1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,000 I need thee, oh I need thee, even as a band we get off key. 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:13,080 And so that is definitely times that we need that as well. 3 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,880 We're going to continue our sermon series with one of the most ridiculous sermons, 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,600 our bumper videos we've ever done, but I applaud Mike in that it's, yeah, 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,560 when I saw it the first time I was in awe. 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:28,520 And it brings up really the chaos that is the book of Revelation, 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,120 but here we're going to hit the next two weeks, this week and next week, 8 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:37,640 is going to feel and sound very similar to a lot of the New Testament, 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:43,120 because these, John kind of gets a little bit, or he gets into letter writing to 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,200 churches, much like Paul did for two-thirds of the New Testament. 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:52,800 And we call that the epistles, but this is still apocalyptic in nature, 12 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,920 though he's writing to specific churches. 13 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,960 And the churches really quick that he's writing to, there's a, 14 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:00,720 it's all in modern day Turkey. 15 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,000 So if you've ever been there, it's a gorgeous part of the country. 16 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,520 This is the western kind of border of, or western coast. 17 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,360 You see where all of those churches are. 18 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,600 Four of those seven have been kind of uncovered, and they've been, 19 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,360 archaeologists have gone through. 20 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,320 You can go to the town of Ephesus, and it's almost, again, I wasn't there, 21 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:24,800 none of us were there, but I mean, they have buildings, they have the library, 22 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,760 they have their amphitheater, which was, in 2005 I was able to go. 23 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:29,920 It's unbelievable. 24 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:35,200 This thing is, I think, 200 rows up down, so it's top, it's kind of like the big 25 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:40,720 house at Michigan, where it's kind of the street level is almost the top, 26 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,080 and then it all goes under, kind of underground. 27 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:49,120 And what's amazing, and we tested this in 2005, we had two people sit and just have 28 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,040 a regular conversation in the very center at the bottom, and when you're up on the 29 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,840 top, you could hear it like you were standing next to them. 30 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,560 So even in the first century, that kind of architecture was being done and 31 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,800 crafted in a beautiful way, but the letters that John is writing are to these 32 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,240 churches, can you go back quick to the map, and you'll see they're all relatively 33 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,000 close together. 34 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:20,360 And so as far as distance-wise, if Pergamos or Pergamum over to the north 35 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:27,280 down to Laodicea, that's roughly from Chicago to Nashville, kind of right around 36 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,680 there, so it's not all that spread out. 37 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,400 And you see there was the Roman Road, again, this picture doesn't tell it, but 38 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,360 the Roman Road kind of came through all of that, and these are where the churches 39 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,160 were planted, where they started, bigger churches. 40 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:46,560 But as we're going to see today, for the first half, churches that have lost their 41 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:52,800 way, churches that have kept their way, and what John has to say to them, but I 42 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,600 want to start with asking a question. 43 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,680 How many of you, when you were in school, passed notes to each other? 44 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:01,120 Right? 45 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:05,200 I think if you're sub-25, you're like, what are you talking about? 46 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,240 Passing notes, handwriting, what in the world? 47 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:09,960 Cursive, what is that? 48 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,120 But I remember, I was, you know, how many of you were kind of the carrier pigeon, 49 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,120 that the notes never were technically for you, but you had to bring them to other 50 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:19,440 people? 51 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,040 I thank God I'm not the only one. 52 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:27,480 Okay, now, Mrs. Rinkema, did you ever read the notes that were passed, just so 53 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:29,520 you kind of get the intel? 54 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:34,800 A little bit, yeah, that's called gossip, but understand that, you know, that you 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,440 wanted to know what that information was, because it could be a good note, it could 56 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:39,520 be a bad note. 57 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:44,400 I'm not going to lie, I may or may not have broken up or have been broken up with 58 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,480 via note. 59 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,920 How many want to own that with me today? 60 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:50,040 Cowards! 61 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,720 You are all cowards, I am not the only one. 62 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,360 But, you know, where, yeah, all of a sudden it's like, oh dear, so and so, I like 63 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,760 someone else, please don't contact me again. 64 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:00,360 Now, that sounds more like a restraining order. 65 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,840 It never went like that, but it all, you never knew. 66 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:09,160 And how many of you still to this day, when you get letter in the mail, like, you 67 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,320 get kind of excited? 68 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:12,560 Yeah, absolutely. 69 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,600 Now, the same thing happened in the first century. 