Forward to Victory

In August of that year, two nuclear weapons were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the world entered the nuclear age.

The USS Indianapolis delivered the components of the first of those bombs, the Little Boy, to the island of Tinian, where it could be assembled by U.S. forces after that delivery.

So, the ship brought the parts and the components and everything that would be assembled here on the island would be loaded on a plane and then taken into mainland Japan. Well, once the USS Indianapolis delivered the parts and delivered everything that was needed, well, it wasn't needed in Tinian anymore, so it set sail to assist it on the war effort in the Philippines.

The boat never made it. The ship never made it to the Philippines. On July 30th of 1945, at 1215 in the morning, a Japanese submarine hit the USS Indianapolis with two torpedoes.

The first torpedo that hit blew the bow of the ship completely off and allowed for water to be immediately running into the into the ship itself, and the second torpedo collided midship, breaching the hull, and ultimately hitting the munitions hold.

The result was an explosion, massive explosion, that opened a second breach in the hull. The ship began rapidly taking on water, and within 12 minutes, nothing remained but an oil slick and a little over 900 men who were in the water without provisions, without lifeboats, and without survival equipment.

It took all of 12 minutes for the ship to completely and totally sink.

And so 900 men were left out there without anything, really, except whatever kind of happened to be around them.

The remaining sailors found themselves in the dark. They were confused. They were disoriented.

And as they began to resurface, they started looking for other survivors, kind of cobbling things together, eventually collecting themselves and huddling into several large groups to be able to stay warm and to ultimately stay afloat.

They tried to treat injuries as best they could, given the circumstances. I mean, you can imagine there's not a lot of supplies. People are injured in terrible ways. And unfortunately, many of the men would come to their injuries that first night at sea.

But for those that survived the initial attack, there was one thing that kept them going. There was one thing that they were able to focus on and able to keep track of that enabled them to push forward through the difficulties that they experienced, and that was the hope of rescue. But as night turned to day and day turned to night, and days went by, that initial hope became despair.

That despair turned to desperation, and that desperation led to death for many. There was a gentleman who was a survivor of one of the attacks. His name is Giles McCoy.

And he had the following to say regarding their ordeal, and I quote, He said, and so as the days went on, you know, we felt that normally when a ship had sunk that we would be rescued within 48 hours. So it kind of been standard at that point in time that the Navy knew where the ship had gone down. They could have people out to get guys out of the water within about 48 hours. So most of the men figured all we got to do is hang tight for two days and we're good to go.

So he said, you know, normally when a ship had sunk that we'd be rescued within 48 hours.

He said, after 48 hours went by, everybody started giving up hope. Of course, we had no water. We had no food. And so the men just started losing their control.

So they went out of their mind. He said they would hallucinate and they say they saw the Indianapolis still down below when they would go down to get a drink of water.

And so we lost a lot of men that way.

So then as the third day came on, everybody started giving up.

It was much easier to die than it was to fight and to stay alive.

And the people started giving up, even though we begged the men with families and such to hang on and not to give up. But even in our own minds, we knew that we weren't going to be rescued.

That they had just lost us at sea.

Those are the words of Giles McCoy, a man who survived the encounter.

When rescue finally came, after four long agonizing days, 316 men were still alive.

From the 900 that went into the water, 316 men remained. Four days later.

You know, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis was one of the greatest naval disasters in the U.S. history.

I've always been fascinated by the story personally because it's a story of raw survival.

It's a story of a group of regular men in impossible circumstances who were able to summon the strength and the courage not to give up.

A group of men who were all faced with the prospect of death, with horrendous despair, hopelessness, and fear, and yet they overcame all of these things in order to survive.

Brethren, we too are expected to overcome. You know, we're expected to put aside our fears, we're expected to put aside our doubts, we're expected to overcome our shortcomings and our transgressions, and we're expected to strive to become more like the perfect example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We've been called and we are expected to overcome that which ultimately separates us from God, our carnality. But what exactly does it mean for us to overcome?

I'd like to spend the remainder of our time today exploring this concept of overcoming and the promises that are given to those who overcome. I've titled this sermon Forward to Victory.

Forward to Victory. And before we're really able to go any further or anywhere else in this topic, it's essential for us to understand what overcoming is and what it isn't. So the word overcome in the majority of its uses in the New Testament is Strong's word G3528. So if you have a Strong's index or something that keys to Strong's, you can find that word under G3528. It's pronounced Nachow. N-I-K-A-O. Mounts' Expository Dictionary records the word means to conquer, to overcome, to vanquish, or to subdue. So to conquer, to overcome, to vanquish, or to subdue. And it derives from the Greek word Nike, a word that we're very familiar with, given the Nike shoe company.

