Revelation chapter 2 verse 8 to the church at Smyrna. And I think last Sunday morning you were listening to the message on the church at Ephesus. And so you are well versed now in that church, having a little of it last week on Tuesday, then again on Sunday. And now we move to the church at Smyrna. One way to remember this church is that it's the smarting church. It is the troubled, tried, persecuted church. And so you can sort of remember this church by its smarting, which rhymes with Smyrna. And that might be a little memory-ied. In Bible knowledge, every little aid helps. Every little memory clue helps us in our knowing the things of the Bible. Well, let's read these few verses. This is a very short letter, and it is, of course, a love letter that the Lord is writing to this church. And it really is a letter of comfort. It is the way to comfort the church in her troubles and trials. Verse eight and onto the angel of the church in Smyrna, right? These things say the first and the last, which was dead and is alive. I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them, which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear, what the Spirit saith unto the churches, he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Now, again, this letter is to the minister. It starts off and on to the angel of the church. The angel is the messenger, the minister, the pastor of the church. And tonight, again, we're going to be looking for things to pray about. And very much of that will be for the pastor and for the minister. And we learn here the importance of a faithful minister. I'm actually looking down at the inscription on this pulpit and it says written in black on the brown background, woe is onto me if I preach not the gospel. And so here is a very good reminder to every preacher that comes into this pulpit that God will hold any man accountable. who does not preach the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel. It would be wrong for a man to come and waste your time and the hearer's time on other things and neglect the gospel. And of course, that is the key, not only in our denomination, but to every true gospel preaching church where Christ is exalted and expounded. It is to preach the gospel. Now, I want us firstly tonight to notice the challenges of the minister. And it says in verse nine, I know thy works. And just let's pause at that little statement. And that reminds us of the busyness of the minister. And any man who is worth his salt, who is preaching the word of God to a congregation of Christians Sunday morning, Sunday evening, midweek, and then in the Reverend Graham's case to children on a Friday afternoon and the youth meeting on a Friday, well, That's going to add up to a busy life because, and that's the challenge, the challenge of busyness, the challenge to find time for every task in the ministry of the church or churches. or whatever else may come along demanding the care and the attention of the minister. And I may have said this before, but I think it comes into this tonight. that it is demanding on any man to preach three, four times to the same people week in and week out. And any man that says it's easy does not understand the burden of preaching and teaching the word of God. Because some men just love to take the shortcut and come up with a few things to say and they get away with it. That's not the burden of the man who is called of God, and he's going to put his whole energy and his whole life into that work. Now, in verse nine, you will also see the pressures that come upon the minister. I know thy works and tribulation, and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews." Now, this tribulation can take many forms. In Smyrna, it was really outright hostility, and there was opposition from the Jews, and you will discover that in the main message on Sunday morning. But how does a pastor deal with this? How does a minister deal with the pressures? Well, if it's pressures from the outside, somebody in town, somebody that's outside the church that is offended or mocking, well, you just have to expect that. That's just life. But when it comes from the inside, when it comes from those that's sitting right in the pew and he's been on the phone criticizing through the week. And then he comes and sits in the same seat and looks like a cherub, somebody who, uh, uh, uh, uh, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. He is so innocent looking. And yet the minister knows the critical heart and attitude of that person. These things can be hard, and we need to pray that God upholds his minister in that time of need. Now also in verse nine and verse 10, you will see that Satan is at work, and ye shall have tribulation 10 days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. And he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second of Satan back away up in verse nine, sorry, but are the synagogue of Satan, the synagogue of Satan behind these accusations and troubles is the devil at work. And of course, we're reminded over and over in the Bible that we are to put on the armor of God. And if there's any man that needs the armor of God, it's going to be your minister. It's going to be the man of God who stands up for the Lord. And he needs to put on the whole armor of God to withstand the wiles of the devil. And there are seven items of the Christian armor that are listed in Ephesians 6. Number seven is the weapon of all prayer. That's the number seven. And the number seven is like, it's really the glue that keeps every other part of the uniform in place. And so a minister needs to be a praying man. He needs to be much in prayer. And as a congregation, we need to pray for him. We need to hold him up and ask the Lord to keep him from the ravages and the attacks of the devil. Now, the other one you'll see in verse 10 is restrictions. Fear none of those things, for thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison. Now, that could play out in many different ways, but I think every preacher finds that there are restrictions. There are things that would limit what he can say, limit how far he can take the congregation, and there are those restrictions. Sometimes the sheep are weary, or the sheep are sickly, and you can't drive them too hard. Or maybe the sheep have lambs, and again, you can't drive the flock hard. if you've got lambs in the flock. And Christians develop at different degrees and at different speeds. Some people seem