Well, presently we are making our way through the Book of Revelation through the seven letters to the seven churches that are given to us there. The churches in Asia Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Last week we took up the first of those letters, which was the one to Ephesus. Today we're going to look at what Jesus had John communicate to the second church that John was instructed to write to, and that is the church of Smyrna. You know Smyrna? You know where that name comes from? Smyrna. Notice it has the word myrrh in it, because they were traders of myrrh. And they had a lot of different things like that that they would trade in. Smyrna was a beautiful and prosperous city that had been destroyed in 580 BC. and rebuilt by Alexander the Great. He kind of began the building and then some of his successors finished it so that it was completed in 290 BC. It was built according to carefully laid plans and so it was a very beautiful city in that regard. It was very well ordered. Everything was laid out In a very beautiful way, they they had a road that was called the Golden Street that ran kind of through the middle and it went up a mountain and they had beautiful temples on on both sides of the street going up the going up the ascent and. It was just a lovely city. People of Smyrna had an interesting ability, sort of a knack, to always know ahead who was going to be the winning side. And they always aligned themselves with the ones that were, you know, the rising guys that were going to kind of rule the day. And so then they would get rewarded because they'd been loyal to them all the way back from the beginning. They seemed to have a sense of who was going to prosper and succeed. So in 195 BC, all the way back that early, they built a temple to the goddess of Rome. And so they were endearing themselves to Rome at that time. And then in 8026, in the time of Jesus, they built a temple to the emperor Tiberius. And because of their loyalty to Rome, they were a free city, exempt from taxation, and they had various privileges among the cities in Asia. They kind of competed sometimes with Ephesus for greatness within the city. And their citizens were often given crowns by Rome because of their loyalty and their commitment. to the Roman Emperor. It was a wreath that was given to him, a crown, a wreath that was called a Stephanus. It was not a royal kind of crown, but a kind of a wreath that were given as an award. They were very diligent in also insisting that all of their citizens would be loyal to Rome. And so at that time they had the rules about how you had to offer a pinch of incense to Caesar once a year. And you also had to say, as you did that, that Caesar is Lord. And of course, the Christians refused to do that. The Christians at Smyrna said, we will not do that. Jesus Christ is Lord, and they saw it as a complete contradiction to that. There were other places where sometimes that kind of thing was done, and they always ended up like, losing it. You know, they didn't go on for the Lord for more than a generation or two when they started caving into that sort of thing. You can see how people could justify it. Oh, well, you know, we're just doing this to him as an earthly king, and we're doing this to Jesus. But no, they didn't make those kind of fine distinctions. They were like, no, Jesus is Lord. And they're very clear about that. And so these Smyrnians, they would give people a certificate whenever they did their annual thing, and they would police people. They would say, oh, those people didn't show up this year, whatever, and then they would go after them. So there was persecution going on. And you may have heard of Polycarp. Polycarp of where? Of Smyrna. This is where he was from. He was a bishop and he was learning from Christ dot com gives this account of his martyrdom. It says Polycarp was killed sometime between the year 155 and 168. According to the martyrdom of Polycarp, he was betrayed by members of his own household, captured, and taken to the Colosseum where the local proconsul attempted to coax him into offering sacrifices to Caesar. He was an old man at the time. So the pro-council said to Polycarp, take the oath, I will let you go, just revile Christ. Polycarp answered, for 86 years I have been his servant and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me? So 86 years, that may be from the time of his conversion, possibly from the time of his birth. We don't know the exact story about that, but he'd been around for a long time in any case, serving Christ for 86 years, he says. The proconsul proceeded to threaten the elderly man with lions and fire. In response to these torments, Polycarp replied, you threaten me with fire which burns for an hour at most. You must not know about the fire of the coming judgment and the eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly. Why are you wasting time? Kill me in whatever way you see fit. Realizing that he could not be persuaded, the proconsul sentenced Polycarp to death by fire. The soldiers tied him to a stake, covered him in oil. But just before the executioner ignited his funeral pyre, Polycarp uttered his last words as a prayer praising God. O Lord God Almighty, the Father of your beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of you, the God of angels and powers and of every culture and of the whole race of the righteous who live before you, I give you thanks that you have counted me worthy of this day and this hour. that I should have a part in the number of thy martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorporation imparted by the Holy Spirit, I'm sorry, through the incorruption imparted by the Holy Spirit, among whom may I be accepted this day before you as a fat and acceptable sacrifice, just as you the ever-truthful God has foreordained. by reveling it before, but by I think supposed to be revealing, reveling it beforehand to me, revealing it