Endurance, Repentance, and True Satisfaction in Christ
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1. "Jesus assured these believers with the knowledge that he knew where they dwelt. He understood the darkness of the culture. He calls it in verse 13 the place where Satan's throne is. And later in that same verse, it's the place where Satan dwells. He knew how hard it was to remain faithful in a deeply secular society. Unlike Zeus, the chief of the false gods in Pergamum, a god of wood and stone, relegated to the top of a mountain, one sorely limited in every way. Our God, Jehovah God, is infinite in knowledge and power. Furthermore, he's not bound by time or space. He sees all. He knows all. And to the church in Pergamum, Jesus begins by reminding them that their present condition is not outside the realm of his sovereignty or understanding." [34:25] (63 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Even though we may not endure these sorts of threats in our country, we shouldn't forget our brothers and sisters around the globe for whom the choice to worship God or a false idol could cost them their very lives. Today it is estimated that 365 million Christians are subject to intense levels of persecution. Let that number sink in your minds this morning. 365 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe face persecution. That means that there are more Christians around the world who endure persecution than the entire population of our country. Even this morning many believers must worship in secret. Like the remnant in Pergamum, they've endured. They've held fast to the name of the Lord. And in the beginning of this letter we see that Jesus understands their suffering." [36:28] (65 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Part of the task of the Christian in the 21st century is to understand and examine where these false gods where these false teachings exist even in our corner of the world. One commentator noted this I want you to hear this this morning that the goal of these false teachers was to persuade Christians that there was nothing wrong with a prudent conformity to the world's standards. I say that again. The goal was to persuade Christians that there was nothing wrong with a prudent conformity to the world's standards. As difficult as it is to acknowledge this is precisely the same struggle we face in our day and age. When we compromise often leads to conformity." [42:07] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "I think similarly when digging into our hearts for idols we have to dig deep. We have to let the spirit of God probe into the recesses of our heart until everything is uncovered. This morning we said to whom all hearts are open all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid there's nothing that we can hide from the Lord. And I think if we were to join him in this investigative endeavor if we were to dig in our own hearts it might surprise us what we would find there. I think we'll find that the myriad of false teachings with which we're tempted there's a similar root. And it's a lie. It's the notion that somewhere out there is someone or something who can satisfy us more than Jesus. And so we begin to compromise." [44:15] (59 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "False teachings lead us to question the goodness of Jesus. They lead us to a place of compromise. They promise but they can't deliver. They cause us to doubt that Jesus is who he says he is. The one who can profoundly and fully satisfy our souls. There's a hymn that I love that speaks to this endeavor. It was written by a lady named Clara Williams in 1875. And in this song she describes her journey of finding God and being found by the God who deeply satisfies. It's her story so to speak. And she says poignantly in the first verse All my life I had a longing for a drink from some clear spring that I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the filth around me till my strength was almost gone longed my soul for something better only still to hunger on." [45:19] (72 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "Lastly in verse verses 16 through 17 Jesus leaves this church in Pergamum with a challenge he says this quite bluntly in verse 16 therefore repent repent if not I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth Jesus challenges the church to remember the hope of the gospel he closes this letter by urging the church to repent if we think about it this morning repentance is at the heart of the gospel it's the first word of the gospel the word to repent means more than being sorry it means to reconsider to change our mind it's the turning of self toward God and the gospel repentance for us this morning is a gift it's the pathway that opens up to us all the glory and all the grandeur of the gospel because it leads us to Jesus himself where endless joy awaits where peace permeates our souls and because of all all of us like sheep prone to stray because we're often confronted with lesser gods because we're lured into worldly compromise we need to be people that repent people that preach the gospel to ourselves we need to be so acquainted with the truth of God and of his word that we can easily detect a counterfeit gospel." [47:18] (104 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "My grandmother's first job was to work at a bank and one time my dad asked her how she could detect fraudulent money counterfeits and she said the more I handled real money the more easily I could detect a counterfeit and I think that applies to us when we think about God's word the more familiar we become with the truth of God's word the more easily we can detect a counterfeit gospel which is no gospel at all as Paul said Jesus said to the believers I'd like to leave us with this this morning he said to them I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst may we be sheep who often run to the shepherd who are nourished in his pasture may we find that he's the well of water ever springing that he's the bread of life so rich and free may we find our complete satisfaction in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen." [49:20] (73 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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2. "Even though we may not endure these sorts of threats in our country, we shouldn't forget our brothers and sisters around the globe for whom the choice to worship God or a false idol could cost them their very lives. Today it is estimated that 365 million Christians are subject to intense levels of persecution. Let that number sink in your minds this morning. 