Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/mbf/sermons/51827/pergamos-the-compromising-church/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Welcome to the service this morning. We were challenged with, are we a blessing?

[0:14] Is God using us? And this morning, the very fact that you came through these doors, God used you.

[0:30] And if you came with a smile, God used you even more. And it's the simple things where God uses us to make a difference.

[0:45] And we may think, oh yeah, I taught Sunday school or I did this. But our very interactions with others, God uses us. And so I appreciated the challenge as well, Julius.

[1:02] We're back in Revelations, chapter 2. And thank you, Brother Joe, for reading that. The third church to Pergamos, the third letter written to Pergamos.

[1:26] And I want to start with a bit of an illustration. Mommy, can we watch a movie?

[1:42] No, you can't. Why not, Mommy? You're always wanting to watch movies, and I want you to go and play. I can never do anything.

[1:57] It's not fair. There's nothing to do. Everything is boring around here. Go and play.

[2:09] And a few moments later, Mommy, why can't we watch a movie? I promise I'll do this for you. I'll clean your cupboards if I can watch a movie.

[2:25] And then, well, let's see. Why don't you go play and let me think about it. And, and five minutes later, we're back.

[2:37] Mommy, did you think about it? Can I watch a movie? Can I watch a movie? All right. If you do this, I'll let you do it just this one time.

[2:52] What has, what has just happened? That was made up, by the way. What has just happened? Compromise.

[3:04] Compromise. The title to the message this morning is Pergamos, the compromising church.

[3:20] The compromising church. What does it mean to compromise? What does it mean?

[3:44] To give? To give in. It means to cross a boundary that we have set.

[3:56] To cross over, to give in to pressure. And so, that's what we're going to explore this morning as, as we look at this. So, we've looked at Ephesus, the letter to Ephesus, with the, the, the teaching of leaving your first love, or a warning against leaving your first love.

[4:23] And then we looked at Smyrna, and we saw the persecuted church thriving. That was last week. And this morning, we're looking at the compromising church, the third letter.

[4:38] And so, as we, as we explore this, these short verses, a few things about Pergamos, a little bit of background. So, it's the third church.

[4:51] And so, we had Ephesus, and then north of that, we had Smyrna. And then, at the far end of the circle, I didn't get Mark to bring up the map, we'll, we'll not do it this morning, but, on top of that, is, is Pergamos.

[5:06] It's at the very north of the circle of the seven churches. And so, we have Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and then it goes, the circle completes. And, and so, it's a very northern one.

[5:20] It's, it was a government city, with a government capital, and had been for, several hundred years, where, where in Asia Minor, it was, a government city, almost like Edmonton, would be in Alberta.

[5:37] It's called the, the capital of Alberta, and it's, lots of government buildings. It also had a, huge, royal, government library.

[5:49] Very well known, for its literature. And, as well as, it was famous for, the temple of, Esculapius, the god of medicine.

[6:04] And so, these were, some things that, that were present there. It was also, the city where, they invented, and manufactured, parchment paper, to, to write scrolls on, for scripture, back in that day.

[6:22] And, and, and Pergamos, had a, a Christian church, present, in the midst of this. The, the very word, Pergamos means, a high tower, or, or, elevated.

[6:43] A high tower, elevated, and, that, that's the, the, the meaning of the word, Pergamos. So, as we turn to the letter, in verse, uh, 12, and to the angel of the church, in Pergamos, write, these things, says he, who has the sharp, two-edged sword.

[7:07] So, we have the introduction, by the author, by Christ, as, as he, who has, the sharp, two-edged sword. Now, in scripture, what is the, two-edged sword, represent?

[7:22] The word of God. The word of God. And, and why, as a sharp, two-edged sword?

[7:41] It cuts deep. And, it cuts both ways, as it's, two-edged. And, uh, and so, we have, lots of scripture, that talk about, the, the, uh, the two-edged sword.

[7:56] For example, in Revelations 19, where, where Jesus returns, with the armies, at his second coming, uh, it describes him as, coming with a two-edged sword.

[8:08] And, there, the sword will be for, judgment. Judgment. In Hebrews 4, verse 12, it talks about, the double, two-edged sword, that cuts, uh, deeply.

[8:26] Let's turn there. Hebrews, Hebrews, uh, 4, verse 12. I don't trust my, memory, ability here, this morning. 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, uh, discerner of the thoughts, and the intents, of the heart.

