His Perfect Love

Guest (Male): Coming up next on His Perfect Love.

Matt VanderVen: I know I've blown it. You've blown it. We all need to understand that our Lord hates religious and moral compromise. So we got to get out of here today and understand from his word. He calls his people to live differently. We are to be a holy people separated unto him. And further, Jesus notes again the judgment will take place in the church of Pergamum. And if he was going to do it there, he'll do it here for those who don't repent.

Guest (Male): So glad you've joined us as we present His Perfect Love from Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore. As we turn back to Revelation chapter two, we'll hear more about a culturally compromising church. It happened in the first century and it's still happening today. But the remedy is still the same. And we'll see what that is momentarily. Without a doubt, we need to guard our hearts against the pressure of the prevailing culture and hold fast to the truth. Here's Pastor Matt Vanderven to help us in that endeavor.

Matt VanderVen: The worship of pagan gods, the gods of the culture, the gods of compromise created an opening to worship the master and ruler of this world. Who was that? Satan himself. And I think he's putting it right in front of us. Right? He has an ear. Let him hear what the spirit has to say. And he's putting it right in front of us. He made it that simple so we couldn't miss. And I know there's some people sitting here to do oh no, pastor, I'm good. I can I can manage my sin. No nobody can manage your sin.

It's like it's like a leaven. It just overcomes and next thing you know, you you can't. And I know we sometimes fool ourselves into that, but never ends well. You led right to the pit of hell. And you know, I I I know there's things that have happened with the the Ouija boards, you know, those are the don't if you don't know what they are, don't look them up, but it's it's this thing and some people oh, that's not real. You put your fingers on it and you make it go and it's you know what?

You're opening yourself to the occult. You're opening yourself to demonic evil things, right? And and and you just you don't want nothing to do with that, right? And it's the same thing here. You might well, how does that have to relate to the the doctrine of Balaam? I'm glad you asked. I have a very good example for you. I've used it before in the past to talk about it. But do you remember Dr. James Dobson? I've mentioned him. He used to be on Focus on the Family. He was the president, I believe, and but he was also a psychologist or I he might have been a psychiatrist.

Forgive me. I don't remember the exact title. But he was there and he went and interviewed one of these guys in prison. Uh he was a serial killer. His name was Bundy. Remember that guy? He's evil, wicked, right? Well, he went to him and apparently Bundy was getting ready to make a profession for Christ, to come to Christ, okay? After all these years years and years later, and he was getting ready to be executed. And so Dr. Dobson was given a a rare opportunity to get to him right before the execution. And so he went in and he says, hey, Bundy, what led to this kind of serial killing madness?

How would you even describe it? I mean, what for someone to go out and murder you know, lots of people I mean what what could lead that? He says, you know, Dr. Dobson, being in prison all these years, I had a lot of time to think about this. You know, for being in there more than a decade or two, I I have a lot of time to think about this. You know, I I track it all back to the very first time I watched pornography. And Dr. Dobson sat there and he was like, wow, interesting.

Why do you say pornography? He says, well, back then I looked at these lewd images and and I started realizing they created inside of me this this feeling as he would describe it. And he said, you know, it was almost like a an elation or or whatever word he would describe. And we know now through research and science and things that even looking at pornography creates dark matter in the brain. We can see that with N MRIs. We know not only does drugs do that, pornography does it. And oh, by the way, video games. Video games do the same thing.

I think video games in a lot of ways open that demonic door, too. Certain games out there that are that are role playing, all this stuff, I think they're demonic. I think they open the door the same way. And yet we put them right in the kids' hands and said, have at it. It's called digital cocaine. Digital cocaine. Even wrote books on it, okay? The country of Australia has started to take that away from the kids because they're realizing that the mental illness in the kids having these these with the light flickering at night, they're waking up and they're finding them catatonic.

The doctors are bringing them in. Psychiatrists are working with them and it takes them almost six months. They'll do the scan right then and there and six months later, they go and scan their brain and praise God by only Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of all the work, when they abstain or get away from that, the brain heals. Isn't that good news? The brain can heal. God heals them from seeing those things. Well, Bundy was sitting there describing about how every time he saw these things that were not right, his inappropriate images, he said he would get that feeling, but then eventually it would go away.

Like the body would adjust just like with any pharmacopeia, you need more. So he turns around and what's he do? He says, well, I need to amp it up. So then he starts watching even bad, more wicked, more evil, more dirty things. And then eventually he gets used to that. And then it's to the point where it actually has to watch videos that get so bad that literally deals with strangulation during sexual morality and terrible evil things. And then finally he starts to kind of get used to that. He says he says, I wonder what it'd be like if I really did that because it opened up the opening it opened up his mind to this this weird alternate reality that if he could do this maybe it would give him that hit again, that feeling again that he was seeking like an addict, that that hit again.

He needed the hit. So he goes out as evil as it is and he commits that terrible terrible murder and crime. And then when he realized is even when he did that cuz sin consumes its host. It's like a disease. The pathogen must consume its host. The deadlier it is, the the quicker it happens. Ebola 48 hours, you're dead. You go home Friday not feeling well, you're not going back to work Monday. Very deadly Ebola, right? Things like that. So it consumes the host. It doesn't all sin is like that. It doesn't turn around to well, you know, I kind of think he's a good guy, a good girl.

I'll leave a little for them. No. Sin begets sin. It destroys the host. So it's exactly what it did to Bundy. Eventually he went on and he started doing these things and now he 's doing mass murderings and he says, you know, Dr. Dobson, he says, I look at you and it just breaks my heart. I think about it cuz I remember he says, I look at you and I say today that if somebody would have just invested me, somebody would have told me the truth that what I was doing was this downward spiral and that pornography was just the door.

He said and I thought drugs had to be the door. He says, I didn't realize just looking at things that are not right, which the Bible tells us not to look at a porneia. Sexual He tells us not to look at these things. That's the doctrine of Balaam because then we begin worshipping them. And that's exactly what happened. And look, if you're here, there's not condemnation. We want you to get right. Don't walk out of here today while talking to a pastor if you need an accountability partner. Don't think I got to hide this and oh boy, I don't have any help.

No, you do. There's people that that are in the church that have overcome that addiction and they can invest in you. We want to invest in you. Don't walk out of here thinking just like if you're struggling with homosexuality, a lesbian, all of those things. Don't walk out of here. There's ministries not only here, but in Calvary Chapel in Jersey for those that have, you know, struggled with homosexuality and all it, you can be set free. You can be delivered from those things. And that what he wants us to understand cuz after all, verse 16 is going to say repent.

He doesn't have thrown you out. You're good for nothing. I am done with you. And he's talking to born-again believers here. He's not talking to unbelievers. You mean that tell me that the church is in sin and many people walking around and miss miss it. Did anybody walking here this morning? Has anybody arrived? I mean, please, let's not play church and play Christian. Let's not turn around and label one sin worse than another. All that does is fuel the self-deception. Jesus wants to purify the bride. He wants us to be holy, that idea of set apart.

And that's what he's teaching us. And then you got the other thing he says, right? In verse 15, thus you also have and you hold second one, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Well, you might remember he gives credit to Ephesus even though they had left their first love. What did Ephesus hate in verse six, chapter two? They hated the Nicolaitans, not so with Pergamos. Pergamos turns around and is like, get me some of that Nicolaitan. You know, I'm going to get me some of that that addiction. I'm going to get me some of that. I'm going to get me some of the the other one, right?

I want some of that sexual morality. I want the idol worship. You know, they're just it's all compromising the church. It's all coming in and they're just compromising with the culture. So what does he say about that? He says, thus you've also have those who hold, not everyone, but those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. He makes it very clear. He hates it. So the Nicolaitans are mentioned only in this letter and obviously as I mentioned in the letter of Ephesians chapter two six. And maybe some of us weren't we weren't with us.