And that word Nike means victory. So it is derived from the word for victory, the Greek word for victory, Nike. Nike is the Greek goddess of victory, strength, and speed. When someone bested someone else in combat or in sporting events, they were Nachow. They were victorious. They had achieved Nike. They'd achieve victory. There's a couple passages in the Gospel accounts in which Christ uses this word. One of those is found in Luke 11. Let's go ahead and start today, turning over to Luke 11. Luke 11 in verse 21, so we can get a chance to see this particular word in context. Luke 11 and verse 21. So Luke 11 verse 21. Luke 11 and verse 21 reads, when a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, there's that word, Nikeo, overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils. So the description and the use of the word in Scripture and in other secular sources, you know, we have Greek writings that are outside of Scripture, and we can see how Greek words are used in those writings as well as how they're used in Scripture. So in Scripture, as well as secular sources, that word is illustrating, when it's used, illustrating the victory of someone over someone or something. So victory over someone or something.

There's another location in the Gospel account, you can just jot it in your notes, where it's used, which is John 16 and verse 33. John 16 and verse 33, where Christ tells his disciples that he has overcome the world, that he is overcoming the world, that he's victorious over this world, over its systems, and over the God of this age. So nekeiau means to conquer, it means to subdue, it means to overcome or to vanquish, it means to be victorious.

And it's largely a military word. The majority of its uses is used in a military context, but it also has a context of defeat in sporting events as well.

What's really interesting to look at, though, is that the word nekeiau in Greek is in the present tense. So when it's used, and when we see the word nekeiau used in Scripture, it's talking about overcoming in the present, right now, as opposed to had overcome. It's talking about someone who is overcoming, not someone who has overcome. It's talking about right now, someone who is currently working hard to be victorious, someone who is in the middle of the contest, in the middle of the fight, so to speak, in the middle of the race, and that person is giving it their all. They're not pulling their punches, they're not coasting, they're fighting with every fiber of their being for every inch of ground that they can gain. They are pushing themselves forward toward victory. So in other words, the only way for us to not overcome is to give up the fight, to quit the race, to slow down, or to coast, so to speak. Because in those moments, we are not actively overcoming. Brethren, do we appreciate the stakes of the battle into which we have been conscripted? You know, this battle has been going on since the beginning of human history. A battle between darkness and light, between God and Satan, and we have been conscripted into this battle.

Do you understand how hard our adversary is working? How much effort that he's putting in to destroy us, to steal our joy, in some ways to turn us against one another?

1 Peter 5 and verse 8, if you would turn over there, please, want us to understand the stakes.

1 Peter 5 and verse 8, want to remind us once again of the stakes here in the battle that we find ourselves in. 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

He says, resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. He says, But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while. So after we've experienced these difficulties, and after we've been in the in the foxhole, so to speak, or in the trenches, so to speak, for a time. He says, After you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. It says to him, Be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

You know, Satan is described here as our adversary, as our opponent, our enemy, and we're told that he walks around this world like a lion seeking whom he may devour. And we've talked about this before, just again, a reminder, the word devour here in the Greek means to drink down or to gulp down whole.

Satan's not willing to accept defeat. He's playing for keeps.

He is actively trying to destroy us and to erase our name from the book of life, through our choices, through the temptations that he provides us.

And in verses 9 and 10, we see that we are to stand against him and oppose him in faith, and that these sufferings, these present sufferings and difficulties that we experience will only be for a little while, and then there will be a time of perfection and strengthening.

So we have to stand and fight. We have to fight to be victorious.

How often in our life do we surrender?

How often do we take a look at the odds and give up? And give up? How often do we fall short of the standard, giving into our sin because it's too tough to fight? You know, sometimes in war you lose a battle or two, but the important victory is the war itself. Overcoming means to be victorious. It means to fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground in the battle against Satan. It means to never accept defeat. It means that when we do get knocked down, gather ourselves back up, we wipe the dust off, and we get back in the fight. It means that we go forward in faith with Yahweh Nissi. I don't know if you're familiar with that title of God in the Old Testament. Yahweh Nissi, God our banner. That we are holding him up in front of us as our banner as we go forward into battle.

That banner is raised high before us. And we go forward, never giving up.

You know, one of the challenges that faced the men of the USS Indianapolis was the weight of despair.