[8:55] So, on the one hand, the word of God, uh, is living, and powerful, uh, dividing, the, uh, the soul, and spirit, our innermost being.

[9:10] It cuts to the heart. It, uh, it, it brings us, to the point of decision. It brings us, to the Lord. It shows us, who we are.

[9:22] That's, one side, of the two-edged sword. The other side, is that, of judgment, as, as those, that refuse, to surrender, to the other side.

[9:37] And, and so, Jesus is coming, in judgment. And so, he introduces himself, now, as, he who has the two-edged sword, the author. And, uh, and so, I think it's, I think it's a reference, to judgment, coming judgment, on Pergamos.

[9:56] And, as we go through the letter, I think you'll agree with me. So, these things, says, he who has the, the sharp, two-edged sword, I know your work, works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.

[10:14] And you hold fast, to my name, and did not deny, my faith, even the days, in which Antipas, was my faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

[10:28] So, again, the third time, in all three letters, I know, your works. I know the works, of this church, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.

[10:45] Where is Satan's throne? on this earth. And more specifically, where he is allowed, the freedom to reign.

[11:04] And, as we will see, in this, in this church, in Pergamos, there was a lot of freedom, given to Satan. And his throne, was being established, right there.

[11:21] Now, we know that, that Satan, dwells in all the earth, seeking whom he may devour. But, specifically, he sets up his throne, where he has, the ability to do so.

[11:34] And, so, Jesus is saying, I know, where you dwell, where Satan's, or where Satan's throne is. And, you hold fast, to my name, and did not deny, my, did not deny my faith, even in the days, in which Antipas, was my faithful martyr.

[11:57] And, so, a positive, with that, he's saying, I know, where you dwell, what you're struggling with. And yet, he's speaking to those, who are faithful, you've kept my name.

[12:14] You've not let go of it. Even, when Antipas, and, and we have no, biblical history, of who this guy was, but it sounds like, someone in church, that was martyred, for his faith.

[12:30] And, even though, one of their midst, was killed, they did not let go, of the name of Christ. They held fast, to that.

[12:46] What would it do, to us, if the Lord, allowed, one of us, to be a martyr?

[12:56] And, one of our people, was killed, for their faith.

[13:09] What would it do, to us? It would strengthen us? it would make us think, evaluate, and, if we were in Christ, it would strengthen us, as we, we turn to the Lord, with that.

[13:36] In the face of persecution, the previous church, that's what it does. Christ. And so, we're getting the picture, that this church, has an element, of strength, or, or, Christians, that are not letting go, of their faith.

[13:54] And, and in fact, even in the face, of martyrdom, they, they clung, to Christ. verse 14, is, is the, the meat, of, of this passage.

[14:08] But I have a few things, against you, because you have there, those, who hold the doctrine, of Balaam, who taught Balak, to put a stem, stumbling block, before the children, of Israel, to eat things, sacrificed to idols, and to commit, sexual immorality, and thus, you also have those, who hold the doctrine, of the Nicolaitans, which thing, I hate.

[14:39] So, Jesus says, there's two things, that I have, against you. He's speaking to, this local church, as a whole.

[14:51] And, the first one is, that you have, there, you have, there are those, who hold, the doctrine, of Balaam, and also, the doctrine, of the Nicolaitans, which we, visited briefly, in the first letter, and I'll touch, into it again.

[15:12] So, in your midst, you have people, in your congregation, that are holding on, and supporting, these doctrines, these teachings.

[15:25] And, Jesus says, this, I have, against you. that you're, that you're, tolerating it. What was the word, we used before? Compromise.

[15:39] Compromise. It would be worth, our time, I believe, to look at, the doctrine, of Balaam. And, it takes us, it takes us, back to the Old Testament, but, his name is mentioned, numerous times, in scripture, as an example, of someone, that is, intentionally, with evil intent, leading astray.

[16:06] And, and so, turn with me, to numbers, 22. Numbers, 22. So, we're back in the, in the, wilderness, period, of 40 years, and, they're nearing, the end of their journey, and, and, they're, approaching, the, the land of Moab, the Moab people, and, and, they are, scared.

[17:00] God has, taken them, through the wilderness, for 40 years, sustained them, and, they have just, conquered, the Amorites. And, the fear, and, dread, of God, and, of the people of Israel, is upon, the neighboring nations.

[17:19] And, let's read some verses, in chapter 22, of Numbers. Then the children of Israel, moved, and camped, in the plains of Moab, on the, on the side of the Jordan, across from Jericho.