70 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,000 Letters were the main way of communication. 71 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:23,480 It was either word of mouth passed down or by letters. 72 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,080 We know Paul was big on writing letters. 73 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,520 We know at the end of the New Testament, before Revelation, we see 1st, 2nd, and 74 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,400 3rd John, where he wrote letters. 75 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:40,520 And John's letters today, as we're going to see, bring about and contain really his 76 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,600 vision from Christ to these letters. 77 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:50,200 So these letters were different when it comes to what Paul was doing because Paul 78 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:55,680 was writing about his visits, things that he saw, issues he heard. 79 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,120 You think about, you know, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. 80 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,560 Now, scholars believe there was a letter that preempted 1st Corinthians, though we 81 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,840 don't have it, but the way Paul wrote, he was writing in response to things in the 82 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:08,960 first letter. 83 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:14,800 So unless he's just super prophetic, it was someone had already contacted him and 84 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,160 he's writing in response. 85 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,920 That's where these letters are different. 86 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,720 This letter, and again, I'm just going to call it out, there is a buzzing and we have 87 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,840 been trying to figure out what it is. 88 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,640 Don't let it kind of distract you too much. 89 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,440 We think it has something to do with the hearing loop for those that were hearing 90 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,520 aids and were working on it, but it has nothing to do with John's letter to these 91 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,040 churches because they didn't have that back then. 92 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:45,160 But understand that in these letters, these letters contain Christ's message to 93 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:52,240 these churches or lampstands as we learned last week that each of these churches had 94 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,920 a lampstand, that the lampstand was the fire of the gospel, the fire and 95 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:03,240 excitement of Jesus going forth and lighting the darkness, light to their path 96 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,200 of how the churches grew. 97 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:10,880 I'd like to think that Munster Church has a lampstand that we are trying to shine. 98 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,760 We don't always do it the right way, but we try to shine it. 99 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,520 We try to shine light in dark places. 100 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,840 But one of, I said in the beginning of service, this is the end. 101 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:22,600 This is the callback. 102 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:30,240 This is the final episode of the final season of life, and not all these churches 103 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,920 are going to have their lampstand stay lit. 104 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:39,200 Now, as a pastor, that binds me because my hope and I think the hope of any pastor 105 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,000 that a lampstand of your church is not going to get snuffed out. 106 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,640 Meaning the Lord is not going to just end it being a church, but we're going to see 107 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,240 that today. 108 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:52,680 And first is the Church of Ephesus, the letter of Ephesus. 109 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,120 And one of the things we're going to hear in these churches, we're going to hear 110 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,960 Christ's authority at work, judging, and restoring. 111 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:03,040 So keep that in mind. 112 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:04,520 We're going to work through these letters. 113 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,400 We're going to hear words of judgment. 114 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,400 And this is different than just your regular church kind of gossip judgment 115 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,280 stuff, or did you see what they wore? 116 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:14,440 Did you see this? 117 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,280 You know, all of these things, which again, churches are known for, 118 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,320 unfortunately, this is different. 119 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,640 This is not grumbling in the churches. 120 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,280 This isn't what Paul was talking about to Timothy when he's like, hey, 121 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,760 I know you're young and people are going to take you seriously, but keep going. 122 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:30,120 This isn't that. 123 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:37,200 This is Christ's judgment on these churches and Christ's restoration of these 124 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:37,560 churches. 125 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:43,960 So the first seven verses of chapter two, the letter to the church in Ephesus, 126 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:48,080 to the angel of the church in Ephesus write, the words of him who holds the 127 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:52,960 seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 128 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:58,440 I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot 129 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,600 bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves 130 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:07,160 apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 131 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:11,920 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you 132 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:13,600 have not grown weary. 133 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:23,720 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 134 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,440 Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen. 135 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,840 Repent and do the works you did at first. 136 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:35,560 If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless 137 00:08:35,560 --> 00:08:37,320 you repent. 