The local church matters to God; therefore, it should matter to us.

Revelation 2:12–13

Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city. 

The Supremacy of Christ.

Revelation 2:13-14

I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me….

But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. 

Deceive Christ’s followers into compromise with the religions and practices of those around them who do not follow Christ.  

We cannot grant the same level of credibility to all religions that are found in the claims of Christ.  

Acts 4:7

By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?

Acts 4:10,12

. . . he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus . . . the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. . . There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” 

Revelation 2:16

Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 

Ephesians 6:17

Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

When we are apologizing for the Word of God, Jesus is no longer supreme in our lives or in our churches. 

Luke 24:25,27

. . . You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures . . . Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 

Luke 24:32

. . . “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 

Luke 16:29–31

But Abraham said, “Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.”

The rich man replied, “No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.”

But Abraham said, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” 

Revelation 2:17

Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. 

Colossians 1:15–20

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. 

Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself.