The Church of Smyrna

Good morning and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Sunday. Today, if you are a guest in the house, I want to personally welcome you and express just how honored we are that we get to celebrate this Easter Sunday with you. But, I want us today to look at an aspect of this Easter theme that maybe you have not considered before, or maybe you have not looked at this Easter theme through this lens before. And I’m going to do this by continuing this series we are in called Seven. We are looking at the seven letters of Jesus to seven churches in the Asia Minor province.

Series Overview

Last week we looked at the letter to the church of Pergamum, a letter whose message was quite firm. A letter in which Jesus judged the church of Pergamum for their “Passive Leadership”. This week we are looking at a letter that was written to the church of Smyrna. This is a strong and faithful church to whom Jesus authors a letter with the theme: “Do Not Fear”.

Fear Stats

NewsWeek reported recently that 2/3 of Americans fear that the US could end up in a major war.

A recent report released the top 5 things most people fear:

Public Speaking - don’t worry I got you covered

Heights - I’m with you on this one

Going to the dentist - do it anyway - please

Snakes: YEP!

Flying - last year 39,000 people died in car crash, 244 died in plane crash -

My STORY

The truth of the matter is, I was not always as comfortable on stage as I am today. Before I ever considered being a pastor, I was a musician. My dream was to tour the world doing Christian Rock. But, I had to start somewhere and so I started leading worship in my youth group at church. I was pretty bad, but I was the only one volunteering- so I got the gig. My youth pastor, not musical at all, asked my to lead worship at a city wide youth service our church was hosting. I was excited and terrified all at the same time. I was at that time singing in front of 10 of my peers, but at this service there was going to be 50 or 60 of my peers. This sounded like social suicide. The day came, I had a small band made up of the musicians from our adult service. They kept telling me I was going to do great! I kinda sort of believed them. But I still was shaking! The room filled up, the MC opened the night, and then it was all me. I had not thought of what to say at the beginning- I was so focused on the singing part. I said something king of awkward, trying to be bold , but it just sounded weird. About the second song in- which was a slow song, I made the mistake of closing my eyes. And this was a big mistake, because I was so nervous I couldn’t get my eyes open again. They were literally stuck shut! Well that was not too big of a problem, accept that after a few minutes of them being shut, I started to loose my balance. I was getting dizzy! At this point I was in deep trouble. I either had to get a grip on myself or I was going to fall over ON STAGE! I finally was able to muster enough courage to get my eyes open, and when I did - I lie not- I was completely turned around, facing the back wall and nowhere near center stage! And this is what fear does. It blinds us to reality and moves us from the place where God has called us to lead.

And in this letter to the church of Smyrna, Jesus deals with this very topic. The topic of fear. This will be the shortest of the seven letters, let’s begin today by reading this letter in it’s entirety.

Revelation 2:8–11 NASB95

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: 9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say 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 cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until 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. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

Jesus message to the church of Smyrna is, in comparison to the other of these seven letters, one of encouragement. It is uplifting, and full of faith. Jesus says:

Revelation 2:9 NASB95

9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

The Persecution Smyrna

The church of Smyrna was under great persecution from every side. Three in particular. Smyrna was the home of the worship of Rome and Caesar, The Christians, of course, would refuse to offer incense before the altar of the emperor, and they would not call him Lord, so they were at odds with the government. The Christian church was also out of sync with society. They taught against and refused to participate in the worship of the false idols so common to the area. Third, and arguable the most painful was the persecution from of whom Jesus said: “call themselves Jews but are not”. Jesus is referencing Romans 2:29 where we are told that the true Jew is not one who is of Jewish Nationality, but rather one who inwardly is transformed to be like Christ. So the church of Smyrna was harshly persecuted by those who should be closest to them, those who should protect them, those who should unite with them. And isn’t true that so often we are wounded and persecuted by those we are closest to? That the criticism that hurts the most is that which comes from our closest friends and family. That so often, those whom we feel should support us the most, are the ones who do exactly the opposite? And this can be the cause for great amounts of fear.