138 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,000 Yet this you have. 139 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,880 You hate the words of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 140 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:47,600 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 141 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,840 To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in 142 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,040 the paradise of God now. 143 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:58,440 Who am I going to pick on today? 144 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,440 Let's go with Kyle. 145 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:05,600 You are one of the elders of the church of Ephesus, and you're getting this 146 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:06,320 letter. 147 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:08,760 How are you taking it? 148 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,320 We're going to share you and Tony. 149 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:11,680 So Tony's right in front of you. 150 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:14,200 You guys are elders, you're getting this letter. 151 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,160 How are you reading it? 152 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:18,760 Scared? 153 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:19,360 Sure. 154 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:20,000 Yeah. 155 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,920 Silence would have been a good answer too. 156 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:22,160 Yeah. 157 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:25,520 But Tony, take it seriously. 158 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,600 There is some heavy language here. 159 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:29,880 Right? 160 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:34,640 This goes way beyond, hey, so and so in seventh grade, check the box, yes or no, 161 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:37,080 if you like me. 162 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:42,640 I never did that. 163 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,480 But go to the second slide, April. 164 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:47,440 That is the second slide. 165 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:49,000 Yeah, okay. 166 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,360 This is basically them calling out something massive. 167 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:58,800 I'm going to liken it, and it's going to get awkward, and I apologize kind of. 168 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,440 Maybe you know someone in your life, or maybe someone has said this to you, that 169 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,240 maybe if you're married and you talk about your spouse, and you're sitting with 170 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:12,840 someone, and they look at you and say, I thought you loved your spouse. 171 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,640 Because of the things maybe you were talking about or recounting or what have 172 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:16,040 you. 173 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,760 Maybe even if it's in a fun gesture, not gesture, like a fun sarcastic way, this 174 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:27,400 is, there's some good things here that he throws in at the end, but this I have 175 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:28,680 against you. 176 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:34,280 You have lost your first love. 177 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:39,240 The letter starts by giving Christ's kind of evident authority over all of these 178 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:40,080 things, right? 179 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:44,960 He starts with a little preamble about the lampstands, and he starts with a 180 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,640 kind of, like, I commend you. 181 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,840 You did good in some things. 182 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,520 The Ephesian church is commended for its hard work. 183 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:53,920 It's patient endurance. 184 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:59,000 It's intolerance of false apostles. 185 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,240 This should show us the importance of doctrinal fidelity and keeping to the 186 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:05,560 commitment of the Scriptures. 187 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,280 That's what we can pull away from this. 188 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:11,160 But then comes a rebuke. 189 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,200 You've abandoned the love that you had at first. 190 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:20,360 They were diligent, but loveless, reminding us that orthodoxy without love 191 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:25,400 falls short of a true Christian faith. 192 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:31,200 That out of our love for God, we need to walk out a sense of love that we have 193 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,440 for Christ and we have for our neighbor. 194 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:36,800 They have forgotten that. 195 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,680 They became in love with doctrine. 196 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:47,280 They became in love with calling out false doctrine or false theology in other 197 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:49,520 people, other groups of people. 198 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:55,000 And again, that's not a bad thing, but a love of doctrine without receiving that 199 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,440 love of Christ can be very pharisaic. 200 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,800 Because if we love doctrine and we try by the letter of the law to judge the 201 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,840 world around us, you probably should judge yourself first, just saying. 202 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:13,680 But understand that when we become doctrinalists solely, that we can lose 203 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:16,960 our way. 204 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,480 And here's a key Scripture, for all have fallen short. 205 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:26,000 While we were still sinners, Christ died. 206 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,440 It wasn't you were accepted when you became perfect. 207 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,440 When you became an elder or a deacon, that is when you felt salvation. 208 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,360 No, none of that. 209 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:40,360 And Ephesus was one of the largest churches in that season. 210 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,760 And what happened, my guess is, and this is, you know, for growing churches can be 211 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:49,440 a temptation that as we grow, what is the mentality? 212 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,560 We can't lose. 213 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:54,720 We're growing leaps and bounds. 214 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:56,560 But what happens if someone leaves? 215 00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:58,080 What does that say about us? 216 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,280 Or, wow, I really thought our sanctuary was fuller last week. 217 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:03,320 Like, what's going on? 218 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:08,720 And we get so worried about numbers that we forget that it's never really been 219 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,680 about the numbers here. 220 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:15,080 It's been about the mission of Christ. 221 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:20,320 That when we fall in love with orthodoxy solely, we forget what it means to live 222 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:22,040 as a true believer. 223 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,720 We're not going to be a pastor, we are to call out sin, we are called to correct 224 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:27,720 and rebuke. 225 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,120 It says that, that the Bible is used for that. 226 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:34,120 Yes, the Bible is used for that. 227 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:39,640 That if you're going to go at it with your own, whatever it is, that's hypocrisy. 228 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:43,240 That we need to draw everything back to this. 229 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,360 This is the infallible word of doctrine and life. 230 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,000 This is where life and faith intersect. 231 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,480 And that's what we do on Sunday mornings, though hopefully it all flows out of this. 232 00:13:53,480 --> 00:14:01,160 But it's an understanding that if we don't recognize the grace given to us, how in the 233 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,440 world are we going to extend that grace to others? 234 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,520 And we tend to not. 235 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:15,560 So this letter has not only a commemoration, but also the rebuke and a call to repentance. 236 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:20,000 Some of the themes you're going to see, repent, repent, repent. 237 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,120 But then there's also a promise to the overcomer. 238 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:23,880 We're going to see this in each letter. 239 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:25,440 It's all formed very similarly. 240 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:30,240 To those who conquer, our promise access to the tree of life. 241 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:31,240 So what do we do? 242 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,600 We keep persevering where we heard that word before. 243 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,840 We heard that in the canons of Dort. 244 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:44,560 The perseverance of the saints, or held by God as we went through Lent this past year. 245 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,800 And God is carrying us through all of these things. 246 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:48,880 And here's the rub. 247 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,440 When we start thinking we made it because of us, we've missed it. 248 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,520 It's reliance on Christ. 249 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,280 So what is our application from this first letter? 250 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:05,200 My question, are we maintaining both doctrinal purity and love in our walk with Christ? 251 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:12,200 And what does it mean to remember, repent, and return in our daily lives? 252 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,200 So now we go a little bit a ways from Ephesus to the letter of Smyrna. 253 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:21,280 So the letter, starting with verse 8, and to the angel of the church of Smyrna write, 254 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,880 the words of the first and the last who died and came to life. 255 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,720 I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. 256 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:34,800 And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue 257 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:35,800 of Satan. 258 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,360 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. 259 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:43,320 Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and 260 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:47,160 for ten days you will have tribulation. 261 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,880 Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. 262 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:56,740 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 263 00:15:56,740 --> 00:16:01,880 The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. 264 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:02,880 Okay. 265 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,520 So now we have our Smyrna, right? 266 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,720 We have our elders and our leaders there. 267 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:09,960 Let's pick on this side. 268 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:10,960 Okay. 269 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,320 So let's go with Hope Arzma, right? 270 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,080 You're receiving that letter and then Daniel Walters behind you. 271 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:18,140 You guys are receiving that letter together. 272 00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:19,240 You get this letter. 273 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:20,520 What are you thinking? 274 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,360 What's kind of being evoked by the language here? 275 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:27,440 For you to talk amongst yourselves. 276 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,440 I think she's deferring to you. 277 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,520 Fear. 278 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,520 Why fear? 279 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,720 What does that mean? 280 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,160 What does tribulation mean? 281 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:48,740 For some of us we go, tribulation means I didn't get my reservation at Rosebud. 282 00:16:48,740 --> 00:16:50,160 Not tribulation. 283 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:51,160 Okay. 284 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:56,000 Because tribulation is pretty clear what could happen. 285 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,960 And what is that? 286 00:16:58,960 --> 00:16:59,960 Someone say it. 287 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:00,960 It's in there. 288 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:01,960 Don't whisper it. 289 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:02,960 Say it aloud. 290 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:03,960 Death. 291 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:08,200 Pretty sure that's the worst tribulation, right? 292 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,560 That one day you're here, next day you're not. 293 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:11,560 Why? 294 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,040 Because someone killed you. 295 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:20,760 So if you're the church in Smyrna and you're reading this, I don't know, there's a part 296 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,280 of me that's like, did Ephesus get this letter? 