{"id":18957,"date":"2018-07-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-29T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-009-the-consequence-of-compromise\/"},"modified":"2018-07-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-009-the-consequence-of-compromise","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-009-the-consequence-of-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 009 – The Consequence of Compromise"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18957","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 009 - The Consequence of Compromise","sermon_date":"20180729","sermon_month":"7","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5952,"sermon_slides":5955,"sermon_mp3":5958,"sermon_id":"729181036512","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"2:12-17","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Consequence of Compromise\u00a0\u00a0 7-29-18\n\nRevelation 2:12-17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 9\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles, if we could, and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 2 and verse 12 looking this morning as God allows it, does a miracle and allows it, through verse 17.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is The Consequence of Compromise.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been studying the Book of Revelation as you know, sort of our first lesson orienting ourselves to who wrote the book, the date of the book, those kinds of background issues. We\u2019ve traveled through the prologue which is the introduction to the book in the first eight verses.\u00a0 And then we\u2019ve noted that the Book of Revelation has three major sections: number 1, write down the things that you have seen John, and he\u2019s done that for us in chapter 1 through the vision of the glorified Christ.\n\nWe\u2019re now in section two where he is told to write down the things that are and here John, through Christ as Christ is giving him the message on the island of Patmos, John is writing seven letters to seven churches.\u00a0 Here is sort of a list of the seven churches that we are beginning to look at, have been looking at, will continue to look at.\u00a0 There is sort of an eight pattern, or rubric if you will, if you like templates, there\u2019s sort of an eight part templet or rubric that each letter seems to follow.\n\nWe\u2019ve seen Christ\u2019s word to Ephesus, chapter 2, verses1-7, a church that was busy for Christ, productive for Christ, but they lost sight of their first love to Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And then from there last week we took a look at the Lord\u2019s word to the church at Smyrna, the persecuted church.\u00a0 And now today we begin looking at His words to the church at Pergamum, the compromised church.\u00a0 There is outline that we\u2019re going to look at following those eight pieces of information.\n\nAnd notice, if you will, verse 12 as we start today, the destination of this church.\u00a0 Take a look if you could at chapter 2, Revelation chapter 2 beginning at verse 12.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:\u201d \u201cto the angel\u201d as we have tried to argue would be the angelos <\/em>or the messenger or the pastor of these churches, in this case the pastor of the church at Pergamum. Where is Pergamum?\u00a0 It\u2019s further north, it\u2019s about forty-five miles north of Smyrna.\u00a0 It was a fairly prominent church because it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and it was the seat of what we call the Roman mystery religions.\u00a0 Strange pagan religions that were evident and apparent all over the Greco-Roman world that deified Caesar; they were polytheistic, sexual immorality, believe it or not, was part of this religious system.\u00a0 And Pergamum for whatever reason was almost the seat, the capital if\u00a0 you will, of these mystery religions.\u00a0 And that background will make sense based on some of the things that Christ will say to the church at Pergamum.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice how Jesus describes Himself.\u00a0 Take a look at the second half of verse 12, \u201cThe One who has the sharp double-edged sword says this:\u201d in this particular section Jesus usually gravitates toward imagery that\u2019s already been revealed in chapter one.\u00a0 There\u2019s a picture of what John saw back in the first century, in chapter one.\u00a0 I know that\u2019s exactly what he saw because I found these pictures on the internet\u2026 [laughter] so it\u2019s got to be accurate, right?\n\nBut he did see in one of those pictures, you\u2019ll notice on the right there a sharp sword protruding from the mouth of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting to me that this is how the Book of Revelation ends.\u00a0 Revelation 19:15, Jesus coming back one day with a sharp sword coming out of His mouth, so the book begins that way and the book ends that way and Jesus is surfacing that imagery here in chapter 2.\u00a0 I believe that that sharp sword coming out of His mouth is none other than the Word of God because that is how the Word of God is described in Hebrews 4:12, \u201cFor the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u201d\n\nThat is the work of the Word.\u00a0 What does Scripture do?\u00a0 It\u2019s inspired by God, Paul writes to Timothy, and it\u2019s profitable for what?\u00a0\u00a0 Teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. [2 Timothy 3:16, \u201cAll Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;\u201d]\n\nOne of the reasons people don\u2019t like to be around the Word of God and will gravitate toward churches that teach them psychological or motivational principles rather than the Word of God is because a sore can hurt, can\u2019t it?\u00a0 In fact, the Apostle Peter preached a tremendous sermon in Acts 2 and when you read that sermon he is camping on the Word of God.\u00a0 He quotes Joel 2, Psalm 110, Psalm 16, and by the time he finished with all of this the crowd, when they heard this, Acts 2:37, they were \u201cpierced to the heart,\u201d and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, \u201cBrethren, what shall we do?\u201d\u00a0 [Acts 2:37, \u201cNow when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, \u2018Brethren, what shall we do?\u201d]\n\nThis is what the Word does, it lays bare, it exposes, and one of the reasons Christ reveals Himself this way to this church at Pergamum is there\u2019s tremendous compromise taking place in this church that had to be exposed through the Word of God.\u00a0 More on that as we continue.\n\nBut we moved from the description of Christ to the commendation; Jesus, before criticizing any church tells them what they\u2019re doing right.\u00a0 And this is where He says in verse 13, you\u2019ll notice, \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 [Ephesians 2:13, \u201c\u201cI know where you dwell, where Satan\u2019s throne is;\u201d]\n\nBy the way, He said that to Ephesus, chapter 2, verse 2: Smyrna, chapter 2, verse\u00a0 9, and now once again to Pergamum, \u201cI know\u201d verse 13.