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Shelbyville, Tennessee ~ Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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Perils of Pergamos
Posted Sunday, August 24, 2008, at 1:16 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan's seat [is]: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas [was] my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].
Revelation 2:12-17 KJV
Pergamos ws inland and 60 miles N of Smyrna, It was the capital of Asia until it was changed to Ephesus.
It contained a 20, 000 volume library second only to Alexandria this is the where the word parchment derives from .Among all the Roman Gods Aescalapius was honored[scalpel] with the sign of the snake.
On top of the cities Acropolis stood the Temple of Athena and the great altar to Zeus.
This was considered to be the "seat of Satan"
The doctrine of Balam was encouraged which was for the Israelites to marry pagan wives.
This is where the mixing of paganism and true Christian worship was mixed and has not been the same since.
The Saviour comes with a sharp sword to split the two in half , and even today the mixing of the two still takes place, with teachings of new age worship and that the bible is not authoritative or that Jesus is not the only way.
Pergamos was at the center of the province of Asia and where the state religion was promoted , the worship of emperors.
The people compromised the gospel, how often do we hear today"Sure we are Christians but everyone else does it , do use want us to look silly or loose friends?"
Where one sin [the sin of Balam ] is allowed to creep in , a second one soon follows[Nicolaitanism]
Since Satan could not drive the church out of the world , he drove the world into the church.
Today churches accept sin as a lifestyle and do not preach the word of God anymore.
They want to teach people to feel good without being good.
They approve of abortions and the homosexual lifestyle.
But most of all they remain silent and do nothing while the morals of society vanish into oblivion.
This was the ailment of the church in A.D.313-590]
The bible states that we in the world , but not to partake of its sins.
How much of the world is allowed in your church?
Is sin still called sin?
Don't try to explain the sin , show them how to get rid of it, by the blood of the lamb.
The church is not a place to get motivated or to eat "cotton Candy or play with fuzzy ducks"
It is a place for the sick in spirit to go get healed and for sin to be pointed out and gotten rid of like roaches.
If you want the roaches gone you don't feed their habits, you get rid of the food source.
how many Christians go to "happy hour on a Saturday night"and then show up at church on Sunday?
I used to be one till the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks and turned me around.
I now preach with boldness and conviction!
Church is not a club. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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I'm glad the church isn't a club.
(Someone might be tempted to beat folks over the head with it.)
We've gotten the idea that the only two choices are cotton candy and castor oil (preferably in the form of the terrorist weapon,ricin).
The enemy doesn't want folks to figure out that a Godly,just and rational life needn't be dull or harsh or that a bold,pleasurable life is not likely to be satanic.
God has nothing against laboratories or libraries.
He's for the responsible use of knowledge.
He has nothing against associating with people outside one's own circle.
But,He expects us to draw them unto the truth (as Ruth and Xerxes were incorporated into the faith) rather than our shedding our principles to fit in with a new lifestyle.
We are to know what we stand for and stick by it even when it's not pretty or popular or convenient.
But,if it is false to promote the idea that God's way is all fuzzy ducks and rainbows and passing the peace,there is another lie that insists on shunning and hairshirts and using the waters of baptism for brainwashing.
Living our creed is meant to be a challenge.
Like most challenges,it won't always be easy.
Often,it will have a cost that's ALMOST more than we can bear.
But,it can be incredibly satisfying and even delightful as well.
We don't need the world's clumsy knock-offs of divine blessings.
We have the real thing.
We don't need to concern ourselves with how we can destroy the vermin in our houses and the weeds in our gardens.
We will clean our homes and plant our yards so densely with good things that there will be no place for anything destructive to thrive.
We need not obsess about keeping Satan out.
We need to be unrelenting about keeping God in.
We need to tell the world that if they have to look outside their religion for fellowship,security,logic and freedom then maybe they need to find a church that would accept God as a member.
The sin of the adulterated church is not just that it becomes envious of the tainted world and lowers its standards until there is scant difference between the two.
It is that God's people neglect to show the value of a pure,undilute faith so that the people on the outside would be clamoring to be included in our way of life that they might claim whatever it is that we have that they lack.
God's world is not a non-stop party.
Nor is it something we endure to avoid an even more devastating fate.
It is a powerful,complex,soul-satisfying experience that rewards every aspect of our being-then adds more to us so that we can contain even more joy (enough to share our surplus with the world.)
Unlike Pergamos,we can be certain the lost have nothing we need in order to thrive.
We can offer everything they need to have life and have it more abundantly.