Personal Persecution

And you might find yourself in this same struggle against your soul and the world. Today, whatever financial burden you cary, whatever family problem you are facing, whatever medical diagnoses has you worried and concerned; I want to stir up your faith today and remind you that the Jesus we believe in, is one who “knows your tribulation”; He knows your sorrows, and your pain. As the prophet Isaiah said:

Isaiah 53:3 NASB95

3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Just like these Christians in Smyrna, Jesus was persecuted by His peers, by Rome, and literally all around HIm. They praised Him one week and crucified Him the next. The word that we find in this Bible text when Jesus says “I know your tribulation”, that word “know” or “oida” means “to share the knowledge of”. Because Jesus does not only see your pain, see your suffering, see the anxiety, fear, depression and pain, He has felt it all in His own body!

Resurrection Power

But Jesus is too faithful to not just leave us with a pat on the back and “I know what you are feeling”. His opening statement is our rally cry today.

Revelation 2:8 NASB95

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

What is this? This is Jesus reminding us I started this whole thing called life, I’ll be here long after this whole thing is done, and no matter how bad it gets, I am the one who transcends death itself. I am the God with resurrection power.

Romans 6:4 NASB95

4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

When you turn to me, Jesus says, you are not just coming to one who is knowledgable of your pain, one who can cry with you, one who can say yea- that’s really bad. You are coming to one who has lived your pain, has experienced your pain, has suffered your suffering, and yet has been victorious over it. And now:

Romans 8:11 NASB95

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Listen church. When we celebrate Easter, we are not just celebrating a Jesus who is alive, we are celebrating a Jesus who’s resurrection life now lives in us and moves through us as we unite to bring the Gospel In Every Home. What does Jesus tell the Smyrna church in verse ten?

Revelation 2:10 NASB95

10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

And I am here today preaching this message to stir up someones faith. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, destroy the spirit of fear, to cancel the assignment of anxiety on your life, because the promise of our victory is this:

Revelation 2:11 NASB95

11 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.

There is a message for everyone in this room to hear. If you are a Christ follower, I want you to know that fear does not have to rule your life. Because the physical death you will most certainly some day experience is not the something to be dreaded, but something we should look forward to. Now, to the average person, this sounds like the talk of a madman. But I believe that the author of Philippians may have said it best.

Philippians 1:21 NASB95

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

In other words! At the end of this physical life, the eternal life in heaven - eternal peace with Jesus begins. The message of this letter to Smyrna, is the same as the message of the resurrection. Jesus first words to His disciples after His resurrection were:

John 20:19 NASB95

19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Salvation Call

Maybe you do not have a personal relationship with God; maybe you are still carrying the anxiety, guilt, and pressure that sin induces in your life. Maybe you are stressed out by trying to navigate life all on your own. Can I assure you; today all of that can end, and you can walk out of this room with hope in your heart? The Bible tells us:

 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 11

Romans 10:9 NASB95

Many people have told me, I don’t want to become a Christian because I can’t keep up that goodie lifestyle. But this verse says nothing about your lifestyle. God is more interested with your heart. If He can get to your heart, He will deal with your actions later. 

 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 11

Romans 6:23 NASB95.

We know that sin leads to death – you’ve felt the sting, and pain of sin. The good news is this, Paul calls God’s gift of life a “free gift”. I want to pray with you right now to receive this gift. If you would say, I want God’s forgiveness, I want to accept this gift of life, I want Jesus to live in my heart, raise your hand so I know who I am praying for. 

* KEEP YOUR HANDS RAISED HIGH - I HAVE A PRAYER PARTNER COMING TO PRAY WITH YOU

“Heavenly Father, I trust You to save me through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me for all of my sins. Make me brand new. Because You died for me, I want to live for You. Fill me with Your Spirit, so I could follow You. Jesus, You’re now my Lord and the Savior of my life. Take my life. It is Yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”