I'm sorry I had to delay the sermon this week. I had an appointment yesterday. I have been having a great deal of trouble with my pancreas and stomach the last couple of months. It's getting worse and not better, so please pray for me.
Please continue to pray that I will be able to sell the things I need to sell this week. I really need the Lord to meet an important need in my life this week. Please pray. It seems that every time I try to do something for the Lord that there are a lot of road blocks that I have to overcome.
Also, please pray for peace in Egypt and Syria. Many Christians are suffering persecution in Egypt. Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In last week's message, we looked at the words of Jesus to those in the church at Smyrna. These believers were suffering a great time of tribulation and persecution for their faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord encouraged the church at Smyrna not to fear and to remain faithful to Him. Those who remain faithful even unto death will receive the crown of life as a reward.
Today, we focus our attention on the Jesus' message to the church at Pergamos. Unlike the church at Smyrna, the church at Pergamos does receive a rebuke from the Lord.
The city of Pergamos was located about 50 miles north of Smyrna. It was the capital of the province of Asia.
Jesus begins His message to this church in verse 12 by saying that He had a sharp two edged sword. This signifies that Jesus was bringing strong words against those in Pergamos.
However, Jesus begins by commending those in the church who have held fast to the faith even though they lived where Satan dwells. What does this mean?
This is a reference to the fact that there was great idolatry in the city. All forms of idolatry are demonic in nature. This may have been a particularly immoral city given over to all sorts of evil and the power of the occult. It was a place of great wickedness in the eyes of Jesus. Those who lived in this wicked city were persecuted for their faithfulness to Jesus. One believer named Antipas was killed for his witness for Jesus Christ.
Jesus is pleased with those who are willing to suffer for His sake. Many are suffering for the Lord today. This is especially true for Christians living in the Islamic world.
I believe that there is coming a time when there will be great persecution against Christians in the Western world who stand for Biblical principles and the truth of the gospel. I just heard on the radio this morning about a pastor in Canada who was prosecuted for hate crimes because he suggested that if the schools were passing out Korans that they should pass out the Bible as well. One pastor in Sweden was imprisoned for hate speech because he said that the Bible spoke against homosexual practices. The world system is falling into greater and greater levels of immorality, and society is moving farther and farther away from those things that honor God. Those who honor Christ and His word will be ostracized and persecuted by those in the darkness who can't stand to be the the presence of the light.
Jesus does have some things against those in the church at Pergamos. First of all, they hold to the doctrine of Balaam. This signifies the fact that there were those in this church who were willing to compromise with what was wrong. They were willing to accept into the church immoral practices and heretical doctrines.
Many in the church are doing this today. For instance, the Bible is clear that divorced persons should not be the pastor of a church, yet many people who are divorced are in the pulpit. We are compromising the word to be culturally acceptable.
One of the things that the people in Pergamos were doing was eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. Jesus says that this practice is always wrong. This is somewhat different from the teaching on this subject by the Apostle Paul. The authority of Jesus is greater than that of Paul. I accept what the Lord has said on this subject. Period.
Many in the church at Pergamos were also practicing sexual sins. They were not following the clear teaching of Jesus on issues of sexual morality.
Unfortunately, this is the case in many churches today. We are ignoring the teaching of Jesus about the sinfulness of all sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman. We are also ignoring Jesus teachings about greed, riches, helping the poor and non-violence. Christians must stand with the Lord and not compromise with this world and its values.
The church at Pergamos was also allowing the doctrine of the Nicolaitans to be taught. Jesus says that He hates this doctrine. This is strong language. We often don't think of Jesus as hating something. I think that Jesus uses this language because the ideas of the Nicolaitans were a slap in the face to what Jesus did on the cross. They were taking the grace of the Lord and trying to turn it into a license to sin.
Jesus urges the people in this church to repent. If they don't, Jesus in essence said that they would become His enemies.
Jesus says that those who overcome will be given hidden manna to eat. If they leave behind the food sacrificed to idols, they will receive the food from the banquet of the marriage supper of the lamb. This applies to us today if we will leave the world behind and follow the path of Jesus.
Those who overcome will be given a white stone with a new name. This signifies justification from sin and a turning from the old way to a new life in Jesus Christ that is far superior to anything that this world has to offer.
Those of us living today must not compromise with the world's values or with false doctrine. We must stand with Jesus and faithfully follow His commandments and teachings in the midst of adversity.
On Wednesday, I will try to post another review. Next week, we will look at Jesus words to the church at Thyatira. May God bless you. Amen.
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