now it is the word for marriage. pergamus signifies a mixed marriage between the Church of Christ and the world. And the outside world. That's what it means in, Sony collations. Is it kind of comes from two words that means to conquer the laity. In other words, their Doctrine was you lazy people? You can't, you don't know how to worship God, you don't know how to come to God. What you need is, you need a high priest set over you. You need the clergy, to be over you. And that way, if you have sin to confess or something like that, you come to the clergy, you can't go to God yourself. And so in church history, Constantine said he become a Christian but he didn't. And he changed everything around a hundred or so years later. And he made Christianity, the state religion in Rome, He made every made all the Roman soldiers to get baptized. He said you got to be a Christian. If you're not a Christian, we're going to kill you. In Constantine. Became the first pontiff has Maximus. What is that? Pope. That's when the church married, the world. And we see it happening here with the Nicolaitans now. Let's go to number for the demand of the church. So let me tell you a little bit about compromise. And I don't have this on the screen. Let me just tell you something. Compromise is one of Satan's favorite weapons. And for, let me give you four reasons why Satan lights, compromised, number one, it never occurs quickly. It's hard to notice a change because it just suddenly happens inside of church. Number to it, always lowers. The original standard that you once held important.

25 years ago, you would have never heard. Of a man and a man get married. It just repel people. Now, it's normal. Does normal. Even Christian, do anything? Anything about You say it happened suddenly and it will lower your standards. Here's a third thing that it does in this is very important. Compromise is seldom offensive. Because it's perceived as loving. Well, why can't you let this these two men to women? Get married. They love one. Another, why don't you want them to raise children? They would raise good children. They love one another are you. You're so bigoted. You see what I'm saying? That this is exactly what culture says and what it eventually leads to compromise is for you to accept something that you once rejected, even though you thought it was repulsive at one time now we accept. So it's been well said, That what one generation tolerates. The next generation will accept and what that generation accepts, the next generation will celebrate, guess what we're doing in America today, we're celebrating same-sex marriage. It was Generations coming. We accepted it. We looked at it, we accepted it. We tolerated it. And now we celebrate it. That's how compromised happens. Well, the demand of the church. Look at it verse 16. Repent with the sword of my mouth. Well, the Lord's word here is simple. He says, you either clean up this mess or I'm going to clean it up myself. Now, he's talking to his own church. And he tells them to things. Number one, he says to repent. What does repent mean? That means make a 180 and go in the opposite direction. And he says, if you do not repent, I'm going to come with the sword of my mouth and you're going to be rejected. I'm going to reject you. That's the message to a compromising Church. Well, let's move on to the last point and we'll be finished. And that is the Deliverance of the church. What does Christ promised to the church? If it overcomes, this theological and moral compromise, look what he says in verse 17, he who has an ear. Let him hear what the spirit says, to the churches to him who overcomes, I will give some of the Hidden Manna to eat who's ever heard of Mana. When did they have bread? Okay, went out Old Testament. What did what fell out of the sky for the children of Israel to eat while they were wandering. In the wilderness, mana mana, he says to him, I will give some of the Hidden Manna to eat. I will give him a white stone. What does that have to do with anything? We'll talk about it, and almost own a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it. So, what is price is talkin about Hear. Well, what he saying is? He says, I will give Him Mana. In other words, Christ promise is to nourish this church or to nourish us Mana was the Heavenly food. God gave the Israelite to keep them alive as they were wondering. And as a memorial for that, a pot of manna was hidden away in the Ark of the Covenant, in the Tabernacle later, it was placed in the temple. Here's what Christ you say into this church. He said, you sit down with pagans you've eaten food. That's been sacrificed to Idols. You are sexually immoral and you don't even know that I have food for you. That will sustain you that only comes from Heaven, he's telling this church, turn your back on these Pagan ways and stop eating the food, stop living, the life of ungodliness and turn to me. I will give you the hidden Manna, I will sustain you even when it is hard to witness and minister to me in Satan's City, it is Christ. And what did Jesus say in the New Testament. I am the bread of life. I'm the bread of life. You see he's our Manner and he wanted this church to know that. So Christ promises to nourish us. Secondly Christ promises to receive us. Not let me tell you about this song.