Shortly after the ship went down, some of you are probably familiar with this story, shortly after the ship went down, swarms of what they believed were white-tipped reef sharks were attracted to the men who found themselves in the water. As you might imagine, as sharks often do, you've got wounded men, you've got blood, and there was feeding frenzy. You know, these men had to fight these sharks off. They had to try to keep themselves safe. And as the days went by, men that survived this ordeal would describe being next to someone on this kind of improvised flotilla, and then just suddenly down goes the guy next to you. And he's been taken. The sharks got him.

You know, as you see that kind of thing happening in the round you, as you see people falling left and right, and you start thinking about, I'm not going to make it out of here, that despair can take over. When you begin to feel that there's no hope whatsoever, it becomes so easy to give up, to just stop fighting off the sharks. For the men that had, didn't have life jackets, to quit treading water.

Can you imagine treading water for that length of time? Just to finally say, I'm tired, there's no point, this is futile, and just stop. Or they said there were men who were making these promises of false hope of these islands just a short distance away. Look, I can see them, come on, come with me everyone! And a small group of people would swim off into the open ocean, never to be seen again.

You know, sadly over this four-day ordeal that these men experienced, many of them did, in fact, give up. They stopped fighting, they stopped treading water, and they gave in to what they felt ultimately was inevitable. It's a lot harder to face the difficulties, and to be victorious over them. You know, for those that endured, for those that survived and overcame that four-day ordeal, there was rescue, there was salvation. For those that didn't, there was death. And so in some ways it's not much different than our spiritual regard, or spiritual walk in that regard. You know, if we overcome, if we continue to fight, if we yield ourselves to his spirit in our life, and we put to death the old man and continue to work toward victory, God in his grace promises to grant us eternal life. And there are some incredible blessings that are promised to those who overcome. Let's turn over to Revelation 2. Revelation 2 and 3. We're going to spend the remainder of our time today here in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 2, pardon me, in Revelation 3. Here's, we take a look at the things that were provided to the Apostle John by Jesus Christ that were revealed to him. And we examine these promises and these things that were given to the churches of Asia Minor. So we'll spend the rest of our time here today in the book of Revelation. You know, at this time in John's life, as we've been talking about John in the, in the bimonthly studies, you know, at this point in time in John's life, he's nearing the end of his life. He's been exiled at this point to the island of Patmos.

That came about as a result of this second wave of persecution against Christians and Jews at that time that started under the Midtian. About the mid-late 80s AD into the 90s AD.

So about, I don't know, 10 years or so before the end of John's life, roughly, kind of in that, in that time frame. And so he's writing these things from the Isle of Patmos as Christ is revealing to him the, the events of the end of this age and also the messages that needed to be sent to Asia Minor and frankly down through time to those of us here at the end of this age as well.

It should be noted, Asia Minor is not a very big place. I know sometimes it's easy to think about these places being really widely spread out in those areas, but those of you who have traveled to that area know these churches are honestly pretty close to each other. A lot of these churches, even though they're in, you know, different physical locations, so to speak, they were, in some cases, within 30 to 50 miles from each other.

So they were within 30 to 50 miles of each other in some cases. Now, obviously, the ones on the far ends, you know, from this point in the map to this point in the map, they had much further distance, but 30 to 50 miles, guys, that's Salem to Portland or Salem to Corvallis, right? And so even though they were close to one another geographically and to an extent then they would be influenced by much of the same regional culture, just like, you know, you take a look at Salem, Eugene, Portland, Corvallis, Albany.

Yeah, there's a degree of regional influence that comes into those situations, but each city is its own. Albany has a different field than Salem does. Salem has a different field than Portland does. And so it's similar in that regard, influenced by the same regional culture, but each church area had its own unique issues that Christ was admonishing them to ultimately be victorious over. So let's pick up the story in Revelation 2. Revelation 2 and verse 1, and we'll start by reading about the church at Ephesus. So Revelation 2 and verse 1, we'll read about the church at Ephesus.

It says, to the angel of the church of Ephesus write, these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, says, I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil, and you've tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them to be liars.

And you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my name's sake, and have not become weary. Verse 4, nevertheless, I have this against you, that you've left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

But he says, verse 6, this you have, that you hate the deeds of the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Now we've talked about the issues that face the church at Ephesus before.

We know the words that Paul left with the elders in Acts 20. He talked about the savage wolves that would come in as time went on. You know, he'd been warning them for years about these things that were going to happen. And so we know the false teachings and the savagery, so to speak, of false teachings and heresy did come into that church as time went on. One of the other things that we know, we have a lot more information in many ways about the church in Ephesus, simply because of the writings of John, who resided in Ephesus both, you know, before his exile to Patmos and then kind of a short period of time after his return.

But history ultimately records a variety of heresies that crept in over time and the various issues that ultimately led to Ephesus resulting in this state, to where Christ admonished them for losing their first love.

What's interesting is we see that the evaluation for Ephesus is not all bad. You know, Christ Christ actually uses a system. Those of you that are teachers, you've used this before, too, at parent-teacher conferences. You provide a few positives and then you kind of bring home the negatives. And little Johnny, well, I'll tell you, he talks incessantly and he disrupts class all the time. But I'll tell you what, it's impressive how that kid is never sick. He is always in class. Always, always in class. He balances the positives with the negatives. Ephesus labored hard, they worked hard, they had great patience, they persevered, they didn't grow weary.

You know, they tested those who were cropping up as teachers in the time after the destruction of Jerusalem and kind of into the second century and he proved, and they proved them to be false.

But we also see that they lost that first love. They lost that excitement and that spark that comes with the revelation of the truth of God, that zeal that comes from the very beginning of those things being revealed to you. They allowed that fire, so to speak, to die down.

They didn't feed it. And as you had second and third generations begin to come into the picture, that fire wasn't as strong as it was before, as we kind of discussed in the Bible study this past Wednesday. You know, Christ encourages them to repent of that loss of love and to begin doing those first works again. Really encourages them to go back to the basics, go back to the basics of repentance and of believing the gospel and of living this way, of preaching that gospel.

Now I'm going to skip through here. I'm going to not take the time today to do a deep dive on the concepts behind the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. Frankly, and quite frankly, that is a sermon topic in and of itself and we will end up off on massive tangents and not be able to get through what we're getting through today. But if you'd like me to dig into that one of these days, I'm happy to do so. You know, just shoot me an email or something and I can get that prepped at some point in time. But Christ gave the people of Ephesus praise for their hatred of the works of the Nicolaitans. Notice, not their hatred for the Nicolaitans, but their hatred for the works and the deeds of the Nicolaitans, whom he also hates. But then notice the promise that he gives. Revelation 2 verse 7, he says, whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches, to the one who is victorious I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. What an incredible promise! You know, God's promise to those who are overcoming is to let us eat from the tree of life. That tree that Adam and Eve were unable to partake in due to their disobedience. He promises us everlasting life if we are victorious, if we continue to fight and we continue to conquer, which is an incredible promise. You know, that's one of the things these men that were in the water after the Indianapolis, they lost their hope. Many of them lost a reason to look forward. They were overwhelmed with the times they found themselves in and the issues they found themselves in at this moment, right now.

And they couldn't see beyond. You know, these churches in Asia Minor, they experienced a great deal of difficulty. They experienced tribulation, they experienced persecution and false teachers and the rise of Gnosticism and other heresies. And, you know, it'd be really easy to get bogged down in the difficulties and the challenges of that time and to lose their way.

But Christ's message to the churches of Asia Minor is a refocusing and a re-engaging, so to speak, of those members of those churches and helping them to recognize what they're fighting for and why they're fighting for it. In this case, they're fighting for eternal life. They're fighting for the kingdom of God. And he's encouraging them, don't lose their way along the way to get there.

You know, don't give up. Don't stop fighting.

Continue to fight. He goes on in verse 8 in talks to the next church in the group of seven, the persecuted church of Smyrna. It says in verse 8, And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the first and the last, Who was dead and came to life. I know your works, your tribulation and poverty, parentheses, but you are rich, and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for 10 days, which is a connection to the time that Daniel spent as well. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Verse 11, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

He overcomes, shall not be hurt by the second death.

You know, Smyrna is an interesting church here and an interesting message. That church is under intense persecution. They have many tribulations, they have many struggles, you know, they're in poverty. They have great potential as a result of all these things to be dejected and to be full of despair. But Christ states that despite that poverty, that they are spiritually rich. You know, they may not have money, they may not have nice things, they may not have, you know, nice homes and everything else, but they are spiritually rich. But he tells them that they're going to have more persecution to come, and he tells them to be ready. And I think what's fascinating about this particular passage, there's no admonishment to change anything. There's only encouragement.

There's no admonishment to make a change at all. There is only encouragement. Jesus Christ is lifting up the arms of those who do not have strength to hold them up anymore.

And he's strengthening their resolve, and he's pointing them in the right direction, and he takes the time to remind them of the resurrection. Because a number of them are going to lose their lives.

