WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:08.480 Let's take our Bibles this morning and I hope you'll follow me to the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and the second chapter. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.119 Revelation chapter number two. 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:17.440 In just a moment, we'll stand together for the reading of God's Word. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:21.600 We've been talking about these seven churches of Asia Minor. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:32.880 We believe that they are on an ancient postal route going through what would be modern-day Turkey. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:40.159 And no doubt they were churches in that moment in need of a message from God. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:50.240 I wonder today if the Lord of the Lampstands doesn't have a word for this church today. 00:00:53.439 --> 00:01:02.479 I hope you know that there's no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, which is a fancy way of saying what you're struggling with, someone else is too. 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.079 Their struggle is our struggle. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:14.480 So all of these letters apply to every church throughout all of history. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:34.640 But we'd also surmise that these churches were also indicative of periods of church history, eras in history, and they are insightful for us as we understand the culture and the setting of those who received this message. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.519 That's very true of our text today. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:43.920 This church exists in an important bridge in history. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:46.959 It's between the time of great persecution. 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:51.599 We talked about the Church of Smyrna last week, and they were under great persecution. 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:56.879 Be faithful unto death, he says, and I'll give you a crown of life. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:04.000 But history pivots very quickly here to the Church of Pergamos. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:16.560 For between the Church of Smyrna and the Church of Pergamos, there was an agreement that was made between the state of Rome and Christian people. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:24.479 Whereas they were once marginalized, now they are seen as mainstream. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:28.479 Persecuted, now at peace. 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:37.439 Martyred, now represented in the highest offices of the land. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:43.759 I wonder what comfort comfort. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:53.199 I wonder what the influence of being comfortable will have upon the church. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.719 We finally get to Laodicea. 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:01.199 You know what they are? 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.520 Rich and increased with goods, and they have need of nothing. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:12.639 Our greatest need is Jesus Christ. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:17.599 Let's stand together in reverence for the Word of God. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.240 Revelation chapter 2. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:28.240 I understand there's a fine line between a long sermon and a hostage situation. 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:31.439 And I'll try to be mindful of that today. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:36.080 Someone called me Pharaoh one time. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:37.120 I said, Pharaoh. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.039 They said, let my people go. 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:47.520 My church of New Smyrna threatened to take down the clock in the back of the church and put up a calendar. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:51.680 Be mindful of that today as well. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:57.199 I saw a preacher speaking one time and he saw someone looking at his watch. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:02.560 And he said, Every time you look at your watch, I add five minutes. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:05.280 I'll give you one more. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.560 What does it mean when a preacher takes off his watch? 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:13.039 Absolutely nothing. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.079 Okay, Revelation chapter 2 and verse 12. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:24.879 To the angel of the church of Pergamus write, These things saith he, which hath the sharp sword with two edges. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:30.240 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:42.399 Thou holdest fast thy name, and thou hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:56.399 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, and who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:02.319 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:08.879 Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against thee with the sword of my mouth. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:26.000 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the church, as 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 name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:29.360 Father, thank you for the reading of the word today. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:37.759 Lord, I recognize that as I read the word, the word is is reading me. 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:43.519 Your word as it enters gives light. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.600 It will dispel our darkness. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:49.839 May the word of God shine brightly today. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.920 Help nothing in my life to dull that radiant light from your word. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:03.680 May there be no distraction even that would keep us from receiving the word today. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:13.680 Thank you for what you've done in this meeting today, what you've done in classes already, what you are doing all around campus throughout every ministry today. 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:15.600 Be glorified in Jesus' name. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:16.319 Amen. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:18.560 Thank you for standing, be seated together. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:24.800 We might say that in Pergamus the faith has gone corporate. 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:35.600 It's gone into the hands of a bishopric, a hierarchy that will rule over the people. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:41.920 But as we've seen over the last couple weeks, the Lord is walking among the candlesticks. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:49.360 And in this letter, he seeks out a personal and intimate and relational connection to its members. 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:52.480 He does the same today. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:55.199 He walks among us. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:06:59.680 And he walks with me. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:01.519 And he talks with me. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:05.120 He tells me I'm his own. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:11.120 We often think about institutions, God thinks more of individuals. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:16.240 Not just pastors, but parishioners, it's not just parishes, but people. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:34.720 Are we getting used to the dark? 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:43.600 Years ago I heard of a preacher who was preaching on that theme, getting used to the dark. 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:52.959 He had the sound man slowly, incrementally throughout the sermon, slowly dim the lighting. 00:07:55.360 --> 00:08:01.360 The pupils and eyes adjusted until the end of the sermon. 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:08.319 And he said, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you realize this morning, but many of you have gotten used to the dark. 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:11.839 And they brought the lights back up. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.319 We are to shine as lights in a dark world. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:22.800 But too often we become darkened by a dark world. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:24.639 Who are these people? 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:27.040 What do they believe? 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.839 And what do they need to return to? 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:39.600 I read a humorous story of a New York family who bought a ranch somewhere out west, and they intended to raise cattle on that farm. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.360 They didn't exactly know what to call it or who they were. 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.519 Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:53.200 Well, said the would-be cattleman, I wanted to name it the Bar J. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.799 My wife wanted to call it Suzy Q. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:02.080 One son liked the flying W, and the other wanted to call it the Lazy Y. 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:12.399 So we're calling it the Bar J Suzy Q flying W Lazy Y. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:16.799 Well, where are all your cattle? 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:18.080 The friend said. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:22.159 To which the cattleman replied, Well, there aren't any left. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:24.240 They couldn't survive all the branding. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:32.320 Do you know who you are? 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:37.039 Has the truth been branded into you? 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:47.200 Someone said a pastor, and this is true of all Christians, pastor needs the mind of a theologian and the heart of a child and the hide of a rhinoceros. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.200 How quickly do you change? 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:59.840 These people are not suffering persecution. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:02.799 They're suffering the tyranny of the immediate. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:10.720 They've sacrificed the permanent on the altar of the immediate, and maybe to save their hide, they sold the truth. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:18.639 A lot of people in the world today saving their hide by selling the truth, but the Bible says, buy the truth and sell it not. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:28.080 Now we have much to cover in this passage today, and the Holy Spirit's telling me to divide this into two sermons and preach the second half tonight. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.360 We'll just see where that division ends, okay? 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.960 Number one, I want you to think of the seat of Satan. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:40.639 What a statement here in our text. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:47.679 Verse 13 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:11:02.960 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, but I have a few things against thee. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:09.679 Because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:14.720 Pergamos is where the seat of Satan is. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:16.320 Think about that. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:25.600 Now I want to make a few statements about the devil, and I want you to know, and I want to go on record by telling you today that I believe in a literal devil. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:29.679 Evil is not a force or an entity. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.519 There is no thing in God's world as a yin and a yin. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:39.919 There is a transcendent God, and there is a created devil, and he will spend forever in the lake of fire. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.000 But let's not be deceived. 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:46.879 There is a devil. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:50.639 Satan. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:52.159 Lucifer. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.000 How he started? 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.919 He started as the anointed cherub that covered the throne of God. 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:02.799 He started as a worship leader in heaven, but he didn't end there. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.120 There was pride in his heart. 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:10.399 Isaiah 14, he said, I will, I will, I will, I will ascend above. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:12.559 I will be like the Most High God. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:15.200 He was cast out of heaven. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:17.279 That's how it started. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.639 That's not how it's going. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:25.679 He was cast to the ground to weaken the nations. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:29.519 At one point in Job chapter 1, God said, Where have you been? 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:32.559 Satan said, I've been walking to and fro. 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:33.919 Be sober, be vigilant. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.799 Your adversary as the devil as a roaring lion. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.639 He walketh about seeking whom he may devour. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:48.159 Number one, the seed of Satan is not universal. 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:49.200 It is localized. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:54.720 And I want to go on record and say to you this morning: Satan is not the things that God is. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.639 God is omnipowerful. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:58.000 Satan is not. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:02.240 God is omniscient, knows all things, Satan is not. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:06.320 God is omnipresent everywhere at the same time with all power. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:07.919 Satan is not. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:12.480 Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:19.440 The teaching of dualism states there is a power of evil and a power of good, but that's not what the Bible teaches. 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:23.120 Satan does not have equal power to aggregate God. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:33.120 But John is saying your city is the place at this moment in time where the authority and dominion of Satan is localized. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.960 The seat of Satan is in your town. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:40.240 It's not universal, it's localized. 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:46.639 There are and have been throughout history hubs of opposition to the plan of God. 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:55.360 There's an old song years ago that said, Once again I faced Satan this morning. 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:59.919 And I battled him all the day long. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:00.960 Time out. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:08.240 There's only one devil, and I just want to say, I don't think he came to pick on a little old preacher in Englewood, Florida today. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:12.480 Now he has a lot of power and he has a lot of minions, but there's only one devil. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:18.559 But he's had hubs of opposition throughout history. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:29.919 And the reason Satan opposes us, and I want you to hear this, Satan opposes us not to make us the goal of opposition. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.360 Satan opposes us because he opposes God. 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:48.320 And he hurts the heart of God by attacking the children of God and stealing the seed of God and the plan of God in his children. 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:54.799 At this moment, the city of Pergamus is the seat of Satan. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:16.799 At the time of this writing, it was a major center of Roman imperial cult worship, declaring later emperors of Rome as divine, Augustus, as God, the son of Augustus, the son of God. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:24.399 In that city, there was a massive throne-shaped altar dominating the city, the altar of Zeus. 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:37.600 There was a healing cult called Asclepius, a snake around a pole, associated with the healing properties of serpents. 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:47.039 It was the serpent who beguiled Eve, a biblical symbol of Satan, a cultic place of healing in the city of Pergamos. 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:50.080 A hub of opposition. 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:57.679 Throughout history, there have been other hubs, such as Babel, that was a hub of one world power. 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:05.039 There was Egypt, a kingdom built on slavery and the worship of all gods. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:12.399 There was Babylon in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold, the greatest Gentile power. 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:17.519 We might think of hubs of opposition in our modern world. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:22.080 We might think of Nazi Germany, which by the way was an occultic state. 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:24.879 Communism. 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:26.240 I hate Nazism. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:30.159 Nazism might have killed 20 million in the 20th century. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:33.440 Communism killed over 100 million. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:35.840 Hubs of opposition. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.120 Humanism. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:50.399 Now in the world today, it's not so much the power of the state, it's not so much the power of the one state religion as much as it is the empowerment of self. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:56.960 You are your own destiny and you declare your own objective reality and your own truth. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:00.559 Satan's power is localized throughout history. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:07.519 But the second thing I want you to see here is that the seed of Satan is not just a person, but a system of Antichrist. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:09.039 This is really important. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:18.880 Many Christians are looking in the news today for the revelation of the Antichrist, the man of sin. 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:38.079 And I want you to know the Bible speaks of a falling away, the return of Christ, and an apostasy that will precede the coming of Christ and after the rapture of the church, the turning of the world to the son of perdition, the man of sin, whom we call the Antichrist. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:44.160 But it's also true that Antichrist is not just a person, Antichrist is a system. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:50.480 And you might look for the man of sin and miss all the signs of the system. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:18:06.559 And I want you to note today that we may not know the identity of the Antichrist before the coming of Christ, but when I look around the world today, it's obvious that the system of Antichrist is in charge of the goings on in this world. 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:10.640 Read Psalm 2 when you get home today. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:18.799 The kings of the earth have set themselves against the Lord and against his Christ, saying, Let us break their bands asunder. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:24.880 Anti not only means opposed to Christ, it also means instead of Christ. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:34.240 And I will say to you, and be very careful about this, I had a new convert years ago say, Pastor, I was watching a preacher on TV the other day, and it made me tremble for 30 seconds. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:44.480 There's so much false preaching on TV today and media today, and a false Jesus, a false Christ that is preached from many pulpits today. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:19:04.079 You might look at the system the Pope came out this week and talked about the coming together of the Christian church and the Islamic world, something Rick Warren had fomented years ago called Chrislam, the coming together of Christianity and Islam. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:12.880 And I want to go on the record today and say to you that there is one God and one mediator between God and men, and his name is Jesus Christ. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:22.480 God sent one messenger into this world, clothed in flesh, God of very gods who died on the cross, and his name is Jesus Christ. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:28.720 The system of Antichrist is at work in the world today. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:33.440 If you were to look for the devil in the world today, where would you look? 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:41.039 I would look for areas of gross idolatry, things that represent God. 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:44.640 Someone said our gods always look like us. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:47.680 We're made in God's image. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.039 We're supposed to look like God. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:53.440 But when we replace God, we make gods that look like us. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.359 Not preaching now, I'm telling you the truth. 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:17.279 It was Muhammad that was a polygamist that had a child bride, that cultivated a religion that served his own fleshly purposes. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:19.519 His gods look like him. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.720 Idolatry. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:27.920 You say, Pastor, you keep talking like that. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.839 You're gonna get yourself in trouble. 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:36.240 Listen, there's a deception coming, and I'm in Christ, and I'm not going to participate by God's grace. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:38.720 You shouldn't either. 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:46.880 If you were to look for the devil, I would look for places of government control and looking to the state. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:52.880 I would look for areas of intense persecution of the church. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.880 Look for religious systems that are hostile to Christ. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:02.079 Look for kingdoms that give promise of the kingdoms of this world. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:06.000 I number four, I'd look in areas of learning. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:12.720 Do you know Pergamos was a city known for the printing of documents on animal skins? 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:18.720 It was known for a great library, one that rivaled the great library of Alexandria. 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:28.079 I read that at one point that library was eventually given to Cleopatra as a gift from Mark Anthony, a great place of learning. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:34.240 It's a place of medicine and invention. 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:41.839 The Antichrist is not just a person, the seed of Satan is a system of Antichrist. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:45.920 And I want to give you a warning for those of you, maybe, that are new to the faith. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:46.880 I want to give you a warning. 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:55.680 One of the most important things that you can know in God's Word is the person of Jesus Christ. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:10.640 What the word says about everything, but a cult, a false way, a false religion can always be identified with one great marker. 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:17.119 Hear this a differing opinion on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:20.960 Do you know who Jesus is? 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:30.400 The seed of Satan, number three, get this, is not undefeated and may be overcome. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:37.519 It's not undefeated. 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:40.559 He says that in our passage. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:44.160 Well, Pastor the devil may stop. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:54.960 Many times we blame something on the devil that should be charged to our flesh. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:02.079 Oh, but he can be defeated, verse 13. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:14.640 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. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:25.599 Hey, even in a city known as the seat of Satan, there's a faithful martyr who stands true for the faith of Jesus Christ. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:34.799 Antipos is proof that Christians may be faithful even in the areas of Satan's greatest dominion. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:41.759 Had the pleasure of preaching at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at luncheon. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:54.160 It always just feels good to plant a flag for the Lord Jesus Christ in a place that's not always friendly to our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:56.480 And you know what I found? 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:04.319 I found some young men and some young women who are unashamed of their faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:06.799 Oh, yeah, Satan lives there. 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:07.920 There's no doubt about that. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:11.039 And for a period of time, he's made that his throne. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.599 But greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:24.559 Revelation 12, verse 10, I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven, now has come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:37.920 For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:40.400 The seed of Satan. 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:42.720 Number two. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:51.039 Now this is where this is where we'll end today. 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:52.319 Verse 14. 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:54.720 I have a few things against thee. 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:58.319 Now remember, the church of Smyrna got no rebuke. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:00.480 This one does. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:04.799 I have something to say to you. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:21.920 Thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things offered unto idols and to commit fornication, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:24.160 Now watch this, beloved. 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:31.119 When Satan cannot curse, he'll seek to corrupt. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:37.359 When he cannot kill, he'll seek to control. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:48.640 When he cannot intimidate and annihilate, he'll seek to infiltrate and assimilate the bad with the good. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:59.920 And he'll look for a toehold. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:10.799 And when he gains a toehold, he'll eventually gain a stronghold in your life. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:15.119 The sins of the saints. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:19.039 First of all, he speaks of a growing cancer. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:21.200 A growing cancer. 