Church: Smyrna

Introduction

Beginning in the 8 verse of the second chapter we read these words

Revelation 2:8–11 CSB

“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

I have talked to serval church members, friends and even pastors over the last several months, and one One thing that usually comes up is the constant pressure that everybody, feels

Whether it’s

finances The feeling of being attacked Pain Suffering Or you fill in the blank

Many of you filled out a poll o sent out earlier this week to not only you all but several pastors and the results are sobering

When it comes to stress over 30% of those who answered said it is almost unbearable in their life

53% said that the feel like either them personally or their family is being attacked daily

And 47% admitted that the feel like giving up tallest one time a day

Church this should jar us - this poll was sent to church going people and probably 75% of those poled are pastors

Make no mistake satan is on the move and he is paying his band of demons overtime

So what do you say to someone who is suffering -

What do you saw to them in the midst of suffering?

when there family has been ripped apart and the

Or what do you saw to your neighbor or friend who has lost their job and as a result they are experiencing poverty

What would you say - we have all been in that position - asking ourselves what can I say - how can I encourage or comfort this person

At times we did or best - we poured into them and then we walk away wondering if what we said was even the right thing to say

Wouldn’t it be great to have some kind of manual that would give us the right words to say - at the right time?

Church we do - we have the Bible

That’s is why it is so important that we get to know scripture so we will know what to do - if you take the time to dig into it scripture will provide the answer for anything you are facing

And here in revelation the lord revels to us how to minister to anyone who is going through pain and suffering

This is Jesus’s personal letter to a church that was being put through the ringer

A church that was under sentences pressure

And we would so well to hide these words in our heart because in this life we will all experience pain and suffering

We can not avoid it so then we would be wise to prepare for it

The church of Smyrna was located 35 miles north of Ephesus

It was founded in about 1000 bc as a Greek colony

In 600 bc it was completely destroyed

In 300 bc it was rebuilt

The city had literally died and then come back to life

something the citizens to great pride in

The city of Smyrna was beautiful - maybe the most beautiful city in that day

It had a coliseum that would hold over 20,000 people

They were known for their wisdom (Homer the great philosopher was born and raised here)

They were also known for being the ones who invented the practice of worship the Roman emperors

It is still a thriving city today

The city was named after its chief export

Any guesses on what the export was

Let me give you a hint - in the days of Jesus some used as a perfume - other as an anesthetic - it was even used as an embalming fluid

Myrrh

What is interesting about all of this is the manufacturing process of myrrh

And it perfectly describes this church

One writer said that the church was lying in the precious aroma of their suffering

In order to to manufacture myrrh the plant would have to be crushed

And as it was crushed it would produce MYRRH

and we know that they suffered well because Jesus did not have anything negative to say about them

So what was it that caused them to suffer so much

the Christian’s in that city were hated - they were despised They were insignificant They were heavily persecuted They had no rights

And to make matters worse they would not bow down to the emperor

Know of we are not careful we miss a huge part of the story here

We have always seen the Roman’s as horrible people but that is not at all how the citizens of Rome felt about them

The loved the Roman Empire - that is why they worsted the emperor and considered them God’s

And so because the Christian’s would not bow down they were hated

And because they had no rights - the citizens did what ever they wanted to them

they were traitors

And because of all of this they were attacked and tortured

on the rack Boiled alive Feed to the wild animals in the Colosseum Burned slowly at the stake

Now look at the first part of verse 9

”I know your affliction and poverty”

in all of this jesus assured them I know your tribulation and your poverty

The word Jesus uses here for affliction is better translated pressure

it indicates the idea of placing a heavy rock on a man’s chest until he is literally crushed to death

The word poverty here is not what we think - it is not used to describe a man who works hard and barley scrapes by - poverty here means absolutely poverty - it was reserved to describe some one who had no means whatsoever to support the self - they had to beg for anything and everything

unable to put food on their table Most did not have a place to lay their head

They were robed of what little they did have

Band from making a living

And when you combine pressure with poverty here and then add persecution- the load is almost to much to bear

Every day thing just got worse

Know I want you to see what Jesus said - he has 2 pieces of advice

The first one we see in vs 10

”Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer”

How would you have reacted?

Knowing all that they had been through and were about to go through

My first though would have been Jesus that is easier said than done

Think about the season we are living in right now - I would be willing to bet many of us or experiencing a kind of quite fear

what going to happen to the economy What’s gonna happen in our churches? What’s gonna happen in our families?

It’s so easy if we’re not careful to let our life be run by fear

You know, and in the midst of that - in the midst of all this chaos, the Lord says to us fear not because I am with you

And one of the common themes we read all throughout scripture is the truth, that if we have Jesus, we don’t have to be afraid

Because he has overcome the world

I’m not here this morning to tell you to put your big boy underwear on and suck it up

What I want you to hear is the same words of Jesus said to the church you do not have to fear because God is with you

Now notice what else he says in verse 10 - look there at the end of the verse

”Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.“

Revelation 2:10 CSB

Reality is for many of those members. Death was probably right around the corner, and Jesus was telling them no matter what you be faithful.

And while we may not be facing immediate death for our faith - tribulation and persecution are real

And Jesus would tell us the same thing - he would tell us not to worry about all of that just be faithful

Because you see Jesus looks at life from an eternal perspective

And he wants us to learn how to do the same

Because the way to lose fear is to gain faith

So how do we live this out? How do we live by faith and not by fear?