And he takes the time to tell them there are much better things coming. He tells them that he was once dead and is now alive. It's a nice reminder of that resurrection. Giving them that hope, giving them that message of hope for those who already had or would die for his sake. He says these are the words of him who died and came to life again. And then he promises that those who are overcoming, those who are actively overcoming in the present tense, will not experience a second death, even though they may well experience the first. You know, Christ's message to Smyrna is to stay strong in the face of adversity. To continue to push forward, despite the fact that everything seems to be pushing against them. You know, we look in the world around us today, and we see just incredible difficulty. And brethren, it's going to get worse. And we know that. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but it's going to get worse. We see these things, and we see the, you know, the fall of America. We see all these other aspects that are happening in the world, and we know what's coming. We have to keep our focus on that hope. We have to keep looking on down the road at the long game. We have to keep looking at the end of the war, not the individual battle, but the end of the war. Verse 12, we move on to the message sent to the third church, Pergamum. Revelation 2 in verse 12 says, to the angel of the church in Pergamos, right?

These things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword says, I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to my name and did not deny my faith, even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.

Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

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 the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it. Now, so for those in Pergamos, or those in Pergamum, they were known as the Compromising Church.

Verses 13 and 16 discuss the issues that face them, the difficulties that they had, and again we see the same pattern involved. He builds up, and then he comes in and he addresses the need for their improvement. So he praises them on the things he can praise them for, and then says, but... Here are the things that you can focus on, and here are the things you can work on. Says they've kept his name, they didn't deny the faith, even in circumstances of the threat of their own death, and ultimately the death of Antipas. There was one of their own members who was put to death, but that didn't stop him. They continued to push forward. They weren't deterred by that. He did say, though, that they had allowed antinomian thoughts, antilaw thoughts, concepts to enter their midst. They compromised on sexual immorality. They compromised on eating the food sacrificed to idols, what he referred to in the passage is the doctrines of Balaam. Remember back to the story of Balaam, he was unable to curse the Israelites for Balak, the king of Midian, because he could only speak the words that God gave him to speak. And so ultimately, in the process of trying to curse them for Balak, he ultimately blessed Israel. But we see that Balaam wasn't done yet. See that Balaam did find a way to help Israel's downfall by encouraging Israel to be immoral and promiscuous, joining in the idolatry and the pagan practices of the people at Pior.

You can read about that event in Numbers 25. We won't take time to turn there today, but those were the sins of Balaam. And so compromising on the sexual immorality, compromising on the eating of food sacrificed to idols, compromising on heresies and doctrines that they shouldn't have been compromising on. Christ tells those in Pergamum, those who are overcoming, those who are actively overcoming, those who are in the present tense overcoming will receive the hidden manna. They'll receive spiritual nourishment for those who find themselves in the wilderness. And he said they'll find a new name. You know, in Scripture, it's interesting when someone's name is changed. It's often because God has incredible plans for them and is fulfilling an aspect of those plans in their life. Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Saul became Paul. And so their names are changed when God works powerfully in their lives.

We think about what is a name today. Well, yeah, it's an identifier, but not only that, our name is our character. It's our reputation. It's who we are.

God says those who are overcoming will be given a new name, a name in which he knows that are reflective of what his plans are for that person, of their character, and of their reputation, a name that is pure, that is blemishless, and that is eternal.

Verse 18, he goes on to the angel of the church in Thyatira.

Says to the angel of the church in Thyatira, right? These things, says the son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet like fine brass. I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and as for your works, the last are more than the first.

Again, there's the praise. Verse 20 brings in the correction.

Says, nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed, I will cast her into a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he who searches the minds and the hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to your works, to your deeds. Now to you, I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden, but hold fast what you have till I come, and he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.

