The Church of Smyrna

Introduction

Recap Series

The Apostle John is on exiled to an island called Patmos

while on the island, he receives a vision of the Lord Jesus who tells him to write down what is and what will be

to write letters to the churches.

these are churches in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey

Week 1 - Church of Ephesus

The church was great at standing up for the truth of God, yet somewhere along the way was so caught up in speaking the truth, that they left the love they had at first

This week the Church of Smyrna

We have forgotten who the Lord is

We think that we have “made” Jesus Lord of our lives

Jesus is Lord

as Voddie Baucham said, “Jesus is Lord if you acknowledge it or not.”

We have forgotten this so I our idea of persecution is skewed

as if we are persecuted for standing up and defending Jesus. We are not persecuted for defending our faith

But we may be persecuted for believing in the Lordship of Jesus

Revelation 2:8–11 (CSB)

8 “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life:

9 I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

10 Don’t 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.

11 “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.

When we acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, we will offer our lives for him for all of eternity.

Who We Serve

Arby’s gave me the wrong food… when only the drive through was open

no idea who the food went to, they are just shoving it out the window

We too often serve ourselves

church worship for too many have become an option

we have convinced ourselves that God should serve us also

this is why we get mad at God when things here do not go the way that we think they should

we get in a place where we think that if we love God, and do certain things, he has to do things for us

part of that is no pain

Revelation 2:8 (CSB)

8 “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life:

Before Jesus speaks on the affliction that is coming their way, he describes himself

when we talk about Jesus we all have a picture that kind of comes in our minds

for some he is the baby in the manger at Christmas

for some he is hanging on the cross

the first

the first what? God, person that we should worship, thought that we should have

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

John 1:1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Colossians 1:16 “For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.”

the last

is this a he will serve all, he told us that the first will be last and the last will be first…

no, not at all, he is speaking about judgement

he created all things in the beginning, and he will judge all things in the end

we do not make the rules, his judgments are not based on our idea of fairness, but on his word and his law.

the one who was dead

We are guilty people, law breakers through and through

we have sinned, repeatedly

we attempt to justify it

we attempt to downplay it

we love to focus on the sins of others

we think that maybe Jesus won’t be looking at our sins if we point to the sins of another

but we receive grace, when he could and should throw the book at us

Jesus came and died on the cross for each of our sins

romans 5:7-8 “For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

See how we are neither just nor good… we are sinners

he died for the sins of all who would believe on his name

the one who is alive

He was not just a man that died in our place and the story was over

the grave could not how him

that Sunday morning the angels sang, the ground shook, the guards fainted and the disciples believed

He is not in the grave any longer

he is alive today, seated at the right hand of the father, interceding on our behalf

one day, all will be judged by him

When we are looking at who it is we are really serving, it will ensure that we serve the right way.

How We Serve

Back to my Arby’s order… I would have thought that in 2020 with all the restaurants closed, except the drive throughs, they would have perfected that

I think that how we serve says a lot about who it is we serve

when I say “how we serve” I do not mean in what ways that we serve

we could talk about that

serving in the ways that make you feel good

serving in ways that bring you the most glory

my order might have been messed up at Arby’s for a couple of reasons

maybe it was a simple mistake that hardly ever happens at that Arby’s

maybe it was because they really did not care about me or if I was happy with this experience

but honestly, it was probably because it was a teenager that was working and being a teenager

Revelation 2:9–10 (CSB)

9 I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

10 Don’t 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.

if the way that we serve Jesus is based on what is going on in the world, we have an issue

John Wesley on what he would do if he knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow

what does this have to do with the affliction the the church of Smyrna was facing, or about to face

if we are not serving Jesus the right way we will misunderstand what persecution is

This church is being persecuted

affliction = tribulation

poverty = beggar, poor

the church may have been prevented from working because of their faith

At this time in the Roman empire, Caesar was to be worshipped

the Jews had an exemption to this because of their faith in one God

they may be holding the Jewish traditions, but as Paul writes to the Romans 2:28-29 “For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. 29 On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.”

Jesus is saying I know their hearts

but they hated the Christians so much that they petitioned against them getting the exemption as well

Jesus tells them that he sees all of this… but do not lose focus, you are rich

how are they rich

Matthew Henry - “When God’s people are poor in temporals, He makes all up to them in spiritual riches, which are more satisfying and enduring.”

A real persecution is yet to come

Polycarp

Apostle of John

Bishop in the church of Smyrna

when his captors came, he had food and drinks served to them because it was a long walk from the town to the house he was staying in

asked only to pray for an hour before they took him in

tradition says that he was burnt at the stake when he was in his eighties

they did not want to and begged him to deny his faith

“Eighty-six years I have served my him and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king and my savior?”

A real persecution came to this church

but nothing could remove them from the love of God

A people looking for worldly riches will never be ready to stand for God

We must not be worried about losing the things of this world, especially the comforts

We know our real citizenship and treasure is in Heaven

when we understand that, then we will understand why we serve

Why We Serve

So I will stay with my Arby’s illustration… Most people do not look to the fast food industry for a career

it is a job for the teens to make some money and learn how to work for somebody

which means their “why” is not based upon the customer

they do not apply to Arby’s going to want to go and make sure that everyone who comes through here has the best food ever!

Revelation 2:11 (CSB)

11 “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.

Him… There is no other reason

We serve because of verse eight… who he is

He is God

he is not a god, the god of gods

he is not just somebody to help you get through the tough times

he created all things, he offered himself as a sacrifice for all that would believe in him

not because of anything that we did, but because he is God

so we do not serve him because we are so great, but because we believe that he is God

We serve out of a desire to be with him for eternity

not as in a way to get there

I am not preaching to you a works theology, one that says if you serve him then you will spend eternity with him

that is not what this text is saying

Instead, Jesus is saying that those who know him will not be caught up in the worldly things

but will conquer this persecution by remaining true to Him, the one who stayed true to us

we serve with an understanding that there is no greater thing that we could hope for or obtain