beforehand to me and now fulfilling because of this. I also praise you for all things. I bless you. I glorify the along with the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ, your beloved son, with whom to you and the Holy Ghost be glory both now and to all coming ages. Amen. When Jesus sent this letter that we have in the book of Revelation, it's in chapter 2 of course, and when he sent this letter to them, to Smyrna, their severe persecution had already begun there. Our goal in looking at the seven letters in Revelation, we have said, is to see how the things that are said to these churches apply to us. It sort of covers all kinds of things that could happen in churches that are addressed. the in these letters. So God's word is living and powerful and it speaks to every generation so we can read these accounts to these churches that were in that first century and look find all kinds of things that pertain to us. Our persecutions are very light compared to what they were already experiencing in Smyrna. But if you're awake and aware then you know that the persecution of Christians is on the rise here in our land. We have been increasingly forced to comply with the government's views on things like abortion or homosexuality or transgenderism. And there is increasing resistance to private and home education. Many can easily envision Christians having their bank accounts frozen. losing their jobs because of their views, being put into prison, being sent away for re-education, having our children taken from us, and many other things that you could see could happen in our society. The core of Jesus' message to this church in Revelation 2.10 is where he says, do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Now let's think about that as we look at and we anticipate things that could happen. What is His word to this church? So it's already much farther down the road in terms of persecution than we are. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Note well that Jesus does not say, don't fear any of those things that are threatening you because I won't let them happen. No, he says, don't fear the things that you are going to suffer. They are going to happen. Don't be afraid of them, even though they are going to happen, which is a very different word, isn't it? They had already suffered the confiscation of their goods, and now they were about to be put in prison. which was to be put on trial for execution. They didn't put people in prison in those days generally for punishment. It was usually where you were waiting for a trial, like Paul was put in prison for that reason, and then you were being tried many times to see if you were going to be executed or not. They didn't just leave people, they would send them off to work or stuff like that. So he assures them that they will suffer, but he's writing to exhort them not to be afraid. And the burning question is, why not? If these things are going to happen, why would we not be afraid? They would have all the concerns that we would have, even stuff like, well, I'm not so concerned about myself, but what about my children? What's going to become of them if I get sent off to prison and executed or somebody takes up our children? Maybe they give them over to other parents and they're brought up by other people and all these kind of things. Well, let's read Jesus' letter that tells them not to be afraid and why they should not be afraid. It is his message to them, but it is also his message to each one of us and to us as a congregation. and to the bigger us, and our presbytery, and our denomination, and all the Christians that are in our country, and all the Christians that are in this continent, and all the Christians that are in the world. It is his message to the whole church, and the church in places where persecution is present, or persecution is on the rise. The letter is found in Revelation 2, verse 8 through 11. Here is the holy word of God. This is the words that Jesus gave John to dictate to this church. Revelation 2, 8. And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the first and the last who was dead and came to life. I know your works, tribulation and poverty, but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days. 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. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. Praise God for these very helpful words from our Savior to us. Here are five reasons not to fear. Do not fear because of who Jesus is. To each church that these letters come to, these seven letters, Jesus refers to one of the things about himself that John saw in that glorious vision. when he was exalted, the vision that we saw in chapter one that made John fall down on his face before him. That vision that made him like a dead man at the feet of Jesus because of the intensity of his majesty and glory. To each church, Jesus refers to one or two of the things that were shown about him, either said or seen in the vision, things shown about him that relates to that particular church's situation. So to Smyrna, what are the things he says to them in particular? These things, says the first and the last, the one who is dead and is now alive. who is dead and came to life. That's just what they needed to know to quiet their fears. And it's just what you need to know about Jesus to quiet your fears. He is the first and the last, the one who is dead and is now alive. Know Him then as the first and the last. This speaks of His sovereignty as God, very God of very God, begotten, not made, the Eternal One. As the first, He is the origin of all things. Everything came from Him and is for His purpose. He brought it into being and He brought it to be for His purposes. And as the last, He is the one who brings everything to its completion, to fulfill its purpose for which it was made. Romans 9 calls him the potter, and it says we are the clay, all the things that he has formed. He has