He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessel, as I have also received them from my father, and or received from my father, and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Now, scripturally, we see, or at least in in the headings in my New King James Bible, we see Thyatira referred to as the corrupt church. That they were corrupt. Verse 19 again illustrates the good. They were patient. They had love for one another. They were service-oriented. They had a strong faith. All of these things are good things, but yet they were corrupt. They had issues with pagan influences that had found their way into the believers. They were experiencing sexual immorality. They were experiencing food sacrificed idols. Part of pagan practice in those days were these things ritually at a temple service. You know, there were temple prostitutes. There were, you know, temple love. They call them love feasts, you know, so to speak. And these things were consumed and participated in, apparently, by believers in these churches at that time. They had compromised. They had become corrupt. Not only that, it talks about how they were tolerant of a woman in the spirit of Jezebel, who at that time considered herself a prophetess, and who, like Jezebel in the Old Testament, seduced God's people away from him into idolatry. You know, we see the example of Jezebel in Scripture in the Old Testament, and how she pulled away the heart of God's people as time went on, and ultimately her end. This is someone who is operating in that attitude, in that spirit. And God promises those in Thyatira who are overcoming their tolerance and their their influence of this, of that corruption in their midst, that they'll be given the authority to rule over nations. He says, if we are overcoming, He promises the Morning Star, which is the title that Christ is referenced in Revelation 22 and verse 16. If we are overcoming, again, looking at the focus off into the distance here of what is coming, to keep that hope alive in our hearts as we deal with these things. If we're overcoming, if we are consistently telling ourselves that I'm gonna keep fighting, I'm not gonna give up on this way of life, I am not gonna quit. That if we are overcoming, we receive Christ. We receive the authority to rule alongside Him in the Kingdom of God.

You know, brethren, there are times in which in this life it is difficult to put one more foot in front of ourselves. You know, it's sad, but it's true. There are times in which it is incredibly difficult when we look at the world around us and when we look at the things that we're dealing with to be able to move forward. And again, like these gentlemen that were in the water in the Indianapolis, it is so easy in the face of those odds to just quit, to conclude, you know what? I'm not loved by God.

There's no way that God could love me if He really knew who I was. God knows who you are. He absolutely knows who you are. We heard that song today. He knows. He absolutely knows. And He loves you anyway. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't stop. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. The church in Sardis, Christ writes, beginning in Revelation 3, says to the Church of to the angel of the church in Sardis, right? These things says He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. It says, Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember, therefore, how you have received and heard. Hold fast and repent.

Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Pardon me. It says, You have a few names, even in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Sardis is referred to as the dead church.

We see an earlier verse that discusses their works. We see that, you know, as Christ describes these things, their lives physically, I mean, you know, they're still drawing breath, but they're spiritually dead. And what a tragedy. What a tragedy. This is a congregation of people, a church of people at that time, an Asia Minor, who are spiritually deceased.

They're gone. No works, no progress. They've just given up.

And Christ warns them, essentially, that they're running out of time. He reminds them that there is a time coming in which he will return like a thief, and in an hour they will not expect.

He's saying, you are running out of time.

They're admonished to repent. They're admonished to hold fast to what they've received and what they've heard. To return to the path. To continue to move forward and to overcome that spirit of lethargy among them. Now, despite the overall condition of the congregation in Sardis as a whole, despite the fact that the church as a whole is characterized as being dead, there were a few that had not defiled their garments. Those who had not compromised the truth. Those who had remained pure. And that those individuals were considered worthy.

And he promises the rest that heard that message and are overcoming that those white garments would be available to them as well.

But in the message that he leaves with the church, he says, but you got to get back to work. He said, yes, there are some among you have not defiled those garments and those white garments are available for you too, but gotta get moving. You gotta get to work. You gotta get back in the fight. You gotta start scrabbling for ground as you fight against that adversary because he said in their current state, they were dead and their names would not be found in the Book of Life. And so he warns them, I'm coming quickly like a thief in the night. Get to it. He encourages them. It's not over yet. It's not over till it's over.

It's not over till it's over. Revelation 3 and verse 7 begins the message to the Church of Philadelphia. Revelation 3 and verse 7 says to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia, right, these things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. Pardon me. He says, I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength. You have kept my word and have not denied my name. Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie. Indeed, I will make them come and worship before your feet. And to know that I have loved you, because you've kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Says, Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, who is overcoming, is currently presently overcoming. I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name. He says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. You know, the Church of Philadelphia is the only other one that's not admonished, but instead praised and encouraged. It's known as the Faithful Church. Says the brethren in Philadelphia, they've kept his name, they've not denied him, they've persevered against long odds, they were overcomers and were overcoming, they had endured the difficulties, they'd endured the trials, they'd endured all the false teachers and the heresies and the false doctrines, and they persevered, and they held on to the truth.

And because of that, because they persevered, because they held on to the truth, because they had done all of those things and were overcoming, God promised to keep them from the hour of trial. But he also promises to make them pillars in the temple of God, that they shall go out no more.

I'll have you jot this in your notes. Psalm 23 in verse 6 speaks of this concept, where David talks of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever, that they would be there and dwell forever, that they would receive a new name, just as was promised that the church in Pergamum. You know, when you look at ancient ruins, you go back and look at ruins that have been discovered, or temples that have broken down and fallen to the sands of time. What remains? When things fall apart and the sands of time overtake the temple and there are ruins, what remains? It's typically the pillars. The pillars stand the test of time. They are what are still standing, even when the building itself falls into disrepair.