I encourage you to go back to to to listen to the teaching, but it comes from the name Nicholas, whose name means one who conquers the people. So many believe and scholars believe it's one who lords over people. That's what a Nicolaitan is. But also Clement of Alexandria, who's an early church father, speaks about these Nicolaitans. He says, but these are also men or people that abandon themselves to the pleasure of goats. In other words, what is he talking about? Leading to a life of self-indulgence that basically you had a church that was just indulging in self self self self self Is that not the fingerprints of Satan?

I mean, he wanted to be like the God most high. He sat in the throne room of God in the Holy of Holies and he's the worship leader and he sat there and said, you know what? I will be like the God most high. Self-indulgence, self-importance. That's the name of the game today with the culture, entitlement. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. No, they're not. No, I'm not. No, I'm not. The Bible doesn't say that at all. No, the Bible says that I'm surrendered and submitted and that I'm blood-bought and my own opinions don't really matter because if it does, then that's a lordship issue because I'm lifting my opinions higher than the very name of God or I'm lifting my opinions over God's commandments, statutes, and judgments.

And by definition, what do we call that again? Idolatry. Right? And it's amazing how how subtle and insidious it is because we don't set out for that. I know almost all of you pretty well. And I know there's not like and talking to you guys and know your I know that's not your hearts. I know some of you might struggle with alcohol. Some of you might struggle with you know, the Lord setting you free of drugs. The Lord setting you free all kinds of things here. But I know it's not your aim to go into those things.

I I know your hearts. Jesus knows your hearts more, but it doesn't mean that Satan takes the day off. It doesn't mean that he turns around and says, you know what? You're you're work in progress. We understand salvation's in a moment, sanctification's a lifetime. Here you go. He doesn't do that. No, he kicks you when you're down. And what does he do? He perverts grace and he tries to teach you and I to pervert grace replacing our liberty with license or without license. Again, other commentators suggest that this means the Greek word for would mean let let us eat.

So maybe it ties to the sexual morality and eating. Irenaeus, the church father in Lyons, modern-day France, said that when he saw people practicing as Nicolaitans, they promoted fornication and opposition while eating food. So getting into this weird sexual sacrifice, idolatry, immorality I think it's just safe to say a carnal lifestyle. That's what he's really talking about. So we don't know which exact exact theory you know, what is true. The deeds of Nicolaitans where they just people that lorded over people or were they people that lorded over people, but also had some kind of sexual morality dominance thing, whatever it is.

All we know is this, is it's an abomination of Jesus Christ and that's all we need to know. It's an abomination of Jesus Christ. So we see that for those people in that church, Jesus makes it clear that the sort of judgment is poised over their heads. That is real love. His patience is not limitless. And the lesson for us in this church and that church is that the Lord Jesus Christ throughout the ages has been plagued by those of a Nicolaitan spirit. The only way to recognize the false teaching is to become intimately familiar with truth through the diligent study of the word of God.

Look at verse 16. What does he say? I'm done with you. Get out of here. I saved you, but now you wrecked it. So now there's nothing I can do. No, don't ever ever represent Jesus Christ as a God that's not a God of reconciliation. His whole endeavor of coming to this earth was to reconcile you and I to his father, our father. He doesn't quit. When he's in heaven right now, the scripture tells us he's interceding for you and I to the father when the great accuser, the devil, throws all these lies. Some may be true, some may be slanderous, some may be false.

It doesn't matter. Jesus Christ stands up and says, that's my son, that's my daughter. Begone, Satan. You got nothing on him or her. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So he says, repent or else and he makes it clear because hey, there's a point here. And this isn't about tickling ears here this morning. If we become so comfortable in our sin or we compromise our sin that it no longer bothers us, it's no longer causing a check in our heart. Again, you play the video games and you're looking at them video games and they're open the doors to things they shouldn't.

You watch that TV shows that come in on videos. You know, you what's worse about is it pay for it on the Amazon and on Netflix and on these We're actually giving our money to Satan. Now I'm not saying all the shows on there are bad, but some of them are. I use something called VidAngel which it filters out everything, all the blasphemies, all the words. I can still watch some things, but at least it cuts out the inappropriate video and I even cut out kissing in the in the ones. Lisa's like, well, what's the harm in seeing the married couple you know, in appropriately?

