In light of today's message, I decided to do something a little
different. I decided to visit the website
of the Voice of the Martyrs and to look into their most recent
prayer request and post regarding persecuted Christians
around the world. And initially I was hoping to
maybe revisit some accounts of those who have suffered for
Christ's name's sake, to just bring to our attention things
that maybe we have forgotten. But then I thought it might be
more helpful to look at what is happening in our day.
What is happening to Christians across the world, common folk,
those who have regular jobs, those who have spouses and
children. What is taking place at this
very moment while you and I get to enjoy these freedoms, sing
with No Fear, come regularly. So I have a couple of things to
bring to your mind and I hope it stirs you as we prepare to see
what God's Word has to say regarding this.
These are just two testimonies from recent months, so I want to
begin with the following. A Christian families
registration book is being withheld because of their faith.
That was born and registered in a village in northern Leos or
Leo. But as a young man he left for
the southern part of the country to work at a coffee farm.
While there he married and also heard the gospel and he and his
family came to faith in Jesus Christ.
In January of 2024 he returned to his home village.
However, after learning that that and his family were
Christians, the head of the village refused to renew the
registration book, a document with vital records such as ID,
travel and work permits, marriage and birth records,
educational records, and residence permits.
Without registration books, families struggle getting work,
housing, social services, medical care and education for
their children. Pray for Vat's family and others
who are faced with a decision to deny Christ or lose these
documents, as this is a common persecution tactic and layoffs.
Here's another story. Two sisters were imprisoned by
their family for their faith and now seek safety in another
country. Noor and Rana grew up in a
Muslim home but did not like the way they and other woman were
treated. They searched the Internet for
information on different fates and eventually met some
Christians online. Through the Christians
friendship and witness, the two sisters became followers of
Christ. But when their family discovered
their new faith, they locked the sisters inside and physically
abused them for 13 months. The two women escaped and fled
to a nearby country, but they do not have the paperwork necessary
to stay or to move on. They are afraid, terrified that
they might be sent home, said a frontline worker.
He asked that Christians pray for the sisters to experience
God's peace and provision for a safe home where they can grow in
their faith. This is just a sample of the
countless testimonies of millions of Christians who are
paying a price for what they believe in.
And what you and I just got was a glimpse of something that
dates back to the very beginning, the very infancy of
the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because you see, the true Church of Jesus has always known
suffering. And as we come to our text
today, we are going to be reminded of that often forgotten
reality of our faith, that there is a price to pay for having
your allegiance tied to this Savior.
And as we see what Jesus is going to say to a church in
Smyrna, we're going to recognize that His desire is to embolden
them. Even in the very first words,
the very introduction of this short letter, He seeks to
energize them, to remain faithful.
He seeks to offer them hope and comfort in the midst of their
agony. And I want us to look at it
together in Revelation chapter 2, beginning in verse 8.
This is the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Church in
Smyrna, modern day Izmir in Turkey.
Verse 8 of Revelation 2. And to the Angel of the church
in Smyrna write the words of the 1st and the last who died and
came to life. I know your tribulation and your
poverty, but you are rich. And the slander of those who say
that 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 throw some of you into prison,
that you may be tested, and for 10 days you will have
tribulation. Be faithful unto 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.
The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
Father, we ask with this brief message that you would have your
way in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
We trust, Lord, that You have a word for us even here in
America. We need to hear your wisdom
regarding these things, so we look to you now in faith,
believing that you will indeed speak.
Give us ears to hear. In Christ's name we pray.
Amen. Can you imagine the holy shock
that surged through the hearts of these weary Saints as they
whispered these words in their meeting?
What was it like to discover that the very author of this
letter was God himself? It's right there in this amazing
title, this caption that exclusively belongs to the God
of the Hebrew Scriptures, primarily what we find in the
book of Isaiah, the words of the 1st and the last.
This is God speaking to us through his servant John, and as
powerful that as that is, the title only continues.
This caption goes on to say that this is the first and the last
who died and came to life. There has to be a paradox.