It's those pillars that remain standing. And those who are overcoming are promised to be pillars in the coming temple. Pillars that are standing strong, that are standing upright in the way of God, supporting his work, serving him. It says those who are overcoming will be made citizens of a new Jerusalem. An incredible promise of an eternity with God. Incredible promise of an eternity with God. Such an amazing, amazing, amazing promise. The final message that we see to the churches of Asia Minor is the church at Laodicea. Now, we're quite familiar with the message to this church, as we've heard quite a bit about the Laodicean church over the years. Revelation 3 and verse 14 says, to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. He says, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were cold or hot, so then because you're lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.

Because you say, kind of spit you out, so to speak. Nauseated, gross, spit it out. Well, vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich, white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyesave that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And so with that final message, Christ concludes his messages to Asia Minor. This final church, Laodicea, was known as the lukewarm church.

Verses 15 through 20 kind of talk about their good and their bad points, and you know, as you dig into the concepts that are involved here, the Church of Laodicea is an interesting study, and it's important for us to consider, because we've taught over the years, and we've considered it's time that there are these eras, these church eras within church history, and that we potentially are in this Church of Laodicea, this time of the Church of Laodicea. But it's important to recognize, too, that it's not just paint the entirety of everyone at this time with a broad brush, because these attitudes and these concepts, all of them, all of these seven churches, these attitudes and concepts, are found in the body. Individuals in the body can be in these various places. The Church of Laodicea, though, is fascinating. It's an area that was physically in a location where you had to bring water in from a distance. You know, a number of the the cities that are in Asia Minor were built near hot springs. They were built near areas where you could get easy access to cold water. Well, Laodicea was in a location physically where they had to bring water in from a distance. They were famous Romans for their aqueducts. They were able to bring water in from great distances as a result, and they loved their public baths. You know, they really enjoyed their public baths. Certain cities were located again near these hot springs and could support these baths. And those cities that had these bath houses had a great deal of reputation. They were popular. You know, they had a great deal of reputation because of their proximity to these things. Laodicea was not one of these cities. Laodicea was a city where water had to be ducked in through aqueducts. So by the time you had this piping hot water from the hot spring brought in via aqueduct, by the time it got to Laodicea, it was lukewarm. It was useless. Their drinking water also had to be ducked in, and so by the time the crisp, cool water arrived, it was anosiating lukewarm. You know, supposedly, you should listen to medical professionals, supposedly drinking lukewarm water is better for you than cold water, but I'll tell you, tell that to somebody who's just worked for 15 hours outside in the hot Anatolian climate, lukewarm water after you've worked for 15 hours in the heat and dry is disgusting. And you spit it out because it's gross. God's kind of taken some jabs here and providing metaphors that are grounded in the reality of this city's existence.

And these are things that are sensitive to the people of Laodicea. These are things that they would have known and that are kind of like, oh, he went there. He brought this up. Ouch!

Laodicea also was a merchant center at that time. They had a wool industry in which men came incredibly wealthy. Some of the historical sources record that Laodicea was a producer of this black wool, this dark, just raven black wool that was sought after by many, and they were one of the only producers of that style of wool in the entirety of the empire. And so, because it was located also along a travel route, you had travelers and you had merchants coming through the city to be able to purchase this wool, and it brought money in from all over the empire to pick that up. And so they were a very healthy economy. They were very wealthy.

In their minds, they had need of nothing. Sound familiar? Brethren, we live in a country right now that has need of nothing. By and large, I mean, yes, individuals experience different circumstances in a variety of as a variety of factors. But when you compare the United States of today to many of the countries around the world, by and large, most of us have need of nothing. We are beyond comfortable.

And when that happens, when you reach a point of beyond comfortable, what comes as a result?

Complacency comes as a result. And so Laodicea found themselves in the same place.

They were wealthy. They had need of nothing. And Christ informs them, you're not as wealthy as you think you are. You're not as wealthy as you think you are. He said, instead, you should be buying gold from me, he says, gold from me that is refined in the fire.

They should obtain the truth of God, that they should search for and hold on to the truth of God like that pearl of great price as a precious treasure.