\u00a0 [Ephesians 2:2, \u201cin which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. \u00a0Ephesians 2:9, \u201cnot as a result of works, so that no one may boast.\u201d]\n\nSo He knows what is happening in the church, nobody is\u2026 there\u2019s no board secretly meeting, pulling the wool over Jesus Christ\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 He knows exactly what\u2019s happening, He knows compromises that are taking place. He begins by saying \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 And notice how He commends this church, prior to criticism. Take a look, if you could, at verse 13, \u201cI know where you dwell, where Satan\u2019s 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.\u201d\n\nLook at how Christ acknowledges that they\u2019re living in the belly of the beast.\u00a0 They\u2019re living in the heart of these Roman mystery religions.\u00a0 He actually says Satan has his throne in your city.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that an amazing statement?\u00a0 At the end of the verse he says Satan is dwelling where you live.\u00a0 And that\u2019s who the devil is.\u00a0 The devil runs the world system, all of these descriptors, prince of this world, god of this world, prince and power of the air, the roaring lion, the whole world lies in its power, I mean, the Bible is very up front about this, that this is Satan\u2019s world we\u2019re living on the devil\u2019s turf.\n\nAnd sort of what\u2019s happening in the Book of Revelation as the details will unfold is the devil is being deposed.\u00a0 The kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and by the time you get to the end of the book Satan is evicted from the earth, bound first and then later thrown into the lake of fire. [Revelation 11:15, \u201cThen the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, \"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.\u201d]\n\nBut you see, these end time events haven\u2019t happened yet.\u00a0 So currently the devil runs the world system.\u00a0 And he apparently for whatever reason, had a tremendous foothold in Pergamum.\u00a0 And I believe even today that there are parts of the world that are just like this, where Satan runs everything but at the same time there are parts of the world where he seems to have a stronger influence than other parts.\u00a0 I could think of many, many modern day examples, you could too.\u00a0 Washington D.C. comes to mind but we won\u2019t go there.\n\nBut Jesus is acknowledging that you are standing for Me on the devil\u2019s turf in a part of the world that Satan seems to have an upward hand, more influence than in other parts of the world.\u00a0 And in this environment he commends the church at Pergamum because in spite of the satanic influence the church at Pergamum was doing three positive things.\u00a0 And what are those?\u00a0 Number 1, you have held fast to My name.\u201d\u00a0 You see that in verse 13.\u00a0 [\u201c13, \u201cI know where you dwell, where Satan\u2019s throne is; and you hold fast My name\u2026.\u201d]\u00a0 The Greek word for name is the noun onoma <\/em>[\u1f44\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1].\u00a0 \u00a0I can\u2019t think of a more important name than the name of Jesus Christ.\n\nIn fact, Acts 4:12 says, \u201c\u2026 for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.\u201d\u00a0 Philippians 2:9-10, says for what has been \u201cbestowed on Him the name which is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.\u201d\u00a0 Notice the reference here to \u201cthe name of Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting today how people will mention God, God talk, everybody is comfortable with that but mention the name Jesus, that\u2019s very different, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 That\u2019s a real line of demarcation.\n\nSo they had not denied the name of Christ.\u00a0 In fact, there\u2019s a whole theological movement today, I believe within evangelical Christianity that denies the name of Christ.\u00a0 It\u2019s called inclusivism; it\u2019s the idea that you can be saved in the Islamic tradition, the Buddhist tradition, whatever tradition\u00a0 you find yourself in, as long as\u00a0 you\u2019re seeking God with your whole heart.\u00a0 But you don\u2019t really have to know the name of Jesus Christ\u2026inclusivism! I say that such a teaching is false, it is wrong, it is an abomination to God because of the significance of the name Jesus Christ.\u00a0 If a person will not come to God the Father through the name Jesus Christ then they simply cannot come, it doesn\u2019t matter how sincere they are.\n\nSo Pergamum had not capitulated on this, they had not compromised on this, they were still holding to the name of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And consequently they had not denied Christ\u2019s faith.\u00a0 You know, your Bible says that \u201cwithout faith it is\u201d what? \u201cimpossible to please God.\u201d\u00a0 A person cannot come to God without faith.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not my faith, or your faith that\u2019s important, it\u2019s His faith, His teachings, His rules, and our reliance upon them by way of faith.\u00a0 They had not denied His faith.\u00a0 You haven\u2019t denied My name, you haven\u2019t denied My faith.\n\nYou know, a lot of people today, I believe, are denying the faith because they insert human works as a prerequisite to be justified before God.\u00a0 A lot of people will tell you that well, you\u2019re saved by faith alone in Christ alone as long as you walk the aisle, fill out the decision card, turn from your own personal sins, join a church, give money, raise a hand, pray a prayer, when in reality your Bible says you\u2019re saved by faith by itself.\u00a0 Did you know that?\u00a0 Sola fide<\/em>, the Protestant Reformers said.\u00a0 \u00a0And the temptation is always, on the part of fallen man, to insert some kind of human work because if a work is inserted that appeals to my pride and I can say well God got me here to heaven but I did part of the job myself.\u00a0 The reality of the situation is no one can enter heaven strutting proud as a peacock because the only thing that got you there is the death and burial and resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and your faith or trust alone in that.\n\nSo they had not gone down the road of works salvation, they had not denied His faith and if you look very carefully at verse 13 he even gives a positive example of somebody.\u00a0 He calls this person out by name, he says, \u201cMy faith, even in the days of Antipas My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.\u201d\u00a0 He gives an example of someone that they all knew that he could point to as a positive example.\u00a0 This man\u2019s name apparently was Antipas, he is called here Christ\u2019s \u201cwitness,\u201d My witness.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s interesting that the Greek word translated \u201cwitness\u201d here is marturs <\/em>where we get the word what?