You're telling me that the Eternal One at some point died
and came to life? Staggering, but extremely
helpful because the Holy Spirit is precise and telling us who it
is within the Godhead that is addressing this battered church.
It is the sin bearer of the world, the one who dwelt in
eternity and stepped into time to take on flesh and to become a
sacrifice and a ransom for many. This is Jesus Christ who has
come to speak and to comfort his people in Smyrna.
And what's so fascinating about this?
It's it's another confirmation to the divinity of our Lord,
simply because he unashamedly declares himself to be the very
same one who says I alone am the 1st and the last.
Now for Christ to say that He is the first reminds these
believers and us that He existed long before there was a church
in Smyrna, long before Smyrna ever existed, long before the
very earth and the solar system was spoken into reality.
And for Jesus to say, I am the last, now he points in the other
direction of His eternal nature. I will always be.
I remain forever. I am sovereign perpetually.
No one can dethrone my authority.
And even though empires come and go and fade into history, I
still stand right away. What Christ is doing for these
believers is to have a larger view of their Savior.
I'm reminding you of how awesome I am, who I am, where I came
from, where this is all going. And so clearly there's something
about understanding the sovereignty of Christ that
becomes a source of strength. But it's not just his
sovereignty, it's his empathy. Because he adds again by saying,
yes, I'm the 1st and the last, but I at one point came into
your world, the world that I created with the intention of
dying. This is marvelous because what
the Lord is essentially doing here is reminding these
believers that He walked in their shoes.
And as these believers are facing much suffering, He
decides to merge his exaltation with His humiliation.
Yes, I'm high and lifted up, but I'm also the one who came low
and was disgraced by those who thought they had their way with
me. But why is He saying this?
Because He wants to tell these believers who are smelling
death. I know what death tastes like.
I know what it's like to obey God to the point of excruciating
pain and dishonor. I I know what it's like to look
into the eyes of lifeless souls who have no reason to attack you
but do so with demonic Glee. I know what it's like to give my
final breath. I know.
So these believers, when hearing this, are reminded he gets it.
He doesn't just know with his omniscience, He knows with
experience. There's a different level of
comfort that comes from somebody who has known the pain that we
are facing. And that is precisely what
Christ is offering these precious Saints.
I know it. You know what's so amazing about
Jesus saying that I'm the one who died and came to life as one
person said it so wonderfully. Think of the greatest man who
walked this world. Think of those in history who
have shaped history in different ways.
No matter what kind of praise you can give to such figures, we
have to say of all of them that they lived and then they died.
But there is only one person who we can say with great confidence
that he died and then he came to life as Jesus Christ.
He's in his own category. Oh, I'm sure that this would
have brought some kind of encouragement, but it's only
beginning. He says here who died to came to
life, which not only confirms his resurrected state, but it
also grants them the assurance of their resurrection as well.
Yes, I came to die, but in my death I paved the way into
eternal life through my death and my resurrection.
Now there's a way for you to share in my fate.
So right here at the outset, these Christians and Smyrna are
given so much to look forward to and we're only getting started.
He adds to this initial comment what we find in verse 9.
I know, I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are
rich. And the slander of those who say
that they are Jews and are not but our synagogue of Satan.
He says I know three things, three things about you, your
tribulation, your poverty, your slander.
Now he could have just said that he is aware of their difficulty
in a general sense, but he doesn't do that.
He is specific. And the reason why He's specific
is so that they can comprehend of how cognizant He is of their
trials, that He knows every angle of their anguish, that He
knows every source of their sorrow, that He knows every
detail of their distress. And so even in this, these
believers are to understand. He is nearer to us than we might
have believed. He's closer to us than we might
have imagined. He has studied us, but not just
with again, His knowledge, but with sympathy.
So the Savior is walking near, and our knee jerk reaction to
that truth and our pain perhaps might be.
Then why doesn't He do something about it?
OK, he knows. He knows what's happening in my
marriage. He knows what's happening with
my body. He knows what's happening with
my health. He knows what's happening with
my finances, as you say. So where is he then?
