Sermon
Sword 🗡️ and Stone 🪨 : Repent. Remain. Receive. ✝️ | Revelation 2:12-17 📖
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives
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! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly and each week I balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ
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! Today you'll be hearing week 6 of our sermon series through the book of Revelation.
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We are looking at Revelation 2, verses 12-17, which is Christ's letter to the church in Pergamum.
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Now, here's something powerful to note before you listen. Pergamum was known as a city where
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Satan's throne was, yet Jesus commends this church for holding fast to his name,
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even when Antipas, his faithful witness, was martyred among them. But Jesus also confronts
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this church. Some in the church were following the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans,
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Christians, participating in idol feasts and sexual immorality. This wasn't just a matter of eating
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food. It was an act of worship to other gods. And Christ calls for them, the ones that were
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compromised, to repent or to face judgment from the sword of his mouth. What a reminder for us today.
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We live in a world that is full of compromise and temptation. We also have to consider how we use our
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bodies, for they reveal our true worship and loyalty. In this sermon, you'll hear how we gave
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everyone at the church a white stone as a reminder of God's promises. This is a connection to an earlier
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sermon through the parables of Christ about counting the cost and casting your pebble to go all in for
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Christ. This time we are receiving the white stone in return. And this is a beautiful imagery of salvation
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and transformation in Christ. Let us refuse compromise. Let us hold fast to Christ's name
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and let us remain faithful to him alone. And let us honor God with our bodies and our worship.
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Let us now listen to today's message. Sword and stone, repent, receive, remain.
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Well, good morning. This morning we are continuing our sermon series through the book of Revelation.
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It's been very interesting seeing these, how Christ is speaking to these different churches.
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These seven churches in Revelation are lessons that we can think of, we can learn of today as they were
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applicable back then. We learned about how Christ is holding the seven stars in his hand and then he walks
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among the lampstands, symbolizing the completedness of the church. We had in beginning the church in
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Ephesus, the one that lost its first love and how important it is for us to keep Christ at the center,
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for us to love God and for us to love people at the same time. How important that is for us.
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We also went into the church in Smyrna, this suffering church where it was talking about the synagogue of
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Satan and that there was going to be even more trials and tribulations. What a terrible thing to happen.
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But to know that God is there is very powerful. And today we are going into Revelation chapter 2 verses 12 through
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12 through 17. And I want us to turn there. I want us to open the text. And as we're doing that,
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here is a church where you're seeing much more warlike language. You see a church that is divided as it were,
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that there are people that are compromising and yet there are also people that are remaining.
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It sounds a lot like churches today. Not this church, right? How important it is for us to remain in Christ
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and for us, we worship the living God. It's important for us to also know, and we'll go further into this.
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We worship God, we open the word, and we all partake in communion. How important and how sacred is that time
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together when we eat of the bread and drink of the cup? It's important for us to know that this is a way
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for us to honor and glorify the Lord. It is an act of worship. And we will see in here that at times,
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there are people who will partake in meals to other gods. We'll also see in here about sexual promiscuity,
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this sense of an act of worship towards another god as well.
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And this happening as infiltration to this church in Pergamum. So it's very interesting for us to see.
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So are we all there, church? All right. The church in Pergamum. Let's read it together, starting in verse 12.
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And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write,
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the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. Ooh, so it goes right to judgment, right?
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This two-edged sword. Verse 13.
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I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith.
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Even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
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But I have one thing, a few things against you. You have some, right? Remember, there's some
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compromisers, some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block
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before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food, sacrifice to idols. There it is, right?
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And practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teachings of the Nicolaitans.
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Do you remember this? We saw this earlier.
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Therefore, repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,
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I will give some of the hidden manna. And I will give him a what? We should have one, right? A white
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stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. That's
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why, you know, as a good representation, you received a white stone. Now there's no name on it,
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but it's a good idea as a representation, right? When we're thinking about us receiving the Lord and
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us remaining faithful in Christ, this representation of a white stone that we receive. It's just beautiful
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language in there. And no, I'm not going to make up some fake names and give them to you. You know,
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one person will be named Richard, another will be Sally and Sue and Joe. No, it's, it says in the text,
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right, that no one knows except the one who receives it. And it's just beautiful language in there.