some vessels of mercy, it says. Upon them he shows his mercy in saving their souls. He has other vessels of wrath. like Pharaoh, whom he raised up and endowed with great power in order that he might show his mighty arm in bringing him down. We need to accept the fact that we are creatures who are here for his glory. When you don't accept that, then you're gonna be bitter with God. You're not gonna like God, you're not gonna like the things he does, because you're in the wrong place before God. He is God, and our purpose is to glorify him. Think about it again, the glorious vision that made the apostle fall on his face before his feet because he was so majestic. As his people, we're often called to suffer in this present world. When we are, we need to rejoice, knowing that we have been counted worthy, like Polycarp said, that we've been counted worthy to suffer for his sake, knowing that he is the one who gives and who takes away, and blessed be his name. The excellent thing is that through his mercy, we're still able to praise him as our God. when we're called to suffer. That's the mercy we want to seek from him. Not so much to be delivered from our trials and testings, but the mercy that we would be able to still praise him when everything is going wrong, so to speak. Through faith and patience, we are to possess our souls. So he's the first and last. That's the first thing that he refers to about himself when he's writing to one who is threatened by severe persecution. Now, the second thing that he says to them, second, he tells us that he is the one who is dead and is now alive. This is what he said to John when John had fallen down on his face before him like a dead man. Remember, he reached out and touched him. This glorious one, the one that was in this glorious vision, because of his appearance, he looked like someone that could never die. This one that John saw is not the kind that dies. That's not who he is. And the truth is that he could not, in his divinity, die. God cannot die. Not apart from taking on human flesh. Becoming being begotten of our flesh that he might be able to to die. He was the eternal son of God who had no beginning and and he was conceived. in the womb of the Virgin Mary, taking human flesh to himself. And of course, as an apostle, John knew very well what it meant when he said that he had died. He's the one that died and was alive again. John immediately, of course, would have known, and the believer at Smyrna would have known. And we know today, John knew, and we know, and he knows that he died to atone for our sin. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Because He is the Son of God, His death was capable of atoning for the sin of the whole world. Because it was the death not of an ordinary man, it was the death of the Son of God. Even if it had been a sinless man, it couldn't have atoned for the whole world. It was because it was the Son of God who took His place, took our place. that he is alive shows that he was successful in atoning for our sin. His offering was acceptable. He was raised and so are all of his people in him raised. And so we will be raised at the last day as members of his body who trust in him. So when you put all these things together, we're reminded of the son of God with his sovereign majesty, the unapproachable one, There he is in all of his glory is the same one that cares so much about us, loves us so much that he became flesh and dwelt among us and died on the cross to take away our sins. That is astounding. And if we see that about him, We know that he's not some sinister being that's somehow working things over on us somehow or something like that. When we're called to suffer and we see who he is in this regard, he's in control. He's not out of control. He has all authority. And yet here he is, the one who gave himself for our good, that he might bring blessing to us. Then we can we don't need to be afraid of anything that's going to happen to us. That's the foundation that's laid here right from the get go. That's the first reason not to fear. The second reason is closely related. Do not fear because Jesus knows everything about us. He is not distantly aware of what's going on with you. He is intimately aware of everything that is going on to you. Intimately and personally in communion with us throughout our life. Right down to the details. In verse nine, he says to these Smyrnian people, he says, I know your works. Now that, of course, can be terrifying for this one with all this majesty to say, I know you inside and out, and we know that there's sin there, and that can be terrifying. We're all sinners, we're still sinners even after we've been converted. There's a lot that we don't want him to see. And we're kind of atheists sometimes, aren't we? Because we do stuff that we wouldn't want other people to see, not really being mindful and facing that he sees. Why do you do stuff that you don't want other people to see if you're not an atheist? He sees you the whole time. We do that. But if we're forgiven in Christ and have his righteousness, there is no condemnation. There is only help. Not only that, but we also have new life in us by his spirit, a growing, maturing life. So though we come short, he delights in every drop, every ounce of true love toward him that he finds us. He knows that too. That's the beautiful thing. When you say he knows, that there is life that is starting to grow and develop there in his people that are redeemed by him. And he cherishes that life because he knows that it's going to grow up to full maturity and it's going to blossom and bring forth beautiful, beautiful fruit. It's very, very precious to him. He's overcome by one look of his bride's eyes. He knows your love for him. He cherishes every cup of cold water. that is given in his name. He cherishes it. It's not just like, oh yeah, he cherishes it because it's done by his grace. When you help your mom with