Never Give Up

Key Elements

In Revelation 2:8-11, Jesus encourages the church in Smyrna to remain faithful through suffering, poverty, and persecution, assuring them that those who endure to the end will receive the crown of life and will not be harmed by the second death.

Main Idea: Because Jesus has conquered death and secured our future, believers can remain faithful through suffering without ever giving up.

I want my audience to look to Jesus and His promise of eternal life when they encounter suffering and trials in their own lives and in our church as a whole.

Sources: Commentaries on Logos; Don’t Throw In The Towel During Trials by Robby Gallaty

Intro

Most of you know this about Kristi and I, we have three sons. And they could not be more different. They are all in different careers and different stages of life. But there is something that our middle and youngest son have in common-they love to workout and train. In fact, our youngest son, Korey, is a physical trainer at a gym in the city where he and his wife live. Working out and training and being healthy is what he does for a living. In fact, he trains around 15-17 clients a day. He went to college and got a degree for all of this. So, he is really keen on being healthy and being in shape and living that way. Which is a good thing for him, but for me, his dad, whose not really that keen on working out and likes to eat ice cream every night, you can imagine the conversations we have. So, I thought I would tap into this health knowledge he has and I asked him to write a workout for me that I could do 2-3 days a week at home that would help me get a little healthier. And after a series of questions, he sent me a pretty complete workout I could do at home. And so I made the decision one day that I was going to start it and I was going to get up every morning a little early and do this daily workout. And I started out really strong. I actually made it through the first week. But after a few of weeks, Korey and I were talking on the phone one day and he asked that question I was hoping he wouldn’t ask, “How’s the workout going?” And I said, “it went great the first week and into the second week but I was tired and sore and to be honest, the things you gave me to do were just too difficult, so I haven’t really been doing it.” And he said, “what? It’s only been a few weeks. You can’t give up now, you have to work through the soreness to get to the point of actually being in shape.” Now, I know that. I know the only way I get in shape is to push through and keep going. But actually doing that is a different story.

And what I just described to you is, many times, the same experience we have in life when it comes to suffering and hardship as followers of Jesus and as the church. We get to a point where it just seems too difficult, where we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. And maybe some of us are in that very place in life right now. Life is difficult or maybe it’s been difficult for a while. We’ve prayed but it feels like our prayers are hitting the ceiling. We’ve trusted God in some difficult places in our lives but things seem to have gotten worse. We keep moving forward but we’re tired in every way and somewhere in the back of our minds that thought keeps replaying over and over-just give up. You see, most of us, I would say, have experienced a moment or multiple moments in life where we just wanted to quit.

But today, as we continue walking through our series looking at what Jesus says to the churches in the Book of Revelation and as we dive into this second letter, we hear a different message. A different truth comes to the forefront. As Jesus, through the Apostle John, speaks to the church in Smyrna, the message that comes through, loud and clear, is NEVER GIVE UP. To a church who is suffering physically, financially, and socially for their faith in Jesus Christ, Jesus says NEVER GIVE UP. To a church who is being targeted by those in their community who are directly opposing the mission and the vision God has called them to, Jesus says NEVER GIVE UP. And today, to us as individual Christ followers and as a church called to reach this community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to make disciples of Jesus, Jesus speaks the same truth to us loud and clear as well-NEVER GIVE UP.

Message

Look with me at Revelation 2:8-11, John writes to the church in Smyrna these words from Jesus...

(SHOW MAP) So, let’s talk about the city of Smyrna because it’s important to understand the cultural context that the church was in to get what’s happening here: Smyrna was one of the most beautiful cities in the ancient world. It was located on the coast of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) just a little north of Ephesus, the city we talked about last week. It was a city that produced great writers and poets. It was known for its culture and prestige. Smyrna, like many other cities at the time, was under Roman law and Jewish people there had been granted a special exemption, they did not have to worship Roman gods or confess Caesar as Lord if they were Jewish. So, For a time Christians in Smyrna, because they were Jewish, shared the same privileges. But at some point a group of local Jewish community members appealed to Rome saying that the Christians in Smyrna were not like them and accused them of worshiping a false Messiah, Jesus. And they demanded that the exemption over them be removed. And eventually, Rome did. And at that point, things got very difficult for Christ followers living in Smyrna. They couldn’t purchase food from the farms, they couldn’t purchase goods from the marketplace, they couldn’t find jobs to support their families. They were being persecuted on every level. And it’s in the midst of this persecution and suffering that the church in Smyrna finds itself and it’s also in the midst of this that John writes this letter to the believers there.