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And so in this, we, we start off by seeing, right? Christ is identifying himself, but this time he's not
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saying, you know, the words of the first and the last, right? The one who died and came again, or I'm
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the one that holds the seven stars. He's using this language of the one who has power and the ability
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to judge. Now in scripture, we find there's many times the use of sword. And this time in revelation,
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you find that a sword being used here is a large sword, especially when it's talking about proceeding
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from the mouth, right? Something that is a powerful weapon. And let's not be confused other times in
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the gospel accounts and other times in scriptures where sword is being used, being represented as a
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small blade. Here we're talking about a ginormous or a very large sword, right? Representing judgment,
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also representing protection in here. And so Christ is identifying them. He is the one who has this sharp
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two-edged sword, right? It is the judicial word, the ability to judge, the ability to protect, or even
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to wage war in this. And so Jesus is identifying himself. And it's interesting in here, right? The words
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of him who has the sharp two-edged swords, he goes on saying, I know where you dwell, right? He goes on by
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saying, I know where you live, right? Essentially, right? And it goes on further saying where Satan's throne
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is. Oh, you read that. What do we do with that, right? That this church was close to the dwelling
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place, the throne, as it were, of where Satan is. So this throne is talking about a position of power.
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And in this, we'll go into this in just a second. And what that is, is that we think
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Satan's throne is talking about spiritual warfare, this idea of the battle between good and evil,
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that this presence, some scholars say it could have represents the presence of the emperor and
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emperor worship. Others say that this Satan's throne was a representation of the pagan temples,
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right? That existed back then. But others say it was even the presence. Some argue it's the emperor Nero.
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There's a lot of debate on what exactly that is. But in any case, we're talking about a structure,
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as it were, something that was more permanent and close proximity to this church. And so, right,
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it's talking about that. And that is some deep language right there, right? But yet in that,
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despite the existence of Satan's throne, right, this presence of evil that's happening,
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they are remaining in Christ. That's something that's beautiful, right? That Christ is honoring
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their loyalty under pressure and the presence of Satan, as it were. They hold fast. They hang on.
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They remain true to his name. And it says in the text here, you hold fast my name and you did not deny
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my faith, right? That's wonderful. That is a wonderful commendation that's happening here.
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You did not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed among
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you where Satan lives. Now, what's interesting about this is, you know, when you find a name in
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there, you got to see where it's connected in here. And unfortunately, with all the efforts and all the
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commentaries I could find, I found very little on who this guy is. There's not much on him, but there's
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enough to see that the Lord wanted that name to be written in the book of Revelation and for us to read.
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What do we know about him? Well, all we do know is that he was a faithful witness, much like how,
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if you go back to the beginning where John is talking about that he is one who is a faithful
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witness. If you go into verse five, right, John's talking to the seven churches from Jesus Christ,
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the faithful witness. So this is a person who is also very dedicated to the Lord. The same kind of
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language to describe John is the same language used to describe this guy, Antipas. And so he was killed.
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He was killed among them. And whenever there's a martyr or some sort of attempt that happens,
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that can really affect our morale. That can be discouraging, that can scare us as it were. But yet,
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despite that, they remain true to Christ, right? And so that's something that is remarkable, right?
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The congregation remained. They remained. They showed their faithfulness even with the death of
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Antipas. Well, those are the good things. We go on in there. What do we see, church? I have not one. I
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have a few things against you. Uh-oh, right? You have the good and the bad, and here you have a little
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bit of the ugly, right? Some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a
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stumbling block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice
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sexual immorality. What in the world is he talking about? We read this and we're like, I don't fully
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understand this. And I want us to turn, actually, to numbers. That should be the next slide. And this
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will actually help us in our understanding of what exactly is going on here. Turn to numbers. It's
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going to be on page 155 of your ESV Pew Bible. And you'll see here, um, oh, excuse me, 157.
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You'll see the pattern here, and you'll see why it's so, this type of worship that had happened
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was not only exists in the Old Testament, but shows up in the New Testament and shows up here in
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Revelation. When you see a pattern like that, that's something we've got to pay attention to,
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that it's something that is just a reoccurring theme, as it were. So Numbers chapter 25, verses
Numbers 25 chapter mention
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one through three. Are we all there, church? So it's just three verses, okay? I want you to see this.
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While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.