the dishes, when you control your anger for the Lord, when you remember someone who is in need and you ask them how they're doing, just simple little things like that that are part of a growing love for Christ, a growing maturity in his spirit. He delights, he knows it all and he delights in it all. And he says, I know your works, things that you're doing for me. In verse nine, he goes on to say, I know your tribulations. The word tribulation means pressure, really the pressures that you are under. He knows all that squeezed by trouble. You don't have to tell Jesus about your pressures. I mean, you can. But you don't have to tell him because he knows all about it. He completely knows about it. And he knows how it affects you as an individual. He knows that, you know, how we think of, you know, I'm not like so-and-so that they can bear it better. Probably not true sometimes, but that's the way we think. And, you know, I have these other issues and I have this and this. He knows about everything. He knows about it all. I know your tribulations. I know your pressures. I'm not ignorant of these things. He knows the rejection that you experience from people that you love. He knows the love that you have for your children. And the sympathy that you feel toward them and how you don't want them to suffer. He knows all the wrongs that are done to you. Every single one of them a snub or anything. He knows that. He's experienced that. Next it says, he says, I know your poverty. Now Greek has different words that are translated poverty. There is the word pania, which speaks of one who had nothing extra, nothing superfluous. Just the necessities, that's the kind of poverty, isn't it? But that's not the word that's used of the people at Smyrna at this time, the Christians at Smyrna. The word that's used of them is potchia, which means one who has nothing at all. They had already had their bank accounts taken. That already happened to them. They had already had their property confiscated. And Jesus says, I know you're poverty, but you are rich. You're actually rich. And they were. They had riches of which this world knows nothing. And when you have stuff taken away for Christ, you know those riches better than you know them now. When you lose stuff for His sake, those riches become more special. It wasn't like Jesus was saying something that they'd roll their eyes and say, yeah, right. You know, not at all. They were clued into that because they were in that place where you know that as a Christian. And He said, I know you're poverty, but hey, you're rich. You know, they they were forgiven their sins. They had eternal life. They had an eternal inheritance in the very house of God, in the in the paradise of God, as we saw that the Ephesians were promised with the tree of life. They had riches that that moth and rust can't destroy and that thieves can't break in and steal. Government officials couldn't get their grubby hands on their inheritance. It could take away their inheritance in this world. but not the inheritance that matters. Jesus goes to speak of goes on to speak of something else that he knows. I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews or not, but are a synagogue of Satan. This was Israel, according to the flesh. Okay, the people who were, yeah, they were descendants, physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as Paul put it, not all Israel is truly of Israel. The true Jew is one who, like their father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rejoiced to see, saw the day of Christ and rejoiced. He was their Messiah. No, as Jesus says, these who reject him are not Jews. They are rather a synagogue of Satan, a church of Satan. They speak blasphemy against Jesus, which is what Satan does. He's a slanderer and against his people. They find fault with them. They hate them because they have a guilty conscience, you see. And so they speak against God's people, most of all. They speak against Jesus and His people. Those who have had the most exposure to the things of God are the ones who blaspheme the most. They are, as Jesus said in John 8, of their father the devil. Look at how they spoke against Jesus and he had no sin. What about those that have a bit of sin? They're gonna definitely speak against them for sure. Jesus knows all that you suffer. He knew these people of Smyrna. They were godly people and yet they were looked at as the most wretched people in Smyrna. especially what you suffer because of your service to Him, He knows. He knows it as the one who experienced more suffering and pain than you ever will. As I told you when we were studying Hebrews, and it talks about Him being a high priest who can sympathize with our infirmities because He's been through so much Himself. And I explained to you at that time that He's not the kind that says, oh, that's nothing, what you're going through. No, because he has been there and suffered in a way that is a godly way of suffering, not the kind of way we have where it's complaining way of suffering, but a godly way of suffering. Then he looks at us and he has compassion, all the more compassion because he has experienced these things. And he comes to us to sympathize and to comfort us and encourage us. He's a faithful high priest who sympathizes with us in all of our infirmities. Now we come to the main theme. Jesus tells them not to be afraid. He gives a third reason. The first thing was because of who he is, and the second thing was because he knows all about us. Now the third thing, don't be afraid even though greater suffering is coming. We should not be afraid because he who holds the future tells us not to be afraid even though suffering is coming. Again, not verse 10, do not fear any of those things which are which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison. Try things were going to get worse for them, as I said before, prison is a place where you were sent. to either