297 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:26,440 Did Philadelphia get this letter? 298 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,280 Like what's wrong with us? 299 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:30,840 But there's something about tribulation. 300 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:37,360 The devil himself is going to be all up in your business for the next 10 days. 301 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:44,480 What are you doing if you're an elder or a leader in this church? 302 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:45,480 Be honest. 303 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,640 I'm, well freaking out, absolutely. 304 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:49,640 What? 305 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:50,640 Pray. 306 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,360 Oh, what a good, well you're a good believer, Joel. 307 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:53,360 Yeah. 308 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:54,640 I'm hiding. 309 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:56,760 I am hiding, right? 310 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,680 I mean you guys have heard the, what is it, the early bird gets the worm, right? 311 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:06,960 The second mouse gets the cheese, right? 312 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,800 I'm not a runner but if I'm being chased I will run. 313 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,820 I only have to run faster than one person. 314 00:18:12,820 --> 00:18:16,760 So I'm going, alright, I'm looking through all of my, I'm looking through my pictorial 315 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:22,120 directory of Smyrna going, alright, I can outlast that person, I can outlast that person, 316 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:24,500 alright, God's going to get them. 317 00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:26,680 I'm going to look to save myself. 318 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,880 But that's not what is happening. 319 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:36,560 The call to endurance and faithfulness in persecution. 320 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,160 And the way John writes it is so beautiful. 321 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,600 The words of the first and the last who died and came to life. 322 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:47,680 This is a reflection of Christ's sovereignty, not only over history but over the victory 323 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:48,800 of death. 324 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,920 This is putting your faith where the rubber meets the road. 325 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:59,120 I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never ever fade. 326 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:00,920 We just sang it. 327 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,180 Do we believe it gun to our head? 328 00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:05,840 Do we believe it when our faith is on trial? 329 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:10,100 Do we believe it if you go back and look at how a lot of these first century Christians 330 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:13,100 were killed? 331 00:19:13,100 --> 00:19:18,800 You think about other countries even in the last 20 years, how believers are persecuted 332 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:24,720 and as we learned last week, martyred for the faith. 333 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,840 Be honest, I don't know the last time I thought about will I be martyred for the faith today. 334 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:30,640 I'm a pastor. 335 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,040 I'm probably one of the first to go. 336 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:38,320 But understand, do we even think about that in northwest Indiana, southwest Chicago, the 337 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:39,840 United States? 338 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:46,000 Do we think about the fact that we are going to be persecuted to the point of martyrdom? 339 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,320 Or is it persecution in gossip or what's written about you or kind of what people think about 340 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,780 your church or they think about your walk or they think about where you send your kids 341 00:19:54,780 --> 00:19:57,200 to school or where all of these things. 342 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:01,080 Is that the persecution we're expecting? 343 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:05,840 That is nothing compared to what Smyrna is going to be expecting and what they're going 344 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,480 to be anticipating. 345 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,440 But unlike the seven churches, Smyrna received no rebuke. 346 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,160 Did you catch that? 347 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:17,640 They were commended for their faithfulness in the face of suffering. 348 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,600 Now if you're reading it, you're like, man, yeah, we've had it rough. 349 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,920 It's been a hard season, but Christ, John, we're getting this letter from you. 350 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:26,360 Everything's going to be great. 351 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:28,480 No, it's doubled down. 352 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:30,720 It's going to get worse. 353 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:39,960 But it's a recommendation and a declaration of their patience, of their suffering, and 354 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:41,320 they're encouraged. 355 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:48,200 Christ urges them to remain faithful unto death and promises them the crown of life. 356 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:52,560 Time out. 357 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:56,640 People that have been believers in this room, let's say over 10 years, okay, if you're less 358 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:58,880 than nine, it's not that you're less of a person. 359 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,520 I'm just using it for an example. 360 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,660 You've been in church 10 plus years of your life. 361 00:21:02,660 --> 00:21:04,040 You understand all the things. 362 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,780 You made profession of faith, was baptized, maybe you came out of a Baptist tradition 363 00:21:07,780 --> 00:21:08,920 where you were baptized every week. 364 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:09,920 I don't know. 365 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:10,920 It doesn't matter. 366 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:15,880 But understand that you have this understanding, this salvation you live in. 367 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:16,880 I am a believer. 368 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:17,880 I'm a Christian. 369 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,800 I walk in faith. 