365 million of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe face persecution. That means that there are more Christians around the world who endure persecution than the entire population of our country. Even this morning many believers must worship in secret. Like the remnant in Pergamum, they've endured. They've held fast to the name of the Lord. And in the beginning of this letter we see that Jesus understands their suffering." [36:28] (65 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Part of the task of the Christian in the 21st century is to understand and examine where these false gods where these false teachings exist even in our corner of the world. One commentator noted this I want you to hear this this morning that the goal of these false teachers was to persuade Christians that there was nothing wrong with a prudent conformity to the world's standards. I say that again. The goal was to persuade Christians that there was nothing wrong with a prudent conformity to the world's standards. As difficult as it is to acknowledge this is precisely the same struggle we face in our day and age. When we compromise often leads to conformity." [42:07] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "I think similarly when digging into our hearts for idols we have to dig deep. We have to let the spirit of God probe into the recesses of our heart until everything is uncovered. This morning we said to whom all hearts are open all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid there's nothing that we can hide from the Lord. And I think if we were to join him in this investigative endeavor if we were to dig in our own hearts it might surprise us what we would find there. I think we'll find that the myriad of false teachings with which we're tempted there's a similar root. And it's a lie. It's the notion that somewhere out there is someone or something who can satisfy us more than Jesus. And so we begin to compromise." [44:15] (59 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "False teachings lead us to question the goodness of Jesus. They lead us to a place of compromise. They promise but they can't deliver. They cause us to doubt that Jesus is who he says he is. The one who can profoundly and fully satisfy our souls. There's a hymn that I love that speaks to this endeavor. It was written by a lady named Clara Williams in 1875. And in this song she describes her journey of finding God and being found by the God who deeply satisfies. It's her story so to speak. And she says poignantly in the first verse All my life I had a longing for a drink from some clear spring that I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the filth around me till my strength was almost gone longed my soul for something better only still to hunger on." [45:19] (72 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "Lastly in verse verses 16 through 17 Jesus leaves this church in Pergamum with a challenge he says this quite bluntly in verse 16 therefore repent repent if not I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth Jesus challenges the church to remember the hope of the gospel he closes this letter by urging the church to repent if we think about it this morning repentance is at the heart of the gospel it's the first word of the gospel the word to repent means more than being sorry it means to reconsider to change our mind it's the turning of self toward God and the gospel repentance for us this morning is a gift it's the pathway that opens up to us all the glory and all the grandeur of the gospel because it leads us to Jesus himself where endless joy awaits where peace permeates our souls and because of all all of us like sheep prone to stray because we're often confronted with lesser gods because we're lured into worldly compromise we need to be people that repent people that preach the gospel to ourselves we need to be so acquainted with the truth of God and of his word that we can easily detect a counterfeit gospel." [47:18] (104 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "My grandmother's first job was to work at a bank and one time my dad asked her how she could detect fraudulent money counterfeits and she said the more I handled real money the more easily I could detect a counterfeit and I think that applies to us when we think about God's word the more familiar we become with the truth of God's word the more easily we can detect a counterfeit gospel which is no gospel at all as Paul said Jesus said to the believers I'd like to leave us with this this morning he said to them I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst may we be sheep who often run to the shepherd who are nourished in his pasture may we find that he's the well of water ever springing that he's the bread of life so rich and free may we find our complete satisfaction in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen." [49:20] (73 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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