be on trial or waiting trial or to be executed, waiting for execution. It was not as a punishment typically. So they'd be in prison to determine if they must die. Jesus says, be faithful unto death. The implication is not, don't be afraid because I'm going to let you out of there. I'm going to get you out of there. Don't be afraid because nothing's going to happen. You won't die. Nothing will come like that. You'll get away. No, don't be afraid of those things that you are going to suffer. This is comforting because instead of hoping that something bad won't happen, which is not necessarily so comforting, he is telling us even when terrible things are going to happen, that we ought not to be afraid. That puts it in a different picture, doesn't it? It's one thing to say, oh, don't be afraid. Nothing's going to happen. And to say something's definitely going to happen. Don't be afraid. Something very difficult is going to happen. Don't be afraid. It is not that he doesn't care about suffering or doesn't have any love or feelings for us. He does more than any of you do much more than any of you do. You might think, oh, but I've got a bigger heart than Jesus. No, you don't. No, you don't. It's not even close. And yet he who is the first and last, who is in perfect control of all that happens, says, don't be afraid of the suffering that is going to come. He says it will be done by Satan. These Smyrnian Christians will be cast into prison by Satan. Now, how does that work? Is Satan gonna come and grab them and throw them into prison? No, that's not what it means. When Satan does stuff, he has an ability to work in people's hearts in a certain way. For example, when Judas betrayed Jesus, what does it say? Satan put it in the heart of Judas. to betray Jesus. So we know that he can do that. And he moved the Jews and Pilate to crucify him. Satan cannot make us do anything, but he can play upon our basic desires and things somehow. We don't know all the intricacies, but from what we see clearly in scripture, like putting it in the heart of someone to do this or that, he can use our base desires and things and work within our minds to persuade us to do things by appealing to those desires. That's how he operates, isn't it? I mean, you're just you're bopping along and then all of a sudden you keep having something come and come and come. That's temptation, isn't it? And he knows where your weakness is. He knows where the temptation and he start. He plays on that. He plays and plays and plays and plays and plays and plays to wear you down and break you. It is our action, you see, but it's stirred up by Satan. Because he will use the hands of wicked men to cast some of the Smyrnian believers into prison, the action is attributed to him. He is sort of the instigator, just like he was the instigator of the fall of Adam and Eve. You know, he's the instigator of this imprisonment that's going to come along. But Jesus is still the sovereign Lord. He's the first and the last, so there is no need to be afraid. He is the one who, as the last, has the last word. Jesus says that the duration of their imprisonment will be for 10 days. Now that's not necessarily, it may be literal, it's debated by, they go back and forth about whether it's literal 10 days or not, because there's so many symbolic numbers. But here's the point, whatever it is, it represents something, and that is that it's not just a one day thing or a one hour thing, 10 days, so there's some duration there, but it also has an end. And that's what we learned that there's always an end, like however long you're going to suffer in this life. It's 10 days. It's going to be over. It's going to end. It may be not one day, but 10 days, but it's going to end. And that's the thing that is indeed very comforting. So it's a set period of time, it's set by him. Our loving savior is ultimately in charge of it. He says. It's going to happen. You're gonna go to prison for 10 days, then the really good news is you're gonna come and be with me then, if they get killed. That's likely what happened from what he says, that they're being tried for this and he says be faithful unto death. So now we get to the real heart of the matter that he tells us not to be afraid of the suffering because it has a purpose in his kind and sovereign hands. has a purpose. What is the purpose of our suffering? He tells us right there in verse 10, that you may be tested. That's why you're gonna be, this is gonna happen to you. That you may be tested. What is testing? Testing is part of our training and part of our growing. When you're a student of any kind, you take tests. What if you're a student and you don't have any tests? You don't study. You don't learn anything. You don't care. You just show up and you kind of hang out in class and kind of daydream about other stuff, and you don't remember anything. But if you have to take a test, and you've got to go and work on it, you've got to do stuff, the trials, the tests, are to see how you're doing, how you get along. You have to engage yourself earnestly when you're tested. You have to put everything into it. The testing actually makes you stronger and more proficient, doesn't it? Because you have to engage in whatever it is you're being tested about, whatever the subject is. You have to more fully engage with it and work at it and think it through, hammer it out, agonize with it. Your love for the Lord grows when you have to bear things for his sake. When your love is tested, it grows. How? Well, you look at him more fully because you want to know that he's worthy for you to bear patiently and suffer whatever it is that you're getting ready to suffer. He's really worth your service. I mean, you say, of course he's worth, but when you're in the middle of suffering, that's what you're wrestling with. That's what you're being tested by. Is he worthy or not? Do I love him or not? And that test forces you to look at his