And today, as we look at this letter written to the church in Smyrna, we notice some interesting things. Things that applied to them and things we, as individual Christ followers and the church, need to pay attention to as well. Humanly speaking, the members of this church had every reason to give up. In fact, I’m sure it crossed their minds many times. But Jesus writes, through John, encouraging this church in the midst of extreme persecution and hardship, to never give up.

Which leads us to our main idea we’re focusing on today: Because Jesus has conquered death and secured our future, believers can remain faithful through suffering without ever giving up.

Today in Revelation 2:8-11, we see four characteristics of a church that never gives up: I want you to notice first...

1. A church that never gives up knows Jesus has already won. (vs. 8)

Now, we talked about this last week as we began this series and introduced the format of these seven letters to the seven churches John writes to in Revelation. There is a formula that all of these letters follow and today as we walk through John’s second letter to the church in Smyrna, we’ll somewhat follow this formula as well. Jesus begins this letter, written through the Apostle John, the same way He did in the letter to the church in Ephesus. Jesus wastes no time but jumps right into it as He describes Himself in the exact way the members of the church in Smyrna need to see Him according to the circumstances they are walking through. He says in vs. 8...

Now, I just want us to stop before we go any further and consider what’s going on here-And this is true at the beginning of every letter. Jesus is who these churches need and He perfectly is and has what it takes to meet them where are in the current state they are in. For the church in Ephesus, He says “I’m present and powerful.” And here for the church in Smyrna, Jesus says “I’m eternal and sovereign and have authority over all things.” That is exactly what they need to here to endure their situation of suffering. And that’s worth remembering for us as followers of Jesus that Jesus is who we need and He is and has what it takes to meet us wherever we are in our lives as well. That’s something we need to keep at the forefront of our minds as we navigate difficult situations in our lives.

And here’s what He says about Himself- “I’m the First and the Last,...” This comes directly from the OT in Isaiah and Jesus says this about Himself. Jesus says “I’m the eternal God. I was there before creation and I will be standing when the last page of history is turned.” He always has been and always will be. He is the eternal God of history and when it’s all said and done, He’ll have the last word. What Jesus is wanting the members of the church in Smyrna to know, in the midst of their suffering, is that He is sovereign over everything they are going through. He was there with them before it began and He will be there to see them through to the end and long after it is over. Nothing they are facing is outside of his sovereignty. He also tells them that He is “the one who was dead and came to life.” He is victorious over death and the grave. By His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave He has defeated sin as well. There’s no one else in the history of the world who can make that same claim because no one else had or has the power to do that but Jesus. And in the midst of their suffering, Jesus wants the members of the church in Smyrna to know that He has suffered the worst of the worst. That He has endured the worst suffering that humanity has to offer. He has tasted every bit of pain that they have and He has conquered it all. And because of that, they can endure and will be victorious as well.

What Jesus is saying about Himself can be summed up in one incredible statement-He has already won!

And as individual Christ followers and as the church, that in itself is reason to never give up in the midst of suffering. Because knowing that Jesus has already won-that He is eternal and sovereign and has authority over all things-shows us that no matter what comes into our lives, Jesus was there before it showed up and He will be there in the midst of it and standing victorious when it ends. What we face in this life never catches God off guard and He is so powerful that He holds all of history in His hands and that includes our story as well. And because He has suffered for us and because He has risen victoriously from the grave, He doesn’t come to us as someone who has never felt pain and suffering, no, He comes to us as someone who has experienced all of that and come back to life. Jesus looks at the church in Smyrna in their suffering and He looks at you and me in ours and He says “I died for you, I suffered for you, I came back from the grave; and because I live, you will live also. You’ll make it.” And because of that, as followers of Jesus and the church, every battle and struggle we face flows from the victory that has already been won for us by Jesus. NEVER GIVE UP!

A church that never gives up knows that Jesus has already won and...

2. A church that never gives up knows Jesus is with them. (vs. 9)

So, Jesus begins with who He is and then He moves to what He knows. And this statement in vs. 9 takes us deeper into the realization of the intimacy of our relationship with Jesus and His love for us, it says...

Jesus says to the church in Smyrna “I know your affliction and poverty,…” In other words, I’ve been where you are and I have firsthand knowledge of what you’re going through.

When I was a student minister, we would take students to conferences and camps all throughout the year. And at one point during those events, there would be sessions for the student ministers we would go to where the leadership would minister to us and our leaders while the students were in their sessions. And they would bring in all types of speakers who would speak and encourage us. You know the speakers that made the greatest impact on me and my ministry during those times were the ones who were speaking at camp but were still in youth ministry in the local church. And you know why? Because they were experiencing on some level the same thing I was going through. It gave them credibility because they knew exactly what I was going through.

Jesus Christ has credibility when it comes to suffering in our lives because He knows exactly what we are going through. He says “I know, I have intimate knowledge of what it means to suffer.” And He looks at the members of the church in Smyrna, who are enduring extreme persecution for their faith in God, and He says “I am with you, don’t give up.” He says “I know your affliction”-the pressure you are under as a result of your suffering. What He’s communicating here is crushing pressure-a stone that is thrown on top of someone and then increasingly pressed down. Jesus says “I’ve felt that crushing pressure” so much so He sweat drops of blood over it in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His death. He says “I know your poverty”-the utter poverty you’re experiencing by being ostracized by your community because you believe in Me-the loss of income, the lack of livelihood. Jesus says “I know exactly what it cost you to follow Me.” He had experienced it Himself-forsaken by His closest friends and family, mocked and persecuted by His own people, losing everything for the mission of the salvation of the world. He could identify with everything these Christ followers in Smyrna were experiencing. And He says “even though, by the world’s standards, it seems you have lost everything, you are rich.” Because of their faithfulness in the midst of suffering, these believers had something the world could not take from them.

One commentary puts it this way, “The crown we’re building in the furnace of suffering is worth more than anything we gain in the comfort of this life.”

You see, Jesus commends the members of the church in Smyrna because in the midst of extreme suffering they are faithful and they persevere in their sufferings for their faith in Jesus. And Jesus tells them “I’m with you.”

And what an incredible example these believers in Smyrna are to us as members of Stone Ridge Baptist Church and what an incredible reason to never give up as followers of Jesus. Hear this this morning, in your suffering Jesus is with you and He knows exactly what you’re going through. When no one understands, He understands. When no one notices, He notices. When everyone else walks away, He is there. Jesus is present in our suffering, not as a distant observer, but as the one who knows every detail. NEVER GIVE UP!

A church that never gives up knows that Jesus is with them and...

3. A church that never gives up knows suffering is temporary. (vs. 10)

So, at this point we would expect Jesus to say to this church “you’re faithful, I know what you’re going through, hang in there, it’s about to get easy.” That’s what we want Him to say. In the difficult times in our lives and in our church, that’s what we want to here. And as this letter is being read to the church in Smyrna, that’s probably what they were expecting to hear next as well. But that’s not what He says. Look at vs. 10...

Well, that right there blows the prosperity gospel out of the water. The false thought process that some proclaim that if you’re a Christian you’ll never suffer. That’s not what Jesus tells these believers. He doesn’t tell them “Everything’s about to get better.” He actually says it’s about to get worse. He says they will suffer, they will go to prison for their faith, they will continue to experience this affliction, this crushing pressure. That’s what Jesus tells them.

But notice, He says “Don’t be afraid...” Notice what Jesus doesn’t say, He doesn’t say “Don’t feel the pain” or “This isn’t going to hurt.” He tells them to not be afraid. Because there’s a difference. You see, fear is what comes into our lives when suffering feels greater than God. It’s that overwhelming feeling when we begin to focus on what we’re facing more than focusing on the God who is with us in the midst of it. Jesus is not minimizing the suffering, He’s putting it in it’s proper place. Suffering will come but Jesus says focus on me, look to me and when you do, you don’t have anything to fear.

He also tells them that what they are about to experience will be used to test them which will result in strengthening them. God will use everything they have endured up to this point and the imprisonment that is coming for some of them to strengthen their faith so they can continue to endure. Which is exactly what suffering does and why God allows it into our lives. The problem is that most of us never see the other side of suffering because we tap out as soon as it enters our lives. A trial comes into our lives and we throw up our hands and we’re done. Think about it-you start tithing and financial pressure comes and we quit giving, students begin to live for Jesus at school and college and persecution comes and we get a little quieter about our faith, we start serving God and we experience some kind of affliction and we think this isn’t worth it. But maybe this is what God is doing-He’s allowing the suffering in our lives to be the way we draw closer to Him and advance the Gospel in the lives of those around us? Maybe when we prayed for God to use us to advance His Kingdom in our community, the affliction and suffering He’s allowing us to walk through is the answer to that prayer? Because suffering drives us to depend on God by exposing our weaknesses and it strengthens our faith in God. Every significant life altering event that has shaped your life has been birthed out of a struggle.

Pastor Robby Gallaty puts it this way, “Your pain markers are actually the growth milestones of your life.”