And I said, I don't mean any of that junk. You know, I said if I was supposed to be a romantic, I would have made me that way, right? No, I'm kidding. No. But in all seriousness, the point is is watch and guard what's coming into our the highs of the eye gates that lead to the heart. So he's saying repent or else I'm going to come quickly and I'm going to fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Anybody misunderstanding what he's saying in here? Anybody missing it? That's real love. That's a spanking.

I need a good spiritual spanking and or rebuking for whom the Lord loves, he corrects. I don't want to be tickled to the ears and led right to the pit of hell. I want truth. It may hurt. It may you know, in the gut hit you and you you get sick. Good. They're up. Repent and let's get right with Jesus and keep moving on. That's what we are talking about here. Pastor, you're not being very sensitive. I am sorry. Okay, I will rub your head as you're throwing up. I will hold your head for the vomit.

But the point is we're in it together and I don't want one of you not one of you ever left behind. Not one of you ever being deceived. Not one of you turn around allowing your opinions to if it's a negative or bad thing, to pollute. And I don't want you to let that happen to me either. We are in this together. Nobody's arrived. We need to keep our eyes on each other and help each other, bring each other from these things. And he says, he who has an ear okay? He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna to eat and I will give him a white stone and on that stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it. So again, I know I've blown it. You've blown it. We all need to understand that our Lord hates religious and moral compromise. So we got to get out of here today and understand from his word. He calls his people to live live differently. We are to be a holy people separated unto him. And further, Jesus notes again the judgment will take place in the church of Pergamum.

And if he was going to do it there, he'll do it here for those who don't repent. So 1 John 1 9 repent metanoia to turn away from the sin, come to the Lord. Well, I keep doing it over again. Repent again and get help. Turn away from the sin. Don't stay in the sin. Don't it's like an addiction. Don't stay in it and get help. Say, I need help. If you see somebody doing that, help them. Come alongside them. Again, the Nicolaitans were those teaching Balaam's error and they would be destroyed along with their followers from the congregation of Pergamum.

Serious stuff. Jesus desires purity among his people and we have a responsibility to remove false teachers from the church whether they're from the pulpit or within the the body. It doesn't matter. That kind of false teaching is not to to coexist in the church and we're not to be a compromising with it. If it's not in the Bible, it's not of the Lord and we need to settle it. That's simple. And when somebody's wrestling with that, we don't judge them as like, oh man, you have a hard heart. No, we need to be praying for them for humility and because guess what?

The next time it'll be us or it'll be me. And in verse 17, he makes it clear to him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone and a new name written on it known uh and known only to him who receives it. Did you catch that? Three blessings. Now what I'm so blown away by this here this morning and we're closing with this is that these Pergamen these men and women from Pergamos they're in sin right now. And he comes to them and he tells them how to get out of sin.

He tells them what the antidote is and repentance to turn back to Jesus and his word. And even in spite of that, he says, I'm going to bless you and I want to give you three gifts. I want to give you three rewards. Is that not a holy loving giving father? He's not looking to beat his bride. So if you're sitting here and you've been condemned, that's of the devil. If you're guilted, that's of the devil. But if there's conviction this morning here in your life of things that God is pricking your heart, man, I got to lay that down.

I can't be watching that stuff. I can't be having that affair. I can't be doing these things. I can't be looking at this. I can't be drinking this. I can't be eating these things. I can't be compromising with cultural sin. If you're here this morning, he's telling you it doesn't matter how dire and great those circumstances have been, lay it down and he's faithful and just to forgive you of all unrighteousness. How do I know that? Cuz 1 John chapter 1 9 tells me and Jesus my God is not a liar. It's that simple. My God is not a liar and neither is your God unless your God is the God of this world.

