Sermon Cloud

The Problem of Compromise
Welcome to Trinity Family, you have found a perfect church. No problems, no weaknesses and certainly no sin to be found anywhere. Anyone believe me? Okay, so we're not perfect. But it makes me feel a lot better to know we're not the only imperfect church. We're going to take the next three Sundays to look at the struggles of John's churches. They had faith, but they still struggled with disbelief. They were living for Jesus, but they still struggled with some sin. Just like we are how, they were a work in progress.
Last week we looked at the image of Jesus that John gave us. The power of Jesus is mind blowing. John describes for us Jesus standing among 7 lampstands. And at the very end of the chapter, he describes what those lampstands represent. 1:20
What's the role of a lampstand? A lampstand sits in one spot and gives out light. A church is a group of Jesus people who are meant to shine the light of Jesus in their own little corner of the world. Trinity Family is a lampstand. Shining out the light of Jesus in the Gardner area.
Which reminds me of a song we used to sing in children's church when I was a kid, This Little Light of Mine... Anyone know how that song goes? Sing it
At a church planter's conference I was at in Atlanta a couple months ago, Perry Noble told a story about that song. Their kids were singing that song during children's church when a little girl sang out at the top of her lungs, "hide it under a bush - Hell No!" If that just freaked you out, imagine how the children's church leaders were reacting, if they could keep a straight face.
I love her spirit. No way in H-E double hockey sticks are we going to allow anything to diminish the light of Jesus. As the light of Jesus shines through our lives and through our churches. But being the imperfect churches that we are, there are things that tempt us and cause the light of Jesus to darken. The three churches we'll be looking at today were facing the temptation of compromise.
Scripture Video
Little compromises here and there, they add up. They affect our lives. Watch this clip from the office. Pay attention to the desk and phone pranks. Office clip
That's compromise - add weight to the phone bit by bit, Dwight won't notice until he pops himself in the head. Move the desk little by little, Dwight won't notice until his desk is in the bathroom. Good stuff.
Three of John's churches, Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira are facing the temptation to just give in a little bit here, make this compromise there. John is terrified over how those compromises are going to affect the light coming from their lampstand as well as their own relationship with Jesus.
John warns them that they're listening to the teachings of Balaam and Jezebel. Both of whom are historical figures from the nation of Israel's history. When God delivered the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, they headed toward the promised land, the land of Canaan. But rather than heading right there, they took the scenic route, a detour that lasted 40 years or so. As they moved around, they were constantly facing opposition.
And when the horde of Israelites moved into Moabite turf, their king, Balak, got pretty nervous. He'd heard about how they'd brought the Egyptians, the Amorites and all their other enemies to their knees. And he knew they had a supernatural power behind them.
So Balak hired a spiritual hit-man named Balaam. For a fee, Balaam could offer someone a blessing or give someone a curse. Balak contracted Balaam to curse the people of Israel.
So Balaam hops on his donkey and heads toward the Israelites. But Balaam's donkey decides to stubbornly stop in the middle of the road. Balaam beats the donkey, but the stubborn animal won't budge.
In what might be the coolest miracle of the Bible, God gives the donkey the ability to speak. "Why are you beating me." We don't have a biblical record of it, but this had to have freaked Balaam out. And then God allows Balaam to see what his donkey could already see - an angel with his sword drawn, blocking the road.
The angel told Balaam "you're trying to curse God's people, but you're only going to be able to bless them." And it happened, over and over. No matter how hard he tried and no matter how much Balak paid him, every time Balaam opened his mouth to curse God's people, a blessing came out instead.
They weren't able to directly oppose the people of God, their straight-on attacks were turned away. So Balaam and Balak took an indirect approach.
They sent a bunch of good looking Moabite women over near the camp of the Israelite soldiers. The soldiers took the bait. In Numbers 25 we read that the soldiers defiled themselves with these ladies. Not only did they have sex with them, but the ladies convinced the Israelite soldiers to make sacrifices to their gods. Two serious sins that broke God's heart.
All throughout the Old Testament, the relationship between the people of Israel and God is compared to a marriage. This was one of countless times that the people of Israel broke their covenant vow and cheated on God. It broke God's heart.
As a result of their sin, a plague ran through their camp and thousands of Israelites died.
Jezebel lived years after Balaam, in the time of Israel's kings, King Ahab went against God's commands and married a pagan queen, Queen Jezebel. Jezebel worshipped the false god Baal. And rather than focusing on literacy or schools, Jezebel's mission as first lady was to lead the people of Israel into Baal worship. And she was really successful. Again, the people of Israel cheated on God, totally disregarding his love for them and stomping all over their covenant.
And now present-day Jezebels and Balaams are leading God's people into the same sins. They're claiming to speak for Jesus, but John is saying "no way." They're leading God's people astray, but they're using the same indirect approach.
If these Jezebels and Balaams had stood up before these churches on Sunday morning and told everyone, "denounce Jesus and worship Caesar." The people would've thrown them out on their ears. Instead, they're enticing the churches to make little compromises in their commitments to Christ. Little compromises that would lead to big failures.
