Let me call your attention this morning once again to the last book in the Bible, the Revelation. Revelation chapter two. Revelation chapter two. We'll begin our reading at verse 12. Your versions may be a little different than mine. I'm reading for the new King James this morning. But if you follow along with me, you'll find these words. And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, these things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword. 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 fateful 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." We continue this morning in our study of lessons through these seven churches in Asia Minor. we have entitled these messages, The Lord's Message to His Church. Having looked at a description last Sunday of the city of Pergamos and an identification of the Lord Jesus Christ to that church, I will not repeat that material this morning. It would be too lengthy to cover that if you would like to understand the background of these things, you may listen to those messages on our website or Sermon Audio. I set forth an outline in the beginning of this which follows the same outline that I've followed throughout as we've studied these churches. There was a description of the city. the identification of Christ to this particular church or the particular churches to which these letters are written. And then there are three heads that I set forth that we will look at. First, there is the approval. Secondly, the accusation. And then the admonition. This morning, I want to start with the first part of our outline, which is Christ's approval to this church in Pergamos, in verse 13. Our text says, Christ says, I know your works or where you dwell. Some of your translations say, I know where you dwell. God knows where we are. He knows all our circumstances, all the situations of our lives. He is intimately acquainted, as I said last Sunday, with all our ways. Remember that he has made from one blood every nation of men who dwell on the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. Acts chapter 17, verse 26. Wherever you are in this life, in whatever station, whatever family, whatever city you live in, God has ordained that to be. There is no accident about who you are and where you are. And God knows where you are. This particular church, Christ says, I know you dwell where Satan's throne is, the place of Satan's seat or his activity in full bloom, if you will, a place full of evil and debauchery. Wickedness rules today, much like some of the cities in our world, in our land even. When we think of debauchery and evilness, we think of places like San Francisco or New York or, as we said last week, around the world, Amsterdam or Bangkok. or even in our city, which we call Sin City, Las Vegas. Yet in the midst of that wicked city, God was pleased to raise up a church, a people, for his own possession. He says, even in that wicked city, you hold fast to my name, and you have not denied my faith. These in Smyrna persevered, as we said last week, even Because of the attack and the instigation of Satan on their lives, they remained faithful to the Lord. The devil used the Jews in that society to instigate trouble against those who were Christians. It's interesting that the Jews were exempt from having to worship the Caesar. And the Christians refused to worship and bow down to Caesar, so they were targeted as those who were traitors. But they held fast to his name, they did not deny his faith even in the days of Antipas, his faithful witness. The people there in Pergamos saw their beloved brother persecuted, put to death, yet they still remained faithful to the Lord, even under such attacks. They did not boast, I said, like Peter. Peter boasted about how he would stand by the Lord's side and that he would go to prison and even die with Christ. But in the hour of trial, in the hour of pressure, he crumbled. And he denied the Lord three times. History tells us, as I said last week, the Anthropos was roasted to death in a brass bowl. It actually was a brazen bull-shaped altar. for casting out demons worshiped by the local population. Though his name is not mentioned anywhere else in scripture, his name has been branded to the holy text, I said, and given by the Lord of glory, the name by which he is identified in chapter one, my faithful witness. I said last week we should be like the Hebrew boys who stood under that kind of pressure in a wicked society in Babylon. Forgive me for calling them Hebrew boys. I think that's because when we were introduced to these young men as children in the storybooks, I think that the authors of those Bible books wanted to encourage young people with heroes, so they called them Hebrew boys. They were actually men, and they were given dominion or rule over a certain area in Babylon. Their names were changed by those in Babylon, but when it came time to bow, they said, we will not serve your gods, nor will we bow. We do not serve your gods. We never will, and we never have. And they did not bow down, and they were thrown, as you remember, in that fiery furnace. And God, in his great mercy and deliverance, delivered them from the furnace of the king. These are not, I said last week, nice little Sunday school stories. They are accounts of God's people holding fast to his name and not denying his name. What does it mean to hold fast his name? The Greek word kratos is in the present active indicative. It's from the word kratio. This present act of indicative shows that the action happens in the present time and that the subject carries out the action and that it is a true statement. So with that peak of tense and voice and mood of the verb, what does it mean? What does kratio mean? It means to be strong, mighty, to prevail. It is most frequently rendered to lay or take hold of. So we read in Matthew chapter 12 how it is literally used as we read our Lord's words. Then he said to them, what man is there among you who has one sheep? And if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, he will not lay hold of it and lift it up. That's our word, lay hold. Picture, if you will, in your mind, an oxen in a ditch, and the effort that is necessary to get that oxen out of the ditch. You would have to get a good grip on that oxen to pull him out of the ditch. Or these words from Matthew 14, for Herod had laid hold of John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. He bound John the Baptist. And he cast him into prison. This word here is used also in Matthew 18. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, you remember the one who had been forgiven so much, and begged the king, begged him for mercy. And he was forgiven of his debt, and he found his fellow servant. And he went out, and when he found him, he says, he said, owe me, pay me what you owe me. for he owed him 100 denarii. And the Bible says he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, pay me what you owe. And so when we talk about laying hold, we're talking about a strong grip. We're talking about a firm grip. It means to hold firmly, to grasp, to cling to, to maintain, and not to let go. Metaphorically, this word is used of holding fast a tradition or a teaching. In an evil sense, it can be used, and also in a good sense. In the evil sense, we find in the scriptures it's used of the hypocritical Pharisees with their lip service. Our Lord said, these people draw nigh unto me with their lips. They talk of good religion, but their hearts are far from me. He said, their religion is vain, for the Pharisees And all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the traditions of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, there's our word again, like the washing of cups and pitchers and copper vessels and couches. For laying aside the commandment of God, They hold the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers and cups and many other such things they do. Many in our day hold to a man-made teaching or man-made traditions above the word of God. Brethren, be careful about what you hold onto and what you cling to. If you cling to anything more than you cling to the Word of God, you are in a dangerous position. And these Pharisees held closely to their traditions, and they put their traditions above the Word of God. But these whom Christ commends and approves held fast to his name, that is, abiding by all that his name implies. He is Lord. The people in Pergamos, the church in Pergamos held tenaciously and would not let go of all that Christ's name meant to them and all that it implied. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, Peter preached it, but he has made him both Lord and Christ, Acts 2, 36. We don't make him Lord, the Father has made him Lord. He has the power and the authority. He is the master. And all those who want to continue the argument about Jesus being Savior and not Lord, pardon me, are revealing that they really only want a fire insurance. You know what we call fire insurance? They just don't want to go to hell. But they have no desire to follow God and obey his word. And it reveals something about their character. He's not their master to rule over them. He's not only our priest, brethren, but he's our king. And he says, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. These are the words of our Lord Jesus. The Bible says, and she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 121. Not in their sins. Christ doesn't save us so we can continue on sinning. He saves us from our sins. This is Jesus. The Bible tells us, nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we may be saved. But know, know this, brethren. The scriptures are clear about Jesus being the savior of sinners. Not a savior, but the only savior. And no matter what other religions promise, this one thing they cannot deliver, the removal of our guilt and our sin. But this one, whom the Father has appointed, Jesus, takes away sin. It's not Zeus, not Asclepius, Not Muhammad, not even our good names can be presented to a holy God with its list of good works to satisfy the righteous demands of the law of God. Only Christ can save. It's not a popular message today. We're not all inclusive. Actually, we're rather narrow according to the world because we say there's only one way. No man comes to the Father, Jesus says, but by me. There is no other way. But all the other religions and all the other peoples around us who believe like these people in Pergamos, who had all these gods that they worship, these false gods, don't appreciate you saying that your way is the only way. And that will line you up for persecution and ridicule. He is the Christ. Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and for three Sabbath days, the Bible says, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, this Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ. He is the Messiah. And so Paul took the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures, and showed the people whom he preached to that the Messiah has come, and Christ Jesus is this Messiah. No doubt he opened up those truths from Isaiah 53 about the sin-bearing servant of God. Simon Peter answered and said, you remember these words, you are the Christ, the son of the living God, Matthew 16, 16. This is not his last name, but an identifying or title or a designation, a descriptive, Jesus, who is the Christ. He is the Messiah, the servant of Jehovah, the coming one. Do you remember when John the Baptist was imprisoned? And in a weak moment, now he is the one who said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But now John is locked up in prison. And he's wondering, and he sends his disciples to ask this question. Are you the coming one, or do we look for another? And Jesus answered and said to them, go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Matthew 11. This is what happens when Messiah comes, the Holy One of Israel. as our Lord quoted from Isaiah 29 and Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 61. He comforted his weak disciple, his forerunner, by the words of Scripture. That ought to be a message for us, brethren, when our brethren are weak and discouraged. When we come alongside them, as the scripture calls us to do, to exhort one another day by day, as long as