The Church at Smyrna: The Suffering Church | Chris Chadwick | Revelation 2:8-11 — Chris Chadwick

Revelation chapter two, our text will be found in verse number eight. In 1942, a man named Clarence Jordan, a Georgia farm boy, went to school and earned two PhDs, one in agriculture and one in New Testament Greek. And he started a a rural farm in Sumter County, Georgia, called Koinonia, the Greek word for fellowship. The idea was very simple and dangerous: live like the early church. Treat Black and white neighbors as equal. And in Jim Crow Georgia, that was enough to make people want them gone. It was not a good time for things like that, and Christ-like and biblical equality was not well thought of in most of Georgia at the time. And the pressure began to mount on Koinonia, the farm. Boycotts began to happen, slashed tires on their vehicles, roadside stands dynamited, shots fired into houses on the farm at night.

Then one night, the Ku Klux Klan came to the farm, and they burned every house on the farm except for Jordan's house, and Jordan's house, they littered it with bullets. Families fled, and the place looked finished. The next day, a local reporter heard what happened and went out to the farm expecting to see basically just a funeral, and nobody there, nobody working, and he was gonna report on it. And when he got there, he found Clarence Jordan in the field hoeing and planting in the ashes. The reporter approached him and said to him, "I came," I, and I quote, "I came to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing." And Jordan kept working, didn't even lift his head. The reporter pushed on and said, "Just how successful after two doctorates and 14 years of work do you think you've been? There's nothing left." At that response, Jordan lifted his head and said, "We're about as successful as the cross of Christ, sir.

I don't think you understand us. What we're about is not success, it's faithfulness. We're staying." And that they did. Out of the same farm that Jordan started in 1942 came what we call today as Habitat for Humanity. The buildings that burned were not the point. The vow or the commitment was. As we come to our text this morning in Revelation chapter 2 verse number 8, we're going to see a church that suffered. Matter of fact, this is called the suffering church, the church at Smyrna. And they suffered because they put their faith in Christ. And before I introduce to you the suffering church, the church at Smyrna, I wanna introduce you first to the city of Smyrna, a historical city, a real place. And let me remind you or encourage you with this reality, that when the Bible mentions a city, it's a real place. These are not fanciful cities made up by some author.

it's interesting that skeptics will oftentimes say things to me or others who are talking to them. They'll say, "There's cities in the Bible that aren't even real," only to find out later that archeologists have finally found the city that was stated in the Bible. Everything that is stated in the Bible is real, and every place in the Bible is a very real place, and I'm thankful that the work that is done to point out... And it's not always done by Christian archeologists. Matter of fact, much of the time it's not done by Christian archeologists. But we find these very real places in a very real world that the Bible really talks about Smyrna is a very real place. It's about 35 miles north of Ephesus. If you're not good in, like, distances, that's about the same distance between San Diego and Oceanside, 35 miles north. Smyrna was a wealthy city, second in wealth in all of Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey, to Ephesus.

It's the, of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation chapter two and three, this is the most beautiful of the cities, maybe the most beautiful of all the cities in Asia Minor. It was the finest city of Asia and was called the Lovely City, the Crown of Ionia, and the Ornament of Asia. It was a magnificent place, not only because of its architecture, which was amazing, but because of the very topography of the place. It looked a lot like San Diego. Now let me just tell you, there's other pretty places in the world. I was just in Omaha, Nebraska. It was prettier than I thought it was gonna be. I thought it was just gonna be flat and brown. They had, like, trees and hills and humidity and rain. It it was, it was nice. It was fine. It was, it was, it was nice. It was nice. I mean, I'm glad for the folks that live there. In South Dakota in the Black Hills, beautiful. That's beautiful.

And, you have the Northeast and Maine, certainly beautiful. And then you have the plain states, certainly not anywhere near beautiful, like Amarillo, where my family is from. But we in San Diego live in a very beautiful place. No, we should've had more amens. Some of you are like, "No, my family, we are from Hobbs, New Mexico." I'm sorry you're from Hobbs, New Mexico. It's not beautiful, and I was born there, so not beautiful. But we live in a very beautiful place It was near mountains like San Diego is. It was near water like San Diego is. I mean, just a beautiful city. It had a superb harbor. It was at the head of a deep gulf in the Aegean Sea, and its harbor made it an important commercial center.