To which I would respond. If you believe that he is the
all knowing one, then you must also believe that He is
perfectly good. And in His goodness, whatever
pain He permits, despite your constant pleas, He is allowing
it for you to achieve a good that is impossible to attain
apart from this way. Didn't you catch that when we
read this initially, Jesus comes to them not to promise them
immediate relief, rescue from their troubles.
He does provide comfort. But in the midst of their
troubles, actually, He's going to tell them it's going to get
worse. He's not here to say your
circumstances are going to get better.
He's going to say it's going to get more intense.
But I'm going to give you the necessary things for you to be
able to successfully endure it. So I know these things.
And we talked a little bit about the poverty aspect of this.
If the prosperity gospel is supposedly true, then why not
give them the ingredients to claim their fortune, to claim
resources so they can escape their poverty?
He doesn't do that. You can make the case that this
is one of the most praised churches and they are the
poorest among the seven. He doesn't criticize them for
their poverty. Shame on those who say
otherwise. Shame on those who guilt
Christians and try to twist their arm thinking that wealth
is a sign of God's favor. You're going to stand before God
and give an account because my Jesus, I'm not concerned what
you say in the name of Jesus. I'm concerned ultimately about
Jesus said, my Jesus looks at this church.
He says you're, you're poor, but you're actually rich.
You're actually rich. And if that teaches us anything,
it is this that we must see as Christ sees.
We must behold our circumstances, people, events,
our personal journey, the way the Lord sees it.
And it doesn't end here. He says, yes, you are
experiencing poverty, you're actually rich, though.
And then he goes on to say, I'm also aware of the slander of
those who say they are Jews. So in their own perception,
whoever these Jews are, as they believe that they have spiritual
privilege because of their ethnicity, they say that they
are Jews, but they're actually a synagogue of Satan.
So that only expands on that truth that we must see as Christ
sees. And in this case, he wants these
believers to understand the spiritual nature of the struggle
that they're in. Moreover, we can say that the
Tribulation and the poverty that these Christians are
experiencing is the result of the slander of these Jews.
So you had a prominent, prominent community of Jewish
people in Smyrna who clearly had a level of influence for their
lies to persuade the governing authorities to harass this
church. We, we don't know the nature of
these lies, but whatever they were saying was working.
It was tainting the reputation of these Christians.
It caused these Christians to sever relationships with others,
to lose their businesses, to have even their property
confiscated. You have to remember here that
the Jews were furious with this new movement of Christians also
inviting Gentiles in claiming that Jesus of Nazareth was the
Messiah. So they were vehemently
attacking this group and in this specific area.
They had a lot of freedom to do so, and they took advantage of
it. And they could do nothing about
it. They could appeal to a higher
court. The court is against you.
They couldn't call the police. The police is against you.
Let me remind you that that is the case for many people around
the world. As you and I sit here and
hearing a sermon, I know, I know what people are saying about
you. Here's a little nugget.
Jesus in His wisdom. Listen carefully.
Servants of Christ Jesus in His perfect wisdom will sometimes
allow people to slander you. Be prepared for that.
Be prepared for that type of persecution where people malign
your reputation with a question. They broadcast your apparent
false motives that want to taint you.
So don't think of it as a strange thing when it happens.
He allows His people to go through that.
As painful as it is, as much as you want to try to defend it and
persuade others not to believe it, oftentimes Christ will allow
His people to be slandered. And even in that kind of
suffering, you have to trust them.
This defamation was apparently working, but the way you and I
are supposed to respond to it is to allow Christ to defend us.
It was Wesley who said I've put my reputation in the same place
where I've rested my soul in the hands of God.
And in this case here we see that this Jesus of ours who says
I'm aware of their slander, indirectly comes to the defense
by criticizing where these Jews are really coming from.
Now unfortunately, like many truths in the Bible, people have
used the words of Jesus here to support misleading doctrine and
to even encourage blatant anti-Semitism.
