WEBVTT 00:00:04.429 --> 00:00:06.750 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:06.750 --> 00:00:09.449 Sermons. This week we are continuing our sermon 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:11.830 series called Dear Church, where we're looking 00:00:11.830 --> 00:00:14.109 at some of the letters that open the book of 00:00:14.109 --> 00:00:17.089 Revelation and what Jesus has to say to the ancient 00:00:17.089 --> 00:00:20.089 churches and to our church today. Today we're 00:00:20.089 --> 00:00:23.070 looking at the church in Pergamum, a church that 00:00:23.070 --> 00:00:25.949 was attacked from the outside and stood their 00:00:25.949 --> 00:00:29.530 ground, but then was compromised from the inside. 00:00:29.850 --> 00:00:31.589 So we're going to look at what that compromise 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:34.450 looks like and what some of the compromises might 00:00:34.450 --> 00:00:42.530 look like for our church today. Today's scripture 00:00:42.530 --> 00:00:48.219 reading is Revelation 1, verses 4 to 5. and Revelations 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:54.340 2, verses 12 to 17. John, to the seven churches 00:00:54.340 --> 00:00:58.340 in the province of Asia, grace and peace to you 00:00:58.340 --> 00:01:03.060 from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:06.359 and from the seven spirits before his throne, 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:10.840 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:15.200 the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.500 the kings of the earth. To the angel of the church 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:23.799 in Pergamum write, These are the words of him 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:29.180 who has a sharp double -edged sword. I know where 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:33.700 you live, where Satan has his throne, yet you 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:37.400 remain true to my name. You do not renounce your 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:41.219 faith in me. not even in the days of Antipas, 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:44.579 my faithful witness, who was put to death in 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:50.480 your city, where Satan lives. Nevertheless, I 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.540 have a few things against you. There are some 00:01:54.540 --> 00:01:57.739 among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:01.500 who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:05.659 sin, so that they ate food sacrificed to idols 00:02:05.659 --> 00:02:10.580 and committed... sexual immorality. Likewise, 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:14.360 you also have those who hold to the teaching 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:20.460 of the Nicolaitans. Repent, therefore, otherwise 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:23.500 I will soon come to you and will fight against 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:28.379 them with the sword of my mouth. Whoever has 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:31.740 ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:36.699 churches. To the one who is victorious, I will 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:40.620 give some of the hidden manna. I will also give 00:02:40.620 --> 00:02:44.939 that person a white stone with a new name written 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:49.360 on it, known only to the one who receives it. 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:54.599 The word of the Lord. Let me tell you about a 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:56.680 story that's maybe a little more familiar to 00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:01.490 you. The legend of the Trojan horse. As the story 00:03:01.490 --> 00:03:05.370 goes, the Greeks were for 10 years trying to 00:03:05.370 --> 00:03:09.949 conquer the city of Troy to no avail. They couldn't 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:13.550 break through the gates. Their army was exhausted. 00:03:13.669 --> 00:03:17.389 The morale was very, very low. And one day the 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:20.590 Greeks just disappeared. The only thing that 00:03:20.590 --> 00:03:23.949 they left behind them on the beach was a gigantic 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:27.669 wooden horse. And the people of Troy assumed 00:03:27.669 --> 00:03:29.590 this was a gift for them, some kind of a tribute. 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:32.729 for their victory over the Greeks. And so they 00:03:32.729 --> 00:03:36.449 wheeled the horse into the city behind the city 00:03:36.449 --> 00:03:41.009 walls and gates. But late that night, when everybody 00:03:41.009 --> 00:03:44.330 else was sleeping, a little hidden door in the 00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:48.030 belly of the horse opened it up and out climbed 00:03:48.030 --> 00:03:52.590 a few Greek soldiers. And they ran and opened 00:03:52.590 --> 00:03:56.319 up the city gates. And then the whole Greek army 00:03:56.319 --> 00:04:01.039 came streaming in, and by morning, the city of 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:05.199 Troy was in flames. And they had been defeated, 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.000 not by some massive battle at the gates. They 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.659 were defeated because they had invited the enemy 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:18.959 to come right inside. Now, throughout history, 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:24.180 the church has also had to face enemies. of many 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:28.240 sorts and and sometimes the church gets attacked 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.540 head -on by its enemy for example last week we 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:33.860 heard about a church called the in a city called 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.980 smyrna and they were attacked head -on there 00:04:36.980 --> 00:04:39.819 was persecution there was violence there was 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:43.819 bloodshed there was execution people were dying 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:47.899 but today we're going to hear about a different 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:51.540 church located in a different city, a city called 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:53.860 Pergamum, or sometimes it's called Pergamos. 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:58.899 And in order to conquer this church, right, the 00:04:58.899 --> 00:05:04.600 enemy had to use a different strategy, not intimidation, 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:09.139 but infiltration. Okay, so this fall we're doing 00:05:09.139 --> 00:05:11.720 this teaching series called Dear Church. And 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:13.639 we're looking at these ancient letters that were 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:17.459 written nearly 2 ,000 years ago to a bunch of 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:22.240 churches throughout Asia Minor. Now, some of 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:23.899 the letters that were written were letters of 00:05:23.899 --> 00:05:26.620 great comfort, like the one we read last week, 00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:28.199 the letter to the church in Smyrna. They were 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:30.480 being persecuted, so the letter was to comfort 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.579 them. And other letters are meant to be a challenge 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:37.959 to the church. And that's where we find ourselves 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:42.160 today. You see, some of these letters you might 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:44.560 have a really hard time relating to. Like last 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.600 week, for example, you could have said, well, 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:48.860 I've never been persecuted. I've never been attacked 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:52.139 or suffered for my faith. I just can't relate 00:05:52.139 --> 00:05:55.300 with what those people were going through. But 00:05:55.300 --> 00:06:00.000 today, we can all relate. Because the church, 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:04.060 you and I, here in Mississauga, face the very 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:08.319 same challenge that the church in Pergamum faces 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:13.540 so long ago. It's not death by the sword, but 00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:18.560 it's death by compromise. Not enduring violent 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:23.860 persecution, but resisting cultural accommodation. 00:06:25.449 --> 00:06:28.269 I've given you some sermon notes today. I think 00:06:28.269 --> 00:06:30.189 this is actually really important for us all 00:06:30.189 --> 00:06:32.790 to hear, so I encourage you to follow along so 00:06:32.790 --> 00:06:39.290 we remember this reading. Pergamum was a capital 00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:42.009 city, the capital city of Asia, the Roman province 00:06:42.009 --> 00:06:44.269 of Asia. It was not an easy place to be a Christian. 00:06:44.810 --> 00:06:47.529 It was filled with shrines and pagan temples, 00:06:47.589 --> 00:06:51.529 and it was in Pergamum where emperor worship 00:06:51.529 --> 00:06:55.209 was, I think, invented and was certainly expected 00:06:55.209 --> 00:07:00.889 of everyone who lived there. And so when Christians 00:07:00.889 --> 00:07:04.250 refused to bow the knee to all these gods, guess 00:07:04.250 --> 00:07:07.629 what happened? A frontal attack, persecution, 00:07:07.850 --> 00:07:12.350 and violence, and even death. But here is the 00:07:12.350 --> 00:07:16.600 thing. It didn't work. The church didn't fold, 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:19.339 didn't bend, it didn't cave in. In fact, Jesus 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:22.740 says in this letter, he says, you did not renounce 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:26.300 your faith. Even in those days of Antipas, my 00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:30.040 faithful witness who was put to death in your 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:33.220 city, and he even calls the city, the city where 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:36.860 Satan lives. Now, we don't know much about Antipas, 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:40.279 but we know that Jesus calls him a faithful witness. 00:07:40.339 --> 00:07:42.860 The Greek word for witness there is martyrios, 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.149 where we get our word martyr. So Antipas died 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:50.930 for the Christian faith in Pergamum. It probably 00:07:50.930 --> 00:07:53.550 went a little something like this. He was hauled 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:56.230 before the Roman authorities. They told him to 00:07:56.230 --> 00:07:59.389 deny Jesus, to recant his faith. He refused to 00:07:59.389 --> 00:08:04.579 do so, and so he was executed. Actually... I 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:06.680 did a little looking at this, and tradition says 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:11.959 that Antipas was executed using a horrible means 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:16.319 of torture and execution called the brazen bull. 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.439 And it's actually, you could call it the Trojan 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:24.199 bull, because what it was, it was a life -size 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:27.959 bull made of brass or bronze, but it was hollow. 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:30.720 And so what you would do is you would take the 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:34.080 victims and you would put them inside the bowl 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.299 and lock them in. And then you would light a 00:08:37.299 --> 00:08:40.740 fire underneath the bowl and they would literally 00:08:40.740 --> 00:08:46.299 be roasted alive inside. And there were these 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:49.779 little flutes that went up to the bull's nostrils. 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:53.620 And so the smoke would kind of breathe out of 00:08:53.620 --> 00:08:55.899 the bull's nostrils. And it would actually make 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:59.220 your screams sound kind of like music or kind 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:02.159 of like the lowing of a cow or something like 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:05.200 that. It was meant to intimidate. It was meant 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:11.059 to terrify the Christians in Pergamum. And yet 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:15.980 they held firm. So when Satan couldn't destroy 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:19.779 the church from the outside, he tried a different 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:23.440 tactic. Plan B, the Trojan horse. Hey, if you 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:27.419 can't crush them from the outside, why not compromise 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:32.100 them from the inside? This is an age -old strategy 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:36.329 that has been used very effectively before. And 00:09:36.329 --> 00:09:39.750 you probably heard this and didn't recognize 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:42.009 the story. But you know when Jesus says, hey, 00:09:42.070 --> 00:09:44.330 I hold this against you. And then he goes on, 00:09:44.330 --> 00:09:48.149 he starts talking about Balaam and Balak. Some 00:09:48.149 --> 00:09:50.169 of you were like, I have no idea who those people 00:09:50.169 --> 00:09:52.350 are. I don't know this story. Others of you were 00:09:52.350 --> 00:09:55.870 like, oh yeah, I kind of remember this story. 00:09:56.190 --> 00:10:00.990 Let me tell it to you. The Bible says that over 00:10:00.990 --> 00:10:05.750 a thousand years before this took place, evil 00:10:05.750 --> 00:10:08.590 prophet by the name of Balaam. He was kind of 00:10:08.590 --> 00:10:12.149 a prophet for hire. What he would do is if you 00:10:12.149 --> 00:10:15.629 paid him enough money, Balaam would go and try 00:10:15.629 --> 00:10:19.429 to manipulate or control the gods in your favor 00:10:19.429 --> 00:10:23.070 for you or against your enemies against them. 00:10:23.289 --> 00:10:26.830 And all you had to do was pay Balaam the right 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:29.509 amount of money and the right price, and he would 00:10:29.509 --> 00:10:34.220 manipulate the gods for you. So one day, the 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:38.159 king of Moab, whose name was Balak, so it's kind 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.220 of confusing, Balak, gave Balaam a big bag of 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:42.940 money. And he said, here's what I want you to 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:47.820 do. I want you to control and curse the God of 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:51.500 Israel, curse these Israelites, because they're 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.440 getting way too close to our kingdom. And frankly, 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:57.049 I'm a little bit scared of them. And so Balaam 00:10:57.049 --> 00:11:01.090 came and he did his thing. But here's the funny 00:11:01.090 --> 00:11:03.289 thing was what he discovered is he couldn't. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:06.200 control the god of israel like he could control 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:09.500 other gods and so in fact what happened was the 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:13.000 god of israel started to control him so balaam 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.700 would open up his mouth and he would try to pronounce 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:19.200 a curse over israel but the only thing that came 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:22.500 out of his mouth was blessings instead and so 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:24.779 balak was like hey that's not what i'm paying 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:26.600 you all this money for you come on you better 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:28.559 do it again i think he offered him even more 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.360 money and they basically went around from mountain 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.360 to mountain and And where again and again, Balaam 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.039 was trying to pronounce curses on Israel, trying 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:40.860 to control Israel's God. But every single time, 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:43.320 the same thing happened. Blessings came out, 00:11:43.340 --> 00:11:45.899 blessings came out, blessings came out. And so 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:49.740 Balaam said to Balak, look, this isn't working. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.500 But let me tell you another way we can get this 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:57.820 done. Not with a frontal assault, but with a 00:11:57.820 --> 00:12:01.429 Trojan horse. Here's what you do, he said. Take 00:12:01.429 --> 00:12:03.970 some of the beautiful Moabite women that I see 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:06.629 running around your camp and just have them go 00:12:06.629 --> 00:12:09.169 into the Israelite camp. They'll open the doors 00:12:09.169 --> 00:12:11.909 wide open. They'll let them in. And have these 00:12:11.909 --> 00:12:16.309 women seduce. the Israelites and sleep with them 00:12:16.309 --> 00:12:19.990 and then have them introduce them to their idols 00:12:19.990 --> 00:12:24.230 and to their gods and invite them to take part 00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:27.970 in their religion. And that, I tell you, Balak, 00:12:27.970 --> 00:12:32.190 that will lead to their downfall. And he was 00:12:32.190 --> 00:12:38.480 right. It worked. Israel fell into sexual immorality 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:41.480 and idolatry, so much so that God had no choice 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.879 but to punish them. He inflicted a plague upon 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:48.860 them. 20 ,000, 30 ,000 people apparently died. 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:51.919 But you see, that was the plan, right? Don't 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.460 fight them, seduce them. And if you can't curse 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.059 them, compromise them. If you can't crush them 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:02.100 from the outside, corrupt them from the inside. 00:13:02.269 --> 00:13:06.029 inside. And that is the story Jesus wants us 00:13:06.029 --> 00:13:07.750 to be thinking about because that is exactly 00:13:07.750 --> 00:13:10.190 what was going on in Pergamum according to Jesus. 00:13:10.389 --> 00:13:12.629 Listen, he's saying to them, listen, Satan couldn't 00:13:12.629 --> 00:13:15.090 crush you. Even in the days of Antipas, Satan 00:13:15.090 --> 00:13:18.009 could not crush you. But now he's corrupting 00:13:18.009 --> 00:13:22.779 you. And in Pergamum, There were several Trojan 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:26.240 horses, if you will, subtle ways that the enemy 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:29.200 was trying to sneak inside the walls of the church 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:31.519 and bring compromise. Let me share a few of them 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.940 with you this morning, a few examples. The first 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:37.639 was what you might call the religious compromise. 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:41.139 You see, in Pergamum, there were temples everywhere, 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.220 like I said. You know, there were gods everywhere. 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:48.720 But the most famous... structure in Pergamum 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.120 was this one here. It's now in Berlin, in the 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.200 Pergamum Museum in Berlin. But it was called 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:59.039 the Great Altar of Zeus. And this thing stood 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:02.679 on top of the city, right on the Acropolis of 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:05.860 Pergamum. And it could very well be that when 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:09.820 Jesus said, hey, in Pergamum is where Satan has 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:11.720 his throne, that he was actually referring to 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.179 this particular structure. Because if you look 00:14:14.179 --> 00:14:16.700 at it, it does kind of look like a ginormous 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:20.720 throne. So imagine, if you will, you're a small, 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:24.000 struggling church. And every single day, all 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.039 these gods and shrines are around you. But up 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:29.220 there on the mountain, You're in the shadow every 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:35.059 day of this looming great altar of Zeus. The 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:37.500 temptation, I think, would surely be for you 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:41.940 to, yes, you still worship Jesus, but my goodness, 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:43.820 look at the greatness of this God. You would 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:47.559 worship other gods along with Jesus. Just go 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:51.879 along to get along and just kind of blend in 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:57.019 a little bit religiously. We, you and I, we face 00:14:57.019 --> 00:15:01.179 that same temptation today for sure. Not to deny 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:04.919 Jesus outright, but to say, sure, sure, yeah, 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.840 Jesus is Lord, but there are other spiritualities 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.320 too. And there's lots of good things about other 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:14.120 religions. In fact, you know, don't all religions 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:17.580 basically... Say the same thing. And so what 00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:21.620 we do is we blend Christianity with self -help, 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:24.320 spirituality, and other religious beliefs because 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:26.720 that Trojan horse whispers, say, sure, sure, 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:29.879 sure, sure, follow Jesus, but don't be so exclusive. 00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:32.759 Don't be so absolute. Look at some of the other 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:35.600 things you can give your life to, right? That's 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.980 the religious compromise. But the second Trojan 00:15:39.980 --> 00:15:42.720 horse in Pergamum was what you might call the 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.639 intellectual. Oh, my goodness. I spelled intellectual 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:49.779 wrong. How does that? That sounds horrible. Intellectual. 