\u00a0 Martyr, that\u2019s what a witness is, martyr, someone who testifies to the things of Christ, sometimes at personal cost, sometimes at ultimate cost, being killed in the name of Christ.\u00a0 He makes a reference to this man, Antipas, who had paid the ultimate price with his own life.\u00a0 He says, Antipas, who you know, Antipas who was killed among you, and he calls Antipas here \u201cMy faithful one.\u201d\u00a0 This is a man who was faithful to God to the point of death.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting to me that when God evaluates people He doesn\u2019t evaluate them based on how successful they are, how big their church is, how many books they\u2019ve sold, how big is your out-reach ministry.\u00a0 He just acknowledges that this man, Antipas, as a saved Christian was faithful in his walk.\u00a0 He was faithful to the point where he actually ended up paying the ultimate price of martyrdom itself.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting that Jesus here calls out this man Antipas by name.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t that be something if God called your name out, or my name out and put us in the Bible for every generation of Christians to see.\u00a0 That\u2019s what He did with Antipas.\u00a0 Why did He do this with Antipas?\u00a0\u00a0 Because Antipas did not deny Christ\u2019s name and so Christ honored Antipas by name.\u00a0 It\u2019s a repetition of this Greek word name or \u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1 [\u00f3noma], used of Christ; now we have Antipas, He didn\u2019t deny my name and so now I\u2019m going to publicly acknowledge His name.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the sanctified life does.\u00a0 The sanctified life as a Christian doesn\u2019t get you to heaven; you get to heaven by faith alone in Christ alone.\u00a0 But isn\u2019t it interesting how God rewards people that will not compromise under\u00a0 His resources and His power.\u00a0 That\u2019s who this man, Antipas, was.\n\nHe continues on here in verses 14 and 15 and now we get to the heavy section of the letter, as if this hasn\u2019t been heavy already.\u00a0 And he moves into rebuke of this church, verses 14-15.\u00a0 They had compromised, not all but some, with number one, the teachings of Balaam, verse 14, and number two, the teachings of the Nicolaitans verse 15.\u00a0 And notice the words of Christ now as He begins to critique those in the assembly at Pergamum.\n\nLook at verse 14, \u201cBut 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<\/em> immorality.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that not everyone in Pergamum had succumbed to this wrong way of teaching and believing and acting, but only \u201csome.\u201d\u00a0 When you poison somebody you don\u2019t have to poison them, let\u2019s say you want to poison them with a glass of water, the glass of water doesn\u2019t have to have 100% poison in it to kill somebody; it just needs a drop or two of the wrong stuff and you can snuff out somebody\u2019s life.\u00a0 This is how the life of the church works.\u00a0 It\u2019s not really necessary that everyone succumb to a false doctrine within a church as long as some do.\n\nThe Book of Galatians, chapter 5 and verse 9 says, \u201cA little leaven\u201d not a lot, A little leaven\u00a0 leavens the whole lump of dough.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Some of you have bought into the teachings of Balaam and notice this word \u201cteaching.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a very interesting word there, if the teaching isn\u2019t from God where could this teaching have come from?\u00a0 I would call it this: doctrines of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1.\u00a0 [1 Timothy 4:1, \u201cBut the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 Satan has teachings.\u00a0 I would say the Book of Mormon, Islam, the Quran, any holy book of a false religion, humanism, I would say contained within it are doctrines.\u00a0 In fact, if you read the Humanist Manifesto,<\/em> which I\u2019ve done, it\u2019s eerie how doctrinal it looks.\u00a0 I mean, it reads like something that you might find on the website of a church, posting our doctrines; in this case they are not the doctrines of God, these are the doctrines of the devil himself.\n\nSo there were some that fell into this false teaching. Well, what false teaching is it?\u00a0 He explains it; it\u2019s related to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak how to put a stumbling block in front of the sons of Israel to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.\u00a0 Now this false teaching requires an understanding of the Old Testament.\u00a0 You might want to jot down Numbers chapters 22-25, is where this whole story takes place.\u00a0 And essentially what happened is the nation of Israel came out of Egypt after 400 years, they went down to the bottom of the map there to Mt. Sinai to receive the Law.\u00a0 We had a little casualty, did we not, in the wilderness that set them back for forty years.\u00a0 But after that forty years\u2019 experience as the older Israelites were dying off the younger ones taking their place, you have God\u2019s final judgment on that first generation, that simply would not believe God and trust Him in spite of all the miracles He had done on their behalf as recorded in the Book of Exodus and other places.\n\nAnd this crowd was making its way into what is called the Transjordan, east of the Jordan River.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see Canaan there at the top of the screen, and if you just go a little bit to the east that\u2019s the general area that they were moving through in route to the Promised Land, through a territory called Moab.\u00a0 Now Balak, who is also mentioned here, the King of Moab, did not like the fact that these Hebrews had transgressed his territory.\u00a0 He did not like the fact that they had entered Moab in route to Canaan so Balak hired Balaam.\u00a0 Balaam, who was he?\u00a0 He was a prophet; he was from the land of Babylon which is further east.\u00a0 He was someone that was known as a prophet who was able to function under a cultic Satanic power.\u00a0 He had the reputation that preceded him and Balaam was one of these types of prophets that is what I like to call a prophet for profit.\u00a0 In other words, I\u2019ll use my prophetic gift the way you want me to use it as long as the price is right.\u00a0 Balak, the King of Moab, paid the right price and he said here\u2019s what I want you to do Balaam, I want you to curse the nation of Israel, because I don\u2019t like the fact that these Hebrews have transgressed into my territory.\n\nAnd Balaam said to Balak, you\u2019ve got a deal.\u00a0 And he uttered against the nation of Israel seven oracles.\u00a0 Those oracles you\u2019ll find in Numbers 23 and 24.\u00a0 Here are the first four:\n
    \n \t
  • First oracle (23:1-12), Balaam explained that God\u2019s blessings upon Israel were irrevocable.<\/li>\n \t
  • Second oracle (23:13-26), Balaam explained that the source of Israel\u2019s blessing was her unique relationship to Yahweh<\/li>\n \t
