AM Sermon preached at Central Christian Church October 15, 2006
…Nothing But The Truth Rev. 2:12-17 The letter to the church at Pergamum part 2
25 years of ministry has taught me a few things and one of them is that there’s no such thing as a perfect temperature for the auditorium. I can almost guarantee you that if you like the temperature of this room right now---there’s someone around you who doesn’t! And if you don’t like it, well there’s someone who does. But hey don’t worry---whether you like the temperature right now or not---what with the heat from the lights and bodies in here it won’t stay the same for long. Some of you who might be feeling BRRRR now might be thinking AHHHH in another 15 or 20 minutes. And some of you feeling just right now, well ---a half hour and 4 or 5 degrees from now----you may be taking off your jacket, fanning yourself with the bulletin or mopping your brow with a handkerchief or tissue.
By the way---have you ever seen a thermostat war take place during a worship service? I have. In the middle of the service you’ve got one person sneaking over and changing the setting. Five minutes later someone else is making another change. A few minutes later someone else is playing with the controls.
I kid you not folks, at the church where I preached before coming to Central---we had enough people complaining back and forth about the temperature that the church board actually ending up voting on the thermostat setting---and then once they decided what it would be---to make sure no one could get up in the middle of the service and change the setting, they put a locking cover over the thermostats. Crazy stuff, huh? Give you and idea of how I think--- I think the designers of church buildings should take a lesson from the retail world----and they should hide the thermostats. Ever seen the thermostat at Wal-Mart or K-Mart? Of course not, they’ve got it hidden. To get to them you have to go through a series of doors and airlocks, pass a security check and match the DNA code of the programmer. Wait a minute---even better than hiding the thermostat----keep the real thermostat in some remote location and put up fake thermostats------you know where I’m going with this one---don’t you? Hmmm—it might just work…
On this matter of reacting to a gradual changes in temperature---I’ve read in several reliable sources that if you take a frog and toss it into a bucket of ice water or a bucket of boiling water that that frog will immediately do everything it can to get out of the bucket. But if on the other hand---you were to gently place a frog into a pan filled with room temperature water and then you were to place that pan on a stove and slowly increase the temperature of the water, the frog would allow itself to be boiled to death without ever even trying to get out of the pan! [SLIDE OF KERMIT THE FROG] That’s right Kermit---it’s not easy being green!
[SERIES SLIDE---WILL AUTOMATICALLY TRANSITION TO TITLE SLIDE, THEN BLANK SLIDE] As we saw last week, Jesus sent a letter to the first century church at Pergamum. In it He expressed His appreciation for their holding on to the truth and not denying His name. He empathized with their living conditions and the fact that it’s tough to be a Christian in Pergamum. But then Jesus went on to address something which greatly disturbed Him. He went on to say how He didn’t like the fact that they were tolerating the teachings of Balaam, and the teachings of the Nicolatians. You see, the church had started out running a great race---they’d started out with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth---but they didn’t keep it that way. False teachers had crept in and slowly but steadily the spiritual climate in the church was changing---and like a frog in a kettle of water with a gradually rising temperature---the people didn’t seem to notice the danger they were in.
Let’s refresh our memories and look again at Jesus’ words found in Revelation 2:12-17….
[SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
12"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
[BLANK SLIDE]
Ever watch segments of a marathon race? If you have you’ve probably noticed marathon runners being handed drinks along the way. Usually it’s water, Gatorade or something similar. One thing you won’t find---you won’t find marathon runners guzzling Mt. Dew, Vault or Starbucks coffee during a race because those drink are loaded with caffeine and caffeine is naturally dehydrating. Marathon runners are careful what they take into their bodies because they know that eating or drinking the wrong foods before or during a race can knock you right out of it. Here in our text we have Jesus watching the church at Pergamum. He’s seen how they got off to a good start---but now He’s concerned because they’re beginning to take the wrong things into their body---the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolatians. And in no uncertain terms, Jesus is telling them to stop---before they end up knocking themselves out of the race. [SCRIPTURE SLIDE] Verse 16… Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
[SLIDE #16 --- SERMON POINT]
Jesus knows that for any of us to be able to run the best possible spiritual race we can, we must cast aside lies and sins quickly. Now specifically to the church at Pergamum Jesus was telling them that they needed to immediately and decisively deal with the false teachings and false teachers in their midst. And to us He’s saying---we need to deal with whatever it is that’s keeping us from running the best spiritual race we can. Maybe it’s anger or an addiction that’s slowing us down---or maybe it’s laziness or lust---pornography or pride---maybe we’ve been refusing to forgive someone else---or maybe even though God’s forgiven us---we haven’t forgiven ourselves. Whatever it is that’s negatively affecting our relationship with Him, Jesus is calling for us to stop taking it lightly and start dealing with it seriously---now, not tomorrow or a week from now, but now.
