We love the idea of God fighting for us. As Israel stood with the Red Sea in front of them and the army of Egypt chasing from behind them, Moses said, “The LORD will fight for you.” Nehemiah told the people rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, that when they heard the sound of the trumpet to rally together, that God would fight for them. We want the Lord to fight for us, but in Revelation 2, as Jesus was speaking to the leaders of the church at Pergamos, He told them that if they did not repent that He would come and fight against those living in sin within the church with the sword of His mouth. We love when God fights for us, but how much thought have we given to the reality that there are times when God must fight against us? Refusing repentance of sin and accountability to God’s Word through fellowship with God’s people causes God not to leave us, but to come and fight for us by fighting against us. That is not a sign of God’s anger, but His faithfulness, even when we are stubborn, He is true to His character. He does not sit and hope for us to change, He comes and causes us to respond to Him and His truth. Tonight, we will discuss not only Jesus’ rebuke and warning to Pergamos, but also His promise. Throughout Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus came to seven different churches, offering them warning or rebukes, but also promises of rewards. When we respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, not only does God forgive us, He transforms us and then He rewards us.