Trouble Is Coming

Revelation 2:8–11 NASB95

“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: ‘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. ‘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. ‘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.’

Last week for Valentine’s Day we looked at a love letter from God to us. That letter is the Bible. However, inside the Bible we also read from a letter that was written to a church named Ephesus in the book of Revelation. The message came from the Lord himself and it started off really well. He told them how he saw their works and endurance. They were not putting up with evil and they were testing to make sure people were who they said they were. They even endured hardship and didn’t fall away. But what was their one big problem?

They lost their first love. They lost the love for God that they had when they first believed.

Today we are going to read another message to a church that wasn’t too far away but they had a very different letter. Have you ever had the experience where you knew to really different people and then found out they were actually related but they were so different?

Just like those examples you have thought of, here we are faced with a sister church that is very different from Ephesus. In the message to Smyrna we read...

(Read Scripture here.)

He starts off by stating

The letter starts off by stating who it’s from. And who is it from?

The First and the Last.

The one who was dead and came to life.

This letter is coming from God, the one who created everything and who will be there forever. God, the one who sent His Son to die for our sins and then raised him to life again. We see a glimpse of who God is here.

He says “I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich.” What does this teach us about God?

There are a couple of things we see here:

God knows how you are doing. He knows when we are afflicted, hurting, or in need. He sees you when you are struggling with people mistreating you at school or when you’re hurting because someone is spreading untrue rumors to everyone you know. God knows when you’re sick or injured and He takes notice of your sprained ankle that’s keeping you up at night. God also knows when you’ve not got a warm coat or if you’re going to bed hungry at night. God, the same one who introduced Himself in the opening of the message to the church in Smyrna as the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life, that same God knows how you’re doing. It’s pretty amazing that God takes notice of us, isn’t it? What are some ways you see affliction in people’s lives?

God says you are rich. How can it be that the church who says they are in poverty is actually rich? Well, it is because God and the church are not looking at riches the same way. When you look at riches you probably think of lots of money, gold chains, lots of food, a mansion, fancy cars, tuxedos and evening gowns. But God looks at riches not by the stuff we have, but by who we have. The church in Smyrna is rich because they have an eternal hope in Jesus Christ that they will live in Heaven with God Himself.

In the last part of the verse we read, “I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Have you ever been a part of a group and someone who you know is not in that group claims to be in the group? Maybe they say I’m a baseball player but they’ve never even been on a team. Maybe they claim they are in FFA, JROTC, or BETA Club.

Or maybe you have had someone tell you they’re a Christian but they don’t act anything like it and you’re there thinking, yeah right buddy? They go off saying bad things about others and even those who are Christians. Sometimes they get in the news saying hateful things to people or even groups of people and then everyone gets a bad impression of Christians because of it.

That’s what we see here. The church in Smyrna has experienced slander by those who say they’re God’s people but they aren’t. God’s response to them is to acknowledge them. He sees them, but also, He tells them to not be afraid of what is coming.

Last time we went to Wild Adventures I made a bad mistake. I let someone convince me to go on a ride that I stopped riding and couldn’t remember why. Well, we were strapped in on the Cheetah and as I came to the top of the first drop I remembered why I stopped riding that ride. It scares me. It scares me to not be able to get out of a little metal car on an old wooden roller coaster that feels like it’s going to jump right off the rails. I know logically that it is “safe” because they keep it operating and have regular maintenance to maintain it. But I’m still scared.

The same thing happens to us spiritually. Here God is telling them, “Do not 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.”

There are three points I want you to write down and remember in regards to suffering.

There are three points I want you to write down and remember in regards to suffering.

1. Do not be afraid.

If you got that warning you’d probably want to run away, right? No. Just like a soldier getting notice that they’re shipping out, you could run away, but you’ll have consequences if you do. Soldiers who run away are put in jail. Christians who run away and are not faithful to the point of death do not get… the crown of life.

2. Affliction has a time limit.

3. There is a big reward for faithfulness.

“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.”