to just be strong from the beginning. Others need a lot of encouragement, a lot of help, almost hand feeding. like little lambs bottle feeding, and a pastor has to be patient. He has to take his time to see that growth and development in the church. Other pressures might be, the pastor might say, well, there's a need to do this, and others don't see it yet. And they need time to think about it. They need time to appreciate it. And again, it requires great patience. So that's a good prayer for your pastor, that the Lord will give him patience. Give him the ability to take things slowly if need be, and to wait on the Lord. and to wait for things to fall into place. Pastoral ministry is not the work of a day, it's the work of a lifetime. It's not like an evangelist coming into town and he's going to hold two weeks of meetings, and he's going to invite whoever he can, and he preaches and preaches and preaches, and then he leaves town. His work is done. A pastor is so different. He is really the community standard. He is the symbol of steadfastness, of courage, and of doing the will of God in season and out of season. And therein is the great test of the pastor. So pray for your minister to have patience in the midst of all these challenges that come upon him. But also when you think of the restrictions here in Australia, also you can praise God for your liberties. And we're not in China. We're not in some underground movement. We're not being cast into prison because we put out a church sign or we announced that this is a Christian church that stands for the Bible and we hate the devil and every enemy of the gospel. No, we have great liberties. And so let's praise God for them. And let's be thankful that your minister can come here Sundays and Tuesdays freely. Nobody hindering him. And he may come here and do the work of God with all his heart, without hindrance from physical hindrance, at least. And he may pour out his heart in the ministry of the word. That's something to be very thankful for. And so while there are the challenges, there are also the liberties. And let's pray that those liberties will always be maintained. And when it comes to the compromise of the gospel, let us not give an inch, but let us stand up in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. So we'll look at those things under the heading of the challenges of the minister. Number two now, let's look at the convictions. of the minister. Now in verse 10, you will see God's purposes at work. And it says, fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, some of you shall be cast into prison that ye may be tried. That's God's purpose. God's in this. And so whatever the challenge, whatever the difficulty, it's very important for you to know and for the preacher to know God is using this trial. He has allowed this, and he will use this. And in what we say, man meant it for evil, but God works it for good. Romans 8, 28, or the story of Joseph, what the brothers did for evil, God used all of that for good, for the preserving of life, and of course of Israel itself in the long term. But every minister has his own convictions. Now, you'll notice also in verse 10 that God is controlling the trials. Some of you shall be cast into prison 10 days, and ye shall have tribulation 10 days. Now, how did the Lord know that? How did the Lord know it would be 10 days? Because he controls it. If the Lord didn't control it, he could never have predicted it. And so our trials are controlled by the Lord. And think about this ministry here in Locke. Think of the building God has given you. God has given you this gift. Think of the families that associate with this church, the individuals, that's God's gift. And he knows everyone, and he knows how hard it is to get others in. He knows that, humanly speaking, others will not come. But God can do it. And God can still add to his church. Now, you need that conviction, and the preacher needs that conviction. The preacher needs to preach and pray and go out and witness to the neighborhood with expectation that God is in control and that he will, in his way, bring the people in. Now, you'll notice at the end of verse 10, it says, and ye shall have tribulation 10 days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." And what we learn here is that faithfulness matters. It matters when people and preacher are counted faithful, when you keep to the gospel, when you are not slack and compromising. When you endure through lean times and hardship and you push through and serve God with all your heart, it matters. It matters to God. And it matters in the long term because there is a crown of life and we're all seeking that crown of life. Now, what will you do with that crown whenever you receive it? Well, we know that in Revelation that they laid it at the Savior's feet. They took the crown and they laid it at the very feet of Jesus because he is worthy. In heaven, the saints don't count themselves worthy, but the Lord is all worthy. Now, your minister needs to have that conviction that Every effort that's put into the work of the gospel matters. Every meeting that is held matters. Every presentation of the gospel and the exposition of God's word matters, matters to God, and it matters in the long term. So there we have the convictions of the minister. And so let's pray that Mr. Graham will have those convictions. It will help him. It will encourage him. We're not trying to do some new thing or some trickery here. We're simply wanting the Lord to encourage his servant that he will have these marks of the minister upon him and that he will be effective in the work of God. Now, I switch to the next heading, and that is the encouragements of the minister. If you look at verse eight, you will see that he is remembered by the Lord. On to the angel of the church in Smyrna, right? These things saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive. The Lord remembers his servant. Remember, he's speaking primarily to the minister. primarily to the pastor in Smyrna, and he says, these things saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive. And the Lord is alive, and he's ruling over his church, and he knows the issues and the needs, and what encouragement that is. Also verse nine, that his ministry is well regarded. I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich." God appreciates such a faithful ministry, and in appreciating it, it is highly regarded. Another point to encourage is verse 10, that he is not to minister in fear, Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Now, when you get to hear the main message on Sunday morning, you will learn that this church was in for a long spell of suffering. And even into the second century, Polycarp, who was a bishop or pastor of the church, was put to death. Can you imagine the pastor of the church put to death? And the Lord is saying, fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. And here, the minister is not to minister in fear. Now, in what ways could a minister be fearful? Well, you remember Timothy? Paul wrote to Timothy and told him that he was to be bold, that he was to be strong in the Lord. Because Timothy was timid. Timothy was young and reserved in nature. And some preachers are like that. And it's nerve-wracking to get into the pulpit. Some people say, well, do you not get over that? To a degree, you know how to manage your nerves. You know how to manage the standing up and speaking to people on a ready situation. But you never lose that gut-wrenching challenge of coming and speaking. Public speaking is one of the great fears of the world. People would climb any height, but they wouldn't climb into a pulpit. It would be terrorizing to them to stand up and speak before a congregation of people. Now, that's human nature, and every minister has to overcome that fear. Then also there's the fear of offending people. And we know that no minister should deliberately go out and offend people. Nevertheless, in a church, people get offended. And they think the preacher's preaching at them. And they think that it's some personal attack or something comes up that they don't like. And it can put the fear of man into people. And we need to pray. that the pastor is delivered from those things. Verse 10, you will see that he is to minister in faith. Fear none of those things, but thou shalt suffer. And verse 10, ye shall have tribulation 10 days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. And so he is now ministering in faith. And with joy and with confidence and with expectation, the Lord is going to be honored and he's going to strengthen me and one day honor my work for him. And that becomes a ministry of faith. Let's pray for that tonight. Let's pray that the Reverend Graham will be a man who's delivered from fear and full of faith to preach the word as God's servant, not arrogantly, but humbly in Jesus' name and under Jesus' authority and with the power of God. Now a final thing, and that is the Lord can make him an overcomer. If you look down at verse 11, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. So a minister can be an overcomer, even in a difficult situation. If the pastor of Smyrna could be an overcomer, the pastor of Lock Free Presbyterian Church can be an overcomer, or Pope Lincoln, or any church, because the blessing and the help of God will be given unto him. And he can get the victory in his own ministry. And that's a wonderful thing. It's a wonderful thing to see a minister called of God, and in the church, in his overall ministry of caring for the people, he gets the victory. And he pastors, he prays in victory, he preaches in victory. Now, you might be asking, what would that look like? How would you see that in evidence? Well, that would look like a man who is empowered by the Lord and is enjoying his work. When he's an overcomer, he's going to be enjoying his work. He's got a sense of the Lord's blessing and power in his own soul. You don't want to see a minister broken in sadness. in grief. Now, there are times for that. There are sorrows that come into the church and into any man's life. But by and large, his ministry ought to be one of joy. Pray that your pastor becomes a happy pastor. Pray that he's a holy pastor. Because in reality, the only way he will ever be happy is when he is holy. when he is striving to be like the Lord Jesus and entering into his presence and communion with joy. It will also look like good gospel fruit, just as any farmer When he's an overcomer over the weather, over the obstacles to planting, sowing, raising the crop, and getting it harvested and into the bins, there is a fruit that is gathered in. And in a man's ministry, there's going to be fruit over time. And it's a slow progress at times, but there's going to be fruit. The fruit in the people themselves, there's going to be growing in prayer, in the word, growing in pleasing the Lord and walking with the Lord. And people develop into stronger Christians. That's fruit. That's good Bible gospel fruit. Then children that grow up in the church to see them come in and stand with God's people over the years and enter into the blessing of the ministry. And then of course we pass on the torch and we say to a younger generation one day, here, you take up the work, you carry the load. And that's fruit. That's the real test, isn't it? When we can stand back and see others taking on the work of God. And every one of us come to that stage of life, and I'm one of them, where you have to step back and let others take on the work. And in one way, it's very satisfying. And the other way makes you feel, I wish I was 30 years younger than I could be doing that again. But it's the fruit of a ministry over time. So here are our various things to pray for. Now, I want to say in all honesty that I'm not in any collusion with the Reverend Graham, and he wants me to say these things about him. I've not talked with him at all about these things, but I'm simply bringing them to you out of my own experience and out of this letter to these churches that we would see the need and learn how to pray. You see, in church, our prayer life should be more than just a shopping list. And you know some churches can get like that. And you end up, you pray for, I don't know, five things. And it's, Lord, give me, give me, give me. But when you pray for the ministry of the church and for your minister, you're really praying as a missionary. with a missionary mind, a missionary spirit, that this is the way God works. And this is what we need to see God do. And this is how we need to keep the devil out. And this is how the church will grow when we pray, emphasizing these things, and see the Lord answer those prayers in and through. the real practical ministry of the church. So I leave these with you tonight, and I trust that you will pray with us and pray much through the week for the Lord's blessing and the Lord's work in every heart.