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:56.919 That lets you know how intellectual I am. Pergamum 00:15:56.919 --> 00:15:59.720 was not just a city of temples. It was also a 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.120 city of books. In fact, this is amazing history. 00:16:03.259 --> 00:16:05.580 There's so much to learn in the Bible. But in 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:10.659 Pergamum was a massive library, second only to 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.919 the great library of Alexandria in Egypt. There 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:19.059 were something like 200 ,000 scrolls in the library 00:16:19.059 --> 00:16:22.299 of Pergamum. In fact, the story goes that the 00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:24.379 library in Alexandria in Egypt was actually... 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.940 that Pergamum's library was gonna get bigger 00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:29.580 than theirs and steal their claim to fame. And 00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:33.960 so Egypt stopped selling papyrus to Pergamum 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.200 so they couldn't keep creating more and more 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.299 books. But you know what Pergamum did? Pergamum 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:41.559 came up with this new technology, this new idea. 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:43.519 They said, well, we don't need your papyrus. 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:46.500 We'll start writing books on animal skins and 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:50.039 sheep skins. And so what was invented was parchment. 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:55.590 Parchment was invented in Pergamum. The Latin 00:16:55.590 --> 00:17:01.129 word for parchment is pergamentum because it 00:17:01.129 --> 00:17:05.190 was created in Pergamum, right? So anyways, Pergamum 00:17:05.190 --> 00:17:07.750 was the center of scholarship and education and 00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:10.109 learning and thinkers. And so the temptation 00:17:10.109 --> 00:17:13.170 would always have been, oh, we have to be able 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.470 to converse with people intellectually. We have 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:19.940 to make... Christianity sound more palatable 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:23.339 and fit in with a lot of the worldly wisdom. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:26.240 And I think you know what I mean when I say this, 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:30.289 because even today. We try, I think, to make 00:17:30.289 --> 00:17:32.210 ourselves sound smarter, try to make the gospel 00:17:32.210 --> 00:17:35.829 sound more enlightened. You know, we read the 00:17:35.829 --> 00:17:37.589 Bible and we say, oh yeah, but surely we don't 00:17:37.589 --> 00:17:40.049 believe everything that is in here. In fact, 00:17:40.089 --> 00:17:42.869 you know, in many ways, Jesus was just a very 00:17:42.869 --> 00:17:47.450 good man, a great teacher and a healer. And actually 00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:51.230 the cross was more of a metaphor than anything 00:17:51.230 --> 00:17:55.009 else. And the intellectual Trojan horse does 00:17:55.009 --> 00:17:56.849 that to you and to me. It says, hey, listen, 00:17:57.029 --> 00:17:59.380 if you want. people take you seriously. Make 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:01.720 yourself sound a bit more philosophical, right? 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.000 More intellectual, right? Don't be so simple. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:08.980 The gospel is so foolish. Pretty it up. There's 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:11.039 a third compromise that they would have faced 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.279 in Pergamum, the scientific compromise. Pergamum 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:18.640 was also famous for what was called the Asclepion. 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:22.660 Now, the Asclepion was like part hospital. part 00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:27.019 temple, part spa, right? People would come from 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:29.339 around the world to be treated for illnesses 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:32.380 at the Asclepion. Think of the Mayo Clinic or 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:34.759 something like that, right? They traveled to 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:39.319 come here. It was named after the Greek god Asclepius, 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:43.200 who was the god of medicine. In fact, he went 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:47.980 by the nickname, the Savior. Asclepius, the Savior. 00:18:48.989 --> 00:18:53.829 And you can see from that picture, that's Asclepius. 00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:57.230 And he had this snake that was always wound around 00:18:57.230 --> 00:18:59.130 the staff that he had. And I don't know if you 00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:00.730 guys know, but if you go into a doctor's office 00:19:00.730 --> 00:19:02.710 today, you'll often see that medical symbol of 00:19:02.710 --> 00:19:06.190 a staff with the snake wound around. And that's 00:19:06.190 --> 00:19:10.410 because medicine traces back to Asclepius. And 00:19:10.410 --> 00:19:12.950 in fact, I also learned that the word scalpel. 