The Persecuted Church, Part 2
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· 2 viewsBig Idea: The message of the Son of Man to the persecuted church is to be fearlessly faithful.
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Outline
Outline
Big Idea: The message of the Son of Man to the persecuted church is to be fearlessly faithful.
Each of the seven letters has the same elements. (Borrowed from John MacArthur)
The Correspondent
The Church
The City
The Commendation
The Concern
The Command
The Counsel
Introduction
Introduction
Smyrna is THE PERSECUTED CHURCH.
Revelation 2:8-11.
8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
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Body
Body
Big Idea: The message of the Son of Man to the persecuted church is to be fearlessly faithful.
The Command
The Command
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Two imperatives in this verse that Jesus gives to the church.
Combined, they are a command to fearless faithfulness.
We are commanded to fearlessly faithful.
Do Not Fear
Do Not Fear
DO NOT FEAR - the suffering or what is to come
Do not be afraid…
Do not stand in terror of…
The devil was going to throw some of them into prison.
For ten days they will have tribulation
Fear is the God given, natural response to danger.
Fear is a tool, a good tool, given to us for our protection
Fear is intended to be USED FOR good to prompt us to the RIGHT and GOOD response to danger
Fear was NEVER INTENDED to control us, to rule our responses.
Fear is supposed to spur us on the Christ.
Fear is supposed to provoke us to caution BUT not to inaction.
2 Timothy 1:3-14.
I am going to focus on verse 7, but I urge you to read it in it’s entire context.
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Paul, encouraged by Timothy’s faith, by Timothy’s mother and grandmother’s faith, writes to encourage him, to spur him on to faithful action.
He reminds Timothy that we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and self control.
In Romans 8:15, Paul reminds us that we did not receive a spirit of SLAVERY to fall back into fear….but rather we have something to keeps us falling back into fear…adoption as sons of God.
We have an ABBA FATHER through adoption.
We do not have to fall back into fear, which enslaves us, if we permit it to.
We do NOT have to yield to fear.
To Timothy he says, THEREFORE do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner.
BUT SHARE IN THE SUFFERING for the gospel.
We have been called by a holy calling…
Not because of our works but because of HIS OWN purpose and grace…
Jesus abolished death..
Jesus brought life…
Jesus brought immortality through the gospel, of which we are preachers…
AND HE IS ABLE TO GUARD THAT WHICH HE HAS ENTRUSTED TO US.
By the Holy Spirit WHO DWELLS WITHIN US, guard the good deposit, the gospel, the message of salvation.
Paul tells Timothy, DO NOT FEAR or be ashamed because CHRIST has already claimed the victory and NOTHING can prevent or turn back the gospel
Jesus tells the church at Smyrna, DO NOT FEAR….for the exact same reason. Jesus has the victory. He has won.
Suffering and persecution may well come, BUT THEY DO NOT NEED TO FEAR IT because Jesus is guarding them and keeping them. Those who conquer, WILL NOT FACE THE SECOND DEATH.
Death is defeated. Their suffering WILL NOT defeat them. It will not eternally harm them.
Therefore fear need not control them.
Fear of suffering need not control us.
While we may endure hardship, we are SECURE, SAFE, and will be UNHARMED (eternally) for it.
Be Faithful
Be Faithful
Be faithful - be trustworthy, dependable, worthy of trust.
BE FAITHFUL - unto death
What does it mean to be faithful unto death?
Matthew 10:21-22 give us clue…
21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,
22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The one who ENDURES…who persists…who continues…who remains committed despite the suffering that they will endure for it…
Hebrews 3:5-6.
5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,
6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
HOLD FAST OUR CONFIDENCE and OUR BOASTING in our HOPE.
To be faithful unto death means to HOLD FAST, to REMAIN, TO ENDURE without wavering, no matter how much you may suffer for it.
To be faithful means to not back down, to not back away, to be ALL IN ALL THE TIME for Christ, even if it ends in physical death.
It means to be FAITHFUL to the convictions and beliefs of the truth that have been embraced by your heart and soul.
It means to not deny your profession by compromise or rejection.
To be faithful unto death means that your word remains trustworthy and true and your belief
Persecution was coming…for some at least, to the point of death.
If they are faithful, even unto death, they will receive the crown of life.
The Promise of the Crown of Life
The Promise of the Crown of Life
Revelation 2:10
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
A similar promise is given in James 1:12.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Again here we see what it means to be faithful unto death…
The one who REMAINS STEADFAST UNDER TRIAL
…who does not buckle…
…who does not waiver…
…who does not become weary…to the point of giving up…
This one will receive the crown of life.
What is this crown of life?
The crown of genuine saving faith IS Eternal Life
IF THEY REMAIN FAITHFUL…LIFE, not death, is all that they will have to face.
We will see in the promise to the conquerors that they will not be touched by the second death.
Life, eternal life, is in store for those who remain faithful…who remain steadfast.
Eternal LIFE is KNOWING and BEING in intimate fellowship/relationship with God. John 17:3.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Truth is, we all exist/persist forever. The soul does not cease to be after it is conceived and finds it’s beginning.
Even unbeliever’s souls exist forever…so in that sense are eternal.
But it won’t be life they experience, but the second death, or eternal death…separation from God forever in Hell.
For those who conquer, for those in Christ, they will be given the crown of life.
The perseverance to the end PROVES the authenticity of their faith. They did not fall away when things go tough, but continued to the very end. (Mt 10:22; Mt 24:13; Mk 4:13-20; John 8:31; Col 1:22-23; 1Jn 2:19.)
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
14 The sower sows the word.
15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Only ONE of the four types was legitimate fruit, legitimate faith, repentance, and salvation.
Only the one the remained and bore fruit.
The fruit was evidence that it had taken root and prospered on the group into which it had taken root.
The rest…well, they were false professions or no professions. - 1 John 2:19.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
This is explicit evidence that those who do not whole heartedly believe what they say, who do not whole heartedly love God WIL NOT ENDURE when things get tough.
The frauds and fakes will be outed here.
Those whose faith endures, prove the authenticity of their faith.
Those that fall away, who do not remain…well, scripture is clear…they are not of the faith.
The challenging part is this…how do you know truly where a person’s heart is? How do you know if they have fallen away or are merely struggling and sliding back for a moment in time? How do you know if their lack of fervor for God is evidence of NOT BELONGING for just struggling with the flesh?
The answer…you don’t.
We cannot know man’s heart. Point is, for one whose faith is genuine, whose repentance is real, THEY WILL persevere to the end, even if they do have moments, like David (and others) when their faith does not seem particularly vibrant. Those whose faith is real, WILL prove it by persisting. Those who fall away and NEVER return, may very well be ones who never possessed it in the first place.
BUT this is not for us the decide.
We are simply to persist with the truth and let the Spirit do the testing and sustaining of the genuine faith and the convicting and drawing of sinners to repentance.
BUT for those who remain faithful TO THE DEATH, who prove their faith by doing so, they will receive the crown of life.
They will receive ETERNAL LIFE.
The being faithful UNTO DEATH is the part we tend to struggle with though….
For this includes NOT ONLY BEING WILING TO DIE FOR JESUS
BUT TO DIE DAILY in order to live for Him.
Being faithful unto death means being willing to DIE FOR HIM.
Listen, if we cannot die to ourselves and our own selfish wants in this life…what makes us think that we will be willing to physically give up our life or him if we should ever have to face that reality?
Being faithful UNTO death is being willing to physically die for him AND EVERYTHING that would come BEFORE such a fate.
We are being called TO BE FAITHFUL, even if that should require our death.
We are being called TO BE FAITHFUL to endure ALL things for HIS SAKE…no matter how extreme they may become.
God is calling His church to be willing to suffer for His sake.
The Call to Endure Persecution
The Call to Endure Persecution
2 Timothy 3:12.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
All who desire to live a holy life in Christ Jesus WILL face persecution. It is a certainty.
1 Peter 2:20-21.
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
It is a gracious thing when we do good and suffer for it. When we are willing to do right even when it means we will suffer for it, it shows the depth of our conviction and love…and HIS GRACE to strengthen us to endure it.
Also, Jesus suffered, leaving us an example that we should follow in it. If he suffered, then we will do…and we should suffer in the same manner and attitude that he did.
1 Thessalonians 3:2-5.
2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,
3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.
4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.
5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
We are destined for suffering. It’s going to happen, especially if we are intent on living holy and godly lives.
We have been warned, so we should not be surprised or shocked when suffering comes.
However, we are also given the body to help exhort and prepare us. We are equipped in advance of suffering…or we should be. Paul sent Timothy to warn them, to prepare them. In the same way, God often prepares us for what suffering is about to come to pass.
This letter to the church at Smyrna is a preparation letter to warn them that suffering is coming and to prepare them to stand strong in the face of it.
The Reason for Persecution
The Reason for Persecution
God DOES have purposes in our persecution.
While we may not always see or know all them, we can be rest assured that he will redeem our persecution, our suffering for His sake.
But what we do need to know is this…
It is NOT primarily about us.
Our persecution is not first and foremost about us. It is about Him.
John 15:18-21.
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
We are persecuted because they hate Jesus, not us.
We face persecution because we are not of this world. We part of the kingdom of God. The world hates Jesus and His kingdom, so they will hate us too. We are not greater than the master. If he was persecuted and hated, we will be too as his followers.
But that persecution is not personal to us…it is because of Jesus.
It is really HIM the hate…and we are just his representatives.
The Purpose of Persecution
The Purpose of Persecution
(and suffering)
Hebrews 2:10; 5:8.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
Jesus was “made perfect” through suffering. Jesus was already perfect. But his perfection was proved, validated through his suffering.
AND he was made PERFECT as a high priest BY experiencing what we do/will so that he is better equipped to minister to us when we endure it.
He learned obedience through suffering
Some things you can only truly understand ONCE YOU HAVE ENDURED THEM. You can empathize with someone who has lost a loved one but you cannot truly sympathize with them UNTIL you have endured it.
You can empathize with your persecuted brethren around the world, but you cannot sympathize with them until you to have endured it.
You cannot learn how deeply your convictions and beliefs truly go until you are forced to take a stand for them.
You cannot know the strength and grace of God to help you stand and endure pain, loss, and opposition, until you have to endure it and God gives it.
You cannot know the grace to help you love your adversaries…until you are standing facing them and God gives it to you.
This is Peter’s message when he writes…
1 Peter 1:6-7.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Being forced to SUFFER and ENDURE persecution for our faith WILL TEST THE AUTHENTICITY and STRENGTH of your faith.
For this reason, it is good that we face it. WE MUST face it.
Jesus also had to face it. And face it he did. And He proved his holiness in how he faced it.
He learned obedience through it.
This is the meaning of this statement.
Jesus learned about hardship from enduring it. He learned about the cost of obedience, the pain of obedience BY ENDURING IT. He learned obedience, the price of it through the things he suffered.
By so doing, when we obey and it hurts, he can come along side us, grab us up into his arms and whisper, I know, I know, while he strokes our heart and wipes away our tears.
Furthermore…we know that persecution, suffering has a sanctifying effect.
James 1:2-4.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
We CAN count it all joy when we suffer WHEN we focus on what that suffering is producing. It is doing a work of grace in our lives.
Listen, one of the purposes of persecution, of suffering is that IT WILL BE USED BY GOD to make us more holy, to make us more like Christ, to cleanse the imperfections out of us.
And the truth is…we never face persecution without His strength.
The Strength for Persecution
The Strength for Persecution
Philippians 4:13.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
This may be one of the most misused passages of scripture (I could name a few, but this ranks up there).
Let’s zoom out and consider the context for a moment…
Philippians 1:3-7.
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,
5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Philippians 1:12-14.
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Philippians 1:27-30.
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Philippians 2, Paul goes into the suffering of Christ, of his being willing to suffer even to the point of death on a cross…as the ultimate example of willingness to be persecuted for what is right and true and good.
Then in Philippians 2:14, he admonished us to do all things without grumbling and complaining….CONTEXT IS SUFFERING AND PERSECUTION.
Philippians 2:17.
17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Paul’s perspective of persecution is clearly articulated in Philippians 3:7-11.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
SO THEN, when we come to Philippians 4…
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
The entire letter is drenched in the context of persecution, suffering. Paul’s. Theirs.
For the sake of the gospel.
The “ALL THINGS” that can be done through Christ….
… is CONTENTMENT and JOY in persecution, in suffering.
BY HIS STRENGTH.
This is a supernatural thing. It is not natural. It is a God thing.
It is possible.
The strength to be fearlessly faithful COMES FROM GOD, NOT FROM US.
We can learn contentment and joy in ALL circumstances through HIM!
We can endure all things by the strength HE supplies.
Yes, there are other applications of this truth that extend beyond persecution, but the context is contentment and spiritual state.
Paul’s point, spiritually, I can be content in any situation because I have God on my side.
Spiritually, with God on my side, how can I lose?
Be careful that when when making application to “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” you keep the spiritual content in mind…particularly that of finding contentment in persecution, in struggle.
Further, the strength comes from the comfort God gives in midst of our suffering.
2 Corinthians 1:3-10.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
God’s comfort mets us in the midst of our suffering.
The hope of his deliverance and redemption IS HIS COMFORT in the midst of our suffering.
And when we cling to this, we are given strength to stay fearlessly faithful in the face of persecution.
The Provision in Persecution
The Provision in Persecution
I don’t know about you, but I have often been fearful or anxious about how I will respond when I have to stand before the authorities if I was ever to be arrested for the sake of the gospel.
What would I say?
What would I do?
Rest assured, God has made provision for this…
Luke 12:11-12.
11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say,
12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
When we stand before the authorities in that day, the Spirit will give us the words to speak. We need not fear now what we would say or do when that day comes.
Psalm 56:3-4.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
What can flesh do to me?
I will trust in Him!
We don’t have to fear, we have God!
In the midst of the moment, the Spirit will give us what we need.
The Attitude in Persecution
The Attitude in Persecution
1 Thessalonians 5:15-18.
15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do good to those who persecute us.
Rejoice! Always!
Pray without Ceasing!