  • Third oracle (23:27\u201324:14), Balaam extolled Israel\u2019s beauty.<\/li>\n \t
  • Fourth oracle (24:15-19), Balaam explained that a future messianic deliverer (Gen 49:10) would spring forth and exercise dominion from Israel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nHere are the last three.\n
      \n \t
    1. Fifth oracle (Numbers 24:20) predicts Amalek\u2019s destruction. Amalek was the first foe that Israel had to fight against after leaving Egypt (Exodus 17).<\/li>\n \t
    2. Sixth oracle (24:21-22) predicts the destruction of the Midianite group known as the Kenites as well as Assyria.<\/li>\n \t
    3. The nations of the seventh oracle are difficult to identify (24:23-24).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nYou know that there are seven here because there\u2019s a literary clue in the text.\u00a0 It says, \u201cHe picked up his oracle and he said,\u201d so every time that happened he\u2019s given a new oracle speaking against the nation of Israel.\n\nNow there\u2019s a problem with that.\u00a0 What does God say concerning the nation of Israel?\u00a0 Whoever blesses\u00a0 you I will bless; whoever curses you I will curse.\u00a0 Israel has a covenant from God going all the way back to God\u2019s covenant to Abraham and promises to Abraham, Genesis 12.\u00a0 So every time Balaam opened his mouth to curse Israel you know what came out instead?\u00a0 A blessing.\u00a0\u00a0 Boy, I sure didn\u2019t plan it that way.\u00a0 In fact, oracle four, you ought to study that sometime, particularly verse 17, oracle four is actually a Messianic prediction of the Messiah coming as a star who is going to come forth from the nation of Israel.\u00a0 Oh, that\u2019s why the wise men in the New Testament, Matthew 2, are following a star; I believe that they had access to oracle four.\u00a0 That\u2019s why they\u2019re connecting the dots in a way that the nation of Israel themselves should have done but didn\u2019t.\n\nThe Babylonians have it figured out but God\u2019s chosen people do not.\u00a0 Early Matthew, then, is a rebuke to the nation of Israel for their unbelief.\u00a0 So Balak hires Balaam to curse Israel, the problem is every time this prophet for profit opens his mouth he ends up blessing and not cursing the nation of Israel.\u00a0 So Balak, who paid the price to get Balaam to give these oracles is displeased because it\u2019s certainly not the outcome that he intended.\n\nSo Balaam takes Balak aside and says what we\u2019re doing here is not working, here\u2019s what you need to do.\u00a0 You can\u2019t defeat Israel by coming out overtly and cursing Israel. What you have to do is you have to create a situation where the Hebrews themselves, the Israelis themselves are living in contradiction to God\u2019s eternal Word, the Mosaic Covenant, which has built within it blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.\u00a0 If you get them through compromise to violate their own covenant then it will no longer be us trying to curse Israel, God Himself will do it.\u00a0 And consequently Balaam presented this idea to Balak, they hatched this plan to get the nation of Israel, which seemed almost unstoppable as it was moving through Moab, to compromise.\n\nSo Balaam taught Balak to put, as it says right here in verse 14, \u201ca stumbling block before the nation of Israel or within the nation of Israel.\u00a0 Now fascinating to learn this week as I studied this in the Greek, the word \u201cstumbling block\u201d is scandalon<\/em>, where we get which English word?\u00a0 Scandal.\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 And isn\u2019t that what happens when God\u2019s people compromise; it\u2019s a scandal.\n\nSo what exactly was the compromise; it\u2019s all right here.\u00a0 Number 1,\u00a0 you\u2019ve got to get them to eat food sacrificed to idols, because God told them in Exodus 34:15 not to do that.\u00a0 [Exodus 34:15, \u201cotherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice,\u201d]\n\nThe second thing you\u2019ve got to do is you\u2019ve got to get them involved in sexual immorality.\u00a0 In fact, this word \u201cimmorality\u201d translated \u201cimmorality\u201d at the end of verse 14 is a verb but the noun is pornea<\/em>, where we get the word pornography.\u00a0 What the game or the plan is you\u2019ve got to get them to be unfaithful, not only in the food sacrifice to idols, but you\u2019ve got to get them to violate God\u2019s sexual standards.\u00a0 God has sexual standards, doesn\u2019t He; one man for one woman for one life.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get mad at me, I don\u2019t\u00a0 invent the rules; I recognize that there are many, many people within the sound of my voice that may have violated that standard but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that\u2026 and the grace of God is always available, but the standard is there.\u00a0 All these people today trying to redefine marriage and all these kind of things, as if marriage is something that we invented.\u00a0 And this is why they hate the Bible; they want to get the Bible thrown out of the schools because as long as people are reading and believing the Bible you can\u2019t accommodate the same sex agenda marriage wise, it doesn\u2019t matter how many times the Supreme Court rules on it, it\u2019s not a matter for the Supreme Court.\u00a0 God is the one that set the rules.\n\nSo change the rules, compromise sexually, you can fill in the blank, there are all kinds of ways today to do that, isn\u2019t there.\u00a0 And\u00a0 you\u2019ll create a situation where God has to fight His own people and that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s going to be described for us in Pergamum; God through the sword of His own mouth, is going to go to war with His own church, just like the Israeli\u2019s brought forth the divine discipline of God, I believe it\u2019s Numbers 25, because they compromised sexually.\u00a0 They brought into the camp all of these sort of prostitutes, loose women, the Israeli men began to commit indecent immoral acts with these loose women and Balak\u2019s strategy given to Balaam paid dividends because not only was it not Balak and Balaam fighting Israel, it was God.\n\nAnd this is how God pulled the curtains on that first generation coming out of Egypt.\u00a0 In the Scripture this is referred to as \u201cthe way of Balaam,\u201d 2 Peter 2:15, \u201cthe error of Balaam.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Peter 2:15, \u201cforsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;\u201d]\u00a0 The error of Balaam, Jude 11.\u00a0 [Jude 11, \u201cWoe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.\u201d]\n\nAnd the whole thing is repeating itself right there in the letter that Christ addresses to the church at Pergamum.\u00a0 You\u2019re compromised to the point where God has to fix the problem with the sword of His mouth.\u00a0 And you brought it on yourselves because you bought into this false teaching, not all of you but some of you.