[17:33] So, they're just, across the Jordan, from Jericho. They're right close. Now, Balak, the son of, Zippor, saw, all that Israel, had done, to the Amorites.

[17:45] And, Moab, was exceedingly afraid, of the people, because there were many. And, Moab, was sick with dread, because of the children, of Israel. And, so, Moab said to the elders, of Midian, who, also, dwelt in that area.

[18:00] Now, this company, will lick up, everything around us, as an ox, licks up the grass, of the field. And, Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of the Moabites, at that time.

[18:14] And, then he sent messengers, to Balaam, the son of Beor, at, at, Pithor, which is near the river, in the land of the sons, of his people, to call him, saying, look, a people has come, from Egypt.

[18:29] See, they cover the face, of the earth, and are settling, next to me. Therefore, please come at once, curse the people for me, for they are too mighty for me.

[18:41] Perhaps, I shall be able, to defeat them, and drive them, out of the land, for I know, that he whom, you bless, is blessed, and he whom, you cursed, is cursed.

[18:52] So, the elders of Moab, and the elders of Midian, departed, with the diviner's fee, in their hand, and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him, the words of Balak.

[19:03] And he said to them, lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me. And so, the princes of Moab, stayed with Balaam, and then God, came to Balaam, and said, who are these men with you?

[19:18] And so, Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, look, a people has come, out of Egypt, and they cover the face, of the earth, come now, curse them for me, perhaps I shall be able to overpower them, and drive them out.

[19:36] And God said to Balaam, you shall not go with them, you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. Now, who are the Moabites?

[19:55] Where are they descendants from? From Lot. From one of Lot's two daughters, that he impregnated, after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

[20:08] So, the Moabites, come from Lot. And, how about the Midianites? Sorry.

[20:20] Anyone know where they come from? They are the people, that descend from Abraham, and Keturah, his second wife.

[20:39] After Isaac, and Ishmael, he had more children. So, they are the descendants of that. These, these two nations now, are, ungodly, not walking with the Lord, and, and they're seeing what God has done, calling his people out of Egypt.

[21:03] The dread of what God is doing, is upon the land. They're fearing. And then, as they march, their neighbors, the Amorites, are defeated, and Israel takes over their cities, and occupies them, and, and moves right in.

[21:22] And, and their people are, are destroyed. And, and so now, out of fear, they're calling, for Balaam, who, we may use the word, as a prophet, or a diviner, one, who, who puts on curses, and blessings, and so on.

[21:47] But, he is not an Israelite. He is, he is not, a, a follower of God. And, and so they seek, to buy off, from him, a curse, on the Israelites.

[22:04] And so, he asks, God, shall I go with them? And, God says, don't go. Because, my people are blessed, and you shall not curse them.

[22:18] And, it's a long, it's three chapters long, the story, and I'm going to just briefly relate that. Balaam's heart, is of, is such of greed, that he wants, to capitalize, on the fee, they're willing to pay him.

[22:41] His heart, wants to go. And so, he pleads again, and God says, go. And, and as it goes, we know the story, of the donkey, which he is riding, refusing to go through the gate, and so on, and, and, and then the donkey speaks, and so on.

[23:05] Well, that's, God, showing his, his face there, and that, that he is displeased, with Balaam's heart.

[23:15] And then, Balaam goes, and he takes them up, on the high mountain, and, and they build, the altar there, and so on, and, and worship, and then they look down, on the valley, on Israel, and he says, I want you to curse them.

[23:32] And he says, I need to seek, what the Lord will tell me. And, and then, the words that come, are, blessing upon Israel, and cursing upon, the Moabites, and the Midianites.

[23:48] And three times, that happens. And, but then, from that story, we, we would gather, well, what did Balaam do wrong? Besides that, his heart was, was wrong in, in, in desiring, uh, um, prophet here.

[24:06] Um, let's turn to Numbers 31. I think it's Numbers 31. So, we know that the blessing, or the cursing, didn't happen.

[24:23] In fact, the opposite happened, and, uh, and he blessed Israel. Numbers 31, verse 15, and 16. And Moses said to them, have you kept all the women alive?

[24:36] Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the council of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord, in the incident of Peor, and, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

[24:53] So, as they conquered Moab, and the Midianites, through the council of Balaam, they kept the women alive, and encouraged the women to intermarry.