Strabo, who was a Greek geographer and historian, who lived between 64 BC and 24 AD, is-- was especially valuable, is especially valuable in helping us understand the culture and the geography of the world at that time in Asia Minor, Greece, all of the Roman world. Describes Smyrna as having a harbor that could be closed, giving it considerable commercial and military advantages. It was positioned to receive trade from the Aegean and from the interior of West Asia. It, its, excellent location was just fraught with making it wonderfully commercial, and it controlled access to the Hermes Valley and the interior of Asia Minor. Just a very wealthy city, which comes into play with what we're about to talk about. Smyrna still exists today. You may have heard of Izmir, Turkey. Izmir, Turkey, is built where, Smyrna was. It boasts today a population of about four point five million people in the metropolitan area.

Obviously, the exact size of Smyrna, that'd be much smaller than that. But in the area, four point five million people, it's still alive today. Where Ephesus is just a small little enclave, Smyrna is a vast metropolis. That's the city of Smyrna. The church at Smyrna that we're gonna look at this morning was founded during Paul's ministry at Ephesus, possibly by Paul or, more likely, one of those who had been saved at the church at Ephesus that took the gospel to the needy folks in the city of Smyrna. While the church at Smyrna in reference appears only in the Revelation in the New Testament text, it's well documented by the early church and indicates Christianity's presence in the city. But the church at Smyrna did not have an easy go of things. It was actually a very difficult place. Historically, if you know anything about the Roman world, Domitian was Caesar at the time that John is writing this.

And if you know anything about Roman history, Domitian was a murderous dictator who launched an ex-- a, an extensive persecution against the church, which somehow reached fever pitch or just a massive, crescendo, if you will, in the town of Smyrna. You see, the city was deeply committed to emperor worship I just want us to be careful here Because sometimes Christians get really wound up in the Western world, in America, with political leaders who would identify with our political positions. That's good. And putting people in the White House, and we actually believe that they can change the world because of their position. And friends, if the last couple years have taught us anything, and that is this: no politician can change the heart. The only one who can change the heart is the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And just 'cause your favorite politician, and it happens on the right and it happens on the left, and I certainly have a position. And, but just because you have a position, understand that no political leader is supposed to be worshiped, and no political leader should ever make themself out like they're an angel or they have direct revelation from God. No political leader should ever have that kind of arrogance about themselves, and I've seen Christians who are in jeopardy of replacing the deity of Christ with a self-imposed deification of a political leader, be it in the White House or desiring to be in the White House. And we must be incredibly careful as followers of Jesus Christ that we understand that the hope for the world is the gospel of Christ, not a political party. Amen. It has nothing to do with the message, but I think it's really appropriate to say.

Smyrna had an unusual affinity for Caesar, so much so that some historians tell us that Smyrna, would actually have mass executions of Christians who refused to bow the knee to Caesar. Caesar was proclaimed as a god, and he was to be worshiped as a deity, and under Domitian, it became a capital offense to refuse the required yearly sacrifice to the emperor. Each year, citizens in Smyrna had to go to Caesar's altar, and there they had to burn incense at the altar, and they had to proclaim this exact phrase: "Caesar is Lord," capital L-O-R-D. And after they were done, they were given a certificate that says they did their Smyrnan responsibility of proclaiming Caesar as Lord.

To be without such a certificate, as Christians had to be, faithful Christians could not bow the knee to Caesar and proclaim him as Lord, because there is only one Lord, and his name is Jesus So obedient Christians could not bow and profess Caesar as Lord, and in so doing or in not doing, they risked discovery and the death penalty. And many were killed for their faith in Christ And many were killed not for being antagonistic towards Caesar, but for simply not deifying Caesar. In Smyrna, as in many places in the first century, they simply turned and began to serve Christ as the culture got worse and worse and worse. So the context of the Christians in Smyrna and the struggles of the local church there in Smyrna, have come to light for us this morning. They were under grave persecution, and Jesus is writing them a letter.

And he gives that letter to John, and John gives that to somebody who took the first letter and dropped it off at Ephesus, and then takes the second letter and he takes that to the church at Smyrna. And as we open the letter, if you will, in verse number eight, we first see this morning Christ's description of himself. Now, it's imperative that we remember that the purpose of the Revelation today is to reveal Christ in his glorified state. Amen. That's right. That's the purpose of the Revelation. He's not the suffering servant of the Gospel of Mark. He's not the babe in a manger of the Book of Matthew. Here he is the glorified King of kings and Lord of lords. In the Revelation, as he will always be, he is the judge of the world, and he is in control of all things, and he writes to this church, and he writes them a wonderful letter of encouragement.

You see, in ancient letters, the author of the letter would identify himself at the beginning of the letter instead of the end, which is the common practice. And so verse number eight identifies Christ, and he describes himself as the first and the last. that's an Old Testament title for God. Right. I was in a discussion not too long ago, and this has happened at our church as well a couple of times, where I've had the wonderful privilege of talking about theology with people of the Muslim faith, and they will often say to me, "Jesus never identified himself as God." And I will begin to describe and quote where Jesus did describe himself as God, and here is certainly one of those places, because the phrase first and the last is an Old Testament title for God. Isaiah 44:6, the Bible says, "Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God."