Listen very carefully please. There are so many people today
who make the claim that the Jewish people today are not the
real descendants of the patriarchs.
And there are wild conspiracies, and there are enthusiasts who
like to promote these strange legends and have the audacity to
come to the Bible and to draw from Christ's words to support
their arguments. And so there are people today,
if you Google Synagogue of Satan, you will find atrocious
things, even people in churches preaching that because the
Jewish people have rejected Jesus as their Messiah, they
have forfeited their ancient identity, that they have
absolutely 0 relevance to God's program of redemption today and
tomorrow. And we'll even point to the
nation of Israel today and point to Jewish people today and say
you are of the synagogue of Satan.
Let me ask you a question. Do you really believe that what
Christ is saying here about these particular groups of Jews
is His way of making a sweeping statement of the Jewish people
as a race being of Satan? Is that how you conclude what
Christ is saying here? And he says it again in the same
book? Or is it more possible that in
light of the rest of Scripture, the Lord is pointing out that
any Jew who intentionally opposes or resists the Messiah
and His message is fulfilling the will of Satan, whether they
are aware of it or not? What did Jesus say to Peter?
After teaching that he was going to go to the cross and he
rebuked the Master in Matthew 1623, the Lord turned to him and
said get behind me. What Satan?
OK, be consistent with your teaching.
Is Peter a part of a global agenda that controls everything?
Is Peter of Satan as well? Get behind me, Satan.
Why did he refer to Peter in this way?
Well, 1 he is highlighting the thinking of Peter, the
rationalization of Peter as being satanic in nature, and
Peter was to understand that. Moreover, He is also telling
Peter, you're not aware of this, but you're actually in line with
the will of the devil and trying to keep me from going to the
place that I've been destined to go.
What did he say to the Pharisees and other Jews in John chapter
8, verse 44? You are your father, the devil,
and your will is to do your father's desires.
He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in
the truth because there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a
liar and the father of lies. Hey, hey, your father is the
devil. Do you know why?
Because his native tongue is to lie, and you're lying as well.
You're trying to set me up to make me look like I'm guilty.
So you're like your father, the devil.
So when we return to the scathing words of Jesus here in
Revelation chapter 2, he is again not making the statement
of the Jewish race or Israel's national identity is devilish or
energized by satanic rituals. Instead, he is condemning A
localized, specific group of Jews who took so much pride in
their spiritual, or rather in their race, thinking that they
have spiritual security in their ethnicity when in fact they were
in spiritual trouble because of their vehement attack against
the truth. Let me say another way.
Christ is not condemning their ethnicity.
He's condemning their behavior. It's so plain, it's so simple,
but there's so many who are willing to twist the words of
Christ. You want to slander these
Christians? Oh, OK, good.
You're Jews, but you are just like Satan because the very name
Satan means accuser. Sir, you're accusing these
beliefs. You're like the devil.
Your little ministry. You know who really presides
over it? The devil because you're acting
like him. All people who have No Fear of
God when it comes to the handling of God's Word.
Hopefully what's been said so far has been helpful, but we're
going to come to the real heart of this message.
Christ goes on to say in verse 10 three very important words,
do not fear. Do not fear what you are about
to suffer. You have to read that very
carefully. He's telling and preparing this
church that there is more persecution and pain on the way.
And they were afraid of it. And for many of us, that's the
essence of our fear. It may not necessarily be
because of what's taking place right now, but it's because of
the mere thought of potential hardship on its way.
And it's not limited to persecution.
Are you paralyzed in fear today because of what you think might
happen tomorrow, what you may be confident will happen tomorrow?
Based on what Jesus says here, He doesn't want you and I to
have an ounce of anxiety. Do not fear.
Do not fear what you are about to suffer.
And again, don't limit it to people harassing you because of
your faith. It could be true that even in
this moment, in the sound of my voice, you're trying to drown
out your fear. Hopefully the music will help.
Hopefully the message will medicate me.
