Revelation
2:12-17 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who
has the sharp two-edged sword. “‘I know where you dwell, where
Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my
faith even in the days of Antipasmy faithful witness, who was killed among
you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have
some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a
stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed
to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who
hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I
will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my
mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden
manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the
stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
This
last Sunday, Pastor Obie preached on the current sermon series: The Seven
Churches of Revelation. Those who live along the coastlines of any state or country
knows that there are currents within the
waters and waves of the ocean that will cause you to draft without you
noticing, except when you get out of the water and find yourself a great
distance from where you started out, at your beach towel and blanket. Pastor
Obie, as a regular surfer, is well aware of these currents, and once was caught
in a strong rip-tide that was drawing him towards dangerous rocks and breakers.
Paddling fiercely, he was being pulled into, what was called by the locals as,
the “Devil’s Mouth” and had to be rescued.
There
is a cultural tide also in our secular humanistic society in which we live
today, which is tempting, distracting and pulling our attention and heart’s
desire away from our godly walk with the Holy Spirit on this earthly journey to
the gates of Heaven; calling us to take a side road of compromise. Once
entertained, we discover ourselves drifting and not where we used to be or
where we started out, and then find ourselves battling against the cultural
tide of compromise that leads to the throne of Satan. This is a “Red Flag”
warning. Like the Christian church in Pergamum, we may find ourselves, not
rejecting the faith, but allowing blasphemous false teachings, idolatry in
opposing religious beliefs and sinful practices of a godless society to creep
in, resulting in spiritual compromise.
1
Corinthians 5:6b “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole
lump?”
Pastor
Obie explained that this spiritual compromising begins by (1) “Going with the
flow”. The ancient city of Pergamum was known as a religious “Mecca” for
poly-theism and idol worship. The influence of that pagan culture was strong, with
a Hollywood-type lawless lifestyle tide and current drift, with focus on money,
entertainment, lusts, trends, popularity and power which distracted the
attention, devotion and priorities away from the true Creator God. Is that not
what we find in our society and cultural interests today? (2) By acceptance of
false worldviews which lead to corruption. A “worldview’ is defined by Webster’s
dictionary as a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world, especially
from a specific standpoint. Pergamum, and today’s society, mixed beliefs and
adopted false “truth claims” in life that contradicted the Word of God. The social
objective is not to curse, but to corrupt from inside the heart by sinful enticements.
Intermingling worldviews infiltrate the mind and demand acceptance. It is a
battle against Christianity, where all truths are acceptable and there is no ‘right’
or “wrong”, except belief in the truth of “God alone”. Unhealthy thoughts,
ideas and beliefs by the enemy that directly contradict the holy Word of God are
introduced a little at a time, like turning the heat up slowly on a frog in a
pot of water until it can’t get out and boils to death.
Let’s
continue Pastor Obie’s message on “Spiritual Compromise” in the next post.
In CHrist, Brian
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