Ephesus: Recovering What Matters Most

nnounced in a general assembly of Smyrna citizens, it is said that the citizen of Smyrna took the clothes off their backs to send to the Roman soldiers. All this led to the Roman historian Cicero to refer to Smyrna as Rome’s most faithful allie.

Jesus’ Letters to the Seven Churches

Smyrna: Loyalty

“Ephesus: Recovering What Matters Most”

January 13, 2018

January 6, 2019

Introduction

5Introduction

This morning, we are beginning a new sermon series on Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation. These letters were meant to both encourage and challenge the churches. Jesus compliments the churches but also warns them where they are falling short. I hope this series will encourage our church and our lives. I hope this series will challenge our church and our lives. We need to pay careful attention to the warnings in these letters to see where we fall short as a church and as individuals.

This morning, we are continuing our series on Jesus’ Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation. Last week, we looked at the church of Ephesus. The church of Ephesus did a lot of things well, but their love for God had grown cold. Today, we are going to look at Jesus’ letter to the church of Smyrna.

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We are going to start in with the church of Ephesus.

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Opening Illustration: Loyalty — Capitan

Opening Illustration:

The letter to the church of Smyrna is all about loyalty. For the believers in Smyrna, where does their loyalty lie? Would they be loyal to God or loyal to Caesar? The question for us this morning: Where does our loyalty lie? Are we loyal to God.

We are going to see this morning that the church of Ephesus did a lot of good things. But there was one area that they were lacking. This one area they lacked was the most important.

1. Pressure and Persecution

Illustration: Fanatic Fan

1. Doing all the right things.

Theological: Verses 2-3

Theological: The city of Smyrna was a fanatic fan of Rome. In 195 BC, Smyrna built a temple for the worship of Rome. Smyrna sided with Rome in important battles that solidified the Roman Empire. One winter the Roman soldiers faced a bitter winter. When the Roman soldier’s plight was announced in a general assembly of Smyrna citizens, it is said that the citizen of Smyrna took the clothes off their backs to send to the Roman soldiers. All this led to the Roman historian Cicero to refer to Smyrna as Rome’s most faithful allie.

In AD 25, Rome awarded Smyrna to build a temple for the worship of the Roman emperor Tiberius. This temple led to Smyrna being the leading center for Roman emperor worship in Asia. Once a year, all citizens were required to burn incense to the Roman emperor and proclaim Caesar as Lord. Unwillingness to comfort and proclaim Caesar as Lord would be interpreted by Smyrna as as disgraceful lack of patriotism and treason.

The church of Ephesus had a rich heritage. The people who came through the church of Ephesus looks like a list of who’s who in the New Testament: Priscilla, Aquila, Apollos, Paul (spent more time in Ephesus that any other city during his three missionary journeys). At one time, Timothy was the pastor at Ephesus. Timothy was later followed by the apostle John. The church of Ephesus had a rich heritage. It’s no wonder that the church did a lot of things well.

Jesus has high praise for the church. Jesus compliments the church for the things they were doing well.

The believers in Smyrna were under tremendous pressure to proclaim Caesar as Lord. When they did not, they were persecuted.

Tribulation(v. 9): Tribulation refers to the pressure of a crushing affliction. The idea here is that the believers in Smyrna were facing severe persecution.

In verse 2, Jesus praises the church for their work and labor. The word “labor” means hard work. The church of Ephesus did not take the easy way. The church was not filled with lazy people. This was a hard working church. The church of Ephesus was busy serving the Lord.

Poverty (v. 9): This word refers to extreme poverty. We might use a phrase today like dirt poor.

Jesus also praises the church for their endurance and perseverance in the midst of hardships. We get a glimpse into the hardships that the church of Ephesus faced in when Paul’s ministry created a riot in the city. Those in the city who worshiped false gods were going to put a fight against the spread of Christianity in the city of Ephesus. But the church endured, they persevered through hardships.

Why did the believers in Smyrna face such poverty. When citizens burned incense and proclaimed Caesar as Lord once a year were given a certificate. Not having the certificate led to economic sanctions. People would not trade with you. If you didn’t have the certificate, you would also be blacklisted from jobs or promotions at work.

Jesus also praises the church because they did not tolerate evil and they did not tolerate false teachers and false teachings. In verse 6, Jesus said the church of Ephesus hated the practices of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans lived lives of unrestrained indulgence and pleasure. The Nicolaitans basically believed that Christians had a license to sin. The church of Ephesus did not tolerate this evil. They did not tolerate this false teaching.

Jesus had high praise for the church of Ephesus. The church of Ephesus did a lot of things well.