Because you're worried about a future disease, abandonment, an
accident, the loss of a loved one, the loss of your life,
betrayal. Whatever it may be, whatever the
source, whatever the object that your fear is, Christ says do not
fear what you are about to suffer.
And he gives these Christians 3 reasons, three reasons in the
same verse why we can be rock solid, rock solid, confident for
whatever we're facing now or whatever may surprise us
tomorrow. And the umbrella, the theme of
our security is the sovereignty of Christ again, but in three
specific domains, 3 specific domains of Christ's sovereignty.
That should give you and I the key of unlocking A bravery for
anything. Can we look at them three things
in verse 10. The first thing is Christ
sovereignty over Satan. What does he say?
Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison
that you may be tested. Now ask this is this a language
that depicts Satan being in control of the circumstances in
these Christians lives? Or is this the language of
Christ showing them who's in control?
Look carefully and just in case there is even a debate about it,
let's settle it now. First, Christ is showing that He
is totally aware of the schemes of Satan.
Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison.
I know his every move, I know his every plan, I know his
plots. I know what he's going to do.
And that alone should bring us great grace.
He, he's aware Christ is never taken by surprise.
You going to your room to pray about the phone call that you
got does not catch the Lord by any surprise.
He was fully conscious of it, fully aware of it, prepared.
It's you and I that are surprised.
And in our surprise, we should come to the feet of the
Sovereign 1 and covered ourselves with the truth that
you already knew about this. So I trust that you've allowed
it for some reason. And then that place you can know
life changing fellowship. I know.
And this is something for you and I to consider because
whatever he does allow always has a redemptive end.
Always. Because what does he say?
He's going to throw you into prison, some of you at least
that you may be tested. Who's doing the testing here?
Is Satan putting these Christians in a prison cell to
test them, or is he trying to snuff out the Christian witness
in Smyrna? The one who is doing the testing
is the sovereign Christ. I'm allowing this for the
testing of the genuineness of your faith.
What does Christ need to know? The level of the strength of our
faith? No, you need to know.
I need to know, is it not a source of encouragement that
through all the pain and all the things that happened, you come
out like gold? You come out still singing to
the Savior, still serving the Savior.
Isn't that a means of building you up?
This thing in me is real. I still love him.
Even though I lost this. I still love Him.
Even though I'm still sick, I still love Him.
Even though people walked away from me, I still love Him.
That you may be tested, yes, that you may see what's in you,
but also for others to see what's in you as a witness to
the world of the worthiness of Jesus Christ.
So the devil thinks he's actually going to gain
something. I'm telling you, you're going to
gain something if you overcome. So we see the sovereignty of
Christ over Satan #2 the sovereignty of Christ over our
tribulation. What is He going to say?
And for 10 days you will have tribulation.
I can't express in words the immense joy that flooded my
heart when I first learned that Christ is not only aware of what
my tribulation is, but how long it will go on for 10 days.
It's going to go on for 10 days. It may be intense, but it's
going to be brief. And listen, when you comprehend
the precision of Christ supervision not just over the
affairs of your life, but even in your suffering, I can
guarantee you that it has the ability to chase away every
temptation for you to be weary in that suffering.
There's an expiration date on this thing.
More than that, the Lord not only knows the temperature to
set in my trial, but the duration of it so that it will
have its full effect in my life. Not a day sooner, Not a day
later. He knows the exact moment where
this will bring about His desired will in me.
Doesn't that give you gas? Doesn't that give you fuel to go
on 10 days? Apply the principle.
He knows when this will end, He knows the moment it was supposed
to start, and He knows when I will graduate.
And so we see here that He's sovereign over the tribulation
itself. Lastly, the sovereignty of
Christ over death itself. What does He say?
Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.
Who can say that? Who can say that?
Think about the implications of this.
Who can say be faithful unto death?
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I will give you the crown of life.
The only one who can say that is the person who claims in
Revelation One that he holds the keys to death in AIDS.
I have authority over death. And so I'm telling you that if
you're willing to be faithful unto death, and if death is your
portion, you're going to meet me on the other side.