Give thanks in everything!
For all the reasons we have already stated…give thanks.
By his grace, we are able to do each of these things…including in our times of suffering and hardship.
The Redemption of Persecution
The Redemption of Persecution
And Suffering
To redeem something means to avenge it, to reclaim it as one’s own.
We see this idea born out in Psalm 103:4.
4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
To redeem your life out of the pit is the RECLAIM the life for God’s sake, for His glory
Which means, the suffering endured IN THE PIT is being reclaimed for HIS sake, His Glory…OUR GOOD.
Romans 8:28-31.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
God does work ALL things out for good. Not all things ARE good, but God will work GOOD OUT OF everything. He will make it produce something of value and worth, even when it hurts and is bad.
God REDEEMS our suffering, our persecution for His name’s sake, for His glory!
In this, we can take great comfort.
Our suffering in persecution WILL NOT be in vain, but will be REDEEMED, reclaimed for His holy and good purposes.
Our suffering in persecution will not endure forever….it will be redeemed.
Our suffering in persecution will be a light and momentary affliction compared the eternal weight of glory.
It will be redeemed.
Thus, we need to have the righteous perspective when it comes to persecution.
The Righteous Perspective of Persecution
The Righteous Perspective of Persecution
Job 2:9-10; 6:10.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
10 This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
Even though Job’s suffering did not come at the hands of man, in direct opposition to the gospel or his relationship with Christ, it was persecution.
Satan opposed, oppressed, and afflicted him BECAUSE of his faithfulness to God…in attempt to prove that Job was only faithful to God because of God’s protection and blessing upon him.
His suffering was BECAUSE of God.
This puts is squarely into the category of persecution. THUS the response of Job to it is directly applicable to our own persecution.
We must be willing to accept the bad from God just as much as the good.
We need to exult in our suffering/persecution, trusting what God has said about our suffering.
Truth is, suffering is NOT something we need to fear, run from, or live in terror of. WHEN it comes, God supplies EVERYTHING we need to be more than conquerors through it. AND it is producing an eternal weight of glory that, while we may not see it yet, we will exult mightily in someday.
We should be as the apostles when they (Acts 5:41 “…left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”
The Blessing of Persecution
The Blessing of Persecution
1 Peter 4:12-14.
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
We should not be surprised when suffering for the name of Jesus comes. It is not strange that we should do so. We live in a fallen world with an adversary and the flesh which stand opposed to God. Rather, we should rejoice that we are able to share in Christ’s sufferings. Sharing his suffering creates a bond. Men in arms who suffer together are tighter for having done so.
Sharing his sufferings deepens our love, proves our love, deepens our unity and bond His grace enables us to suffer for Him.
AND when we suffer with him, our rejoicing when his glory is revealed will be greater. That which is fought for, paid for with suffering is much more cherished and valued because of it.
If we suffer for his sake, then the Spirit of God rests upon us. His grace, his presence, his favor, his power, and his blessing are with us.
Suffering is actually a sign that God has extended his blessing towards us. That he is with us empowering and enabling us to stand for him.
His favor has descended upon us and he wishes to do something glorious IN and THROUGH us for His name’s sake.
He has incredibly good purposes in permitting the suffering.
He has grown and matured us enough that we are able to stand up under it.
He has given us grace and strength enough to endure it.
This denotes blessing and favor from God.
AND the reward for enduring, the richness of his glory will be more greatly enjoyed because of it.
Suffering for Christ WILL come.
But it is not something we need fear.
The Counsel
The Counsel
To the church at Smyrna
Revelation 2:11
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
Again, we are going to come back to these promises. But for now, read it. Meditate upon it. And let the promises encourage your heart in this world.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Big Idea: The message of the Son of Man to the persecuted church is to be fearlessly faithful.
The Church at Smyrna typifies the fearless faithfulness of God’s churches over the years that have endured persecution and held up….
That churches that are even doing so today.
And it is a charge…we too much approach the persecution that IS, that WILL COME with a fearless faithfulness to Our God, our King, our Father, our Savior.
Church, when it comes, I pray that we, like Smyrna, stand fearlessly faithful to Him. Let us pray even now that we will do so when it comes.
Application
Application
How can we actively remind ourselves to not fear during times of suffering or persecution?
What practical steps can we take to demonstrate fearless faithfulness in our daily lives?
In what ways can we support fellow believers who are facing persecution?
How does understanding our identity as children of God help us to face fear and suffering?
What does being faithful unto death look like in our modern context?
How can you encourage your friends to be fearless in their faith?
What are some fears you face in sharing your faith, and how can you overcome them?
How can you live out your faith boldly in situations where it might be unpopular?
What does it mean to support someone who is facing challenges or ridicule for their beliefs?
In light of the sermon, how can you prepare yourself spiritually to face potential persecution?