So all throughout this section, as we look at this section on Laodicea, Christ is taking down the pride of the Laodicean people one peg at a time. Just absolutely bringing them low, so to speak, from this position of pride and this position of self-righteousness, so to speak, that they found themselves in. But verse 18 is the roundhouse. So he got a couple of jabs here, and then he comes in for that roundhouse. It says, according to the Greek historian Strabo, so according to the Greek historian Strabo, Laodicea was home to a medical school where this famous ophthalmologist resided. And he ground up these local minerals that were found around Laodicea to create this medicinal powder that was called Phrygian powder. P-H-R-Y-G-I-A-N powder. And it was used in eye ointments across the realm. And so it was this main important powder that was ultimately found in these eye ointments that were just renowned. And this was a point of pride among the people of Laodicea. It was their ophthalmologist, it was their minerals, it was Laodicea that provided this Phrygian powder. And so there was a point of pride there, and Christ encourages them to anoint themselves with real eye salve, not this stuff you make.

But to anoint themselves with true eye salve so that they could see.

So they could see that they were not as well off as they thought they were in a spiritual sense.

They weren't as rich. They weren't as well to do as they thought.

In fact, in God's eyes, God says, far as I'm concerned, you're lukewarm.

Hot water is useful, cold water is useful. Lukewarm water, not good for anything but spitting it out on the ground. They had a great wealth, they produced products to help people see, but they could not see themselves as poor, blind, and naked because they were blinded by their own pride. They were blinded by their own pride.

They could not reach a point where they could see their true state.

Verse 21 illustrates the promises to those who overcome this kind of lukewarm attitude, so to speak, of Laodicea. Says to him who overcomes, who is actively, presently, at this moment overcoming, not just overcomes but overcoming, I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. Says he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Again, this incredible promise that is provided, to be granted to sit with Christ on his throne and to rule alongside him for eternity.

Again, providing something to focus on in the distance so that when you experience the challenges of the present, that it is that hope which drives you forward.

You know, Revelation 2 and 3 contain messages to seven different churches, and as we kind of insinuated to before, you can make an argument for these being eras of the church. You can make an argument for these being different attitudes that are among those in the body, and I think both of those arguments have evidence to stack up.

But painting the entire era with a brush and saying, it's all Laodicea, we need to recognize these other attitudes are present, too. That there are some in the body who are dead. There are some in the body who are corrupt. There are some in the body who are dealing with these things, who are loveless, who are lukewarm. And this message to these churches of Revelation 2 and 3 are as much a message to us. We see seven different sets of promises, but all of them have one common denominator, and that is, all of us are tasked with actively overcoming the deficiencies that we find in our lives. Not focusing on what we're doing right, per se. Not saying it should all be, you know, drab and drir and eeyore style, where we're constantly only focused on the things that are wrong, but with special instance on the things that we're struggling with, and really actively getting back in the fight to overcome those things, to be victorious against those attitudes and those sins that separate us from God and from salvation.

The question we have to ask ourselves, brethren, is are we impacted by these attitudes? Are we impacted by these thoughts, these tendencies in our life today? Are we loveless? Are we compromising? Are we allowing ourselves to be corrupted, to be spiritually dead, or to be lukewarm?

You know, all of these things are things that we are susceptible to, because again, we are painfully human, and we are at war with an adversary who wants us dead. He wants us in that position of the Church of Sardis, spiritually dead. You know, the men of the USS Indianapolis faced a variety of different struggles in their attempt to survive. You know, no two men's struggles in that survival were identical. Some struggled against physical infirmities in their own wounds.

Others struggled mentally to not give up and just give in. Those men that stuck with the group, those men that stuck together and worked together and strengthened each other and encouraged one another to keep fighting for the next hour, the next day, the next night. It was those men who survived. It was those men who were victorious.

In every other account that I have read of the survivors of the Indianapolis, those who separated themselves from a support network, who pulled back away from that support, all of them perished. I've read no accounts of survivors from the Indianapolis, who pulled away individually and did their own thing and made it.

They weren't strong enough to survive individually. And, brother, neither are we.

We need God. We need each other. We need the prayers of others, the encouragement of others, the strength that we see and can learn from the example of other people living this way of life.

I don't think there's anything that has been more painfully obvious in this time of the pandemic that we have experienced as the importance of being with one another. Yes, this is a suitable alternative, but being together is important. You know, if we're going to finish this race that we've begun, if we're going to be victorious over our adversary, and if we're going to overcome, we need each other. Brethren, I need you. We need each other. George Patton once famously said, Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. He said it is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains that victory. Our spirit needs to be in unison, a spirit of overcoming at all times, because our leader, Jesus Christ, the one whom we all follow, has set the standard and is overcoming the world. Brethren, we must also be so doing and pushing forward to victory.

Well, thank you, brethren.