[25:11] These, these, uh, Midianites, and Moabs, were serving other gods. And so, instead of, uh, keeping, their standard of purity, in, in, in, uh, in marriage, in, in idol worship, Balaam coaxed them, to compromise.

[25:36] That was behind the scenes, his way, of, uh, of, of, circumventing what God had prevented. And so he led, that, those intermarriages to happen, and Moses is very displeased.

[25:51] And he gets them to put away their women. God is very displeased. So as, we intermarry, in, in situations where it's unequally yoked, to find a partner, that is not in the faith.

[26:15] What does that do? It will lead, it will always lead, to ungodliness.

[26:27] when, when, when we think, well, I love that guy, or that, that girl, and, yeah, they're, they're not in the faith, but, you know, once we're married, that will change.

[26:47] That is, called, deception. deception. That's called deception. Who do you think, will win, in marriage?

[27:02] Which way will it go? And compromise, happens. You know, a biblical example, is, is King Solomon.

[27:19] He, was unequally yoked, with many women, from foreign countries, serving, other gods. And did Solomon, win them over?

[27:32] in all his wisdom? Solomon's heart, was led astray. And, so this is, the counsel of, Balaam.

[27:47] That, the, the name, from the Old Testament, that's carried forth, to a, New Testament church, several thousand, years later.

[28:00] And, we have that principle, at work. And, so, Balaam, and the, the two associations, with the doctrine of Balaam, a stumbling block, is to eat things, sacrifice to idols, and to commit, sexually, immorality.

[28:20] And, and so, both of these, looseness, in relationships, and, and thereby, compromising, and, and turning, to idol worship, as well.

[28:35] A few more verses, and, one in, second Peter, just gonna, name a few. Second Peter, two, fifteen.

[28:52] Speaking of false teachers, he says, they have forsaken the right way, and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.

[29:09] So, we see some motive by Balaam. And then, in Jude, Jude, verse 11, Jude 11, woe to them, woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily, in the error of Balaam, for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

[29:37] So, Balaam, was greedy, for profit. We're not told, how big, the, the reward would be for him, to come and curse.

[29:51] But it must have been very significant. Very, very big number. That he went out of his way, to do it in an underhanded way. And to coax them, to, to, to give up their standards.

[30:05] And to intermarry, and to do idol worship. And so, that's, that's what Jesus is identifying here. And, and, identifying, eating things, sacrifice to idols, and, committing sexual immorality.

[30:23] And through, often through, intermarriage. What is our standard today?

[30:34] As we look at the doctrine of Balaam. Do we understand God's standard? Marriage, between a man and a woman?

[30:53] As believers, between a believing man and a believing woman? Do we understand God's standard of purity, in regards to sexual relationships?

[31:16] Do we understand God's heart in this? And that he has gifted and designed that for marriage?

[31:27] It's only when we understand the heart of God, that I can put up my standards to match his, and my goals, and put up boundaries, and put up boundaries, regarding purity, regarding, regarding, regarding, regarding, regarding, regarding, idol worship.

[32:00] Whether that's, money, or whatever idol, you're tempted with, do I have God's boundary in my life?

[32:15] And so if there's no boundary, then it's easy to slip through to the other side. But when we're, when we don't compromise, and we have boundaries, we stick with it.

[32:38] All of us have the flesh with us, with its appetites. As born-again believers, whether you're a youth here this morning, or an adult, or, or a grandpa, or grandparents, we have bodily appetites.

[33:01] And, and, in whichever way, and they, and they, those appetites want to rear their head. And, and so that's why we need God's standard of purity.

[33:18] Satan would like to awaken appetites and get us to compromise. We are challenged.

[33:30] Do we recognize that? Do I know where my boundary is? to, to, to our youth here this morning, do you know where your boundaries are?

[33:58] The ones God would have you to have? As, as you explore in life and find your way and, and perhaps relationships are forming?

[34:15] Do we take this serious? And, and so this is, this is what Jesus is saying. We are not to compromise, but to be alert, to be awake.

[34:30] The second thing, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, and like I said, in, in chapter two or earlier, the first, the first letter, we have that name mentioned as well, but this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans.

[34:56] So, the church in Ephesus was against the doctrines of the Nicolaitans. Here, in Pergamos, it's tolerated. It's accepted and not dealt with.

[35:11] And, and so just in, in recap, what was that doctrine of the Nicolaitans? It was, it was basically a freedom in Christ to live as you please.