370 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:25,320 I listen to Christian radio on Sundays. 371 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:32,560 In the next 10 days, there's a good chance your life's going to be put to death because 372 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:37,240 of your faith. 373 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,320 How gusto is our faith then? 374 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:45,600 I use this, and people still bring it up, I think I use this year one or two of my six 375 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:52,000 years here so far, that if you knew, and I'm going to take spouses and children out of 376 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,760 it, but you knew that one of your best friends or one of your closest friends, you knew that 377 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:03,640 1130 today, probably when this sermon is over, at 1130 today, you knew that so-and-so was 378 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:09,180 going to be killed by getting hit by a bus on the corner of Calumet and Ridge. 379 00:22:09,180 --> 00:22:12,480 Do you take their place? 380 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,240 I asked that question years ago, it plagues me still to this day, and I know it plagues 381 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,120 you because you bring it up to me. 382 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:22,240 That's not what's happening here. 383 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,520 This isn't someone else in Smyrna. 384 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,040 This is you. 385 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:28,600 This is the faithful. 386 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,200 You've been patient. 387 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:31,200 You've endured. 388 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,600 You've persevered all this time. 389 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:39,340 There's a good chance you're not making it out in the next 10 days because of your faith, 390 00:22:39,340 --> 00:22:43,800 and I'm going to give you a crown of life. 391 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:49,860 The hard question today is how many of you would still be believers come day 11? 392 00:22:49,860 --> 00:22:53,460 Because that's really what is being asked. 393 00:22:53,460 --> 00:23:02,060 Is your commitment to Christ that strong, that viable, that let's go, even with the 394 00:23:02,060 --> 00:23:06,200 spear or the sword at your neck? 395 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,760 See how these letters aren't really the same as Paul's? 396 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,160 There's something final about this. 397 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,240 Now what's the promise? 398 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:21,040 The overcomer will not be hurt by the second death, signifying eternal security for those 399 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:24,360 in Christ. 400 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:29,400 This is a recognition of Christ's victory over death that guarantees eternal life for 401 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:30,400 believers. 402 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:31,400 So what do we do? 403 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,640 What do we take from this hard, short letter? 404 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,360 How do we respond when our faith is tested by trials? 405 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:45,320 How does Christ's victory over death encourage us to remain faithful in times of suffering? 406 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,000 Well friends, it's not going to get better. 407 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,440 Let's go to Pergamum. 408 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:55,000 The letter to Pergamum writes this, and to the angel of the church of Pergamum write, 409 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:01,060 the words of him who has a sharp two-edged sword, I know where you dwell, where Satan's 410 00:24:01,060 --> 00:24:06,640 throne is, yet you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith, even in the days of 411 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:12,360 Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed among you where Satan dwells. 412 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:16,480 But I have a few things against you. 413 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:21,780 You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling 414 00:24:21,780 --> 00:24:27,560 block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice 415 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,040 sexual morality. 416 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:33,200 You also have some who hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans. 417 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,440 Therefore repent. 418 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:41,040 If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 419 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,160 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 420 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:49,520 To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a 421 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:55,200 white stone with a name written on the stone, or with a new name written on the stone that 422 00:24:55,200 --> 00:25:00,240 no one knows except the one who receives it. 423 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:05,080 Whew, alright. 424 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,040 Let's go with the husband and wife team, alright? 425 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:08,040 Let's just make it weird. 426 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:09,360 And let's go up to the balcony. 427 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,480 Nope, let's go right here because I have them. 428 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:12,560 Vandenbergs, right? 429 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,800 You guys are the church in Pergamum. 430 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:16,640 You're getting this letter. 431 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,000 How are you taking that letter? 432 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,000 Not well. 433 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,320 Why not well, Nance? 434 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,000 What? 435 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:28,600 It's frightening. 436 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:33,880 We were just told twice, Satan dwells with us. 437 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,160 That's not hyperbole. 438 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:37,640 That's not like, psych. 439 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:44,920 No, this is, the devil himself is working in and through you. 440 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,800 Yet they hold fast. 441 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:48,940 They rebuke. 442 00:25:48,940 --> 00:25:51,520 See how they kind of almost build on each other? 443 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:52,760 So they are holding fast. 444 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:57,720 They're rebuking the false doctrine, the false teachers. 445 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:02,040 But Christ's double-edged sword out of his mouth, remember that from last week? 446 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,120 Jesus is coming a different way. 447 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:05,400 Not coming as a baby. 448 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,760 Not coming on the full of a donkey in the gates of Jerusalem. 