Kipling wrote a poem entitled "Mulholland’s Contract." It seems Mulholland was a cattle-man on a cattle-boat. His place was in the great hold where the cattle were carried. Then on one trip there came a terrific storm at sea; and the cattle broke loose. In their terror they were stampeding and trampling everywhere. It seemed certain that Mulholland would be killed beneath their flailing hooves. So Mulholland made a contract with God.

"An’ by the terms of the Contract, as I have read the same,
If He got me to port alive I would exalt His Name,
An’ praise His holy Majesty till further orders came."

Miraculously Mulholland was preserved. When he reached shore alive he was prepared to fulfil his part of the contract. His idea was to quit the cattle-boats and to preach religion all gussied up and on dry land, without cattle. But God’s word came to him:

"I never puts on My ministers no more than they can bear.
So back you go to the cattle-boats, an’ preach My Gospel there."

It was Mulholland’s duty, not to seek an easier place to be a Christian but to be a Christian exactly where God had placed him. Jesus had the very same message - and a whole lot more, for the Christians at a place called Pergamum, Revelation 2: 12-17.

This past Thursday, and perhaps all weekend, we have been celebrating the 4^th of July - we have been celebrating our freedom from foreign tyranny - with fun, food, family and, of course, fire works. The Christians at Pergamum have little reason for fire works. They are still foolishly compromising their freedom - their freedom in Christ. It’s like they were saying: "I can handle conflict. I have even proven how strong and tall and courageous I can be in living for Jesus. As a matter of fact I have already shown Jesus how much I love Him. But right now I get to take a vacation being a Christian." Ever feel like that?
Now of the seven churches to which Jesus speaks, through these seven letters we are exploring these few weeks, Pergamum is the one most liable to clash with the Imperial cult. That cult demands that the title of ‘Lord’ be given to Caesar, instead of to Jesus Christ. This may have been one reason Pergamum was referred to as "Satan’s seat." The Christians at Pergamum are very aware of the complexities of the environment of their time. They do need to be sensitive to the thoughts and concerns of others. However, they are to NOT just to follow the emotional wind of life around them. Jesus Christ tells them they have found the truth. In fact, they have held on to the truth in the past, which means they did not deny their faith in Him. And now Jesus is telling them to continue to stand firm in their faith in Him. As Christians we are called to be loving and sensitive. And at the same time, we are called to be steadfast and immovable in our witness to Jesus Christ, even when the ground around us is unsteady and sinking. That sinking ground around us could be a stressed relationship, a crumbling family situation, an emotional or health crisis, people at school or work who are not very nice to us, just because we are Christian. There are so many issues, experiences and people that are always trying "twist" us to fall away from Christ.

You know it is not easy to be a Christian. It never has been. It never will be. Just as Jesus was able to assure the believers at Pergamum that He knew where they lived, and not just geographically, He says the same thing to you and to me. He knows that we live in a time where Satan’s influence and power are rampant. The Risen Christ says to the Christians in Pergamum, and to us, that we are to go on living in this place and time. We are not to escape. It is a 24 / 7 commitment. We cannot run away from our problems, anymore than the Christians in Pergamum. We cannot pack our baggage and move off to some place where it is easier to be a Christian. Wherever that is! Granted we might be called to Cambodia, India, Irak, Afghanistan, Russia or New York, Detroit, Utah or Washington. But here we are now and here we will stay, now, and live, or work or go to school, or even begin something new. Here is where we will show that we are Christians. For those of you visiting today - you know where you are to be to show that you are Christian - wherever you are.

One of the reasons the Christians of Pergamum wanted out was, no doubt, because on order of Caesar some of his governors, we might call them "henchmen" today, were given the "right of the sword." This means they had the power of life and death, under Caesar’s authority. On these men’s word a person could be executed on the spot. More than likely it would be used against any Christian, not bowing to the Lordship of Ceaser. A double edged sword is not necessarily a slashing weapon. Rather it is designed with a sharp point. This sharp point is honed on either side for deeper penetration of the opponent. The Christians at Pergamum would have been all too aware of this. Isaiah (49:2) and the writer to the Hebrews (4:12) use the phrase "double-edged sword" describing the Messiah. Here Jesus claims that authority. He says of Himself that it is He who has the sharp two-edged sword. This means that He is the one who wields that ultimate power. This is the symbol that alerts this threatened congregation that it is Jesus, and only Jesus, who has the ultimate power - based on truth - over judgment and life and death - not Caesar, or any of Ceasar’s men. No one but Jesus.