Isaiah 48:12 says, "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called. I am he. I am the first. I also am the last." Christ here is affirming his equality with God. Jesus is not a created being. Before creation, he eternally existed with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. There has never been a time when God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have been without Jesus Christ. He always has been, and he always will be. He was there before creation, and he'll be here after destruction He is the eternal infinite God, said John MacArthur, who already existed when all the things were created, and who will continue to exist after they are destroyed. Jesus Christ transcends time, space, and the creation. Now, here's the fascinating thing. We have Jesus, the eternal infinite God, who always has been, who always will be. He spoke the world into existence. He spoke the Word of God into existence. Yet we see Him here in His glorified humility.

Glorified humility What a contradiction of thoughts. Glorified humility. God the Son became the God man. The first and the last became He, in verse number eight, look at it, which was dead The God man, truly God, truly man, became man for us, truly man, and died for us. This identifies Christ as the Savior of mankind. This is a great mystery. How can the ever-living One, the first and the last, die? This is what Peter said in his inspired writing in 1 Peter chapter 3 verse number 18, where the Bible says, "For Christ also has suffered for, hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Christ died in his incarnate humaneness, says one author, as the perfected sacrifice for sin, but now has come to life by his resurrection and lives forever according to the power of his endless life.

This is why it's an affront to the gospel for groups like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons to say that they are Christians. Their theology undermines the deity of Christ. They do not view Christ as the divine creator of the world, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they believe in a different Jesus, not the Jesus of the Revelation Friends, if you're here today and you're investigating the claims of Christianity, first and foremost, thank you for being here And secondly, it's imperative that you understand that Jesus is the Son of God, and He died on the cross of Calvary for your sin because God loves you. And three days later, under His own power, He rose again from the grave, and He is alive today, and He will never die. Paul says this to the church at Rome in Romans 6:9, "Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him.

For in that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God." He died because of man's sins one time when He put your sin and my sin on Himself. He died in my place. He died in your place. But He rose again, and He lives unto God, and He dies no more. Verse 18 of chapter one says He's alive evermore. Christ's description of Himself is followed by verse number nine, ‘I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.’ we wanna see the commendation of Christ. Now if you were here last week and you're a note-taker and you're looking back to your notes, you're gonna be like, "Pastor, this is the exact same outline as last week." And I would say, "You're right." The subjects are gonna be different, but it's gonna be the same outline next week, and for seven weeks we're gonna have the same outline.

The material will be different, but it's the same format that Christ uses in every single one of his churches. We see the commendation of the church at Smyrna. Now, the church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia are the only two churches that Christ does not rebuke. This church, he only has good things to say to them, and it's a church in verse number eight that has a record, a good record, of service to him. He says, "I know thy works and thy tribulation." I know thy works. The word know is just a, it speaks of a progressive knowledge. It reflects a full and complete knowledge. It depicts absolute clearness and mental vision which photographs all facts of life as they pass. So it, so it's like God is saying or Jesus is saying to the church at Smyrna, "I know everything about you. I know your works. I know what you've done. I know the result of your working. I know the result of your employment.

I see the end state of what you've done. I see everything about you, and I have perfect knowledge of that." This service that they had in Smyrna was not done in a period of days or weeks or even years. We believe that the church of Smyrna was somewhere between 35 and 45 years old as a church. Friends, God has called us to faithful service for a lifetime. Amen. A lifetime And I'm thankful for everyone that served Christ and then they fell away to a time of discouragement, and then God has brought you back, and you're here today, and you're serving Christ. Could I encourage you today? Stay faithful to Christ. Stay faithful until He takes you home to heaven, and stay... And you'll be able to worship and praise Him there for all of eternity. Remain faithful to Christ without your life. Why would I remain faithful, Pastor, to Christ throughout my life? Because, friends, He has beaten death. Men may fail you.

You've come to church this morning, I'm pumped that you're here, but you should know that we are an imperfect place led by imperfect people filled with imperfect folks. What do you mean imperfect? We're not perfect. Sometimes we'll forget your name. Now, Burnie might not forget your name, but I sure will. But the other day, I was looking at one of my daughters, and I forgot her name. And then I was looking at my wife, and I called her one of my daughter's names. Now, names are important, but sometimes we are imperfect. We serve a perfect Savior, and we serve in a church that's perfect in its, origination and organization, but it is led by imperfect people, and we stay faithful to the Lord, not because of the perfection of the church, but because of the perfection of the Savior Because Jesus has already beaten death, I can stay faithful to Him.

Because Jesus has already beaten death, I can stay faithful to Him throughout my life, throughout my life. That's right. Amen. and friends, He says He's not only beaten death, and He's not spiking the ball in the end zone when He says that. He says that as a way of encouraging us and reminding us that every temptation and struggle that you have ever been through, Christ Himself has been through. and every challenge you've been through, the Bible says He was in all points tempted like we are, or like you are, or like I am, to all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And we remain faithful to Him because He beat death The church at Smyrna has a track record of service. The church at Smyrna's affliction and suffering we see in this text. I know their works and tribulation and poverty the church's affliction and suffering.

Rather than offering the Smyrna the Christians at Smyrna like a, like a ray of hope, like, "Hey, you know, it's the third quarter, the fourth quarter's coming, and this is almost over. You know, just push through. You're gonna make it Jesus is actually leading us to understand that it's probably gonna get worse. I like to work out, and on our staff we do CrossFit together, and there's often many times when we're in the middle of a workout and, sometimes the coaches... My least favorite workout is do, it's called an AMRAP, as many rounds as possible in a, in a quantified period of time. So do as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes. And, I'll look at that clock, and we're like at the 12-minute mark, and Zane Garza's over there like a bunny rabbit. He's just doing burpees, and he's singing, and he's smiling. He's handing out gospel tracks, and he's taking an offering. And he's like, doesn't even look like he's working.

He's just having the time of his life. And I'm over there like a walrus that's been shot with a 12-gauge, just barely moving. Just trying to get up and get over. And I'm looking at the clock, and I'm like, "Holy cow. I don't think I'm gonna survive." And I'm looking at the clock. But here's the deal. I... This is what I do. I look at it and I'm like, "Okay, we're at the 15-minute mark. Okay, I only..." This is what I say, "I only have five minutes left. I think I can endure for five more minutes. Five more minutes." I'm looking over at Pastor Zane just having the time of his life, and he's like, "Maybe we could go longer." And I'm thinking, "Maybe you could take my time," you know, or whatever. And it just gets harder and harder and harder.

But I'm looking at him like, "It's just, it's just, it's gonna get easier 'cause we're almost done Jesus actually says the exact opposite Church of Smyrna, it's not gonna get any easier than it already has been. It's actually gonna get worse. You're gonna suffer greater than you've suffered in the past. So rather than offering them a reprieve from this service, the letter seems to anticipate the worsening condition, but the promise that God, being faithful to, will be faithful to walk with them through the extremes of suffering, and that God will reward them. We see the difficulty of their tribulation. Verse number nine, "I know your tribulation," the pressure, the sacrifice they had to make, and the perils they had to endure because of their proclamation and profession of Christ. I know the struggles you're going to go through. I know the, I know the hard times you're gonna go through. I know your works.

I know your tribulation And all they had to do to end their tribulation was simply deny Christ. Just deny Christ. just say he's not real. You can even believe he's real, just say he's not real. That's, that's all you have to do. If you'll just say Jesus isn't real and Caesar is God, then everything will be fine, and no one even has to know. You can still keep doing your Christian thing. Just when it comes time to do the yearly sacrifice, just go light the incense, you don't even have to mean it, and just say, "Caesar's the Lord," and keep moving on. That's all they had to do But the church at Smyrna was filled with good Christians who weren't hypocrites, who weren't frauds, fakes, and phonies. And I'll tell you, the church in the West is filled with that The church, the church in America is filled with that There's a guy at the church of Smyrna very important to church history. His name is Polycarp.

He's an important figure in the early church. He learned the gospel from the Apostle John, and he pastored the church at Smyrna from somewhere around his 30s to his martyrdom in his mid-80s. And some material exists that he was killed about 155, 156 AD, about 50 years after the writing of this letter. In a letter after his death addressed to the churches in the Christian world, the church at Smyrna wrote them and related that the Jews joined the pagans in Smyrna in clamoring that Polycarp should be thrown to the lions or burned alive. It was a time of the public games when it happened, like a, like a Olympics or a festival of athletic events, and the city was crowded with many crowds, and suddenly there went a shout up out of nowhere, it seemed like. It wasn't nowhere. Obviously, it was divined, designed by Satan and allowed by God in his sovereignty and in his plan. and, the chant became, "Away with the atheist.

Let Polycarp be searched for." You see, why would, why would Polycarp, a-- the pastor of the church at Smyrna, be called an atheist? Because Smyrna worshiped what is called a-- had a polytheistic worship. They worshiped many gods, an eclectic group of gods, including Zeus and Apollo and Aphrodites and especially Cybele. They worshiped her. And the Christians' rejection of such pagan gods and pagan idols, coupled with their worship of the invisible God, caused them to be denounced as atheists. And much of Smyrna's social life was centered around their pagan worship, and the Christians were viewed as antisocial elitists for refusing to participate in that. Now let me give an aside and an encouragement to you. Some of you are in the military, or you're first responders, or your company, that you work for, and your company, or your command will have a party, and it's just gonna be like a drunken fest of, just spiritual naughtiness.

And you simply say, "Pastor, if I don't go, I'll be made fun of, and I don't wanna be made fun of." Well, brothers and sisters, the Christians in Smyrna knew that they would be mocked and ridiculed, and it could actually cost them physically, and they went not to those places because they could not participate with a clear conscience in those activities, and they endured the suffering. And I would just encourage you that when you feel alone at your command or your company, understand this: You are not alone. Jesus is with you. The Holy Spirit is with you. But you're in a long line of believers who said, "I'll take a stand, and I'll not go down that road." Somebody might say, "Well, what's the big deal? Just do it." No, it's a big deal because it's a big deal to my Savior, and I need the world to know that I'm a follower of Jesus Christ.

And I have found in my experiences that in America today, most people, though they might not agree with you, they will at least respect you, and I would rather have your respect than your agreement And Polycarp and the Christians wouldn't go, and so the crowd began to chant, "Away with the atheists. Let Polycarp be searched for." Polycarp could have escaped, the letter says. He could have ran, away, but he had had a dream that night, and we don't wanna lead much of our life by dreams, but he had a dream that night, and in the dream was that the pillow that was under his head caught with fire and burned him in his dream, and he woke up, and he told his church members that he had the privilege of being the pastor. He told them, "I must be burned." His whereabouts were betrayed by a young slave girl who had been tortured to find him. They found Polycarp.

They arrested him, and as they're walking him back to the arena where he would stand before the judges, the sergeant that was carrying him or conveying him, I should say, on the brief journey pleaded with him, and he said this: "What harm is it to say that Caesar is Lord and to sacrifice and save your life?" But Polycarp was adamant that for him, only Jesus Christ was Lord. And the proconsul gave him the choice of cursing Christ and making sacrifice to Caesar or death, and this is what he said: "80 and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme the King who saved my soul?" So they burned him at the stake Tribulation. He wasn't the only one they burned at the stake. Time doesn't allow for us to tell so many other stories and events of martyrdom. And I would remind us that people are being martyred today more than at any time in church history. I mean, the cross of Christ divides.

And the church at Smyrna is a suffering church. We see the depth of their poverty. "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, but thou art rich." The word poverty here means abject poverty. It literally denies the basics of life, of food, clothing, and shelter. Not just were they poor, that's a different Greek word. It's, it... The idea here is that they may have been poor when they came to Christ, but because of their faith in Christ, all of the goods that they had were stolen from them because of persecution and affliction And their poverty was not only down to the depths, but no choice of their own, their belongings, their food, their clothing, their shelter were stolen from them. And the government at the time, the Roman government, had an agenda to take what was theirs. And so, the author, Jesus, says, "I know how poor you are.

I know your poverty," but notice this, I love this phrase, this parenthetical phrase that we have in the Scripture, "but thou art rich." They are rich in their walk with God. They are rich in their faith with God. They are rich in their fellowship with the saints. They are rich in their hearing of the Word. They are rich in their love for one another. They are rich in their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They are rich in what they are going to receive in eternal life. They are rich in so many ways. And I just said this at the 8:30 service, I'm saying it at the 10:30 service, I would way rather be a member of a poor, rich church than a member of a rich, poor church. Amen.

I'd way rather be a member of a church who doesn't have a whole lot of resources, but they have a whole lot of love for Christ, than I would be a member of a church that has all the resources in the world and it's just a social club And so Jesus is saying, "I know your works. I know your tribulation. I know your poverty, though you are rich. And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." They were betrayed by those who should have been their allies. Dude, nothing in life stinks like having somebody who should be your friend stab you in the back That's one of the worst things ever And sometimes as a Christian that happens My back's got a few scars Now, not to the level here, obviously, not to the level here, but it happens. Unbelieving Jews commonly accused the Christians of cannibalism because of the Lord-- their misunderstanding of the Lord's Supper.

They accused Christians of immorality based on a perversion of the holy kiss that the Scripture talks about greeting one another with in Romans six-- sixteen or one Corinthians sixteen, twenty and other passages. They accused us of breaking up homes and marriages because one spouse would become a Christian and the other did not, and it often caused conflict. They accused them of atheism because, as already noted, Christians rejected the pagan pantheon of deities in Smyrna. They accused them of political disloyalty and rebellion because we refuse, as Christians, to offer the required sacrifice to the emperor. And hoping to destroy the Christian faith, some of the Smyrna's wealthy and influential Jews reported these blasphemies and false allegations to the Romans, and it caused a massive persecution to happen.