it's called today, lest any of us be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. So how do we exhort one another? We come alongside one another and we open up the truths of God's word. And here is comfort for the soul. There are a lot of nice things we can talk about when we gather. But oh, brethren, may this be the center of our conversation, one with another, those things that help us and nourish us. These people in Pergamos held to his name. They held on to this one whom God has sent into the world, sinners to save. So the question was asked last week, and I'll ask it again. Will we hold fast? If the authorities come and arrest your pastors for preaching the truth, you do know the things that we propound and the things that we herald from this sacred desk are considered by this world and this adulterous generation, this fallen world, as hate speech. It's not right to tell people that they're sinners. It's not right to tell people that the lifestyles that they live are contrary to the word of God, and it's just dessert is eternal punishment. That's hate speech. But we live in a world where people say you aren't even supposed to tell your children no. much less speak these truths that are offensive to men's ears. And if you don't think this happens, brethren, in the 21st century, it has happened. And pastors have been jailed. And it can happen here. So if we're locked up, will you fear and not come back? Perhaps that's where God has placed us in this dark world because he has much people and he wants us to be his witnesses, his faithful witnesses. They did not deny his name. They were not ashamed. It was unpopular and dangerous to be Christians. Will we hold fast? And they did not deny his faith. It could be better rendered, and they did not deny their faith in him. They held close. They believed and continue to believe. Secondly, the accusation. Verse 14. But I have a few things against you, he says. Why? What is it that the Lord had against this church? It seemed to be good so far. They were faithful. They were even faithful unto death. They watched their brother martyred and they still continued on faithfully. But Christ comes to this church and he says, but I have a few things against you. Why? 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. Here we have a teaching named after this Old Testament prophet for hire. There probably wasn't a teaching in that day called the Doctrine of Balaam like we say the Doctrine of Justification. But the Lord describes a destructive teaching in this church that was kin to Balaam's instruction to Balak. Now I'm sure many of you remember this account, this exchange between this crooked prophet and this king of Moab, as we read of in Numbers chapter 22. I would love to read this account, but time would not permit. But let me just summarize what took place here. as Balak sins for Balaam. He saw the people of God multiplying. They had been delivered from Egyptian bondage by a mighty hand. Balak was afraid of these people, and so he knew that the prophet, he says in Numbers chapter 22, I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. So he calls Balaam, and he says, would you do this for me? Will you curse the people of God? so they would not come upon me and overtake us. We'll pay you. And Balaam says, well, I need to go talk to God about it. I need to go pray about this. And he did. And God said, no. And so Balak says, well, he sent more nobles and more riches. He said, we'll pay you a little bit more if you curse God's people. And he said, OK, well, let me go pray about that. And so he went and he prayed about that. And God says, go, go. And so he went. And as the account tells us, that's when we come to that, when he was journeying to go to curse the people of God, the Lord let him know that the word he spoke would be the word that he ordained him to speak. They went, Balaam and his donkey were going through this narrow pass, and the donkey saw the angels with the sword standing in the pathway, and the donkey stopped and crushed his foot against the wall, and Balaam wanted to kill his poor donkey, and the donkey talked. Have not I been faithful to you ever since I've been yours? Why? The Bible tells us Balaam's eyes were opened, and he saw the sword in the hand of the angel of the Lord. But he goes on, and God tells him, you go on your perverse way. Balaam goes, and he meets with Balak, and they stand over the high place there, and he goes to curse the people of God, but he instead blessed them. And that's not what Balak wanted. And he went again. He went again with another supposed blessing and cursing, and he blessed him. And then the third time, he blessed them instead of cursing them. The Bible says Balak was angry. He was mad at the prophet. And he says, what the Lord says that I must speak. What to God that all preachers and all those who are God's servants or who call themselves God's servants would say what God says. You see, this might not be an odd thing to you, but all around us, people stand behind the sacred desk and they say things that are not true. They say things that did not come from God, trying perhaps to be clever or popular or whatever their motives are. Many stand who do not preach and say what thus saith the Lord. So in chapter 24, the Bible says, so Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went away. Now you go to chapter 25, we read these words. Now Israel remained in the Achaia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. Verse nine. The Lord was angry and he killed them. He said, and those who died in the plague were 24,000. God was displeased with this people. Now turn with me to Numbers chapter 31. Numbers chapter 31. And the Lord spake to Moses saying, take vengeance on the Moabites. On the Midianites, pardon me. In verse 7 it says, And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses. And they killed all the males. Verse 8 says, They killed the kings of Midian, the rest of those who were killed. And it also says, Balaam, the son of Beor, they also killed with the sword. That prophet who supposedly was supposed to curse the people of God, but he did not. He only