449 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:13,540 Coming with a sword out of his mouth, fire out of his eyes. 450 00:26:13,540 --> 00:26:17,080 They were rebuked for tolerating false teachings. 451 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,000 Specifically, Balaam and the Nicolaitans. 452 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,200 I'm telling you, if you're here and you're a Nicolaitan, you better change. 453 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,800 Because you can't read this and go, no, I'm secure as a Nicolaitan. 454 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:29,400 Another rhyme for another time. 455 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:36,880 This reflects the emphasis of doctrinal purity and the rejection of heresy. 456 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:41,440 But here's the thing. 457 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,200 We're all heretics. 458 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:49,920 When we say we love the Lord, we say that we're a Christian and we walk in darkness. 459 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:54,760 John's also known for saying in his letter in 1 John, if you have a foot in the light 460 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,560 and a foot in the dark, the dark doesn't know you. 461 00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,280 Is that what it says? 462 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,480 No, the light doesn't know you. 463 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,540 We're all hypocrites when it comes to that. 464 00:27:06,540 --> 00:27:11,160 So we should find ourselves a little bit in the church of Pergamum. 465 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,880 Christ calls them to repent or face the judgment of his sword. 466 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:21,360 The warning against tolerating false teaching resonates with us or should and help us understand 467 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:25,360 the process of church discipline to maintain the purity of the church. 468 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,880 If there is yeast in the dough, take it out. 469 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,100 There's a process for that. 470 00:27:31,100 --> 00:27:36,740 There's a process of understanding that you can't have a believer and some other religion 471 00:27:36,740 --> 00:27:38,040 and work them together. 472 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,080 It doesn't work. 473 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,580 You can't, we just go by the book, it doesn't work. 474 00:27:44,580 --> 00:27:49,120 There's an understanding that will fall in on itself but to the overcomer, the one that 475 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,400 can maintain that purity. 476 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,360 Christ promises hidden manna and a white stone. 477 00:27:55,360 --> 00:28:02,580 The white stone signifies acceptance and vindication, the hidden manna, spiritual nourishment. 478 00:28:02,580 --> 00:28:09,800 That maybe the way you're walking or the people around you, maybe they're a hindrance on your 479 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:10,800 faith. 480 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:16,000 And you go, well, you know, just one day, one day I'm gonna save that group of people. 481 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:21,680 I was told once by my mom a long time ago, it's a lot easier for a whole group of people 482 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:26,080 to pulse one person down than have one person lift a whole group of people up and I think 483 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:27,560 that's what's going on here. 484 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:34,440 It's a reminder that in the end times we have to check our soul. 485 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,720 It's fine to double check and confirm faith in your neighbor, in your coworker, in your 486 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,840 family member, but here it's about what do you believe? 487 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,080 How are you walking it out? 488 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,920 So what is the application and the takeaway from Pergamum? 489 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,580 In what ways are we tempted to tolerate false beliefs or practices? 490 00:28:51,580 --> 00:28:57,240 How can we guard against false teaching while remaining gracious and loving? 491 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,080 And then finally, Thyatira. 492 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:05,160 We never really hear about this church except for hear that this understanding of Thyatira 493 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,380 is so interesting to me. 494 00:29:07,380 --> 00:29:12,320 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, the words of the son of God who has 495 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:19,480 eyes like the flame of fire and whose feet are like burnish bronze, I know your works, 496 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:25,400 your love and faith and servant and patient, service and patient endurance, that in your 497 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:31,740 latter works exceeded the first, but I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman 498 00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:37,220 Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice 499 00:29:37,220 --> 00:29:40,680 sexual immorality, to eat food sacrificed to idols. 500 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:45,880 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 501 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:51,680 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her, I will 502 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:57,120 throw into great tribulation unless they repent of her works and I will strike her children 503 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:03,440 dead and all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart and I will 504 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,680 give to each of you according to your works. 505 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:14,080 But the rest of you Thyatira who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some 506 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:22,080 call the deep things of Satan, to you I say I do not lay on you any other burden. 507 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,160 Only hold fast to what you have until I come. 508 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:30,480 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority 509 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:37,120 over the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron as the earth pots are broken 510 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:43,200 in pieces even as I myself have received authority from my Father, I will give him the morning 511 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:44,480 star. 512 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:48,800 He who has ears let him hear to what the Spirit says to the churches. 513 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,640 Can you go to slide two of that? 514 00:30:53,640 --> 00:31:02,240 Again they are commended for their love, their faith, their servant, their patient endurance. 