{"id":8566,"date":"2019-09-29T14:02:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T18:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/?p=8566"},"modified":"2019-09-29T14:02:40","modified_gmt":"2019-09-29T18:02:40","slug":"thelettertothechurchatpergamum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/2019\/09\/thelettertothechurchatpergamum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Letter to the Church at Pergamum"},"content":{"rendered":"

THEME: Unsinkable
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

SERIES: Postcards<\/h2>\n

TITLE: The Letter to the Church at Pergamum
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17<\/h2>\n

\n

In a word: COMPROMISE<\/em>. The letter to the church at Pergamum is a call to repentance from the compromises that the church and believers in the church should never have made.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Description of the Judge:<\/strong> The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword \u2013 v 12<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is with this (sword<\/strong><\/span>) that Christ strikes down (compromise<\/strong><\/span>) within the church at Pergamum.<\/p>\n

\n

The Condition of the Church:<\/strong> Praiseworthy Actions<\/p>\n

I know where you dwell, where Satan\u2019s throne is\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSatan\u2019s throne\u201d means (stronghold<\/strong><\/span>)! To be deserving of that title means it is a place that is more full of wickedness and idolatry than any other place.<\/p>\n

Yet you hold fast my name and did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We know (nothing more<\/strong><\/span>) of Antipas. He is only mentioned in this verse.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GREEK: (martus<\/strong><\/span>) or in English \u201cmartyr\u201d \u2013 ESV translation: \u201cwitness\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The Condition of the Church:<\/strong> Strong Criticism<\/p>\n

You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam\u2026So also you have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.<\/em><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Balaam, Balak, the Midianites and Israel: Numbers 25<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nicolaitans: profess Christian faith, but claim Christians can (do whatever they please<\/strong><\/span>) with their bodies and that it is of no consequence.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Balaamites and Nicolaitans are linked together here in the passage as compromisers. They seem to be Christians by profession of faith but not by lifestyle. They\u2019ve embraced sin.<\/p>\n

\n

Repentance and Reward<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hidden Manna: symbol of restored fellowship with God<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christ will feed them the TRUE BREAD of heaven: (Himself<\/strong><\/span>) \u2013 See John 6:35<\/p>\n

White Stone with a New Name: you are a new creation in Christ<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Legal Practice \u2013 Jurors would cast their vote to (acquit<\/strong><\/span>) someone by dropping a white stone into an urn<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 New Name \u2013 A name was your identity. It was the verbal birthmark of your character. As a result of our repentance and perseverance, Jesus promises us a new name, a new identity.<\/p>\n

\n

Closing Thoughts on Compromise<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Compromise (occurs slowly<\/strong><\/span>).<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Compromise (lowers the standard<\/strong><\/span>).<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Compromise (is seldom offensive<\/strong><\/span>).<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Compromise (is often the first step toward disobedience<\/strong><\/span>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THEME: Unsinkable SERIES: Postcards TITLE: The Letter to the Church at Pergamum Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17 In a word: COMPROMISE. The letter to the church at Pergamum is a call to repentance from the compromises that the church and believers in the church should never have made.   The Description of the Judge: The words of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon-notes","nodate","item-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8567,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8566\/revisions\/8567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ovcf.org\/ovcf_wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}