in in first-century, you would go to a court and if you were found guilty of an offense, You were given a Blackstone. If you were found innocent, you were given a white stone. now also, if you were invited to a high-class, fancy banquet, You were given a white stone to. To give to the attendant so you could have been allowed into the bank. If you didn't have that white stone, you couldn't get into the banquet. Now think about this Christ is saying here that I will receive you print. If you know Christ as your savior You have the Whitestone to get him to heaven. Not the black stone that says you were guilty but the white stone that says your sins have been covered by the blood of Christ. And when he swings the Gates of Heaven, open, you are welcome because you have the white stone. And Jesus is telling them I will receive you. The message is clear. You don't have to compromise your faith to get what you need. You stay close to me and I will receive you but then it says something else kind of odd. It says that they'll be a new name written on the stone. The Bible in Revelation, 19 says, when Christ comes back to the Earth, are you going to be sitting on a white horse and it says he has a name written, which no man knows but he himself. I don't know how this works but as Christians when we get to heaven, we're going to be given a new name that only we will know. But I know that it has something to do with being a Christian because only Christians will be in heaven, but I don't know what that name will be. But Christ says, not only will I accept you, not only will I nurse you will when you get to heaven, I'm going to acknowledge you because I'm going to give you a new name. And we're all going to have a new name. Now, let me close with this. I'm trying to think of some way.

To give a point of application in our time about compromise. So I want to highlight this here because this is in what I call our American context. There's always a grave Danger. When you try to Wed God to government. The gospel and the government. Must always be kept. Separated and distinct. It is very lethal. To the clarity, the Holiness and the purity of the Gospel. To confuse it with national devotion and pride. Now, listen to me carefully. I don't want you to misunderstand this.

If we become more moved and teary-eyed.

Over our nation and over our flag, then we do the Cross of Christ. Something is wrong. That you say now, what do you mean by that? We have to continually remind ourselves. There our hope is in the cross not Congress. Our hope is in Calvary Hill, not Capitol Hill, that's what our hope is in. And we also need to remember, even a good thing, like national pride, even a good thing like that can turn into a God thing. Now, listen to me carefully, I think every single person ought to stand up and salute the flag. And I think all these athletes, who kneel, when the national anthem plays, they are not them. Let him play. They all to love their country. There's nothing wrong with loving America. but we we stand for the flag, but we kneel to Jesus, We don't worship America, we don't worship the flag, but we do stand for and we honor those who fought for our freedom and died. We honor those. But we don't worship we stand for the flag but we bow the knee to Jeep. There's no room here. I don't think for confusion and compromise. Remember what Christ said? I'll be your food. Now for eternity, I will be the door, the entrance into heaven and I'm going to give you a new name that can never be taken away friends list and what the culture and government in the world has to offer, does not compare to that you hold to the name of Christ because he's holding to, you do not deny the faith and he will not deny you. Amen. He will not do it in. That is Kristen courage in a culture of compromise. Let's pray. Father. We thank you. And praise. You and love you today. Lord. Lord help us to understand this teaching today, that it is so deadly. Frost a compromise, the essentials of our faith things, we can compromise, all we can compromise on music, we can compromise on the color of the carpet. We can compromise on what translation that we out the fruits from the Lord. We can never compromise the faith. We can never compromise our theology. We can never compromise our morals or ethics. Lord. Help us to be a church. That stands for what is Right? Help us to be a church that loves America, that loves our nation that honors those, and that we will stand and salute the flag, but Lord help us to understand that we worship God and we bow the knee to Jesus in Christ name. I do pray. Amen. All right. Well, thank you all for being here today. I hope you can make it back. Wednesday night, Brother David. He's going to come now, he's going to lead us in a

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