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:32.559 He mentions in verse 14 the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:47.759 Now, in Numbers 22 through 25, as Israel encamped on the plains of Moab, Balak, the king of Moab, he trembled when he heard the growing strength of the Hebrews. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:51.359 And he sought a supernatural solution. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:52.720 He did not know God. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:59.759 But he tried to contract with a prophet to curse the Hebrews. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.400 That prophet's name was Balaam. 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:08.559 Initially, Balaam as a prophet, he refused to curse the children of Israel. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:10.160 He had heard from God. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:23.599 He was enticed by promises of honor and reward and under strict command that we remember that donkey that spoke to Balaam. 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:30.160 Sometimes we think more of a donkey that could speak than the message the donkey spoke to the preacher. 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:34.079 Don't curse the people of God. 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:45.920 On the journey, Balaam's spiritual blindness was exposed when this donkey revealed an angel of God blocking his way. 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:52.559 And after the donkey miraculously spoke and rebuked Balaam, his eyes were opened. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:59.119 He was warned again he would say only what God would allow him to speak. 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:12.240 When Balaam finally stood on the mountains overlooking Israel, instead of curses flowing from his lips, blessings poured out, declaring God's goodness on the nation of Israel. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:17.279 But the story of Balaam doesn't end in victory. 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:19.759 It ends in a cautionary warning. 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:26.480 Though Balaam could not curse Israel outwardly, think about this. 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:34.720 He later counseled Balak, the king of Moab, to corrupt Israel, not from without. 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:38.240 From within. 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:44.000 Leading God's people into idolatry and immorality. 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:50.880 Basically, Balaam gave warning, and Moses comes back and talks about this in the 31st chapter. 00:28:51.119 --> 00:29:01.200 If you find those really pretty Moabite girls and send them into the camp of Israel, they'll intermarry with them. 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:05.920 And those beautiful girls will bring their idols with them. 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:11.839 And through marriage, the Hebrews will adopt their idolatry. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:18.559 And their idolatry will lead them to immorality, and their immorality will lead them into infidelity. 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.160 Hear this, church. 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:23.920 What Satan can never do from the outside. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:29.440 He will foment from the inside. 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:35.359 I read a book years ago called The Marketing of Evil. 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:42.640 The author began to describe the downturn of the American morality. 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:45.759 I'll summarize very quickly. 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:57.759 What we see in our media and our music and our entertainment and our politics in schools and academia today is a direct reflection of seeds that were sown after World War II. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:59.440 They began to do research. 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:06.880 There were sexologists, Johnson and others, who began to poll the American public. 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:13.279 They didn't just poll the American public, they actually polled prisoners and pedophiles to taint the numbers. 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:27.599 They told the American people that a certain amount of men had had extramarital affairs and a certain amount of women had had extramarital affairs, and it tainted the American idea of how Victorian and how pure of a culture that we were. 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:54.000 Many people were crying against MTV and Elvis Presley, and they didn't realize that decades earlier. 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:55.119 Hear this. 00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:00.720 Decades earlier, Satan played the long game. 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:05.039 He planted seeds of doubt in people's minds. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:06.079 Hear me. 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:11.440 We want God to send revival in a microwave. 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:17.920 And Satan plants seeds of a long game. 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:26.559 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seeds, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his seeds with him. 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:31.039 When you get home today, I want you to read Psalm 126 and Psalm 137. 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:37.599 And what shall discover that in Psalm 137 there was a generation of weepers. 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:41.920 They wept over the condition of their people. 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:46.640 Psalm 126 says, They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:51.599 He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:55.920 There was a generation of weepers before there was a generation of reapers. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:56.799 Why do you say that? 00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:05.440 I'm saying to you today, if we are going to turn our nation back to God, we can't put her in a microwave and expect God just to change things overnight. 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:06.799 But I tell you what we can do. 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:15.839 We can plant the seed and water it with our tears and prayers and leave something behind for our children to enjoy in godliness in the local church. 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:20.000 Curse the people. 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:47.599 I've done some editing with circles and arrows in my Bible. 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:50.400 Look at verse 6 of the same passage. 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:58.559 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans. 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:01.200 What's the next phrase, church? 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:12.079 This thou hast, thou hast, though thou hatest the deeds which also I hate. 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:19.359 Now read verse 15 with me, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:21.599 There's two differences in those verses. 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:24.640 Do you see them? 