That's the image that you're supposed to have.
That's the image that he wants to grant these Christians in
Smyrna. I will greet you with a reward
in my hand. Just be faithful until the end.
And what's so wonderful about this is, and I can't say it
enough, because Christ defeated death, He radically redefines
the experience of death. Because he defeated death, he
radically redefines your experience of it and mine, as
one person said, Jesus didn't just change our lives, he
changes the way we die. Yes, absolutely.
And we see that with Paul. Who can say in Philippians 121
for me to live is Christ and to die is what gain to to die is
what Paul to die is. What can you say that again,
Paul? To die is gain.
Only a man who has been granted revelation from God, revelation
about the sufficiency of his sacrifice in Christ, revelation
about the deliverance of Christ, revelation about the presence of
God that awaits us, the rewards that await us on the other side
because of our faith in Christ can say to die is gain.
So that reinterprets our understanding, even our language
concerning this, that death because of Christ and what
awaits you and I after death, offer something that surpasses
the best in this life. That's what he's saying there.
To die is gain. No matter what you can gain in
this life. Dying in Christ offers something
far greater. That's why there should be an
element in our funerals as Christians where we celebrate.
Yes, we grieve, we're human, and there's something about loss
that is painful. But oh, when you see what death
really means for us, we're hidden in Him.
We can face it. And the Lord gives us a glimpse
into that realm where he tells these Christians, I will give
you the crown of life. I wasn't originally planning to
share this, but I thought I would because it made me jump
out of my seat almost when considering the sovereignty of
Christ. You heard me quoting Exodus
earlier. It's because I'm reading it
personally and I want to show you a little passage that even
in the Old Testament that heralds the sovereignty of God.
When you go to Exodus 21, this is the Lord giving the
Israelites specific instructions regarding societal affairs,
including murder. And he talks about what's to
take place for the one who commits intentional premeditated
murder. But then he also addresses what
happens with accidental manslaughter, involuntary.
And notice what he says in Exodus 21, verse 12.
Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
But if he did not lie and wait for him, this is the phrase,
Look at this. But God let him fall into his
hand. Then I will appoint for you a
place which he may flee, and that would later be the city of
refuges, cities of refuge. Did you see that?
The middle part, God let him fall into his hand.
Now you can use this verse as a springboard for much
philosophical and theological debate.
How does God Latin, Who and who is this and that?
Can I tell you what it did for me?
It soothed my soul to be reminded that God is sovereign
over death. Even from a human perspective,
we may interpret it as a freak accident.
He's talking about accidental death here.
And even in this he tucks in a truth regarding His sovereignty.
God let him fall into his hand. So whether it's persecution or
just a routine drive to work and something happened on the way,
we are a peculiar people and we are to understand Christ the
Sovereign. He knows.
He not only knows the the duration of trial, but he knows
the day I see him face to face. And so we come back to our main
texts as we're ready to close. In Revelation 2, verse 11, he
gives one more reason. I mean, if this wasn't enough,
he gives another reason for these Christians to be
emboldened. Revelation 211 He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
This is the first occurrence in your Bibles and mind of the term
the second death. Second death, Well, when you
gather all the evidence, it is something that refers to the
fate of the unsaved following their bodily resurrection.
Some again make the claim that the second death.
The language of that proposes that when a person who is not
saved dies, he then ceases to exist as God's punishment.
Annihilationism. There's no eternal punishment
known. You just cease to exist.
But that's not what the Word of God means by that.
What's more consistent is that the second death speaks of you
being separated from the life of God, you being removed from the
good presence of God, and you enduring eternal punishment
instead. Why is he saying this to this
group of believers? Because again, death is
imminent. It's just around the corner.
And he wanted, he wants to let them know that dying in this
life is not the worst thing. Dying in the next life is you
can face this. Why?
Because I'm waiting on the other side and I have the crown of
life in my hands. And remember, you've been spared
from the second death. This is temporal.
I wonder if the Christians in Smyrna took this letter to
heart. I think they did.