Remember who we serve

Read vs 8 with me again

”“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life:“

Revelation 2:8 CSB

Our God’s name is the name above all names

When everything else fades, he will not

When everything seems to be going bad, remember that you serve a God who they tried to do everything they could to him to wipe him out he is still alive

We look towards eternity, knowing that Jesus is in heaven right now, preparing a place for us, and one day we will join him

You may be going through something right now, and it may seem unbearable, but just hold on to the faith that you have that soon you will be with Jesus for all eternity

Because he is the first and the last and he is coming back to get us

We are reminded of the fact that

Remember that He is not unaware of what we were going through

And because he is the first in the last, he is not unaware of what we are going through

Look at what he says in verse nine

”I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.“

Revelation 2:9 CSB

If you look at verse 2:9 some translations add the words I know your works

I like this translation here in the CSB because it’s better translated

Here Jesus says I know you’re affliction and your property

Jesus was in the word here know indicates that he knows by experience

Don’t another word he saying whatever you’re experiencing whatever you’re going through I’ve been here

I’ve experienced suffering and trials

Think about that church here the Almighty God, and our savior Jesus is saying, in the midst of our troubles, I know

I see you

I have compassion for you

Church he is not unaware of what we’re going through

You may be going through something right now and you say there’s no way anybody could understand how you feel

God does

There was not a tear shed in that church that he did not feel

These believers may have been the OutKast in their culture and look down on by every everybody else

But not by God

But keep reading it gets better

In verse 9 he says

Remember that You are Rich

You see, they may been poor when it come to material things

They may not have been able to put food on their table at times

But when it comes to their salvation, they were rich

As followers of Christ we have riches that this world simply cannot understand

True riches is not determined by how much money we have in the bank is a church or how much tithes we brought in today?

It is based on our relationship with Jesus

Often we evaluate our success, the same way that the world does

But what really matters is our relationship with Jesus

That’s it

The most important thing we can know in this life is that we are a child of God and we are loved by him

Remember that all of this is just for a little while

”Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.“

Revelation 2:10 CSB

There are many debates on what these 10 days referred toto and reality is we don’t know

And I don’t think it really matters because what I think God was trying to tell this church is that the suffering they were gonna have to go through with pale in comparison when you consider eternity

You may be going through a trial right now and it seems like you’ll never get out of it, but just remember you have eternity in your future if you’re a child of God

the suffering you’re going through right now, will be a minor blimp on the timeline

Because here’s what we need to see, God is in control, and he has said a limit on all this pain and suffering and one day he will come back he will end it all

And we will spend eternity with him in heaven, where there will be no more pain and suffering

Do you know where you’ve all heard the saying that God won’t give us more than we can handle? And I used to use that very same phrase myself

But it hit me one day that that’s simply not the truth

The truth is, God will never give us more than he can see us through

Church he is in control and he will see us through

He will complete what was started in is the day we accepted Jesus as our savior

Remember that we will receive the crown of life

And on that day in revelations 2:10 we are told that he will give us the crown of life

To that church this would’ve meant everything

Think about it, because of the fact that they refuse to worship the emperor

They refused to compromise

They lost everything

Or did they

Jesus reminded them that they may have lost everything here on earth, but they reward that he has for us in heaven for always anything that we can get it here on earth

Those that were persecuted them may seem to have everything - but when you think about it in the light of eternity really they have nothing

How many times have you thought to yourself while you’re going through suffering and pain? Especially when it’s at the expense of somebody else, who doesn’t have a relationship with the Lord

How many times have you said Lord? Why do they get all that and I get nothing

When in reality, what we should be saying is thank you, Lord that you give me so much more than he’ll ever have

Because I have your grace in your mercy

When it comes to the second death, you and I will not experience it

Because we will be in heaven for all eternity - what greater of a gift could we have that?

The Roman citizens would have been holding up those crowns that they had one

They would have been boasting about how rich they were because of their allegiance to Rome

But in the day Jesus comes back none of that will matter

What will matter is the crown of life

”Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.“

James 1:12 CSB

Many of them would loose their life because of their relationship with Christ

But they did not have to live in fear

Luke 12:4–5 CSB

“I say to you, my friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear!

In Luke is saying those who persecute and do all these things they should be the ones in fear

But here in revelations he reminds us we do not have to fear because we have a personal relationship with him and with his father

Whatever you are going through- keep your head up

Do not fear

Because you have faith in Jesus - they might be able to take everything you have here but they cannot take away your salvation

That is why Paul says to die is gain

We are all going through stuff - the devil is on the move

But listen we have to get out head out of the sand and look up

We have to focus on Jesus

We have to bury our head in his word

Because as a believer the most important this that we need has already been given us

Does any one know who the messenger of this church was?

It was poly carp

As we study his life - we know that he was killed for his service

When they came to get him to feed him to the wild animals

He asked for a moment to pray and as he prayed he had food brought to those who were there to drag him off

Afterwards he was brought into the theater

A loud voice was heard - and that voice cried out be strong polycarp and play the man

No one knows where that voice came from but they heard it

The tried to get him to deny Christ

And he said this 86 years I have served him and he has never done me any harm. How can I blasphemy the name of my king?

The mob pushed harder

The they threatened him with fire

His response was you threaten me with fire that will burn but an hour but you yourself are ignorant of the fire that it is coming for the punishment of the ungodly

Then he close with these words why are you taking so long bring for the fire?

Is the flames engulfed him?

He prayed thank you Lord, for finding me worthy of this day and this hour

Listen no matter where you are - the lord will enable you - if you are where he wants you

He will see you through

Because he is the first and the last

Even in tribulation and persecution we have the joy of the lord

You may be in the mist mist of suffering in pain right now, but let me close with these words

Do not be afraid because God will see you through it all. So Stay faithful until the end!