You can't serve two masters. You'll hate one and love the other. He makes it very very simple for us, but he gives these three blessings, hidden manna, a white stone and a new name. The precise explanation of these things are disputed by scholars. I could take a next hour and go through it. I will not. Uh you will be able to eat. Um all three blessings must concern the believer's victorious reign in Christ. That's the whole point. He's rewarding them for overcoming. It it's consistent with the blessings bestowed to the other sick churches in Revelation chapter two and three.

Each time he pours out a blessing on the overcomer. And by the way, how do we overcome? By him. And he gives us a reward because we actually listen to him and he helps us and he rewards us for that when he did the work. Who really deserves the reward? He does, which is why you and I are going to take those crowns and cast them at his feet. Talk about humbling. The hidden manna is likely a picture or illustration here to the manna hidden in the ark of the covenant. Remember what that represented? God's faithful presence and his sustenance.

God will never leave you nor forsake you and he will sustain you through the deepest and darkest of your trials, through the deepest and darkest of your temptations to bring you to the place of where you will remove that sin from your life by reconfessing your life to Christ if needed, if you've gotten away, to break that that that uh election and calling shore or to turn around and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior if you've never asked him. And he'll sustain you. He will sustain you. The white stone uh could be a reference to many things, but specifically at that time, if you wanted to get into a temple event right?

In ancient times, you would present the stone and that would be like your ticket like going to the you know, the you'd hand it in then you could come into the event. That could be a beautiful picture, that white stone, the overcomer is welcomed into the eternity of heaven with Jesus. And he's saying, I already got you the stone. Stone's there for you. It's up to you. You want to take that stone because it's yours and I gave it to you the minute you said I do. That's real love. He gave it to us in advance cuz he knows he's faithful.

And a new name, right? Uh I wonder what our new names are going to be. The Christians of Pergamos were like the Christians of Corinth Paul wrote about. They were too tolerant, too accepting of false doctrines and moral living. And Jesus had to rebuke them. Satan couldn't accomplish much persecution there, right? It was a city of Satan because many did hold fast like Antipas that witness. So Satan tried to accomplish his goals by using deception. So pay attention to Satan's strategy here. Know your enemy. Everybody that goes strategically to war or military knows what the primary, secondary, and tertiary actions are.

What is your objective? You know very clearly what you are to do and you're mindful of that is to prolong life. You know your enemy. You study your enemy so that you can recognize his strategy or his embattlement strategy. So what did he do? The strategy first was what? He did it to Smyrna. He brought persecution, violence even unto death. But it didn't work there. They were willing to die for their faith. They were okay with that. It was the cultural compromise where they struggled. So you know what he did? If he couldn't beat them by turning around and issuing violence, he said, let's create an alliance.

We'll be allies. You can have one foot in the kingdom and one foot in my world. And we'll coexist. Where there's stickers out there like that, aren't there? Coexist. He who has an ear. The danger of false teaching and moral conduct still faces the church today and so does the danger of allowing false teaching and immorality as was the problem with the Christians of Pergamos. It just brings us and our eyes all to the very real truth. We need to remain faithful and diligent till he comes. Amen.

Guest (Male): This is His Perfect Love.

Guest (Male): That is Pastor Matt Vanderven on His Perfect Love. We're going through Revelation at the present time and I'll remind you that you can hear the program again when you visit His Perfect Love .org. That's His Perfect Love .org. We're also at oneplace.com and look for us wherever you get your podcasts. Are you looking for a Christian school that offers a quality education and a nurturing environment for your children? If so, you might be interested in Calvary Chapel Christian Academy, a ministry of Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore. Calvary Chapel Christian Academy is a non-denominational Christian school that serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade.

The academy's mission is to provide a Christ-centered education that equips students to love God, love others, and serve the world. The academy offers a rigorous academic curriculum, a variety of extracurricular activities, and a caring and supportive staff. The academy is located at 28 North Locus Point Road in Mechanicsburg, PA. For more information, please visit our website at ccharrisburg.org/academy. That's ccharrisburg.org/academy. And then join us next time when Pastor Matt will pick up where we left off in Revelation here on His Perfect Love.

Guest (Male): This is His Perfect Love.

Guest (Male): His Perfect Love is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore.