Sunday, June
15, 2014, 5:55 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put in mind the song “He Lifted our Burdens.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I
read Revelation 2:12-17 (NIV).
Double-edged
Sword
“To the angel
of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the
words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. ~ v. 12
This
brings to mind this passage in Hebrews
4:12-13:
For the word of
God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must
give account.
The
purpose of these letters to the churches is that Jesus Christ, the living Word,
is judging the deeds, thoughts and attitudes of the heart of these churches, he
is letting them know that he sees what is going on, and he, as well, is letting
them know they must give account.
For and Against
I know where
you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did
not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful
witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
Nevertheless, I
have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that
they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise,
you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ~ Vv. 13-15
It
appears to me that this church was divided. There were those within the church
who were the true followers of Jesus Christ, who remained true to his name.
Yet, there were also those among them who compromised the faith, who taught
what was in error, and who encouraged sinful behavioral practices, all in the
name of “God’s grace.” So, while Jesus was able to commend some in the church
for their faithfulness to Christ and to the gospel, there were others among
them for whom he had only words of rebuke and correction.
His
charge was that some among them held to the teaching of Balaam, and that others
held to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Balaam and the Nicolaitans shared a
common thematic element, which was “compromise”. They either compromised with
pagan (non-Christian) society or they compromised with worldliness, which are
essentially the same thing. They blended their Christian faith and practice in
with worldliness and with worldly patterns of behavior. This “compromise” set
the stage for “spiritual” liberty that gave them permission to practice
idolatry and immorality. And, they taught others to do the same.
Where You Live
I
see the church in America in pretty much the same situation as the church in
Pergamum. We have people in the church in America who are true followers of
Jesus Christ, and who are faithful to him, even in the face of severe
persecution. They remain strong in their faith, committed to the Word of God,
and to the gospel of salvation. They don’t compromise with the world, but they
commit their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ to follow him in obedience and in
surrender to his will for their lives. They are grieved over the state of
spiritual adultery in much of the church in America, and they are in much
prayer for revival. They have not forsaken their first love, but choose to
follow him wherever he leads them.
Yet,
there are many within America’s churches who are Christians in name only, or
who have fallen back into following after the ways of the world, and after the
flesh, after having made commitments to follow Christ with their lives. Many of
these are in leadership positions within the church, and they are definitely
following the way of Balaam and that of the Nicolaitans. They compromise their
faith and practice with worldliness and with paganistic society, trying to
become more like the culture around them in order to “reach” the people of the
society in which they live. They have turned the church into Big Business,
adopting worldly means and practices, marketing schemes and gimmicks, in order
to draw in large crowds of worldly people into the church, but not through
salvation.
As
well, they have diluted the gospel of Jesus Christ to make it more pleasing to
the senses, and more palatable to its listeners, and more acceptable to the
world, so that many more will “get saved.” - Or, so that many more will join
their churches. But, are they really saved? If all we do is teach people that praying
a prayer gets them the hope of heaven, but we don’t teach them that Jesus died
to free us from the control of sin over our lives day by day, and that he died
so that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up
for us, we have sold the gospel short. Many of these leaders cheapen the gospel
in order to make people feel better about themselves, which also gives them the
impression that they have the freedom to continue in sin, because of God’s
grace.
Yet,
we need to teach people that coming to Christ means death to sin, it means
being transformed of the Spirit of God away from sin to God, and it means we
now walk in the Spirit, in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, set apart from
the world of sin, and set apart to God and to his service (See Ac. 26:1-18; Ro.
6-8; 2 Co. 5:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14 & 1 Jn. 1-5, et al).
For to me to live is Christ.
The Sword of
His Mouth
Repent
therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with
the sword of my mouth. ~ V. 16
The
church collectively must repent of the sins of some who have a strong and
powerful influence within the church in teaching and practicing what is in
error. This means that the church, as a whole, must turn from permitting and
allowing these things to go on, or else they must turn from following after the
flesh, to following after the Spirit. If they do not, Jesus Christ will come in
judgment and he will fight against those rebellious ones.
The Hidden
Manna
Whoever has
ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is
victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person
a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives
it. ~ V. 17
We
need to listen up to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. If we are
victorious over sin and Satan, by the blood of Christ, and by our testimony for
Christ and his gospel, all in the power and working of the Spirit within us, we
will be blessed with eternal life with God.
He Lifted Our Burdens
/ An Original Work / February 15, 2014
Based off Isaiah 9:2-7
People walk in
darkness.
They abide in their
sin.
It has power o’er
them.
True belief escapes
them.
Jesus Christ came to
save them.
He gave His life up
for them;
Crucified; died for
our sin,
So we might be
forgiven,
And have life up in
heaven.
Many come to know Him.
God’s love now
o’erflows them.
They rejoice in
vict’ry.
Their sin is but
hist’ry.
We were once bound in
slav’ry.
Jesus lifted our
burdens;
Set us now free from
Satan,
So we now walk in
freedom.
Sin has no more
dominion.
Praise be to our
Savior!
He showed us His favor.
He took all our
burdens;
Cast them all upon
Him.
He is our mediator;
The Light which shines
in darkness.
Counselor in our
troubles;
He gives peace now in
our hearts;
Joy which is
everlasting.
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