And so the synagogue of Satan that is referred to here in verse number nine means they assembled to plan their attacks on the church, and thus doing Satan's will. They even claimed to be a synagogue of God, but they were the exact opposite And Christ says this "Guys, I can't help but commend you I mean, you're, you're gonna go through some difficulties, and I see the affliction that you're going through, and you're not going through the affliction alone. You're not the only one going through this challenge. You're not the only one going through these difficulties. I see what you're going through, and I'm there with you through the struggles and through the challenge and through the difficulties. You are not alone. You say, "Well, where? Help me see that, Pastor." Well, then look at Christ's command in verse number 10, where he says to them, ‘Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.’

The command of Christ, stay encouraged in the Lord Difficulties are coming. Fear not. Don't be, it's the word fear, don't be anxious or terrified with what is coming D-don't have anxiety over what's about to happen fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer or experience some form of evil And then he lists it Think about it. Don't fear what's coming, and if you don't know what's coming, let me tell you what's coming. I prefer to live in ignorance. How many are like me? Like, if something bad's coming, I don't wanna know about it. Like, if you told me, "Hey, Pastor, on the way home, you're gonna get in a car wreck," I'm walking home How many of you know what I'm talking about? Like, "I just, I'd rather not know. Rather not know. Hey, you're gonna break your leg. Get me a wheelchair, man. I'm gonna roll out of here." I don't wanna know what's coming. I wouldn't... I don't wanna know that.

I have no desire to know the suffering that's coming. And if I know, the Bible says, "The prudent man foresees the evil and hide himself," I'm gonna do everything I can to stay away from that. How many of you have ever done something stupid and then thought, " Why did I do that?" How many of you ever done something stupid that you knew you shouldn't do and it still turned out bad? I did that the other day. I was, I was cutting an orange And rather than grab a knife that I should, I used a bread knife, like a 10-inch serrated blade. Why? 'Cause it was there, on top of the drawer that had every other knife in the planet 'cause my wife does not believe in throwing anything away. I got enough knives in there literally to take care of all the bayonets in the United States military. there are tons of knives in there, and just so many.

But the serrated edge knife was there, and so I was, I was like, "Oh, I'll just cut this orange with this knife." And I grabbed it, and I cut it. And like, on the saw-through, I literally thought, "I probably shouldn't be doing this right now." But I went ahead and did it. And man, that serrated edge, it's new. when my father-in-law, he bought some of those Cutco knives. How many of you know Cutco knives? Like $4,000 for a set of knives. You never need another knife. They never need sharpening. They never need anything. Buy that and a Kirby vacuum cleaner, and you've, you've taken care of all- -of the door-to-door sales things in the world. Well, before my father-in-law died, he was helping a kid in college in their church. And I'm like, "Dad, just give the kid 500 bucks." He'd have gotten more, and go down to Walmart and get another knife. But anyway, he got 'em, and that was my inheritance from my father-in-law.

Debbie got a ton of money. I got a Cutco knife. And so I'm, I'm, I'm cutting the knife. About halfway through, I didn't realize how sharp this knife was, and bro, it flew through the orange right into my finger. And I was like, "How stupid was I to do that?" Debbie was gone, so I couldn't even get any sympathy. I had to deal with it on my own. And how many of you men know, I have no idea where the Band-Aids are in my house. And my wife organizes stuff without ever telling me where they're organized. And she's, she's like, "Oh, I've organized the kitchen." And then my daughter, who's 30 years old, she organizes stuff 'cause she thinks it's her kitchen. And so they move stuff. So I got a bleeding finger, and I can't find a Band-Aid, and there I am. And the whole time I'm thinking like, "Why did I do that? I should've avoided that."

Had I known the the suffering that is coming, I don't know that I would've had the grace to keep going through it. But notice how committed the church at Smyrna was Dude they didn't get bitter They didn't get angry? They didn't quit Verse number 10, "Some of you are going to prison." He's gonna... The devil, "The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried." It kind of flies in the face of the modern-day prosperity gospel You're going to prison to be tried. You're going to prison. The word tried here means to be abused. We would use a word maybe, it might not be this bad, but this would be the idea, tortured And you're gonna have tribulation for 10 days. 10 days? That's oddly specific. Well, the idea of the 10 days here, I don't have time to deal with all of it, but the idea of the 10 days here, is this: that the suffering is going to be severe, but it's going to be brief as we look at the totality of time.

Now, it's only brief, suffering is only brief if you're not the one going through it. Right. If you're going through it's not brief. But the idea here is one of 10 days. It's not 10, like you only would face, like there's a, there's a, you know, a requirement, no more suffering than 10 days of suffering or tribulation, no more suffering than 10 days of tribulation. Obviously, it can't mean, that you could only be, have tribulation for 10 days. But the idea is one of the suffering will be brief in the totality of time And godly people are going through it And you're gonna go to prison for something that's a false accusation. And you're gonna be tried, and they're gonna abuse you to try to get you to deny Christ and deify Caesar. And others of you will have tribulation 10 days. There's a lot of thought in the 10 days, but the general consensus is just a idea of brevity Be thou faithful.

Notice what he says Unto death Some of y'all might be here this morning. I don't know everybody that's here today at all. But I was born on a Friday. The next Sunday I was in church 54 years ago. And the only reason I didn't go to church that first Sunday is that my mom had a pretty severe cesarean So it was nine days after I was born, I was in church and I've missed 14 Sundays in 54 years I know church and I know church people And I'll just be super clear when I say some of the most sensitive, unfaithful folks on the planet are professing Christians. Often Christians that have ridiculous positions about tertiary issues. You say, "What's tertiary?" It's called third tier Jesus is saying to the church at Smyrna, "You're gonna go through tribulation, and Satan," the devil is the word he uses, "is gonna cast some of y'all into prison to be tried And the rest of you will face tribulation for a period of time.

Be faithful unto death, and I'll give thee the crown of life Time doesn't allow for me to say everything I want to say. I'm trying to be sensitive to our needs But the question has to be asked, and it's a fair question. Why is this godly church, he's writing a church, not an individual, that is incredibly important to remember, you're to be faithful to a church and faithful to Christ. Amen. Not just whatever church you want. You join a church, you stay at a church unless God moves you to some other part of the planet or they lose their doctrinal purity, and losing their doctrinal purity doesn't mean you just suddenly dislike them Amen. I don't need anybody else to amen that point. I just felt like I needed to say that this morning. Like, amen, that's good. That's good. Don't be weak. That's the exposition of what I just said Why is a godly church going through this suffering? Why do godly people suffer?

I mean, it's a fair question Because there are folks the world over who think if you live for God's always gonna make your life easier. Or if you do something for God's gonna make it work out. I mean, I'm gonna do this for God or God's people, so God has to make it work out. But that's not the case And we see that clearly in this text I mean, sometimes that's the case, but sometimes that's not the case. "So Pastor, what's the answer to the question?" Well, the answer to the question is mostly found in the sovereignty of God. That God is in control of everything and knows what is best for me and deals with me according to His purpose and His plan for my life to bring Him glory and deals with me according to His plan for my life to bring Him glory and deals with me according to His plan. I'm not looking for an amen, I'm just keep saying it so that we get it.

And deals with me according to His plan for my life to bring Him glory He knows all. He's omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and He deals with me according to His plan for my life to bring Him glory. So the answer to the question is found in the sovereignty of God And so I've listed for you a couple of things about suffering. This one I did not put on the list, but I should have. And number one, suffering purifies the church. What do you mean purifies the church? hypocrites don't wanna stay around during persecution Fake Christians aren't staying around when it's like die for your faith or deny Christ. they're, they're denying Christ. If they're in it just to find a girlfriend, they're out. They'll find a girlfriend somewhere else. If they're in it just because they think they might get a contract or a better job or make more money, they're out.

Suffering purifies Hypocrites, false believer almost always, not always, but almost always leave you in suffering. Well, the Bible has some other answers for that question. That's not the only answer Suffering may be disciplinary in nature As indicated by God's dealing with the church at Corinth. We won't take time to read 1 Corinthians 11:30-32. I encourage you to go home and read it. But it may be disciplinary. God may bring suffering into your life to correct you. That's why when you go through something, the first thing-- One of the first things, maybe not the first thing, but one of the first things you ought to ask the Lord is, "There's something in my life that you're trying to purge. Is there some wickedness in my life or some sin in my life that I'm not aware of or that I'm holding onto? God, is there something I need to eradicate, get rid of from my life?"

And I would, I would exhort you as members of Canyon Ridge Baptist Church, as we prepare for the Lord's table tonight, to get any sin that is in your life eradicated before the Lord's table. It's one of the purposes of the Lord's table is to be right with God. And so suffering is often disciplinary in nature to help us see things as they need to be seen. Secondly, suffering may be preventative, as indicated by God's dealing with the Apostle Paul's thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:7. The Apostle Paul said, "Lest I be exalted above measure, God gave me a thorn in the flesh." And he said he actually prayed that God would remove it three times. But then he tells them God did not remove this thorn in the flesh. We think that phrase means, we just think, it's, we're pretty sure that it means some type of physical ailment. Don't know what it is. Some people have suggested he struggled with eyesight.

some people, have suggested, and I would be in this line of thought, that he has probably got some major, physical problems related to the constant beatings and, like, massive pain in his back and legs just due to the to beatings that he endured. Again, don't know if that's the answer. What we do know for certain is that he suffered greatly because-- and God would not heal him, because if God healed him, the Apostle Paul would be arrogant God wouldn't allow the Apostle Paul to be arrogant Suffering, number ne, number, thirdly, suffering will teach the believer what otherwise would remain unlearned you'll learn lessons in suffering that you could never learn any other way Romans chapter five, verse number three, it says, "Not only so, but we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulationth worketh, tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.

And hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." We glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience Same tribulation Hebrews chapter 5 verse number 8 says, "Though he were a son, yet yet learned he obedience by things which he suffered." Suffering may glorify Christ in way few, in ways few things can. 1 Peter 4:14, "If you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. For the Spirit of glory, and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." If you're reproached, they are gonna make fun of you, but understand, stay faithful, He is glorified. It glorifies Christ in ways few things can. And Jesus closes out this letter to the church at Smyrna with this statement. Look at verse number 10, ‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.’

Faithful in duty to the Lord, true fidelity Be faithful unto death I-I-It's, it's almost like Jesus says, "Don't let anything come between you and me. Don't ever walk away from me. Christians in Smyrna, gather together every single Sunday and worship me, and pray for one another, and encourage one another. And when you're thrown into prison, remain faithful to me. And when you face tribulation, remain faithful to me. It's just a brief period of time. And when you get out and things are looking good, and then poverty happens and people steal from you again, be faithful unto death. And if you're faithful unto death, I'll give you a crown of life."

It means he's gonna give us grace, the ability to endure, and then a crown that we are given that we're able to lay back at his feet when we stand before him in heaven And then he finishes this awesome I told somebody between services this morning, there's so much more I wanna say, and I feel like I've... I feel like last week, like yeah, I grasped Ephesians.

Smyrna, I feel so inadequate to convey what these folks are going through or have went through, and the responsibility that you and I have to endure and to remain faithful and to persevere in the difficulties and challenges of ti-- of life and to keep serving and to not give up and to not grow bitter and not to view Christianity or Jesus through the paradigm of the American West, but to view Christ as King of our life and let nothing deter us from living for Him And he finishes this with the same statement he made last week, which was he will make every, to every single church in some form or fashion. ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’ That just means if you can hear, listen and learn what God is saying to the churches because you're accountable to what He has said to the churches, and learn this wisdom. ‘He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.’ When God...

He that overcometh, and we discussed this deeply last week. He that is saved, the person who's put their faith and trust in Christ, and is, and has committed their life to Jesus, and their soul has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb who died on the cross of Calvary for our sin, shall not be hurt, of the second death. Meaning at the final judgment, at the great white throne judgment where all unbelievers are judged, there will be no judgment for him that overcometh, for him that is a follower of Christ. So if you have an ear, hear what the Spirit is saying. If you have an ear to hear, if you have wisdom, listen and pay attention and be faithful unto death Why? Because Jesus has already beaten death. I can stay faithful to him even when faithfulness costs me everything. If it costs me everything, remain faithful. Why? He's beaten death He's beaten the grave. He has won. So yes, you may suffer. Yes, I may suffer.

I don't look forward to that. I don't want that. I'm not hoping for that. I'm just saying if it happens, understand we remain faithful even if it costs us everything because He has beaten death so in just a moment when we have our time of contemplation, if you're here today and you're a believer you know christ is your savior are you faithful? Would the church you're a member of say you're faithful? Well, I'd say I'm faithful. Here's the deal. We don't get to judge ourselves That's why accountability is required in the believer's life. And the greatest form of eternal security in the life of the believer is the confirmation of their walk with God by the local New Testament church that says, yes, they are living in evidences of faith and obedience to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It's a joyful thing to be a part, a faithful member of a local church. You say, well, I'm not a member of a local church. Then how are you being faithful?

No, how are you being faithful? Show me according to this word how you're being faithful Help me out. And the reality is you can't Some of you have been members of three churches in ten years because you are easily offended, which is a form of unfaithfulness. I don't want to be rude or unkind, but it is the truth. Be faithful. Don't deny Christ, and don't deny His church. I can stay faithful even when faithfulness costs me everything because Jesus has already beaten death.