This is our symbol of the Word of God. More than the Word of God, Jesus Himself is to be our foundation. Last Sunday you heard graduates, David Smith and Michelle Thrakulchavee say: "The Word of God is what we need to build our lives on, that is our foundation." Because He is our foundation, the words proceed with power from the lips of Jesus. Because it is double-edged, that power and strength cuts two ways for us. This means Jesus can penetrate our skull so as to reach our mind. Jesus can also pierce our heart so that He can touch our emotions. Jesus is the Word of God, and as such, has the power to touch both the intellect and the conscience. Christ is the sharp two-edged sword that has the power to convict and the power to convert.

Jesus also tells the believers at Pergamum they cannot cut corners on God’s truth - and get away with it. This is where they had come to shaky ground as they moved away from their commitment to the Truth. You see, in Greek, Pergamum means "thoroughly married." This means that in Pergamum the church was married to the world. The world had infiltrated the church, bringing and establishing mixed doctrines. There were those in Pergamum who were trying to teach the people of the Church of Pergamum to sin. They were encouraging the believers to conform to the accepted standards of the world around them. They were being urged to stop being different. The early Christians were in constant danger of being tainted by, and relapsing into, the standards of the world. M-mmmm- nothing new under the sun.

To pound this point home, Jesus brings in a little history lesson by referring to the Old Testament story of Balaam, a prophet and Balak, the king of Moab. Balak called on Balaam for a prophetic curse on Israel. Not a good thing for a prophet of God to be doing. So Balaam thought he would cut a corner and teach Balak to teach the Israelites a back door to bowing down to idols and being involved in sexual immorality. Yes, Balaam was teach God’s people to sin. So you see, this stumbling block would be seen by God, and then God would get angry and His wrath would come down on His people, not on Balaam. I encourage you to read this entire great story, in the Old Testament Book of Numbers chapters 22-24. It even contains a talking donkey, which I am sure some of you think came from the movie Shrek. But the Nicolaitans, which means "destroyer of people" in Greek, are possibly the New Testament version of the Old Testament Balaamites. The Nicolaitans were teaching the Christians in Pergamum to sin.

Here is justice and mercy combined. Jesus does not say, "I will fight against you...the sinner." Rather He says, "I will fight against THEM!" The greatest anger of Christ is against those who teach others to sin. To sin oneself is forgivable. Jesus tells us that in this passage too. All we need do is repent and He will forgive us. But to teach another to sin is to become liable to the wrath of God. That is of the world. Jesus says the only way not to let the world infiltrate the church, but to have the church, that is Christ through us, infiltrate the world, is for us to stand on His Truth, to focus on Him. Jesus is the central focus of the Christian faith. That is why Jesus refers to the hidden manna coming from Him. Here is another Old Testament lesson from Jesus for the Pergamum believers, and us. Remember that the manna was the food given daily, directly from God to Israelites, to sustain them while they wondered in the desert.

Jesus tells us He has all the bases covered. He wields the only and ultimate power of judgment of life and death. And He is the secret to everyday living - even if our everyday living includes being stomped on by people around us, or adrift on a stormy sea of relational or emotional and health issues, or calmly living here in Moorpark. The sufficiency of Christ is all that we need. His sufficiency is in contrast to all the allurements and compromises of the world. The hidden manna is Jesus and Jesus is the abundant compensation for abstaining from idolatry. And idolatry is what - everything and everyone we put ahead of God. This can only result in interpersonal hurtfulness and broken relationships. And of course a separation from God. All of this is of the world and is the sinking ground around us.

The one verse from one of our praise songs this morning says so clearly how we can keep from sinking, and stand firm:

The joy of the Lord, will be my strength
I will not waiver, walking by faith
He will be strong to deliver me safe
The joy of the Lord is my strength. (From "The Joy of the Lord")

May it be so for each of us.