\n\nIf you drop down to verse 15 he makes a second point of what they were compromised with, verse 15, \u201cSo you have some who hold to the teachings\u201d or \u201cthe teaching of the Nicolaitans,\u201d you say that sounds familiar\u2026 that\u2019s what was happening at Ephesus!\u00a0 So we have already explained who these Nicolaitans are, apparently what was happening at Ephesus made its way up north to Pergamum.\u00a0 I\u2019ve given you this quote already when we were studying Ephesus by Grant Jeffrey.\n\n[\u201cThere is a lot of disagreement about who these Nicolaitans were...Christ created a universal \u2018holy priesthood\u2019 (1 Peter 2:5) where every believer is a priest. The\u00a0Nicolaitans\u00a0attempted to re-create the hierarchy of the Old Testament priesthood. They sought to establish a priestly authority over laymen. The Greek word is derived from Nike<\/em> meaning \u2018victory\u2019 and Laos<\/em> meaning \u2018people.\u2019 It suggests a group of people who seek to elevate themselves into a special class of priesthood over other Christians<\/u>. Jesus told us in 1 Timothy 2:5: \u2018For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.\u2019 Such men sought the sole right to interpret the Scriptures for other Christians<\/u>. Centuries later, after Emperor Constantine\u2018s conversion, this\u00a0Nicolaitan\u00a0heresy produced the Babylonian hierarchy of priests, leading to the spiritual \u201cdark ages\u201c of the medieval period.\u201d\u00a0 [Grant R. Jeffrey, Apocalypse: The Coming Judgment of the Nations, <\/em>p. 72-73.]\n\nIt\u2019s a good study on who the Nicolaitans were, if you actually examine the word, which is a compound word, you get an idea of what they were promoting.\u00a0 From \u201cNico\u201d you get the word Nike, meaning conqueror, as in the shoe company.\u00a0 From the word \u201claitan\u201d you get the word laity or people.\u00a0 These were people that asserted some kind of standard between themselves and God over the laity.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Roman Catholicism has taught for I don\u2019t know how many generations and continues to teach today; the way to God is through a man-made priesthood, Nico\u2014over, laity\u2014people, when in reality you are already a priest, Revelation 1:6.\u00a0 [Revelation 1:6, \u201cand He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father-- to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.\u201d]\n\nYou already have direct access to God, Acts 4:12, John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5.\u00a0 [Acts 4:12, \u201cAnd there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 John 14:6, \u201cJesus said to him, \"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.\u201d\u00a0 1 Timothy 2:5, \u201cFor there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.\u201d]\n\nYou don\u2019t need a priest to get to God.\u00a0 What you need is Jesus; Jesus is your priest and once you\u2019re \u201cin Christ\u201d you\u2019re a priest, direct access to God.\u00a0 But what an unpopular teaching that is for people that want power over others because this doctrine empowers the people, the laity, not us super saints who want to be in control.\n\nSo this was bubbling to the surface in Ephesus, apparently it made its way into Pergamum and Pergamum has another problem, they had bought into the teachings of Balak and Balaam related to sexual immorality and related to food sacrificed to idols.\u00a0 And this was a strategy that was taking the church at Pergamum down the drain because now it\u2019s God having to fight His own church.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the educational system bringing down the church.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the American Civil Liberties Union bringing down the church.\u00a0 It\u2019s not George Soros bringing down the church.\u00a0 It\u2019s God bringing down the church through compromise, the consequences of compromise.\n\nYou know, it\u2019s interesting, I, a couple of years ago, sort of made a list, a mental list of all of the people in my life that I know or knew that were in ministry and are no longer in ministry because of compromise in the area of Biblical sexuality, whether it be adultery, whether it be pornography, whatever it is, and it was sort of startling to me to discover how many people I\u2019ve known and respect, many of them make comebacks in the ministry but the comeback that they make never really gravitates toward the level of what their ministry once was.\u00a0 God forgives, God restores, but it\u2019s almost like they never really regained the foothold that they once had in terms of influence for God.\n\nThis is a very delicate game, this ministry concept.\u00a0 You get pretty much one chance to get this right; you mess it up, God loves, God forgives, you\u2019re still going to heaven, but the line is so thin and it gets snipped to fast because God Himself exposes His own people and that\u2019s what\u00a0 you have happening in Israel, in the Transjordan; that\u2019s what you have happening here in Pergamum.\n\nSo what do we have?\u00a0 We have an exhortation, look at verse 16, \u201cTherefore\u201d what\u2019s the \u201cR\u201d word, \u201crepent,\u201d what does that mean?\u00a0 Well, as we have explained in prior sermons it means to change your mind.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the word means.\u00a0 It\u2019s a compound word, metanoe\u014d<\/em>, change your mind.\u00a0 It\u2019s a synonym of believe when we\u2019re talking about how to get saved.\u00a0 You switch your trust from works to Christ; you change your mind about that and you\u2019re automatically believing and consequently you become justified before God.\u00a0 The first phase of salvation has been executed which cannot be taken away.\n\nBut then God moves you into the middle tense of salvation where He points out other things that are not right and so we are called to a perpetual life of repentance, changing our minds about things that the Holy Spirit surfaces.\u00a0 Well, if I\u2019m saved and on my way to glory why should I have a lifestyle of repentance under God?\u00a0 Here\u2019s the deal\u2026 because you can lose things that are of value, that may not necessarily relate to eternity and heaven with God; that\u2019s a done deal.\u00a0 Nothing can subtract from that.\u00a0 But if you don\u2019t repent, if you don\u2019t change\u00a0 your mind about things that the Lord puts His finger on in your life through the Word of God, the sword, which is designed to pierce soul and spirit, bones and marrow, if you don\u2019t change then\u00a0 you start losing things of value that may not necessarily relate to your arrival in heaven.\u00a0 And so consequently verse 16, we have a consequence.\n\nVerse 16, \u201cTherefore repent; or else\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026or else I am coming to you quickly,\u201d and look at this here, \u201cand I will make war against them\u201d the polluters, \u201cwith the sword of My mouth.\u201d\u00a0 You know, I\u2019m a pretribulationalist, I believe that the church will escape the wrath of God.\u00a0 I believe that God is not going to beat up His bride before He marries her.