515 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:09,840 Unlike Ephesus their love has grown stronger where Ephesus they forgot their first love. 516 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:18,160 However this positive commendation is overshadowed by a significant failure. 517 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,800 They are rebuked for tolerating the false prophetess Jezebel who promotes idolatry and 518 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:23,800 immorality. 519 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:30,880 This is a stern warning against allowing corrupt influences to infiltrate the church. 520 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:37,000 And the thing here, I know your works, go to the next slide. 521 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,560 Sorry it was the third one I think. 522 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:43,560 I totally missed it. 523 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:48,440 Where he says I will search your mind and your heart. 524 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:53,440 Here is where I think we find a lot of ourselves today. 525 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,720 We like to hide. 526 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,160 We like to live good lives, we like to do good things. 527 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,960 We like to say nice things, we like to love on people, serve people, all of those things. 528 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:09,200 But we hold these little secret sins, idolatries, immoralities in some chamber in our heart 529 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:13,520 that we think the creator of our heart doesn't see. 530 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,280 How? 531 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:16,760 Why? 532 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:22,080 Because in the end everything in the dark will be brought to the light. 533 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,520 John says that too in 1 John. 534 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:30,280 So these words are coming to be, these words are actually happening and it is a call to 535 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:31,560 repent. 536 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,680 This call of repentance emphasizes God's patience. 537 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:38,080 This is going to make some of you mad. 538 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,200 God's patience has limits. 539 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,880 An unrepentant sin will not go unpunished. 540 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:52,240 Wow, I am 92% okay. 541 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:57,320 What a lie to think that 8% isn't going to harm you. 542 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:00,320 That's an A even in honors classes. 543 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,760 But not in the eyes of God. 544 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:07,880 Because at 8% you are showing people who you really are. 545 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,580 The idolater, right? 546 00:33:10,580 --> 00:33:13,560 Maybe you are the gossip, maybe you are the liar, maybe you are the murderer, maybe you 547 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:14,560 are the whatever. 548 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:18,960 Maybe you are the idolater, the one that worships false idols. 549 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:20,880 Maybe that is the immoral side of you. 550 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,920 Maybe it is that secret sin that you only do when everyone else is asleep. 551 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,880 Maybe it is that secret sin that you only keep when you really hate that person or whatever 552 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:29,880 it is. 553 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,440 Here, this letter should help all of us. 554 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:35,520 You can't hide. 555 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:40,440 How in the world are we going to play hide and seek with someone that is omnipotent? 556 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:41,440 Omnipresent. 557 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:45,880 So what do we take from this? 558 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:50,400 How do we balance love with holiness in our lives? 559 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:57,920 And what steps do we need to take to remove any areas of compromise in our hearts? 560 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:01,640 Oh, I only talk that way when I am at the job. 561 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:06,200 Oh, no, I only, you know, when I am not by church people, that is when I do that. 562 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,120 Friends, that doesn't make it right. 563 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:14,800 Compromise is still compromise whether people see it or not. 564 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,480 So I would love to say, hey, we made it through those letters. 565 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:20,120 Nope. 566 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,080 Next week we have a whole new set of them. 567 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:23,360 I am going to ask that you come back. 568 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,000 Don't get so scared away. 569 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,980 But what can, in the next week, what can we do? 570 00:34:27,980 --> 00:34:29,200 What can we pull? 571 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:31,000 How can we apply some of these things? 572 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,840 And we are going to put these application questions out on our social media as middle 573 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:36,700 of the week just to kind of remind us. 574 00:34:36,700 --> 00:34:37,700 What are our takeaways? 575 00:34:37,700 --> 00:34:40,680 First, renew your first love. 576 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:41,840 Examine your heart. 577 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:47,000 Are you maintaining the love you had at first for Christ? 578 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,120 Repent where necessary and rekindle that passion. 579 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,200 Second, stand firm in persecution. 580 00:34:53,200 --> 00:34:57,920 In moments of suffering or trials, remind yourself of Christ's promise to those who 581 00:34:57,920 --> 00:34:59,240 remain faithful. 582 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:03,040 Let his resurrection victory encourage you. 583 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,460 Third, guard against false teaching. 584 00:35:06,460 --> 00:35:11,520 Repent to doctrinal purity by staying rooted in scripture. 585 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:14,880 Test everything against God's word. 586 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:17,480 And don't compromise the truth for convenience. 587 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,920 And fourth, pursue holiness. 588 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:26,680 Christ calls us to reject any compromise with, or to reject any form of compromise with sin. 589 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:33,880 Seek both love and holiness and remove anything that detracts from a pure relationship with 590 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:34,880 Christ. 591 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:38,240 And to that I say, to be continued. 592 00:35:38,240 --> 00:36:05,480 Let's pray.