Blasphemy: Verse 9 also refers to blasphemy or slander. This came from the Jews in Smyrna. The Jews in Smyrna opposed believers in Christ. Here is how their slander might have worked. Rome recognized the Jews as serving one God plus the Jews had helped out Rome in an important battle. So the Jews were except from burning incense and proclaiming Caesar as Lord. For a long time, Christianity was considered as a part of Judaism. The Jews rejected this. The Jews said that Christians were traitors to Judaism just like they were traitors to Caesar and Rome.

Scott: What a splendid church the Christian community in Ephesus seemed to be! It appeared to be a model church in every way.

Verse 10 tells us that persecution for believers in Smyrna was about to get worse. Believers would be thrown into prison. Verses 10 encourages the believers in Smyrna to be faithful even to the point of death. We know from the historical data in Smyrna that Christians were killed because they worshiped Christ instead of worshipping Caesar.

Let’s recap. Smyrna expected also citizens to be loyal to Rome. When the Christians refused to proclaim Caesar as Lord, they were persecuted and even killed. It was dangerous to be Christian in Smyrna.

Practical: Just like the church of Ephesus, Superior Avenue Baptist Church has a rich heritage. Next year, Superior Avenue will be celebrating 100 years of ministry. Only God knows the number of lives who have been saved and changed as a result of the ministry and mission of this church.

Practical: It’s dangerous to be a Christian in the world today. The world will always pressure Christians to conform to culture. When Christians do not conform to culture, the world will persecuted Christians. (Repeat)

This church has worked hard to serve the Lord faithfully over the last 100 years. This church has endured hardships along the way. This church has maintained doctrine grounded in God’s Word.

The world pressures us to conform to culture? How does the world pressure you to conform to culture? How does the world persecute Christians today?

We must continue the work. This is not a time to be lazy or take the easy way out. We must roll up our sleeves and work hard for the Lord. We must continue to persevere through hardships. Growing trend in churches is for people to bolt at the first sign of trouble. Endure, persevere. We must continue to make sure our beliefs are pure. There is a growing temptation for our beliefs to be influenced by culture instead of being grounded in the Bible. We must never let culture dictate our beliefs. Our beliefs do not change with the trends in culture. Our beliefs must be dictated by God and the Bible.

Here is the US, it’s mild. We have religious freedom. Persecution in US is tame. But Christians do face persecution here in the US. We are made fun of when we don’t conform to culture.

Just like the church of Ephesus, SABC has a rich heritage.

2. Lacking what matters the most

Illustration: Lady from Centrifuge who’s husband refused to go along with an immoral business practice.

In other parts of the word, persecution of believers is not so mild. We read about pastors and missionary groups being imprisoned in parts of the world. On average, 90,000 people are killed every year for their faith in Christ.

Theological: The church of Ephesus did a lot of things well, but the church lacked in what mattered the most.

Story of Martyr

Look at verse 4. One day Jesus was asked what’s the greatest commandment. Without hesitation this what Jesus said.

(NKJV) Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the first and great commandment.

It’s dangerous to be a Christian in the world today. The world will always pressure Christians to conform to culture. When Christians do not conform to culture, the world will persecuted Christians.

Jesus makes it clear in verse 10 who the real culprit behind persecution is. It’s Satan. Leonard Ravenhill said it, and he said it well—and this is the truth that he said: “When God opens the windows of Heaven to bless us, the devil will open the doors of Hell to blast us.”

The greatest thing that we can do is to love God. The most important thing that we do is to love God.

Jesus said that his followers would deal with persecution.

Look at verse 4 again. You might want to underline the word “left.” The word means to forsake, to abandon. The church of Ephesus has abandoned their love for God. The church was doing a lot of good things, but they abandoned what mattered the most. The church abandoned what was most important.

So the church in Ephesus is doing nine things right and one thing wrong. But that one thing they have abandoned, the love they had at first (2:4), threatens to nullify everything that they are doing right. Loving God is the first and greatest commandment.

(CSB) You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.

Practical: Superior Avenue has a rich heritage of serving the Lord faithfully. This church does a lot of things well. But have we abandoned our first love? Have we abandoned what matters the most?

We are going to deal with pressure and persecution for Satan and the world. Let’s look next at Jesus’ encouraging to his persecuted church.

What about us as individuals? Have we abandoned our love for God? Is God really most important to us? Or has something else taken God’s place in our hearts. Remember our theme verese for 2019.