blessed them, but he was also killed. And verse 16 says, look, those women caused the children of Israel through the counsel of Balaam to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor. and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. So Balaam was killed. God took this prophet out, this wicked prophet for hire. There are many who make merchandise of the gospel and preach only for sordid gain and for money, and such was Balaam. Peter talks about this, and he gives us this New Testament commentary on those things when he talks about the false teachers and their depravity. In 2 Peter chapter 2, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, verse 14, enticing unstable souls, they have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. But he was rebuked for his iniquity. A dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet." Jude also gives us a commentary on that Old Testament account when he talks about the apostates in the old and the new. Verse five. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt after destroyed those who did not believe, and the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their abode He has reserved an everlasting change under darkness for judgment, for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities all around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also, these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, the Lord rebuke you. But these speak evil of whatever they do not know. And whatever they know, naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the era of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. And he goes on and talks about the doom of these depraved apostates. This is not what Paul is discussing here. He's not talking about what we read of in 1 Corinthians 8 and 9, the eating of things sacrificed to idols. There, the apostle calls strong believers to be sensitive and concerned about their weaker brethren. When we read about those things in 1 Corinthians 8, Self-denial should trump Christian liberty for love's sake. Sometimes we give up things that rightfully we can have, but if they cause our brethren to stumble because of our love for our brethren, we will abstain and not do those things that cause our brothers to stumble. But be aware, lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, who are not the conscious of him who is weak, be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols, 1 Corinthians 8, 9 and 10. Because I love my brother, I am willing to forego eating that juicy steak in the temple restaurant. Leon Morris writes, two points are signaled out. The eating of food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. It is possible that the former refers to meat which had first been offered to idols and was then sold on the open market. 1 Corinthians chapter eight. And the latter to sexual sins in general. But it's more likely that Both refer to idolatrous practices. Feasting on sacrificial meat and licentious conduct were usual accompaniments of the worship of idols, both in Old and New Testaments. Some, it seems, have given themselves over to these things. It seems they have given in to the pressures of their idolatrous society, and the labor guilds. The labor guilds had, those unions had idols of their own, and they would come and worship. Lest we be kicked out of the unions, we'll engage in their rituals. Our Lord calls this a stumbling block. Listen to Schreiner. Stumbling here isn't a mild misstep. It refers to losing one's final reward by falling away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Following the false teachers was participating in paganism. And this is not just a first century problem. The preacher down in our neighboring state, the one I mentioned, when we took the Lord's Supper, who said, I trembled to even repeat his words. He said that 85% of Jesus' life, he was wrong. He also said we need to grow weed or marijuana on the church's property to give the men jobs and teach them agricultural skills. We have a lot of property. So maybe we should just throw some marijuana and put the guys to work. He said that because young people are so promiscuous, that the gospel that was preached to our parents and grandparents won't work in delivering this generation. We need another gospel. That's a rough paraphrase. The Apostle Paul says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who calls you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another. But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven preach another gospel to you than was preached to you, let him be accursed. Paul said, you heard the gospel, and it was the gospel of grace that brought you to a saving knowledge of Christ. And if we come back preaching another gospel, let us be accursed. If angels from heaven come and preach another gospel, let them be accursed. But I say, brethren, there are many who, in our day, preach another gospel. Verse 8, verse 15 of our text in Revelation adds to this condemnation. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I think I hate, he says. It's not clear what this doctrine was. Some believe it's similar to that of Balaam and Jezebel, as we read in verse 14 and verse 20 of the second chapter of Revelation. However, one thing is clear. Our Lord says the same thing here as he said to the Ephesian church, which thing I hate. He says, I hate it. It is incumbent upon us, brethren, to understand the scriptures and to know what God hates. It is our responsibility to know the things that God loves and those things which God is pleased with. It is also our responsibility, I say, to know what God hates. And if we're students of the Word of God, we'll understand clearly what God calls us to hate. Ye who love the Lord, the Bible says, hate evil. Thirdly, the admonition. In verse 16. Repent. Repent. You're doing good here, but there's some here in this church, they were in the church, teaching these false doctrines, and Christ says, repent. I like the Shorter Catechism's answer for repentance. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin and an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth with grief and hatred of his sin turn from it unto God with full purpose of an endeavor after new obedience. Brethren, repentance, genuine repentance comes from God. It's a gift. It's just like our faith. Our faith is a gift. It comes from God. We don't work our faith up. It's not something that's dormant in us naturally. It comes from heaven. Our repentance does not come out of our back pockets when we please. God has given and gifted repentance. So we must pray. Ask God to show you that sin is not a little thing, but it really is worthy of hell. Ah, it's just a little white lie. There is no such thing as a little white lie. Liars shall find themselves in the lake which burns with fire." Ask God to press that on your mind. Ask God to work on your mind with the truth of his word. Plead with God to work on your heart so that you're grieved and you have this abhorring and loathing of your sin. And that's what he's calling these in Pergamos to do. Not the sins of the folks down the street. It's so easy to point at other people's sins and talk about what they're doing that does not please God. But we really hate sin when we hate the sin that we commit. There's a song we used to sing, Lord, send a revival and let it begin with me. And so, plead with God that he would give you a hatred for sin. Work on your heart that you might abhor it. Plead with God to work on your feet so that you may run in the way of his commandments, holding fast by faith to the mercy that is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord. If they don't turn, there are consequences. There's swift consequences. as the Lord declares war against them. He says, I will come and fight against them, these evil workers in this church with the word of my mouth, with the sword of my mouth, pronouncing judgment. The Bible says it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Hebrews 10.31. However, brethren, along with this admonition is a blessed promise to those who hear what the Spirit, through the Word, says to the churches. Verse 17. He who has the ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, he says, I will give. What will he give? Some of the hidden manna. a white stone, a new name only known to the recipient. I like Jeffrey Wilson's summation of this promise that is given here in the Revelation. And he says this. The one who abstains from the forbidden idle food will abundantly be rewarded by the gift of the hidden manna in the heavenly kingdom. For then what is now hidden will be revealed." 1 John 3, 2. The seeing of Christ as he is and through his beatific vision being made like him, is identical with the eating of the hidden manna, which shall, as it were, be then brought forth from the sanctuary, the holy of holies of God, immediate presence, where it was withdrawn from the sight so long, that all may partake of it, the glory of Christ, now shrouded and concealed, being then revealed at once to his people, and in them," Colossians 3, 4. There are many explanations of what is significant, or what is signified, pardon me, by the white stone. But the suggestion that it is a token that gives admission to the heavenly banquet is the one best suited for the context, the hidden manna. The secret name inscribed on the stone is the victor's new name, which expresses his own distinctive character. The unity of heaven does not entail lost individuality in a vague universal oneness of being. Glorification does not eliminate the human personality, but rather brings it to perfection. We shall be changed. We shall be glorified. All our sins will be done away, and we will be welcomed to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Brethren, this church was faithful despite intense persecution. Maybe not today, but one day, this may be our lot. Will we be faithful? Well, you look back in the midst of persecution and say, I remember us being exhorted that be prepared to hold fast to his name and not deny my faith in Christ. But there was another word here. The church is also compromised. Beloved, what shall we do now? And what shall we do in the years to come? Will we hold fast to Christ now? and have our strength in our lives strengthened by the word of God, by the fellowship of one another, as we fellowship around his word, as we exhort one another, as we purpose, as we've been hearing, to live holy lives and godly lives in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation that will aid us in the days to come. There's a more urgent question for all here. what will you do who hear the gospel? Those of you who hear the gospel now, what will you do now and what will you do in eternity? The grave works no change. If you leave this world unconverted and not united to Christ, there is no magic in the grave. And you will enter eternity without Christ, just like you live this life without Christ. Today you hear his voice, harden not your heart. This is a day of salvation. And Christ calls you to come and to serve him. Come what may, he has promised to bless his people and to support his people, even in the midst of difficulties and trials. But all the blessings that he gives in this life and in the life to come cannot be compared. As my brother was exhorting me a few weeks ago, as I was going through some difficulties, he reminded me that the struggles, the difficulties of this life cannot be compared to the glory that should be revealed in us. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we confess to our shame that there are times when we cower. There are times when we are ashamed to own your name around others, around unsaved family members, around coworkers, around neighbors. But your word tells us that if we deny you, that you will deny us. Father, give us grace to own your name. Give us courage. Give us backbones. Help us, Lord, to hold fast to your name. Forgive us of our sins, we pray. And Lord, we pray for those here who are not saved. Oh, Lord, would you please draw them by your grace and show them their great need of a Savior. And we shall be so very careful to give your name all the praise and all the glory throughout all eternity. For it's in Jesus' name we pray.