Ephesus images Ephesus was a major commercial city for the Roman empire. It was a majestic city, with huge monuments, a big athletic stadium and a theatre that seated 24,000 people. Ephesus was best known for it's massive temple to the goddess Artemis. Artemis was the goddess of fertility, so you can imagine what went on in the temple.
Pergamum images The city of Pergamum was built on hill that rose a thousand feet above the plains. The city was the social and political hub of the region. Official government buildings were built into the side of the hill. The biggest library in the region was in the city. There were temples to the roman emperor Augustus as well as other greek gods. At the peak of Pergamum's hill, was a massive altar to the god Zeus - which was likely what John was referring to when he wrote the throne of Satan.
Thyatira images Thyatira was a union city. Trade guilds of potters, tailors, leather workers, coppersmiths, wool merchants and all kinds of other small business ventures. To survive in the city, you needed to pay your union dues and do the things necessary to be considered a good citizen.
And citizens were expected to partake in the city-wide festivals. Religion and government were mixed together, so these festivals were a combination of the pomp and circumstance of the Roman government with the worship of the local gods.
So these Jezebels and Balaams were telling the churches "it's okay to get involved in these activities. In fact, if you're going to be a good citizen, it's expected that you do it."
"It's okay to join your fellow Romans. It's not like you believe in these gods. And maybe there's some stuff going on at these festivals that you should avoid, but you're a Christian - you know Jesus died for whatever sins you may commit."
John knew the dangers of dabbling in sin. Contrary to what these false teachers were saying, a little bit of sin will hurt. Because it's never just a little sin. Sin is never satisfied. Giving in to one temptation will lead to others. And you'll eventually find yourself caught.
But it was so hard to avoid. It costs so much. The best business deals were made in pagan temples, over dinner. "I'm strong, I can handle it. Besides, I'll tithe on the profits."
But John is telling his churches, "it's not just about you." To buy food that had been sacrificed to idols supports that local temple. That temple's business is prostitution and the worship of false gods. And that one local temple is apart of an empire-wide system of false worship and sinful lifestyles. The purchase of that one meal is enslaving people all across the Roman empire. Compromise not only hurts your relationship with Jesus, but it's leading others astray too. Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Trinity Family - you're lampstands! Your purpose on this earth is to hold the light of Jesus.
But compromise hurts you and it destroys other. This video can demonstrate that better than I can describe it. How one compromise can destroy someone on the other side of the globe. You can find the lyrics in your notes. Constance Video
But I only go to "free sites." I heard an interview with a guy who was big in the industry before giving his heart to Jesus and he said the "free" sites are a bigger financial asset to the sex industry than "pay" sites. Visiting a free porn site adds another link to those enslaved by the sex industry. Our compromises affect others. It's not just about us.
The Church of the Nazarene has always called its people to abstain from alcohol. Not because the consumption of alcohol is a sin; if that were the case than Jesus was living in sin. But because we know the dark side of alcohol consumption is broken homes and abused families. And we choose not to prop up that industry. Your decisions don't just affect you.
But that same principle applies to so many different areas of life.
Have I let my spending get so out of control that debt is preventing me from supporting the ministry of my church and giving to the poor around me? Or is my use of credit cards or payday loans propping up an industry that enslaves unsuspecting people?
Do the places I shop take advantage of their employees? Were the shoes on my feet made by workers who made pennies a day while producing 99% profits for the company's executives?
As we go through life, we make decisions. On what basis do we make these decisions? Just on how they affect us or how the decisions impact our relationship with Jesus and other people in our community or across our world. Can we be honest and open, allowing the Holy Spirit to search our hearts?
Compromise is so tempting and it's easy to push out of our minds the reality of how our decisions affect others. But the motivation and strength to do live a holy life comes from understanding the nature of our relationship with Jesus.
I mentioned earlier that God views his relationship with his people as a marriage. In fact, if you peek ahead to the end of the Revelation, you'll see the incredible image of the marriage supper of the lamb. Like the rock solid love of a husband for his wife, there is nothing standing between you and Jesus' love for you. Nothing could diminish that love. He's made a commitment to you and he's sticking to it.
And he asks us to return that love. To love Jesus in such a way that we won't let anything disrupt that relationship. Jesus challenges the church in Ephesus to turn back to their first love. Love overpowers the temptation to compromise.
Jesus promises the churches that if they repent, if they overcome temptation - they will be victorious. Nothing can stand against the power of a life totally sold out to Jesus.
And you know what, Jesus isn't speaking to individuals. He isn't telling individuals that they're the lampstands or that they need to repent. He's speaking to the churches as a collective whole.
We're in this together, as a church. We live for Jesus together. We overcome sin together. We live as lampstands together as an entire church.
So we're going to respond this morning as an entire church. I encourage all of you who can, to find a place down front here to kneel. On the steps, maybe the front row of chairs.
As we pray, let's repent of our individual compromises. Let's repent for the times Trinity Family has failed to be the lampstand God has called us to be. Let's pray that God empowers us to live holy lives as individuals and to be holy as a church. And also, remember the names in the box. If you need to add a name, there are pens and cards on the altar.