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:16.819 comes from the word Asclepius. So in short, if 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:19.619 you wanted to be healed, you needed to go visit 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:24.440 this serpent savior. Now the temptation, the 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:27.579 Trojan horse, was to look to something other 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:30.180 than Jesus as your savior, right? And today, 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:32.500 aren't we constantly tempted to like put our 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:35.299 hope in a medical breakthrough or some scientific 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:38.900 technology or something new, something that's 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:43.150 going to fix the world, right? But if we just 00:19:43.150 --> 00:19:44.910 had the right therapy, if we just had the right 00:19:44.910 --> 00:19:46.710 medicine, if we just had the right treatment, 00:19:46.869 --> 00:19:49.930 then we can save ourselves. Now, of course, don't 00:19:49.930 --> 00:19:54.569 get me wrong. Medicine and science are incredible 00:19:54.569 --> 00:19:59.549 gifts from God. But they are not God. And that, 00:19:59.609 --> 00:20:03.930 of course, would be the danger. Now, two final, 00:20:04.269 --> 00:20:07.470 a couple, three actually more, I think I have, 00:20:07.549 --> 00:20:11.029 compromises. we need to pay attention to. There 00:20:11.029 --> 00:20:13.269 was, of course, in Pergamum a moral compromise. 00:20:14.049 --> 00:20:16.750 Like most Greco -Roman cities, it was a place 00:20:16.750 --> 00:20:19.890 of all sorts of sexuality and religion constantly 00:20:19.890 --> 00:20:22.789 being intertwined. These festivals, these pagan 00:20:22.789 --> 00:20:26.490 festivals often included sexual acts when it 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:28.690 came to worshiping the God. And so if you're 00:20:28.690 --> 00:20:31.150 a Christian living in Pergamum and you are invited 00:20:31.150 --> 00:20:35.710 to go to one of these feasts, do you go? You 00:20:35.710 --> 00:20:37.809 know, there was a group in the church called 00:20:37.809 --> 00:20:40.150 the Nicolaitans, and their answer was, yes, of 00:20:40.150 --> 00:20:42.630 course you go. You go. Don't feel guilty about 00:20:42.630 --> 00:20:45.849 this. Loosen your biblical standards a bit and 00:20:45.849 --> 00:20:49.410 go. And again, this sounds so familiar. Today, 00:20:49.569 --> 00:20:53.289 we are constantly tempted to give in to cultures, 00:20:53.329 --> 00:20:58.730 ethics around sex. The world sees God's vision 00:20:58.730 --> 00:21:02.470 for sex and relationships as old -fashioned. 00:21:03.379 --> 00:21:05.619 optional, whatever. And so what we end up doing 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.539 is we get sucked along with that. We go along 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:10.480 with that. We scroll along with that just like 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:13.319 everyone else does. And like the Nicolans, we 00:21:13.319 --> 00:21:15.759 say, oh, come on, lighten up, right? You can 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.440 follow Jesus and you can still do all these things. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.640 It's just some fun. It's just one night, right? 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:24.579 It's your body after all. It's not God's body. 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:31.220 Jesus calls his people to be holy. to be this 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:35.259 community that is shaped by his kingdom and not 00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:40.039 the culture. Another Trojan horse that snuck 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:43.319 into Pergamum was the economic compromise. You 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:45.619 see, in Pergamum, there were all these unions, 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:49.519 almost like a BIA, the trade guilds, if you will. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:52.539 There were metal worker guilds and cloth merchant 00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:56.099 guilds and bank guilds and baker guilds. And 00:21:56.099 --> 00:21:59.059 like the BIA, you kind of participated. You all 00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:00.759 got together from time to time and did stuff 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:03.059 together. And if you wanted to keep your job, 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:04.759 and if you wanted to keep your customers, and 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:06.960 if you wanted to keep all your contracts, you 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.220 were expected to participate in all these feasts 00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:11.839 and get -togethers and the worship of the emperor. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.200 And so many Christians sacrificed their integrity 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:20.480 for financial security. Still common today. right? 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:22.839 The temptation to put our career or to put money 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:27.980 or to put faithfulness to the guilds, our workplace, 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:31.240 ahead of faithfulness to Christ. To stay quiet 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:33.839 about your faith. Don't rock the boat. You might 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:36.220 even engage in unethical business practices because, 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:38.019 hey, you know, you've got bills to pay. I'm sure 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:42.420 God will understand. And here's the last compromise, 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:45.380 of course. If you lived in Pergamum and there 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:47.680 was a big festival coming up to honor one of 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.539 the gods, do you Do you go? I already asked that. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:52.359 The whole city's going, by the way. Your neighbors 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:54.859 are going. Your co -workers from the guilds, 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:57.400 they're going. And if you don't show up, then 00:22:57.400 --> 00:22:59.220 people are going to notice, and people might 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:01.339 talk, and they might spread some rumors about 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:03.640 you Christians. And since nobody wants to be 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:07.680 the odd one out, the temptation was always to 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:11.220 compromise just enough to avoid being excluded 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:15.279 or disliked. And I dare say you've probably had 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:17.339 a moment like that too, where you've been tempted 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:19.940 to deny what you believe. You've been tempted 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:23.779 to stay silent about Jesus because you don't 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:28.079 want to be that Christian in your school, in 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:31.319 your class, in your workplace, in your family. 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:33.680 That's what the Trojan horse says. Just stay 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.940 quiet, blend in. That way you'll get the world's 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:41.559 approval. So do you see how plan B works? Do 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:44.009 you see how this works now? You just wheel these 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:47.329 Trojan horses into the church, and when no one's 00:23:47.329 --> 00:23:50.269 looking, out pops compromise, right? Religious, 00:23:50.309 --> 00:23:52.970 intellectual, scientific, moral, economic, social 00:23:52.970 --> 00:23:55.690 compromise. These enemies don't storm the gates. 00:23:55.849 --> 00:23:58.009 They're not storming the gates of the church 00:23:58.009 --> 00:24:01.210 right now, but they sneak in. They've snuck in 00:24:01.210 --> 00:24:03.589 already this morning. They've snuck into our 00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:06.769 hearts, and pretty soon, like the Moabite women, 00:24:06.950 --> 00:24:11.009 the church ends up being married to the world. 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:15.299 In fact, the word Pergamum contains that gam, 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:20.440 pergamum, as in polygamy or big gammy. It's related 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:23.700 to this idea that you can be married to more 00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:27.279 than one person. Pergamum shows us what happens 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.940 when, oh, yes, I'm united to Christ, but I'm 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:33.519 also married to the world. And Jesus warns him, 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:37.119 you got to stop. You need to deal with that compromise 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:42.559 in your midst or I will, he says. Repent, therefore, 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:46.859 otherwise I will soon come to you and fight against 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:50.920 these people with the sword of my mouth. This 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:52.819 is really important, but you guys know about 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:56.880 200 years after this letter was written, there 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.440 were two Roman generals who were competing for 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:02.160 control of the empire. In the west, you had Constantine, 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:06.359 and in the east, you had Maxentius. And tradition 00:25:06.359 --> 00:25:10.440 says that on the night before the decisive battle, 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:14.660 Constantine had this vision, right? He saw a 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:18.839 cross in the sky and he saw these words, in hoc 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:26.559 signo vinces, in this sign conquer. And so the 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:28.660 next day, you know what Constantine did? He painted 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:32.460 crosses on all the shields of his soldiers. He 00:25:32.460 --> 00:25:36.079 won the battle and he emerged as emperor of Rome 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:41.079 and he declared himself to be a Christian. And 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:44.039 he made Christianity the preferred religion of 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:46.640 the empire. Overnight, the church that had once 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:50.880 been persecuted was suddenly now promoted. Whole 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:53.799 regiments of soldiers were baptized en masse 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:58.339 because conversion was fashionable. It was even 00:25:58.339 --> 00:26:02.000 profitable, advantageous. There's a story told 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:05.160 that when Constantine went to meet with 400 bishops 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:08.200 at the Council of Nicaea, he sat on a golden 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:12.210 throne. As the head of the church. And from that 00:26:12.210 --> 00:26:15.970 moment on, Christianity became the religion of 00:26:15.970 --> 00:26:19.009 the state. And in the process, the church got 00:26:19.009 --> 00:26:22.630 married to the world. And pagan temples got turned 00:26:22.630 --> 00:26:24.750 into churches. And pagan festivals were given 00:26:24.750 --> 00:26:27.450 new Christian names. And priests, the priests 00:26:27.450 --> 00:26:30.089 of the old gods, they ran to get baptized as 00:26:30.089 --> 00:26:31.809 fast as they could so they wouldn't lose their 00:26:31.809 --> 00:26:36.380 jobs. And they used the same temples. And they 00:26:36.380 --> 00:26:38.940 used the same incense and the same processions, 00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:41.359 but only now these things were Christian, of 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:43.559 course. And even some of the idols, they just 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:46.240 renamed them after different saints and such. 