[35:31] In a, in a, maybe in a nutshell, the, the moral freedom to express your appetites. And, um, um, I think I mentioned it last time, um, it's believed that, that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans came from, uh, a sect, uh, founded by Nicholas, the proselyte from Antioch, and, and he was one of the seven deacons, and, and later promoted and practiced, uh, a life with no moral restraint.

[36:08] Um, the, the name, uh, Nicholas, um, has a meaning of, uh, conquering the people and, uh, is, is believed to, um, to have brought in that, uh, uh, a hierarchy in, in church and maybe even society as, as a general that, uh, we have different levels of people in church.

[36:41] A hierarchy in leadership, for example. and, um, as, uh, as, as we look at this, we, we see the development under Constantine and, of the Roman Catholic Church where he, where he made, uh, the Christian faith the norm and, and you were to become a believer and join the church, whether your heart was generated or not, regenerated or not.

[37:12] And so, with that, we had, we saw huge compromise coming into the church. Secondly, the, the, uh, that church system started a hierarchy of levels of leadership.

[37:31] And, and today, the Catholic Church has five levels of leadership. scripture teaches us that we are equal as the family of God.

[37:53] He gives us different responsibilities and he gives leaders different responsibilities. We are equal in the family of God. There is no hierarchy.

[38:03] And so, that was also maybe included in his teaching. But regardless, we saw, we saw first, um, the, the church in Ephesus, um, on fire and then losing their first love.

[38:27] And perhaps, you can identify with that in your own life. And then, we see the persecuted church following in Smyrna and, and everybody is rethinking their faith because of the persecution.

[38:47] And then, the third phase, when things slow down with persecution and with Constantine making Christianity the norm, no more persecution, guess what happened?

[39:00] Compromise. In German, we would say, the Tworkvard Flav became shallow in its doctrines.

[39:15] And we tolerated, tolerated others. So we see the patterns there. In, uh, this is what Jesus is warning us against and, and, um, the, the church here in Pergamos, but us today as well.

[39:33] His counsel in verse 16, repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

[39:44] I will come in judgment. Pergamos, turn around, repent, or I will come and fight against them that are tolerating this sin.

[40:00] it's a promise of judgment. Jesus says, I will come and fight. Representing the two-edged sword.

[40:13] but further, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, who stands their ground in truth, to them I will give 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 he receives it.

[40:46] The manna in the wilderness was symbolic of Christ sustaining them for 40 years. In the New Testament, the manna is, Jesus says, I am the bread of life.

[41:00] And we're feeding off of him in the church age. We have the word of God. We're feeding off of a relationship with Christ. But here he says, I will give of the hidden manna, you're going to come into my presence.

[41:19] He who overcomes, you'll be with me in eternity. And then also, I will give him a white stone and on the stone a new name which no one knows except the one to who receives it.

[41:36] in their day, in their culture, when a person was on trial and cleared of the charges, they were freed, they were given a white stone symbolizing they'd been set free, they're guiltless.

[42:00] And when they were guilty, they received a black stone. It's a cultural thing from their day, so I'm not sure if Jesus is using that analogy to speak to the church here in Pergamos, but he is saying and I will give him a white stone signifying if you overcome, you are accepted by Christ.

[42:28] a new name, our entitlement to eternity.

[42:41] And it says that no one will know that name except you who receive it. And so it will be your entrance into heaven, so to speak.

[42:53] Amen. Amen. Amen. Overcomers. We're called to be overcomers.

[43:09] Sin seeks its way in. None of us can avoid these situations. As we're raising our families, it seeks to come in in various ways.

[43:23] We are called to use God's standard to not compromise, but rather to overcome. To teach, to hold the line as we bear God's name as his children.

[43:43] May the Lord bless you with that. May we may we turn to him with any areas in our life where we, as we examine, we may feel, how am I compromising?

[43:59] May he give you wisdom. May he give you wisdom to set down biblical boundaries. Let's pray.

[44:17] Lord, this is a letter that that cuts. it has a very different tone than the previous one.

[44:30] Yet, Father, we realize it is so needed. And in our day as well, there is every opportunity and temptation to compromise.

[44:45] Father, give us the wisdom to compare our life with your standards and not of that of the society around us.

[45:01] Lord, that we would have a heart to seek and to serve in pureness before you alone. may you direct each heart here this morning as we commit ourselves to you.

[45:17]  In Christ's name, Amen.