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These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their
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gods. So that's a very important note for us to see. They are eating of this food, and they are
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partaking in worshiping another god. So in this context, they would eat of the food, and they would
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worship other gods. What we see in Revelation is they would eat of these meals, and they would
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partake in sexual immorality, which was their dedication, their devotion, or their worship to
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other gods. Fascinating that we see this here in Numbers and in Revelation, and it even goes into
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first, I want to say it's first Corinthians, that the Apostle Paul mentions that as well.
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So sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself
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to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. So you see that back then.
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We turn back to Revelation, as we're seeing, and that helps us with our understanding that the
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participation, the partaking of these meals, right, put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel so
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that they might eat food. So do you see? There's something that's happening here with the meals and
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the sexual immorality that had happened. And they're tied together in here. And so when we're reading
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this, it's like, okay, what's happening is that two things happening, these feasts and the sexual
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immorality that's happening. Now, when you read this, you may think, well, isn't it just food?
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Right? Oftentimes we read this, they're like, okay, they're eating food that's sacrificed to an idol.
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What is the big deal here? When I mentioned the idea, the notion that we partake in communion,
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it is an act of worship to Christ, right? That we are remembering Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
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In that context, it's very similar, not to say they would take part in communion,
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but they would take part in a meal as an act of worship to another God. And that's what they're
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speaking out against, is that you don't do that, right? When we come together and we partake in
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communion, it is that which is sacred and that which is holy. We don't partake in other meals
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as an act of worship to another God that leads into sexual immorality. Now, in speaking of that,
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it's important for us to think where is our heart and what is it devoted to? And we also have to
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think of our bodies, our bodies being a temple. Our bodies are to honor and glorify the Lord, not to be
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promiscuous in sexual relations. And that's something that when we read that kind of language, or we think
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of this kind of language, it's kind of hard for us to think nowadays. But in any sense, it is
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something that we should take note because we see this as a pattern that has existed within Scripture.
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So in other words, the meals led to the sexual immorality, which was worship to another God.
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And that is the sin that was happening to the point where Christ is saying that I'm going to,
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well, wage war against you, right? If you go on in verse 15, some of you hold to the teachings of
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the Nicolaitans, which is similar, right? When we're talking about idol worship. In verse 16,
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therefore repent, if not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
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So that sin, as it were, was so, is so bad that Christ is going to come to the church and war against
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these people. And that's kind of, again, it's hard for us to kind of understand and wrap our minds around
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it. But it's important nonetheless, because it's in the word. So when we talk again about our bodies,
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our bodies belong to the Lord. Our bodies are sacred. And the point is, we're not going to use
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our bodies to worship another God. That's the point in here. Okay. I have to be very careful when I'm
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mentioning bodies and sacrifices and food and all these things, but it's in who are you worshiping?
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Are you using your body or these meals to worship the Lord or to worship another God?
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And so in this, we see that Christ then is saying, look, you've got to repent. Verse 17,
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he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,
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I will give some of the hidden manna. I will give him a white stone with a new name written on it.
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And so again, when you see this, he who has an ear, let him hear, right? It's to hear, to understand,
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to understand what Christ is saying here, right? Commending the church for the good that they do,
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and also correcting the church for the wrong that they do. Now, it's also important to note that it's
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not everyone in this church that's worshiping idols, so to speak. There are those that are holding
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fast and they are remaining. And that's what Christ has given the thumbs up on. Keep doing what you're
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doing. He's specifically talking about warring against the ones that are not going to change their mind.
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It's very heavy language, I admit. If they refuse, he will wage war against them with the sword of his
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mouth. Now, when it's talking about the one who conquers, it's talking about the hidden manna. And
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we find this throughout scripture. We're not going to turn to there, but we find that God supplies for
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his people. God provides what the people need. We find that in the Old Testament, right? The hidden
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manna that would feed the people. We also think of in the New Testament where Christ is
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the new manna, the hidden manna, the bread of life, right? Right before when Christ is saying,
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I am the bread of life, he talks about how he is the manna. And it's like this wonderful connection
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when we're talking about this. We see in Revelation this receiving the hidden manna, giving the white
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stone. And we have to think that when we come to the Lord, we remain in him. We've got to place
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ourselves in the security, in the arms of Christ. And we remain with whatever is happening in our
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own lives or whatever is happening in our own culture. This kind of language that we see in
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Revelation can certainly be very difficult for us. But nevertheless, there may be a situation where
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you might have the throne of Satan or you might have Satan dwelling there. When we're talking about
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the spiritual war that is happening between good and evil, let us be reminded in knowing Christ,
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Christ will be victorious. He is victorious. And we are on the winning side and we remain in him.