beauty and his glory and what he is for you and what he's done for you. And when you look at it, then your love for him, your appreciation for him, your delight in him, your commitment to him grows stronger because of who he is. You see His excellence, you see His grace, you see His love, and you delight in Him more than you did before you were tested. That's the reason that Christians always grow when they suffer. Now, unbelievers don't. There may be unbelievers who profess to be Christians, they get tested, they get bitter. They get hard and cold, and sometimes they walk away from God, sometimes they go on with God, just have a bitterness in their relationship. But believers grow. Philippians says it is given to you not only to believe, but also to suffer for his sake. This is a privilege. It deepens your commitment. It deepens your communion as well as your commitment. You enter into the fellowship of his sufferings. You have the privilege of suffering for the things that he suffered for when he came here as your savior. And that deepens your relationship with him. You identify with him and what he did for us more than you identified with him before you were tested. And it makes your love for him and your appreciation for him grow in that regard as well, because for the work that he has done for us. And not only that, but testing also gives you a chance to honor him by showing other people what he means to you. Often, as at Smyrna, when believers are called to suffer. More people believe because they see how much Jesus means to us, that he means so much to us that we're willing to suffer for his sake. It haunts them when they see people that are willing to even be tortured and die because of their love for Jesus, and they go, what is this? I keep torturing this guy, and he just, he still goes on, he still loves them. And it bothers them, and then after a while they say, I gotta follow this guy too. You know, I've got to do, many people are converted that way. Churches grow like crazy when there's persecution. They grow more than they do when there's not. Very often that's the case, not every single time, but very often it haunts them and they hate it at first, the persecutors, but then they melt in loving faith. And you know, when we talk about the thing with children, you say, oh, but you know, if I get persecuted and I need to, I need to compromise because what's gonna happen to my little children? Let me ask you, who is it that brings your children to the right place? Is it you? Or is it him? It's him. And if you suffer for his sake and your children get taken away and they get put in a pagan home and brought up in a pagan home from their two years old, one year old, whatever it is, God knows how to look after them. And you know who the children are that are in the most danger? It's the children who have parents that compromise with the world. Those are the children that are in the most danger. The ones that have parents that are faithful unto the death and they see their parent go off and get burned at the stake. Those are the children that are going to follow Jesus all the days of their life. And you see, we get it all twisted around because, well, we are sinners and we get things all twisted around and backwards. So testing is one purpose for suffering because it's a privilege. to suffer for His sake and to show our love to Him and to grow our love and to show our love to other people. There's another purpose that Jesus mentions. He brings suffering to us that we might receive the crown of life. Jesus says at the end of verse 10, be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. Now again, this is not the diadema, a king's crown that a king would wear. But it is the Stephanus, the crown given to a victor in the games, the Olympic games, or a crown given to one who acted as a faithful citizen to the emperor, that sort of thing. As I mentioned before, many of the people in Smyrna won these crowns from the Roman imperial government by loyal acts of service to Rome. But this is a crown of life. given to those who die for Jesus Christ, a special award. Some see this as spoken of just life, eternal life that's given to all believers. But I am with those who say, no, this is a special reward given to those who give their life for Christ, who are faithful to literal death for his cause. And it's a special reward to those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, at least we know, whether I'm right about that or not, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount we know tells us that to those who are persecuted, he comforts them by saying, great is your reward in heaven. Of course, all of our rewards great in heaven, but it is an even greater reward for those that suffer persecution. That is a comfort that they have in their persecution. There are different rewards that will be given. And when Jesus wants to give someone the crown of life, then he gives it to them to die for him. And those who are in that place who love him, counted a privilege to be able to die for him. Some of the martyrs that you read about and some of the like in the in the Scottish church, we're at the book Fair Sunshine, lots of them. And they say, this is the day that I have been waiting for when I can go and give my life for him who gave his life for me. They get they get to honor him, which is what they want to do. And then he honors them, which is what he delights to do. That's his purpose. He wants to honor someone. He gives them the chance to honor him, that he might give them the crown of life. So the point is that suffering is not without purpose. He who is the first and the last has the purpose of testing us and of rewarding us. And he does this because of his great love for us. The testing is good and the reward is good. Jesus concludes in verse 11 with a plea and a promise. A promise that is the fifth reason not to fear. Jesus says, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. His plea is to who? All who have ears to hear. Anyone who wants to come to God through Jesus Christ may come. Nothing is stopping them. nothing but their own sinful, stubborn heart. Their heart is stubborn because of pride. They'd rather go on relying on themselves than to humble themselves and look to Jesus who died to take away their sins. They will have a crucified son of God presented to them in all of his grace, all of his beauty, and all of his kindness, and they will have none of him. They will not have him because of their pride. Is that the case with any of you? You would be resistant to this Savior, this One who gave His life for sinners. But as Jesus does to all the seven churches here, whether it is a faithful church like Smyrna, or one that has serious problems like Ephesus, He says that he will bless every individual, says this to all the churches, he'll bless every individual who overcomes among them. So you can be in a really bad church and be someone who still overcomes. You can be someone in a good church like Smyrna who overcomes with the rest of the overcomers. And he knows every individual and he rewards each according to what each has done. His promise here is that the overcomers will not be hurt by the second death. You may indeed be slain by the sword of men. You may indeed be tortured. You may be mocked. You may be ridiculed and cut off and all the rest. But you will not be hurt by the second death, which is eternal death in hell. But to be cut off from God, that's the only thing that you ought to fear. Because that's forever. you overcome by coming to Jesus. He is like an oasis in the desert of this wicked world. When you come to him for salvation, you get a deeper growing trust in him, so deep that you can trust him even in suffering. It may be very difficult along the way. It's possible that you might even deny him at a time of pressure the way Peter did. But then you will come back all the stronger than what you were before. Your faith will not utterly perish under the trial, but you will come back. Do you know Jesus? If you do, do not be afraid of future suffering, whatever may come. He who loves us best of all is the first and the last. He knows all about our sufferings. And he says, do not be afraid. He sends tribulation that he may test you, make you stronger and better, and that he may reward you and give you a crown. If you overcome, you will not be hurt by the second death. Dear child of God, there is no reason for you to be anxious. Please stand and let's pray. our gracious Heavenly Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who was dead and is alive again. We come to you, Lord, with that wonderment, that marveling, that one that is so majestic as you, so sovereign and powerful, the first and the last, without beginning, without end, that you are the one who died and came to life again. It's just astounding that this is so, and that you're the one who cares for your people, and who shepherds them all the way from start to finish. You know all about us. You know all about our sufferings. You know all about everything that comes to us. You know how it affects us. You know who stirs it up. You know everything about it. And Lord, you tell us, don't be afraid of it. And we pray that you would help us, oh Lord. That our faith would become stronger and stronger. That as we're tested, that we would reach out to you. That's the way that we change. We come to you and we look to you and we trust in you. We pray to you. We cry out to you. Not just to take the thing away. But to take away from us that fear that is misplaced, that we might know that we are in your hands, and that we might be able to rest complete in Christ. Father, it's easy for us to say, like it was easy for Peter to say, until a pressure came and then he denied you. And Father, we pray that your grace would be strong and it would abound toward us. We know that there were many, many others that the testing came, and they didn't cave in like Peter did. We think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that we read about. They were under extreme pressure, and not one of those three caved. We praise you, O Lord, that they loved you unto the death, even though they didn't actually die. And we thank you, O Lord, for the blessing of such examples that we see all through history. And we pray, Lord, that should the day of evil come, that we would have the whole armor of God, that we wouldn't have a boasting armor on like Peter did. Oh, I can do this. I can handle this. It won't be a problem for me. But rather, Lord, that we would have the armor that is the breastplate of righteousness, your righteousness, that is the feet of the gospel of peace, resting in that gospel, standing upon that gospel, and spreading that gospel. Father, all the things that you have given us in your grace, It is you who enable us to stand. It is our Lord Jesus. He is the one who has us in his hand. He is the one who walks among the lampstands, caring for them. It is he that we are, he is the one that we are to trust in. We praise you and thank you that you are you have made yourself available to us and that you not only make yourself available, but you come and you have taken us to be your people and to shepherd us and that you do not let your sheep go astray, that you come after them and you restore them. Oh, Father, please show your mighty arm concerning us and help us as we have fears that haunt us sometimes, that we would be able to every time turn to you and deal with those fears, rectify those fears by placing our trust back where it belongs and realizing who is in control here. We pray in your gracious, glorious name. Amen. May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob defend you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion. May he grant you according to your heart's desire. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.