There is an ancient church father by the name of Polycarp.
He was directly discipled by John himself.
Saint John who wrote this letter.
He lived in the mid to late 1st century.
Going into the early 2nd century, Polycarp became a
Bishop in the church in Smyrna. Persecution broke out from the
Roman government and they were looking for Polycarp.
The Christians loved him and so they try to hide him, and they
did so successfully for some time.
Finally, through betrayal, they found Polycarp's whereabouts.
And when they came to him in that farmhouse, the soldiers
knocked on his door and he welcomed them like a friend.
He actually offered them food and drink.
He must be hungry, so he invites them in and these soldiers have
a bite to eat and he asked permission.
Will you give me some time to pray?
Stunned by his gentleness, the Roman soldiers agreed to it.
And so he goes into the other room and he prays, and they hear
him praying, and he prays for two hours.
He prays for the believers, he prays for the church, he prays
for himself. And he's getting his heart ready
to meet his Savior. Oh, there's so many details to
this. I encourage you to make it your
afternoon reading today. I'll go to the main part.
He eventually is brought before the proconsul and the proconsul
realizing his old age gives him the chance.
Look, just just we can't deny Jesus Christ, declare Caesar is
Lord and here's what Polycarp said.
Quote 86 years have I served him and he has done me no wrong.
How can I blasphemy my king and my savior?
You don't understand Polycarp. We'll release the wild beasts.
OK, bring it on my translation. He wasn't afraid of the wild
beast. OK, We're going to burn you at
the stake. And when I read this, when I was
reminded of this, I wondered if what came to Polycarp's mind is
how John concluded this letter. The one who conquers will not be
hurt by the second death. Listen to his words.
Quote. You threaten me with fire which
burns for an hour and then is extinguished.
But you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgement and
eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly.
Why are you waiting? Bring on whatever you want.
I guess he said something similar.
There's debate about what happened once Polycarp was
brought to the stake before an audience.
Some claim that when they were ready to nail him to that piece
of wood so that Christians or anybody that they were putting
to death would not escape. And he said, no need to nail me,
Jesus will keep me. Others argue that the flames did
not even touch him, that they kind of encircled him.
What most believe is that the fire did not kill Polycarp.
So they took a spear and struck him in the heart.
And again, some say that it's very blood that gushed out,
extinguished the fire. This is Christianity, and as
I've mentioned before, one of the main things that makes this
church so unique is the absence of any criticism from Christ.
And then it hit me, why? Well, some would say it's
because they're suffering. So there's there's more need for
assurance and encouragement than pointing out any faults.
Well, it's better to prepare a people to meet Christ.
I'm sure that would be the heart of Christ if there was some
serious sin. That doesn't seem to be the
reason why. Instead, I think one of the
reasons this church was pure and their practical holiness is
because they suffered. Because suffering and trials and
difficulties have a way of purging us and cleaning us and
polishing us. This church was suffering and
they would know more suffering. And the Bible tells us in so
many places of the sanctifying glory that comes when you
embrace it in faith. I guess you can say another
reason why we shouldn't fear suffering is because if exercise
well, it will make you and I see clear and shine brighter.
For the glory of God, let's pray.
Well, we thank you that you've reminded us that through many
tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God, and if our
suffering would be slander or being LED to fire, help us be
overcomers. May our faith persevere until
the end. And Lord, today we've gathered
as your church to reflect on what you have done for us so
that we can overcome the second death and that you have
reinterpreted. You have translated death in
this life to be the entryway into true life.
For this, O Lord, we are eternally grateful and we come
to worship you as we eat at your table.
Prepare our hearts Lord, to remember that it's not because
of what we have done, it's not by our own merit, it's because
you have become a substitute and we are saved because you've
loved us. We give you glory and thanks as
we celebrate together now in Jesus name, Amen.
Amen. Well, the team will now come up
here and assist us in our singing so that we can focus
even better on what we are about to partake in.
So let's stand together. Let's worship the Lord.