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:26.960 You can talk back to me. 00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:28.480 There's two differences in those verses. 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:30.480 Anybody see the first difference? 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:37.119 Okay, first one, verse 6, he talks about the deeds of the Nicolaitans. 00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:40.640 In verse 15, he talks about the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:42.319 Deeds were things they did. 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:45.680 Doctrine was what they taught and what they perpetuated. 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:52.720 It's become normalized, systematized, and institutionalized. 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:54.880 That's the first difference. 00:33:55.279 --> 00:33:58.640 But there's a big difference, and somebody said it to me. 00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:00.240 What's the other difference? 00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:09.039 In verse 6, God said, You hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans. 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:11.440 And I hate it too. 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:17.679 And you get to verse 15, and he only says, It's something that I hate. 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:19.119 Now hear this. 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:30.400 When we hate what God hates, we'll begin to love what he loves. 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:36.239 But when we don't hate what God hates, we begin to love what he hates. 00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:39.119 Are you with me? 00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:49.519 Do you hate your sin? 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:57.360 Well, I don't like it. 00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:01.840 Do you hate it? 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:08.960 Do you hate what your sin does to you? 00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:15.519 Or do you hate what your sin does in your relationship with God? 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:24.239 Years ago, I had a young man come to me and say, please pray for my friend. 00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:26.239 He's an alcoholic. 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:29.440 I said, I'll pray for him. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.639 He says, but he sure loves whiskey. 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:41.199 Until he hates what God hates, he'll never love what God loves. 00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:48.880 We have here a church that has, as I said, they've gotten used to the dark. 00:35:51.760 --> 00:35:55.760 These Nicolaitans, as we'll talk about this evening, and I'm closing. 00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:01.039 I brought three messages worth of content to the pulpit today. 00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:04.800 I'll close with this. 00:36:05.360 --> 00:36:11.760 The Nicolaitans were people that ruled over God's people. 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:16.480 They came between the people and God. 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:27.599 Rather than the people looking to God, the people looked to the people in government who were to protect them. 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:31.519 In 313, we'll look at this in detail tonight. 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:34.079 I hope you'll be here at six o'clock. 00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:38.800 In 313, there was a Roman emperor. 00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:40.639 His name was Constantine. 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:53.440 Constantine had a divided kingdom, split alliances, and the Christians were becoming a problem. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:37:01.840 They'd been persecuting them and persecuting them and persecuting them, and they discovered that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. 00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:02.719 It's like a flame. 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:06.719 The more you stamp it out, the more oxygen you give to it, and it spread. 00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:23.360 Someone said, they're going to kill all the Christians in, somebody mentioned a couple. 00:37:23.519 --> 00:37:24.719 They're going to kill all the Christians. 00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:26.159 Listen, guys. 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:31.599 When persecution comes to the church, it does two things. 00:37:32.320 --> 00:37:36.800 It weeds out pretenders and it inflames possessors of Christ. 00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:42.559 We saw a lot of people leave the church when COVID came. 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:45.840 Fairweather friends. 00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:50.880 But the true church didn't disband and it marches forward. 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.679 It can't exterminate them. 00:37:56.719 --> 00:37:59.599 Matter of fact, let's let's give let's do them a favor. 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:02.480 Let's make peace with them. 00:38:03.679 --> 00:38:11.280 Not just make peace with them, but we'll make Christianity the main religion of the Roman Empire. 00:38:13.119 --> 00:38:14.079 And they did. 00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:16.400 That's this church. 00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:24.400 Persecution couldn't stop them. 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:27.920 Opposition couldn't stop them. 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:33.920 But friendship with the world did. 00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:39.199 Peace did. 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:43.440 In persecution they looked to God. 00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:48.960 In compromise, they looked to Rome. 00:38:50.559 --> 00:39:00.639 I was been reading through the life of David in my morning Bible reading and was following David as he's fleeing from Saul. 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:09.760 Saul is a king, head and shoulders taller than all the other Hebrews. 00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:12.159 David is young and ruddy. 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:14.480 Saul is known by his greatness, shoulders up. 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:16.719 David is known by his greatness, shoulders down. 00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:18.960 He had a heart after God's heart. 00:39:20.400 --> 00:39:26.559 And David kills Goliath, and of course, it's game on for the hearts of the people and for the throne. 00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:32.320 And David is fleeing from Saul. 00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:33.599 He runs for his life. 00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:35.920 He goes out into the wilderness. 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:37.760 He comes down to a place called Engedi. 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:40.639 I was at Engedi a couple of years ago. 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:43.599 It's a cave by the Dead Sea. 00:39:44.480 --> 00:39:52.000