Pastor's Message from January 22, 2012

Pastor Michael's Message
From January 22, 2012

"The Church in Pergamum"

Revelation 2:12-17 (NASB)
¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:
¹³ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is;
and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas,
My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam,
who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
¹⁵ So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
¹⁶ Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly,
and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.
¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna,
and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on
the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

Commendations ~ Steadfastness in spiritually hostile conditions (a small group who hadn't backslid).
Rebukes ~ Holding to pagan practices, letting practices influence Christian teachings.
Exhortions ~ Repent, or else!
Rewards ~ Hidden manna, stone with new name written on it.
The apostle Paul never lost his passion for God, and never stopped seeking God:
~Acts 9:20-21
~Romans 8:1-3
~1 Corinthians 1:21
~Galations 2:19-20
~Ephesians 5:1
~Philippians 3:10-11
~Colossians 3:1-3
~1 Thessalonians 4:1
~2 Thessalonians 1:11
~1 Timothy 1:12-14, 16
~2 Timothy 4:3-8
(These verses were not read during the message, they were only mentioned)
Spiritual callousness produces spiritual complacency, which produces spirtual compromise.
Don't compromise just to get along, get friends, or even to fit in.
Don't sell your values and principles.
Spirit filled believers are to represent Christ wherever they go.

Revelation 2:14-16 (NASB)
¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam,

who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.
¹⁵ So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
¹⁶ Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly,
and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

~ When there is a spiritual lapse in the church or nation, a moral lapse will follow ~
When you take away the foundation of the Word, the Ten Commandments, righteousness, etc... morality falls.
Balaam, who was mentioned in verse 14, was a false prophet during the Old Testament times who told the Israelites that they could intermarry with the pagan people at the urging of Balak.
The Nicolaitans taught that once you were saved, you could live anyway you want.

Revelation 2:16 (NASB)

¹⁶ Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly,
and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

There are consequences for sin, as mentioned in Acts 5 and 1 Corinthians 11.
There are also consequences for born-again Christians who refuse to live holy and continue to sin.

Revelation 2:17 (NASB)

¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna,
and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on
the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

Manna ~ Same as what God provided for the Israelites as they were wandering in the desert for 40 years.
White stone ~ In ancient times, it represented cleansing, acquittal, not guilty, or purity.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!