Commitment Leads To Contentment Series

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17; Matthew 4:1-11

Title: Commitment leads to contentment

Theme: Commitment

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

One of the greatest leaders of the past century was Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the most difficult and dark days of War World II.

One of his most famous speeches was given at a boy’s school in Harrow, England (near London) on October 29, 1941.

1941 had been an extremely difficult year for the British people. While we in the United States were still contemplating if we needed to get into the war, the British were fighting for their very survival. Every day they were asking the Americans to either join them in the fight or at least send as many weapons and supplies as they could share.

Under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, the Germans along with their allies were doing their best to paralyze and ultimately destroy the British Empire. Their consistent air attacks were taking a toll on Great Britain's infrastructure, it’s economy and its morale. Many thought (especially in the US) that it would not be long before the British would be forced to surrender.

It seemed as if it were left up to the British people to save the European Continent from becoming a part of the Axis powers and being under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Japanese Emperor Hirohito.

Listen to an small excerpt of Churchill’s speech that day:

“Almost a year has passed since I came down here at your Headmaster’s kind invitation in order to cheer myself and cheer the hearts of a few of my friends by singing some of our own songs. The ten months that have passed have seen some terrible catastrophic events in the world ….

But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period – I am addressing myself to the School – surely from this period of ten months is this lesson; NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER-IN NOTHING, GREAT OR SMALL, LARGE OR PETTY – NEVER GIVE IN EXCEPT TO CONVICTIONS OF HONOUR AND GOOD SENSE.”

That speech became one of the greatest speeches of World War II. The next day and for weeks and months to come one phrase kept being used over and over again – Never give in, Never, Never, Never.

Those words for the United Kingdom were inspiring words and they are words that could be used by the Church today. Words that could be applied to the Church of Pergamos.

Pergamos was quite a town. It did not have the intellectual reputation of Ephesus or Smyrna, but it excelled over them in the areas of art and theatre. It was the religious center of Asia Minor. It was littered with religious temples, altars and worship services.

You could worship Caesar Augustus and the Roman State at one of the three temples that had been built for Imperial worship. You could attend a worship service and sacrifice an offering to Zeus, Jupiter, Athena, and Dionysius at each of their great temples.

You could even go and visit the area where people would be worshipping the god of Medicine (Aesculapius- (/æs'kli?pi?s/) often called the god of Pergamos; the Savior or the Serpent god. You could even sign up for a healing service.

All over Pergamos there were statues dedicated to different gods and goddesses (Greek, Roman, Babylonian). There were these large wall monuments constructed to visually show how the gods and goddesses had created the world and humanity.

Amid all these pagan temples, altars and religious venues was the Church of Jesus Christ. We don’t know who started the house churches or when they were started. All we know is that Jesus tells us that they had already endured some intense persecution.

It wasn’t easy to be a Christian Church in that environment. Jesus tells us that one of its earliest leaders a man by the name of Antipas had already been put to death for sharing the Good News of Salvation in Jesus.

Jesus refers to this town as the place where Satan was dwelling and had his throne. That is quite a testimony and indictment about Pergamos.

Can you imagine the city that you live in called the seat of Satan? The place where Satan dwells and has his throne?

And yet, there was the LORD and His Church. A Church that was commended for its integrity and faithfulness. A Church planted so that people could see the light and experience true salvation. No other area including Ephesus or Smyrna had to face the intense spiritual battles that the churches in Pergamos had to face.

Sometimes when we read these letters to these seven churches it is easy for us to focus on their shortcomings without also looking at the areas in which they were doing great work. Pergamos was a place that we could literally call Hell on earth. A place full of demonic activity. A place where all kinds of wickedness was happening.