The reason is obvious---the longer we tolerate that thing that’s negatively affecting our relationship with Him---the more difficult it will be to deal with. [SLIDE OF TREE WITH FENCE] Take a look at this picture of this tree that I believe is still growing next to an IHOP in Chicago. I know you know that that tree didn’t have that fence growing next to it one day and have it growing in the middle of its trunk the next. No doubt, it took years for that fence post to make its way into the heart of that tree. I ask you as you look at that picture---Can you get the fence out of the tree---sure---but at what cost to the tree? Friends Jesus knows that the longer we tolerate sin, the greater its hold becomes on us---the longer we allow that thing that’s quenching the Spirit’s work in us to remain, the more personal pain it’ll bring us when removing it later. That’s why He tells us get rid of it now.
[BLANK SLIDE]
So many people have the mistaken idea that God’s a kill joy. God’s not a kill joy. God’s wants you to enjoy the best of life. His commandments weren’t given to make living a pain---they were given to keep the pain to a minimum! To run the best possible spiritual race we’ve got to cast aside lies and sins quickly. The Message version puts it this way
[SLIDE] --- “get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus…”
[SLIDE #20----SERMON POINT---]
To run our best spiritual race we also need to we need to stay on track with the truth. That is to say we need to fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God.
Ernest T. Bass----any of you trivia buffs remember what show he appeared on? That’s right---the Andy Griffith show---Ernest T. was probably one of the most colorful characters ever introduced on that show. In his first episode appearance he didn’t want to accept the fact that the young backwoods woman he had a crush on had gotten married. And in the video clip we’re about to see we find him showing up late in the night still trying to win her affections by serenading her. Let’s take a couple of minutes to watch what he does in his unsuccessful attempt to woe Charlene....
VIDEO CLIP STARTS WITH ERNEST T THROWING A ROCK THROUGH THE WINDOW AND WAKING EVERYBODY UP-----STOP VIDEO CLIP AFTER MR DARLING SAYS “WELL I GUES WE CAN ALL GET SOME SLEEP NOW.”
Ernest T’s began his serenading by trying to tune his voice to an out of tune metal can. And after that first song when he offered to sing a second song no one wanted to hear it. They didn’t want to hear it for two reasons---for one, no amount of his seranading was going to win the newly wed Charlene away from her husband and for the other, Ernest T sounded terrible. His song had great rhythm and interesting lyrics but still it sounded terrible and nobody wanted to hear a second song. When you tune your singing voice to something out of tune that kind of thing will happen. And get this----when you tune your life to something out of tune with God’s will and God’s word, your life’s not going to bring God the pleasure it’s meant to bring Him.
By the way, just as Ernest T did a few things right but had one glaring fault and wasn‘t well received, the church at Pergamum did a few things right but it was that one glaring fault of being too tolerant of sin and false teaching that caused them not to be well received either. To bring God the greatest pleasure we need to be as spiritually in tune as we possibly can.
And how do we do that? How can we get in tune with God’s will for our lives? How can we know what’s sin and what isn’t sin? How can we know what we need to stop doing, start doing, keep doing? How can we tell right from wrong, discern truth from error? By learning the scriptures thoroughly. Jesus mentions in verse 16, that if things don’t change at Pergamum that He will come to them and fight against them with the sword of His mouth. Now Jesus isn’t meaning that He’s going to show up and wage a physical war with a sword that comes out of His mouth. No, Jesus is speaking symbolically and He’s referring to the fact that He will use the truths He taught to defeat the lies the followers of Balaam and the Nicolatians were teaching.