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We don't sacrifice ourselves to other gods though. We remain rooted. And the reward that we receive
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is something that is remarkable in that. And so we have the new name, right? The nourishment, the acceptance,
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and the identity. We have to think of how when we come to Christ, we are a new creation and we are called
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to grow in the Lord. In this kind of context, we are seeing how that pressure from culture, pressure from
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evil, pressure from the world as it were. And for some of us, we may think of those kind of battles
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we might have faced. You yourself may have gone through a battle between good and evil. Hopefully,
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none of you have been by Satan's throne. I hope that's none of the case. But if you have, stay strong
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in the Lord. Remain in him. And so we go now to the, you see in here that Christ commands to repent, remain,
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and receive, right? So let's go to that next one, that next slide in here. So Christ judges and protects
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by his sword, right? The two-edged sword is showing the strength and the power of Christ, right? And we also think
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what's so interesting is Christ is the word and the two-edged sword is also been represented by the
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word. So it's like this nice little parallel. It's a little hard to understand when you really
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try to wrap your mind around it. But in this, it's showing nonetheless that Christ has the power and the
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authority. In this context, when you see the mentioning of the sword, it's talking about judgment.
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And there is a, in your, in your notes, in your Bible study, you'll see that there is a difference
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between the sword that Christ uses in Revelation and the sword that's used elsewhere. Remember,
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it's the size of the sword, but also what the sword is being used for. And in this sense, it's judgment.
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And so Christ knows our hearts and he knows where we live, right? I don't want Christ ever saying,
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I know where you live. I mean, I know he does, but just hearing those kinds of words is like,
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uh, all right. Uh, what did I do? Right? We think about these kinds of things. Um, but we have to
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consider our hearts, right? Is it devoted to the Lord or not? And we have to consider where is our,
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where is our home, right? Where is our hearts? Is it devoted to Christ? Is our home? Is it secure
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in Christ? That's something that can be very convicting for us, but that's something we have
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to consider for all of us. And also ask yourself the question then, um, do I feel, have I felt pressure
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from culture? Have I felt pressure from the enemy and how will I remain in Christ despite that kind of
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pressure? For some of us, we may be having a lot of pressure these days, right? For some of us,
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maybe not so, but in those moments where you receive pressure, remain in the Lord. The second
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thing then is your table and your body reveal your what church, your loyalty, right? And so we think
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again, it's not just about, uh, it's just food. It's much more than that. It is what you are partaking
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or who you are worshiping. That is the thing we have to consider. And when we consider the throne
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and the dwelling place of Satan, right? Eating the sacrifice is again, it is the participation
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in worship to another God. We have got to be mindful of this. And again, the food would lead into sexual
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immorality like we see in revelation or the food would lead into bowing to another God, just as we found
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in numbers. And so it is showing loyalty and dedication to another God. May it not be so for us.
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May we partake in communion. We should have had communion this Sunday. I feel like this would be
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a perfect message for it, right? Um, when we partake in communion, we are coming together.
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We are remembering Jesus Christ for the sacrifice he did. He made, right? We are coming together. It's an
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act of worship, right? And when we think of our bodies, once again, may it live in such a way that
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honors and glorifies the Lord. There's so much scripture that talks about this sense of holiness,
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the sense of purity, the sense of dedication. When we see verses that talk about our body being a temple,
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that's very convicting, right? May our bodies honor the Lord.
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And we have to think, well, what table am I choosing, right? What meals am I partaking in?
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And how will I honor God with my body? How will I do so? The third thing here is to repent,
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remain, and receive. And what we see in here is that Christ, um, he's coming to the church
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and he's telling these compromisers, you've got to change your mind. You've got to repent of your sin,
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of your compromise. Now for we can think for all of us, right? We have to repent. We have to change
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our mind for who Christ is so that we can come to believe in him, believing in the death, burial,
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and resurrection of Christ. But then of course, it says in here to remain now remaining, despite the
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pressure, you remain dedicated to the Lord. I can't imagine that time period where people are
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worshiping idols as it were. But I can also think of the time in which we live in.