Not only will suffering strengthen us but Jesus says it has a limit. He says “you will experience affliction for ten days.” Now we don’t know if that’s a literal ten days or not but what I really believe it speaks to is the completion of their suffering. In other words, the number ten in Scripture always suggests completion and Jesus is telling them that their suffering will serve the purpose of completing His purpose in their lives.

And all of this speaks to one greater truth-suffering is temporary. Yes, suffering is real; yes, suffering is painful; but suffering, for the follower of Jesus, will not last forever. It has a limit. And that is the reason, when it comes into our lives, we trust in God, we’re not afraid, and we never give up. God is completely sovereign over our suffering, whatever form or fashion it may take, He is using it to strengthen our faith and one day it will end either here or in the glory that awaits us after this life. That’s the hope of every follower of Jesus. No matter how overwhelming things might get for us here, this life and it’s struggles and trials are temporary.

Which leads us directly to our final characteristic...

4. A church that never gives up knows what Jesus promises is better. (vs. 10b-11)

The members of the church in Smyrna were experiencing unbelievable suffering for their faith in God. They were being threatened on every level of their lives. Imprisonment, persecution, death were are real possibilities for them and was exactly how some of them would come to the end of their lives. So, they were afraid. They were fearful. Rome had real swords. Crucifixion and being burned alive was a real possibility for them. But Jesus says “Don’t be afraid. Because what I have for you, the promises I have for you, are better.” And here they are, vs. 10b...

The stephanos-the Grk. word for crown. It’s not a royal crown, it’s the laurel wreath that was placed on the head of the champions in the Greek olympic games. It was the crown that was placed on the head of a Greek warrior after he came back from battle victorious. It said one thing-VICTORY! And Jesus says to the believers in the church in Smyrna “this is what is promised to you on the other side of your faithfulness in this life, eternal life, a crown of victory that will never fade.” You see, even if suffering takes us down physically here, Jesus and life with Him forever awaits us on the other side.

But there’s another promise, vs. 11...

Jesus tells them that the first death, physical death, the one they’re afraid of, is temporary. Again, He’s not minimizing that reality. But for followers of Jesus, that death is the door to something better. That death cannot touch your soul. The second death is the one that matters for eternity. And for the believer, the one who has placed their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, who has been given the strength by God to never give up, they have nothing to fear.

And this is the ultimate reason, as followers of Jesus and the church, we never give up. Because we have a Savior, Jesus who has secured our future, who has conquered death and because of that, we never give up.

Closing

I mentioned earlier that Smyrna was famous for many reasons. One well known person in Smyrna was a man named Polycarp who was the Bishop of Smyrna, he, at one point, pastored the church that John is writing to. He, at one point, was actually a disciple of John. He was loved and respected by the believers there but he was hated by the government officials. In AD 55, He was arrested while walking the streets of Smyrna, he was taken before the pro consul, and he was tried publicly. On the way to the arena in Smyrna for his execution, one of the guards who was escorting him pleaded with him to confess allegiance to Caesar and Polycarp refused multiple times. And as they approached the entrance to the arena, the guard asked “Why will you not say it?” And Polycarp responded “there’s only one Lord and His name is Jesus Christ. Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” And as they drug him into the arena and tied him to a post and stacked wood around him preparing to burn him alive, his last words were this, “Lord God Almighty, Father of thy beloved and blessed Servant Jesus Christ, through whom we have received full knowledge of thee, ‘the God of angels and powers and all creation’ and of the whole race of the righteous who live in thy presence: I bless thee, because thou hast deemed me worthy of this day and hour, to take my part in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, for ‘resurrection to eternal life’ of soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit; among whom may I be received in thy presence this day as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, just as thou hast prepared and revealed beforehand and fulfilled, thou art the true God without any falsehood. For this and for everything I praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Servant, through whom be glory to thee with him and Holy Spirit both now and unto the ages to come. Amen.”

In this life, if you’re a follower of Jesus, there will be suffering, there will be trials, there will be pain; but in the midst of those things we never give up because Jesus has already won, because Jesus is with us, because suffering is temporary, and because what Jesus promises is better.

So, if life is difficult right now, and you’re in the midst of hardship, don’t give up. Come to this altar this morning, lay it before the Lord, know He is there with you, throw it all on Jesus-your questions, your pain. Let us pray for you this morning. If you’re here and you need to surrender your heart and life to Jesus for the very first time, as we worship, come. Surrender to Him and allow Him to save you and rescue you and forgive you.

Other decisions.