John Stott in his book “What Christ Thinks of the Church” claims, “God’s way to overcome error is the proclamation of the gospel of Christ which is God’s power of salvation to everyone who believes. Falsehood –he adds--will not be suppressed by the gruesome methods of the inquisition, or by the burning of heretics at the stake, or by restrictive state legislation, or even by war. Force of arms cannot conquer ideas. Only truth can defeat error. The false ideologies of the world can be overthrown only by the superior ideology of Christ. We have no other weapons but this sword. Let us use it fearlessly, and by open manifestation of the truth storm the strongholds of Satan.”
To run our best race we’ve got to quickly cast aside lies and sins---and to make sure we cast aside the things that should be cast aside, we need to get a good working knowledge of the Bible. And the reason all this effort is worth is the prize that can be ours. Wayne Smith used to say it’s because there’s a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned.
[SLIDE WITH FINAL SERMON POINT]
Remember that passage from Hebrews 12. In it we were told not only to get rid of the spiritual fat and parasitic sins but we were told to keep our eyes on Jesus---to keep our eyes on the prize He wants to give us at the end of life’s race.
Here in this letter to Pergamum we find Jesus promising overcomers two things...they will receive some of the hidden manna and they will receive a white stone with a secret name written on it. Most likely the hidden manna is symbolic of fellowship with Jesus and the white stone is symbolic of being declared innocent. Back in Jesus day jurors were often given two stones at the start of a trial...a white stone and a black stone. After both sides of a case were presented, a juror would show his belief in the guilt or innocence of an individual by casting forward one of those stones...the black stone if he believed the person on trial was guilty and the white stone if he believed the person was innocent.
You can be sure that when it comes to our sinning---Jesus doesn’t walk around under the mistaken impression that we’re innocent of any wrongdoing. Not at all---Jesus knows us through and through---He knows the very thoughts of our hearts---He knows we’re guilty of sinning---and we’re not talking just once or twice, but countless times---Jesus knows we failed to keep all the commandments. That’s why He came and died on a cross for us, so we could have our sins forgiven. Jesus ---through His words about giving us a white stone---is in no way saying we’re innocent of wrong doing. What He’s is doing is reminding us that if during our lives we put and kept our trust in Him, that come judgment He will before the Father cast His vote in our favor---He will let it be known that our sins are not to be held against us and we’re not to be punished for them because He’s already taken our punishment upon Himself. And friends when Jesus declares us as His own before the Father---when He identifies us as someone who is both guilty and forgiven it will mean we get to enter into heaven and spend eternity there in a wonderful growing relationship with Him. It’s what we were created for. And that friends is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
As the worship team reassembles on the stage and prepares to lead us in our decision hymn, Come Just As You Are, I would remind you that’s Jesus when you come to Him Jesus will receive you just as you are. It’s not necessary that you get your act together before you respond to the invitation---in fact until you receive Christ you can’t truly and fully get your act together. Jesus doesn’t say to us, come to me once you’ve got your act together----no, He says to us, come to me right now, just as you are. The good news ---you come just as you are---and I’ll receive you just as you are---the better news--- I won’t leave you that way…the best news…. you come and turn your life over to me---and eternal life and heaven will be in your future. Let’s stand and sing---and anyone who wishes to make a public decision, I’d invite you to meet me here in the front----
NOTE TO THOSE WHO READ AND OR CHOOSE TO MAKE USE OF ANY OR ALL OF THIS SERMON: I am sharing this sermon with the hopes it will be an encouragement to others. I apologize for any blatant typing errors! If you find any I’d appreciate hearing from you so I can correct them. I try to give credit where credit is due, noting writers and or sources to the best of my ability. I have for years been drawing from a wealth of sources including this website. I recognize that my mind and writing processes are fallible. I may occasionally fail to properly identify a source. Please do not take offense if you see anything of this nature. I never intend to plagiarize. Having said that, I want you to feel free to draw from my message. When appropriate I hope you will give credit as I do. But most of all I hope Christ will be lifted up and God will receive the glory in all things.