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:50.059 As one commentator put it, Constantine offered 00:26:50.059 --> 00:26:53.220 his gold and patronage to the church, and it 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:56.460 eagerly swallowed the bait. sacrificed its conscience 00:26:56.460 --> 00:26:59.599 and allegiance to its Lord. And the church and 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:02.480 the world, which had hitherto walked apart, were 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:06.500 locked in each other's arms, a fatal union. This 00:27:06.500 --> 00:27:10.440 was the Pergamum moment for the church when the 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:13.000 church stopped standing apart from the world 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.480 and actually married the world. And this compromise, 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:18.799 this marriage, it is still a temptation in your 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:21.559 life today. It is still a temptation in my life, 00:27:21.619 --> 00:27:24.779 and it is still the temptation in the life of 00:27:24.779 --> 00:27:29.759 Trinity Streetsville. And so in closing, what 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:32.920 do we do about that? How do we defend ourselves 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:37.920 against these Trojan horses in our midst that 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:41.240 sneak past the gates of our hearts? Well, Jesus 00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:45.319 gives us a clue in his letter. Jesus says, I 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:49.160 will fight against this compromise with, quote, 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:52.920 the sword of my mouth. Not the sword in his hand, 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:57.940 but from his mouth, which means this sword is 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:04.259 his word. The words of Jesus are how compromise 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:08.990 gets exposed. And how repentance happens in our 00:28:08.990 --> 00:28:11.970 lives. Jesus' word is like that scalpel. It's 00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:15.190 a scalpel. It's sharp and it's precise. And it 00:28:15.190 --> 00:28:17.789 cuts away those parts of the church and my life 00:28:17.789 --> 00:28:19.869 and your life that do not belong. In other words, 00:28:19.990 --> 00:28:22.769 God's word will show us where we have let compromise 00:28:22.769 --> 00:28:26.230 sneak in. And God's word will show us how to 00:28:26.230 --> 00:28:28.190 turn around and change our ways. It's like a 00:28:28.190 --> 00:28:31.410 doorbell cam. Everybody's got doorbell cams these 00:28:31.410 --> 00:28:34.930 days. It reveals who is knocking at your door. 00:28:35.690 --> 00:28:37.390 know the scriptures and you're reading the scriptures 00:28:37.390 --> 00:28:39.529 and you're meditating on the scriptures and memorizing 00:28:39.529 --> 00:28:41.470 the scriptures and trying to live in the scriptures 00:28:41.470 --> 00:28:45.349 you start to notice when something's off when 00:28:45.349 --> 00:28:47.990 something doesn't sound right when you hear a 00:28:47.990 --> 00:28:50.390 cultural message and it says just blend in and 00:28:50.390 --> 00:28:53.049 the scriptures say no you are the light of the 00:28:53.049 --> 00:28:59.549 world a city on a hill cannot be hidden which 00:28:59.549 --> 00:29:03.549 means that secondly our defense against the evil 00:29:03.549 --> 00:29:06.470 one, is not to camouflage ourselves, not to blend 00:29:06.470 --> 00:29:08.990 in. Some creatures defend themselves by blending 00:29:08.990 --> 00:29:13.230 in, but not Christians. We stand apart even when 00:29:13.230 --> 00:29:16.289 everyone else joins in by saying no to compromise 00:29:16.289 --> 00:29:19.289 and saying yes to holiness, by speaking the truth 00:29:19.289 --> 00:29:23.630 even when it's not popular, by allowing Jesus, 00:29:23.690 --> 00:29:27.849 not the world, to define what is good and what 00:29:27.849 --> 00:29:31.569 is true and what's worth giving your life for. 00:29:31.930 --> 00:29:36.730 So here's my challenge for you this week. Open 00:29:36.730 --> 00:29:41.430 the Bible and begin, if you haven't already, 00:29:41.589 --> 00:29:45.730 a practice of getting into God's word. Read it 00:29:45.730 --> 00:29:49.809 daily, even just a few words every day. Ask the 00:29:49.809 --> 00:29:53.390 spirit of God, say, Lord, where have I compromised? 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:59.220 Where have I invited a Trojan horse into the 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:03.180 gates? And then repent in those areas where you 00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:09.059 need to and recommit to faithfulness. If persecution 00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:13.500 couldn't crush the church in Pergamum, then compromise 00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:16.460 must not corrupt the church in Streetsville. 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:20.460 So may we be a people who stay faithful to Christ 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:24.799 no matter what the cost. So that the world can 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:30.519 see a picture of what living in his kingdom looks 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:36.319 like. Thanks be to God. Amen. Thank you for listening 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:38.819 to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. This 00:30:38.819 --> 00:30:41.339 sermon was recorded at Trinity Church Streetsville 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:44.940 in Mississauga, Ontario on September 21st, 2025.