2. Remain Faithful

(NLT) Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

Theological: In verse 10, you might want to underline the phrase, “Be faithful.” The believers in Smyrna knew all about faithfulness and loyalty. They heard all their lives, “Be faithful to Rome, be loyal to Caesar.” But for Christians, loyalty to Rome and Caesar was no longer an option. Believers are to be loyal to Christ. Jesus commands the church to be loyal, to be faithful to Him no matter the cost, event to the point of death. (verse 10)

Each month this year, we are focusing on a different spiritual habit. (List on wall). Our love for God is reflected in our spiritual habits. Do we spend time reading the Word and praying? Do we worship the Lord on a weekly basis? Are we serving him? Are we sharing the Gospel with lost people? Our love for God is reflected in our spiritual habits.

Just as burning incense and proclaiming Ceasear as Lord was a test for the citizens of Smyrna, persecution was a test for the believers in Smyrna. Where did their loyalty lie? Were they really loyal to Jesus? Would they be faithful to Jesus no matter the cost?

Practical: Are we really loyal to Jesus? Are we faithful to Jesus no matter the cost? At first, I thought those questions were hard to answer. After all, we don’t face the threat of imprisonment for our faith in Jesus. We don’t face the threat of death for our faith in Jesus.

Following Christ is a matter of the heart. We can be busy with great religious activities but the miss the core of it all. God wants our hearts first.

Do we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind? Does God have first place in our lives? Or are we lacking what’s most important. Like the church of Ephesus, have we abandoned our first love?

But our loyalty to Jesus is to put to these in different ways every day. Our loyalty to Jesus is put to the test with our time. Will we be faithful to read the Bible and pray daily or do we find ourselves to busy with the activities of the day to spend 15 minutes praying and reading our Bibles?

Illustration: In recent years a head coach divorced his wife of 26 years when he left coaching a college team to become head coach in the National Football League. He said he needed a wife while coaching on the college level for social functions and to show families that he would be looking out for their sons. In pro football, however, she was an unnecessary accouterment and a distraction to winning. He said winning football was his number one priority and his two sons second. How tragic!

Our loyalty is put to the test in the area of service. Do we faithfully serve God, or do we constantly tell God know?

In contrast to this, Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas cowboys said, "The thrill of knowing Jesus is the greatest thing that ever happened to me ... I think God has put me in a very special place, and He expects me to use it to His glory in everything I do ... whether coaching football or talking to the press, I'm always a Christian ... Christ is first, family second and football third."

Our loyalty is put to the test with our money. Are we faithful to give to the Lord or do we hold back from God?

Conclusion

Our loyalty to God is put to test in our church attendance. Our we faithful to be in church on Sundays or do we find ourselves doing other things most Sundays.

Our loyalty to God is embodied in our theme verse for 2019.

Look at how verse 2 begins. Jesus knows. The word “know” means complete and full knowledge. Jesus knows everything there is to know about the church — both good and bad. Jesus knows everything there is to know about our lives — both good and bad.

Illustration: McDonald’s — Regional Manager present

(NLT) Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

Are we really loyal to God? Are we faithful to Him no matter the cost. If we are not loyal to God in areas like our time, service, giving, and church attendance, how can we be expected to be loyal to God in the face of persecution?

We live our lives every day in front of Jesus. We can’t hide anything from him. He knows our hearts. He knows if we love God. He knows if God is first place in our lives.

3. Victory not Defeat

This is what Jesus had to say in .

Theological: The believers in Smyrna had heard all their lives. Be loyal to Rome. If we are loyal to Rome, Rome will take care of us. And Rome did. When the city of Smyrna was destroyed in a earthquake, it was Rome who rebuilt the city.

(NASB) Because lawlessness is increased, 1most people’s love will grow cold.

God promises the believers in Smyrna they he would take care of them if they remained loyal and faithful.

Has our love for God grown cold? Has this church’s love for God grown cold? That what happened to the church of Ephesus. Here was Jesus’ prescription to fix the problem.

Look at verse 11. You face death on earth, but you will not be harmed by the second death. With Christ, we have resurrection and eternal life as believers. In verse 8, Jesus reminds the church that he is the one who was dead and came back to life. In , Jesus is described as the firstborn of the dead. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the first fruit of a great harvest of those who will be resurrected and live again. As believers in Christ, we are that great harvest. Death on earth is not the end. We have resurrection through Jesus. We have eternal life in Heaven through Jesus.

verse 5

Jesus takes care of those who are faithful.

Remember, Repent, Renew

Practical:sw

Persecution seems like defeat.

Illustration: Defeat (Dad running for public officers , State losing bowl game)

Defeat is tough. Persecution seems like defeat. It seems like the devil has won.

But we see here in this letter that persecution is not defeat. Loyalty to Christ in the face of persecution if victory.

v. 10 — The word for crown actually means “wreath.” Smyrna was know for their athletic games and a wreath was given to the winning participants very similar to what happened in the Olympic Games in Greece. The wreath was a symbol of victory.

Persecution is not defeat. Loyalty to God in the face of persecution is victory.