\u00a0 I will preach that until my dying day.\u00a0 But I have to admit, that verse sort of caught me off guard this week because it\u2019s describing Christ at war, the Greek word, the noun is polem\u0113s\u014d<\/em>, where we get the word polemical, warlike. It\u2019s the opposite of eirene<\/em> in Greek which means peace.\n\nIt\u2019s the opposite of Irene in Greek, which means peace.\u00a0 It\u2019s the opposite of eirenic,<\/em> such a person is eirenic<\/em>, they\u2019re [can't understand word].\u00a0 Such a person is polemical, they\u2019re warlike in tone.\u00a0 That\u2019s where the word war comes from, polemos<\/em>, it\u2019s a verb but the noun is polemos<\/em>.\u00a0 Jesus is saying I\u2019m going polemical with the polluters at My own church.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to hell, right?\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say that because John wrote another book where he told us in John 10:27-29 you\u2019re in the double grip of grace and nothing can take you out of His hand.\u00a0 [John 10:27, \u201cMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father, who has given them<\/em> to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them<\/em> out of the Father\u2019s hand. \u201c]\n\nIn fact, the language there in Greek is so strong it\u2019s a double negation and what doesn\u2019t show up in most translations is the word ai\u014dnios<\/em> which means forever; you will never, never, never, never perish forever once you\u2019re a Christian.\u00a0 You can\u2019t get much stronger in terms of eternal security than that one.\u00a0 But let me tell you something, compromise gets into your walk, compromise gets into your life, there\u2019s an awful lot of things that could be lost, not the least of which is the embarrassment of public disclosure.\n\nAnd what does Jesus Christ say here to this crowd if they don\u2019t change their minds about this?\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u2026I am coming,\u201d erchomai<\/em> in the Greek, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the second coming, Revelation 19 is the second coming, this is a private coming; this was a personal coming.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to come upon you quickly, in other words, the word there, tachos<\/em>, eminently, any moment, and when it happens it\u2019s going to happen with complete swiftness and suddenness.\n\n\u201cI am coming quickly and I\u2026\u201d look at this, \u201cI will make war against them.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 2:16, \u201c'Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them\u2026. \u201c Who\u2019s the \u201cthem\u201d?\u00a0 I think it\u2019s not everybody in the church, it\u2019s the compromisers.\u00a0 Well how are you going to make war with them exactly?\u00a0 He says, does he not, \u201cwith the sword of my mouth,\u201d which I think is speaking of Hebrews 4:12, the Word of God because that\u2019s what the Word of God does, it exposes.\u00a0\u00a0 [Hebrews 4:12, \u201cFor the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.\u201d]\n\nI\u2019m going to bring the whole thing to light; you create a scandal then I\u2019m going to create a scandal.\u00a0 It\u2019s shocking to me how fast this can happen.\u00a0 I mean, we can see many examples, the one that comes to my mind is the televangelist scandals, Jimmy Swaggart, Baker all those guys.\u00a0 To be completely honest some may get mad at me for this; I don\u2019t really question whether those people were saved; maybe they weren\u2019t saved, I don\u2019t know, I listen to them and they sound saved to me.\u00a0 But it\u2019s amazing in the 1980\u2019s how fast all that was exposed and how God used the secular world to do it.\u00a0 And then once the sexual scandals were unmasked you quickly learn well, if they\u2019re compromised sexually, they\u2019re not going to follow God\u2019s sexual standards then they\u2019re sure not going to follow his financial standards.\u00a0 And so the two sort of went together.\u00a0\u00a0 And it\u2019s amazing how fast, I believe, the Lord went to war with certain segments of Christendom, almost as s warning to the rest\u2026 don\u2019t do this!\n\nI was really stunned this week as I was studying this, I read this in Bollinger\u2019s commentary on the Book of Revelation and he makes reference to how Baalim, the pregender of this, died.\u00a0 You want to know how Baalim died?\u00a0 Numbers 31:8, \u201c\u2026They also killed Baalim the son of Beor with the\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cwith the sword.\u201d\u00a0 Joshua 13:22, \u201cThe sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s why Jesus is making reference to the sword.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to destroy this thing with a sword, just like I destroyed Baalim with a sword.\n\n\u201cWith the sword of my mouth,\u201d\u00a0 imagery that opens the Book of Revelation, imagery that closes the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 And so what does Jesus say with this word protruding out of His mouth, this imminent act of discipline that\u2019s about to happen there in Pergamum, verse 17, \u201cTo him who has an ear, let him\u201d what? \u201chear what the Spirit says to the churches,\u201d right there at the beginning of verse 17.\u00a0 \u201cRepent\u201d and you\u2019d better listen because if you don\u2019t listen there\u2019s going to be a rapid consequence.\u00a0\u00a0 You notice here the grace of God; He\u2019s giving them a way out.\n\nThere are all kinds of things that a sermon like this does for us, it makes us feel guilty about this part of our life, that part of our life, I\u2019m not really here to pour all kinds of guilt on people; I\u2019m just here to get us to understand that there is a consequence associated with sin.\u00a0 You can pick the sins,\u00a0 you can\u2019t pick the consequences.\u00a0 The consequence is outside of your control.\u00a0 God picks the consequence.\u00a0 And\u00a0 you see, He loves us so much that He\u2019s trying to get us to change our minds about what we\u2019re doing less the consequence comes.\u00a0 The necessity to hear what he is saying, the necessity to hear the Word of God.\u00a0 James 1:21 says, \u201c\u2026in humility receive the word.\u201d\n\nIt requires a certain amount of humility to listen to somebody else, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 \u00a0Because everybody wants to talk, Yours Truly included.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we\u2019re a dialogue society, a talk show society; we don\u2019t want to listen, we want to talk.\u00a0 And what is God saying?\u00a0 He\u2019s saying listen.\u00a0 Listen to the Word of God, listen to the man of God, listen to the exposition of the Word of God, and the teaching of the Word of God.\u00a0 To be completely honest with you, that is almost something that is being lost today in evangelicalism.\u00a0 People would rather do anything other than listen to the Word of God.\u00a0 And\u00a0 yet it\u2019s the Word of God that puts us on the right path so that these consequences can be avoided.