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We may not see necessarily this exact situation, but we can certainly think of pressures that happen
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in our own culture, things that happen in our own life that how loyal are we and how dedicated are we
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to the Lord? May you remain in Christ. Now, for some of us, we can think of, um, times when,
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you know, I think the classic example is, um, teenagers, right? When you think of peer pressure,
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right? Are you going to smoke the cigarette, right? Are you going to do drugs or whatever it is?
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But peer pressure doesn't stop there, unfortunately, right? We still have people that are trying to
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pressure us, whether it's on social media, right? People that you follow on YouTube or Rumble or TikTok,
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right? Or even people that we meet. We've got to remain rooted in Christ. That's so important for us,
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right? And so in remaining, we receive manna, God providing, and the white stone, that new identity.
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Let us think of how wonderful it is to receive that white stone. I won't know what your name is,
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but certainly you will. In this, we're going to go to our application then. How should we respond?
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Well, a lot of that's embedded within the text, and that's wonderful when we see that, right?
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Repent. Change your mind. Metanoia. To change your mind about who Christ is,
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and receive the gift of salvation. I always want to make it important that in majority, if not all
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messages, I want to explain how important it is for us to receive salvation. Sometimes you hear people
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say, well, it isn't the church or this church or that church filled with people who are already
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believers. Well, you can't assume that. I don't know who is saved and who isn't.
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For some of us, and that can be a very convicting thing, how important it is for us to come
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to the Lord and receive that salvation. For some people, and it can be convicting if you've lived
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your life and never made that decision, but I want to see to it that every Sunday, I talk about the
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importance of believing in Christ and making that decision to receive salvation. We cannot assume
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everyone is saved. We have to always proclaim the gospel and the ability for us to respond to it.
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Even if you've heard it every week and you're like, you know what? I'm a Christian already. Amen.
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Amen. But let's still give the opportunity for those of us who may not have, always having that
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opportunity in there. And then in believing in Christ, that repentance to come to know the Lord
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is not the only type of repentance that we have. We continue to have our minds and our hearts changed
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in the Lord and let it be done so that we continue to grow in the Lord. In salvation, let us receive
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that new identity and let us be sustained by Christ. The second thing then is to choose Christ's table.
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Honor God with your body. And that's so important for us, right? And we can think of how, you know,
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once a month here, we partake in communion. The next time you have communion, let this message be a
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reminder to you of how we are remembering Christ. And it is an act of worship to do this in remembrance
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of Christ. And how wonderful that is, that we worship the living God. And also the importance of honoring
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God with our body. That our lives should be a mirror, a reflection. It should radiate the love of Christ,
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the truth of Christ. We've got to see that that happens. And so it's also to remain in Christ as well.
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To stay away from partaking in these other kind of meals. We have to stay away from those. It may not happen
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in our lives, but it might. We can't assume. We have got to remain in him. Even if it looks like just food,
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you've got to set that boundary, right? That's so important for us. And to also present your body to
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the Lord, pursue purity and integrity in how you can honor the Lord. And what that looks like,
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may God lead and guide you into what specifically that looks like to honor God with your body.
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And finally, we have hold fast, remain, and have confidence in Christ.
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Remain in him. May your words and your actions, may it flow from your faith in Christ.
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It's important for us that as we walk and we are continually being transformed, that we bear fruit.
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You shall know them by their fruit. May you bear fruit. May your dedication be to the Lord. May your
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allegiance be to him. To walk in holiness. And we think finally of that white stone
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as a reminder of God's promises. I don't have one up here. That's all right. We think of the white
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stone as a representation of God's promises and how God provides for his people. If you have a white
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stone, why don't you hold it up real quick? And I want you to think it's just a silly little activity,
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right? Think of this white stone as a representation of God keeping his promises.
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You remain in him. God will always provide and he will deliver on his promises. And so as you hold
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this stone, may you be reminded of the love that God has for you and the opportunity for you to come to
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faith in Jesus, to be restored, to come out of the darkness into light, to come out of the chaos.
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Further in Revelation, we will talk about how the chaos of the ocean is a representation of a broken
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world and how Christ brings forth peaceful and still waters. In the same way, we think of how our own
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lives goes from that chaos into something that is much more calm, full of peace, joy, and understanding.
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How wonderful is it for us to know Christ? And I apologize if you get a little bit of that
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white powder or whatever from the stone in there. But may you keep that white stone just as a reminder
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if, and as Mark was mentioning earlier, this is the second time I've given a stone. If you remember the
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first one, it was responding and the importance for us to cast our stone, right? When we were talking
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about that parable, to consider the cost or to count the cost, meaning the language says to cast your
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pebble to the Lord, meaning you're going to go all in. And what a beautiful imagery we can think of that
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as we go all in into the Lord, we will receive the white stone in return. Just beautiful language in
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that. And so in all of this, in let us close today, knowing that Christ is the one who calls us out of
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darkness into light, that he calls us to repent, to change our mind, to come to him. May we learn from
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these passages that it is Christ who holds the large sword, the two-edged sword, that he is the judge,
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but he's also the protector, that Christ is the redeemer and also the sustainer, and that Christ knows you,
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and he knows the situation in which you have gone through, you're going through, and what you will go
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through. That Christ knows your battle. He knows your situations and your circumstances. I can't help
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but think in the time in which we live in, a time where there is division, where there's hatred, where
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there's the battle between good and evil. But when we turn to Christ, we come to the way, the truth,
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and the life, the light that shines in the darkness, the one that sustains, or just as that song says,
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he's got the whole world in his hands. Such a childish song, but such beautiful truth nonetheless.
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May you come to the Lord. May you grow in him, and may you be moved to share in the good news of the
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gospel. Let us remain in the truth of the word. Let us stay away from idolatry or any sort of distractions
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that hold us back. May we identify the stumbling blocks, and may we never be a stumbling block as
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well. In Christ, we are conquerors, for it is God that gives us salvation. He gives us new life. He gives
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us the hidden manna, and he gives us the white stone with a new name. May we respond with our lives,
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and may we use what God has given to us, our minds, our hearts, and our bodies, today and remaining in
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Christ. And we all say together, amen. Let's pray together, actually. Father, we thank you for this
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message. We thank you for this word, this message to Pergamum, this very difficult passage that's
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talking about idol worship and sexual promiscuity and eating feasts and whatnot. Father, we just pray
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that the simplicity of this message speaks to our hearts and our minds, that we remain devoted to you,
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that we hold fast, that we make that decision for your son, Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life,
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and we remain rooted in you. May we not be distracted by the things of this world, but may we focus and
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fixate. And should we stumble, should we fall, should we sin, may we repent, turn back to you, and remain
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in you. For you, God, are the source of life. We are grateful for your word that is living and active,
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and we are thankful for your son, who is the righteous judge, the one who gives life, the one who
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saved us from our sins. We're so grateful that we have this chance, this opportunity for us to go
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through revelation, and how blessed we are to be able to come together. May we all believe in you
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and be saved. May we remain firm in the faith, and may we receive that white stone. It is in the name
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of Jesus Christ that we pray, and we all say together, amen, church.
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Amen.
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Thank you for tuning in to Ontario Community Church. If this message encouraged you, I encourage for you
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to share it with a friend or a family member who may be facing compromise or struggling with where
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their loyalty lies. Remind them that Christ knows their battle, Christ knows their circumstance, and
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he calls for us to come to him, to remain in him, and to worship the living God alone. Let us honor God
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with our bodies and with the meals that we partake in. In today's sermon, we gave everyone that white
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stone as that reminder of God's promises, a reminder of our new identity in Christ. Just as we
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cast our pebble and go all in for Christ, we receive the white stone in return. It is beautiful imagery
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of salvation and transformation. You're welcome to visit OntarioCommunityChurch.org for more information
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about our church, how to connect with us, and how you can get involved. Just visit our website.
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Next time, we will continue in our sermon series through the book of Revelation with the church
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in Thyatira, found in Revelation chapter 2, verses 18 to 29. We will be looking at Christ's message to a
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church tolerating Jezebel's false teaching and what it means to remain, to hold fast until he comes
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again. Grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ. May you hold fast to his name. May you
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refuse compromise. May you choose his table and honor God with your body. May you receive the hidden
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manna and the white stone with your new name. Christ knows you and your circumstances. May you turn to
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him. May you come to know Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. God bless you.