Rev. 2:12-17 Pergamos the Church that Compromised Prt.2
A Description was once given of
the Great Donald Grey BARNHOUSE
A) Great Tribute – I want to read about a man who has an awe for the Word of God – Listen to a man who stands in Awe of God’s word
1)When a
fellowship / or an individual Believer loses its Awe for the Word
there
is going to be Problems – Carnality & Compromise result
B) We Noted this morning how
the name Pergamos means – Marriage & that Pergamos was a Church that
Married the World / Constantine
1)
Church
marked by Compromise & Carnality – that
stemmed from 2 Doctrines that they had embraced
False Doctrine is Dangerous –
Sunday school Class was asked what is false Doctrine ? Boy mixed up Doctrine w/ Doctring
False
Doctoring is when the Doctor gives the Wrong stuff to people who need the right
stuff
2
FALSE DOCTINES
A) Doctrine of the Nicolaitans
– Which in Essence denied the Headship of
Christ & Denied the sufficiency of the Word –
1)
And
the Doctrine of Balaam which resulted in the Defiling
of the Flesh w/ Sexual Practices & Idolatry
A) The TWO GO HAND IN HAND
Tonight I want to look at some of the ways that the World has Infiltrated the Church & what Jesus says we should do about it
A) But First I want us to notice a few insights about at the
Beginning of this Letter
12 "And to the angel of the church in
Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
13 "I know your works, and where you
dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny
My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was
killed among you, where Satan dwells.
I find it interesting that
before Jesus judges these guys, He commends them. That’s the way the Lord deals with His people.
He’s
not afraid to say, “You need a change.”
But,
if there’s any good thing found in His people, He loves to say, “You’re doing
well.”
NOTE: Before He pulls out the two-edged sword, He’s loves
on them.
APPLICATION: Good example to
follow The Scriptures make it clear
that we are to stand and deal with another when we’re in sin.
May
I suggest to you parents that you commend your kids once in a while. It’ll do them a world of good and you might
just find that you’ll get a whole new kid along the way.
Look
for something in their life that’s worth commending and encourage them in
it.
Here
Jesus Commends them for their Faith & for Holding fast to His Name
Jesus then mentions a man named Antipas.
NOTE: Antipas stands out to us as representing faithfulness
to Jesus.
A) His name is interesting in that it means “against all”.
This man stood against all that was evil
and all that was untrue, even to the point of death.
A)
Its interesting to
note that this is the only mention of this man’s name either Biblically, or
extra Biblically from any of the writings of he Church fathers.
B)
KEY APPLICATION #1 - In
his day, Antipas was a nobody. He was a
face in the crowd.
1)
Not Known by many but Known by the Lord
B)
In fact, he was so well known that God put him in His Book. And that’s well known.
POINT: If you want to have a reputation with anybody, have one with God.
Don’t worry about what people think. You have a reputation with God.
OBSERVATION #4 - He calls Antipas
“my faithful witness”..
The
word witness is the
Greek word martus from which we get our English
word martyr.
KEY INSIGHT: Long before Antipas laid down his life as a martyr,
he was a witness.
Now
you can be a Martus without being
Martyred, but you’ll never be Martyred without being a Martus.
KEY APPLICATION: YOU and I are to be a MARTUS…. A WITNESS for Jesus.
(Acts
1:8 KJV) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.
If you want to be a martus…a
WITNESS for Jesus, you need to be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.
His Divine Method
(Rev 2:12 KJV) And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
OBSERVATION: Jesus will correct you with His Word.
Time
and again throughout the Old Testament we hear that phrase “and the Word of the Lord came”.
We see it over and over again in the historical books of the
Old testament.
The Word of the Lord would come to a prophet and God would
expose the sin of His people.
THAT was and
still is the method of God in
correcting sin.
QUESTION: Do you think that your sin is going to be exposed
without the Word of the Lord?
(2 Tim 3:16 KJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
They are
profitable for doctrine (what is
right), for reproof (what is not
right), for correction (how to get
right), and for instruction in righteousness
(how to stay right). A Christian who studies the Bible and applies what he
learns will grow in holiness and avoid many pitfalls in this world.
NOTE: When the Lord wants to correct us, He’s not going to
do it with some feeling. He’s not going
to give us some warm fuzzies, or goose bumps or whatever. He’s going to do it with His Word.
(John 17:17 KJV) Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
APPLICATION: If Jesus wants to clean up your act, its going to be
with this Book. Its not going to be
through things that you feel or through man’s wisdom; its going to be through
what this Book has to say to you.
NOTE: Now we can see the importance of making the teaching
of the Word of God the priority of this fellowship.
Heb. 4 :12 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.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His
sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must
give account.
A) Jesus said that we are to be in the World – But not of the
World –
1)
Paul
told us why in 2 Cor. 6 – Turn
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."
17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do
not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."
18
"I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty."
The letter to the
Corinthians is Paul’s most emotional / Paul really bears his heart in this
letter
A) Here in 2 Cor. 6 Paul speaks in an unmistakable manner / very clear so as to not be understood
B)
He clearly describes
God’s command for the Child of God – those of us sitting here this morning –
1)
The Lord
wants us to be separated from the World
C)Not talking about a phony kind of separation – self
righteous kind of
separation that says – We are Chosen /
you are Heathens – repent
1)
not talking about a
Condescending type of separation – because we are told that we are to be in the
World but not of it / Salt & Light
A)
We are to be salt
& Light in a World that is hurting & Hungry for truth
No Paul is talking about being
separated in the sense of being Holy –
A) Being different in the sense of BEING recognizable that we are not into the things of the World
B) Not Pursuing what the World is Pursuing – not living
by the mindset of the World / that system that says Live to please self
1)
But instead Living to
Please God – Living w/ Eternity in view
A)
So when the World
looks at us they see something different
B) Paul gives us reasons why we need to separate – What
fellowship or what does Light have in common – w/ Darkness / Christ w/ the
Devil
Note the Lord also
says – then He can enjoy the Relationship w/ us that He really Desires to have
–
A) Father son / Father Daughter Relationship that He Desires – so that we can be fully yielded to Him