\n\nI\u2019m reminded of Nehemiah 8:2-3.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThen Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.\u00a0 [3] He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate\u201d look\u00a0\u00a0 at this, \u201cfrom early morning until midday, [in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.\u201d]\u00a0 I mean, he didn\u2019t even expound the Word of God, he just stood up from early morning until midday and just read from\u00a0\u00a0 the Word of God and what were the people doing?\u00a0 They weren\u2019t looking at their watches,\u00a0 they weren\u2019t wondering are we going to be able to beat the Baptists to the cafeteria.\u00a0 The Bible says in the presence of men and women, those who could understand, and all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.\u00a0 [Nehemiah 8:3, \u201cHe read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.\u201d]\n\nYou know, in Colonial America\u2026 people complain about the length of my sermons, you know in Colonial America your average sermon was two hours?\u00a0 I mean, you want to divide a church try that one.\u00a0 I practically divided Sugar Land Bible Church when I moved the service time from 12:15 to 12:30, what in the world is he doing?\u00a0 Because we\u2019ve lost our appetite, we have to admit for the Word of God and\u00a0 yet it\u2019s the Word of God; that will spare us from these sorts of things.\n\nThe letter concludes, and don\u2019t get overjoyed yet because there\u2019s a ton of stuff in verse 17, it concludes with a promise to the overcomers.\u00a0 Look at verse 17, look at the things that are mentioned here.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026To him who overcomes, to him I will give some<\/em> 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.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Who are the overcomers?\u00a0 As we\u2019ve tried to explain the overcomers are believers.\u00a0 That\u2019s how John\u2019s other book defines who these overcomers are.\n\nHe, as is typical in these letters, reminds these Christians that are struggling, even the ones that are compromised of their glorious future in God.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because John\u2019s other book, 1 John 3:2-3 says he who thinks often of His coming\u201d does what? \u201cpurifies himself, even as He is pure.\u201d [1 John 3:2, \u201cBeloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.\u00a0 [3] And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.\u201d]\n\nYou want the remedy for compromise in your life?\u00a0 Think about the return of Christ.\u00a0 Think frequently about the return of Christ and I guarantee you that whatever you\u2019re struggling with will get fixed mighty quick in\u00a0 your life this week.\u00a0 You know, there are times where I get home late, I\u2019m by myself, turn the TV on, I see the same junk and garbage on television that you see.\u00a0 Now I\u2019ve just got 200 channels to choose from, all garbage.\u00a0 And you know, you watch something and it\u2019s kind of, you know, a little bit off.\u00a0 I\u2019m not talking about hard core pornography, just things that wouldn\u2019t be pleasing to God to see.\u00a0 Who\u2019s going to know?\u00a0 My wife is asleep, my daughter is asleep, it\u2019s late at night, what\u2019s the big deal?\u00a0 I\u2019ve had a hard day, don\u2019t I get a chance to relax a little bit?\n\nI can\u2019t tell you, and I don\u2019t always make the right decision, but I can\u2019t tell you how many times I say to myself, you know what, if the Lord were to come back right now (which He could, right, the doctrine of imminency) if the Lord were to come back right now and saw me watching this what would He say?\u00a0 And I turn the channel, better yet, turn the whole thing off.\u00a0 Or you know, you get into a conversation with someone, it kind of moves in more of a gossipy direction, the flesh is always trying to pull us into those kinds of things, and then something inside of you says\u00a0 you know what, the Lord could come back, if He comes back right now what\u2019s He going to see?\n\nThat\u2019s [can't understand word] the second coming, the doctrine of the second coming relates to personal holiness.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s why He keeps referring over and over again to things related to His second coming.\u00a0 He knows the truth.\u00a0 You think about the second coming you start to think about being priorities of God.\u00a0 If you start to think about the priorities of God it changes our moral decisions, does it not, in the present.\u00a0 \u201cAnd everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.\u201d\u00a0 [1 John 3:3]\n\nSo what does He say related to their future.\u00a0 Number one, hidden manna, you have a right to hidden manna as a child of God, verse 17, \u201cTo him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 2:17, \u201c\u2018He 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.'\u201d]\n\nManna, what is that?\u00a0 It\u2019s provision from God.\u00a0\u00a0 You know, the unbelievers, those in the satanic world system, they\u2019re always taken care of financially; have you noticed that?\u00a0 They pick the right stocks, they\u2019ve got the right retirement plan, in fact, it\u2019s always been that way.\u00a0 1 Kings 18:19, says the \u00a0\u201cprophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.\u201d\u00a0 [1 Kings 18:19, \"Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.\u201d]\n\nThey worked for Jezebel, Jezebel ran the country, they are always taken care of.\u00a0 What about the child of God.\u00a0 Who\u2019s going to take care of the child of God in the satanically controlled system?\u00a0 The answer is right here, \u201chidden manna.\u201d\u00a0 The miraculous provision of God, you can read about it yourself in Exodus 16:32-35.\n\n[ Exodus 16:32, \u201cThen Moses said, \u2018This is what the LORD has commanded, \u2018Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 [33]\u00a0 Moses said to Aaron, \u2018Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.\u2019\u00a0 [34] As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept.\u201d\u00a0 [35 ] The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.\u201d]\n\nIt was such a strange food the Jews said \u201cwhat is it?\u201d\u00a0 So that became its name, manna; every single day, without fail, no exception, the manna was there, only exception was the Sabbath, they weren\u2019t supposed to work on the Sabbath, they weren\u2019t supposed to gather on the Sabbath but they had extra that they could collect prior to the Sabbath, like clockwork, every day there it was.\n\nIn fact, Exodus 16:32-35 says that manna kept sustaining them in the Sinai Peninsula, think of that, until the day, forty years it was there, until the day they set foot in Canaan where the manna was no longer necessary because it was a land flowing with milk and honey.\n\n[Exodus 16:32-35, \u201cThen Moses said, \u2018This is what the LORD has commanded, \u2018Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.\u201d [33] Moses said to Aaron, \u201cTake a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations.\u201d [34] As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept. [35] The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.\u201d ]\n\nAnd the Jews criticized God for this.\u00a0 Psalm 78, one of the great Psalms of Asaph, verse 19 says, \u201cThen they spoke against God; They said, \u2018Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 I mean, we\u2019re stuck out here in the desert, how is God going to provide now?\u00a0 And Psalm 78:24-25 says, \u201cHe rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven.\u201d\u00a0 And it says, [25] \u201cMan did eat the bread of angels;\u201d angel food, and \u201cHe sent them food in abundance.\u201d\n\nIf God provides like that you can say no to the satanically controlled world system.\u00a0 Everybody is afraid to say no to it, what\u2019s going to happen to my retirement plan?\u00a0 What\u2019s going to happen to my financial security?\u00a0 What\u2019s going to happen to the stock market?\u00a0 What about my 401K plan, I can\u2019t speak up for God, I can\u2019t stand up for God.\u00a0 You walk with God as God leads\u00a0 you but I\u2019ll tell you this, hidden manna is available.\u00a0 It\u2019s just amazing to me how God provides in the most peculiar of ways, things you never even thought possible.\u00a0 I mean, did Elijah really think that birds would bring him food?\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s very, very odd, we wouldn\u2019t think about that.\u00a0 Is God limited by a 401K plan, an contract?\u00a0 A retirement plan?\n\nAnd what does Jesus call Himself in John 6:35, \u201cI am the\u201d what? \u201cthe bread of life, he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.\u201d\u00a0 The provision of God is so extensive that it not only covers physical things, it covers spiritual things.\u00a0 I think of a retirement plan better than that.\u00a0 But Andy, what about the price of gold?\u00a0 What about the American economy?\u00a0 What about inflation?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know!\u00a0 I don\u2019t have answers there.\u00a0 I know this much, God does not need the American economy to provide for you. He doesn\u2019t even need your job to provide for you.\u00a0 You could get laid off tomorrow and the hidden manna would keep on coming.\n\nThe second thing they\u2019re told is you\u2019re going to get a white stone.\u00a0 What is a white stone?\u00a0 It\u2019s innocence.\u00a0 Isaiah 1:18 says, \u201cCome, let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins are as scarlet they will be made white as snow.\u201d\u00a0 Imperfection exchange for perfection in a nanosecond at the point of faith.\u00a0 And that\u2019s\u00a0 your forever destiny, and in fact that becomes your forever identity because the third thing that\u2019s promised here is a new name.\u00a0 You know, the names and the naming in the Bible, right back to Adam naming the animals, I can\u2019t describe to you the significance of names because names reveal destinies.\u00a0 Abraham\u2019s name was changed to Abraham, the father of many nations, Genesis 17.\u00a0 Sarai\u2019s name changed to Sarah, God over and over again, Isaiah 62:2, Isaiah 65:15, so many verses I can\u2019t even get to them all promise the nation of Israel another name.\n\n[Isaiah 62:2, \u201cThe nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.\u201d\u00a0 Isaiah 65:15, \u201cYou will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord GOD will slay you. But My servants will be called by another name.\u201d]\n\nSee what\u2019s going on here?\u00a0 You haven\u2019t denied My name, I\u2019ve given you a new name.\u00a0 A name is a person\u2019s identity.\u00a0 Why do they need a new name?\u00a0 Because when you trust Christ you get a new identity, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 I think it was alluded to earlier.\n\n2 Corinthians 5:17, \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;\u201d creation, \u201cthe old things passed away; behold, new things have come.\u201d\u00a0 Well, if you go through such a new revolution to the point where you have a new identity then my goodness, you must need a new name.\u00a0 What a revelation of who we are in God.\u00a0 In fact, if you look at this very carefully it says the new name that\u00a0 you will receive, if not already, which is on the stone, no one will know it but he who receives it.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 This is personal; this is not a crowd\u2019s name, this is not a generic name, this is not a \u201cone size fits all,\u201d this is a special name designed for you because God loves you as a person.\u00a0 I mean doesn\u2019t He say the very hairs on your head are numbered?\u00a0 \u00a0The complete and total intimacy and care of the Lord for us, not as a group, although He loves us as a group, but as an individual.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the things about Christianity that I think is only found within Christianity.\n\nI mean, think about this, it\u2019s just mind blowing to me.\u00a0 The God of the universe who spoke and the heavens and the earth leapt into existence wants a relationship with me?\u00a0 He wants to hear prayers from me?\u00a0 I hope we don\u2019t lose sometimes in our theology the intimacy of Christ.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think you could find this in Buddhism or Islam, it\u2019s all impersonal.\u00a0 This is something to my understanding that is unique to the God of the Bible.\n\nAnd so what is our exhortation here at Sugar Land Bible Church?\u00a0 Take the gift and enter into a personal relationship with God if you have not already done so.\u00a0 Trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation and understand that as you do so you\u2019re not only getting your sins forgiven, you\u2019re not only receiving the righteousness of Jesus Christ, you not only have your fire insurance paid up, not only will you not be hurt by the second death, that\u2019s what He said to the church at Smyrna last week, but you walk in a personal relationship with God.\u00a0 That\u2019s the Bible, that\u2019s Christianity, that\u2019s what offered.\u00a0 And if the Spirit of God is at work, convicting\u00a0 you of your need to receive by faith what Jesus has done I would encourage you to do it now as I\u2019m speaking.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to walk an aisle to do it, join a church to do it, raise a hand to do it, pledge money to do it, do any man-made works to do it, it\u2019s a matter of privacy between you and the Lord where you trust in Him and Him alone for salvation.\u00a0 And the next time we are together we\u2019ll be taking a look at Christ\u2019s words to the church at Thyatira.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for Your Word, Your truth, the things that You have said here in this small set of verses to the church at Pergamum, help us to grow in these things as we seek out Your truth and apply it to our lives.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t