Hear the word from our great King, whom we adore. It's in the bulletins, page 20, or you can follow along in your Bibles. This is from the majority text. And to the messenger of the church in Smyrna write, these things says the first and the last who became dead and came to life. I know your works and affliction and poverty, but you are rich. and the blasphemy of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan, do not fear any of the things that you are about to suffer. Take note, the devil is really about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested and you will have an affliction of 10 days. Stay faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The one who overcomes will absolutely not be harmed by the second death. Amen. Father God, we thank you that you speak to us through your word. We thank you for your scriptures. We treasure them. It is our glory to continue to worship as we respond to your word. Please anoint me and enable me to faithfully bring your scripture. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. We can praise the Lord that in America we still have a phenomenal amount of freedom compared to many other countries. It appears that that is about to change. Already Alliance Defending Freedom, the Rutherford Institute, Liberty Institute, and other legal organizations are having to defend Christian florists, bakers, photographers, nurses, doctors, Christian schools, pastors, and others who are being fined with huge sums of money for supposed hate crimes. And the hate crimes really just amount to believing the scriptures and not, in a case of some doctors and nurses not being willing to be involved in The abortion industry, or with pastors and some others not being willing to sanctify a homosexual union. A 70-year-old grandmother served some time in jail for handing out gospel tracts on a public sidewalk in Philadelphia at a GLBT parade. And actually, she was being threatened with more than 40 years in prison. The Liberty Institute has documented hundreds of cases in America just in recent months that they are having to defend specifically because Christians are being persecuted for their Christian beliefs. So even though we still have a great deal of liberty in this country, persecution is really heating up, and this is a wonderful passage to turn to should you begin to fear. And because, as I mentioned earlier in the service, fear is an equal opportunity attacker, there's all kinds of issues that I think this passage can help us with. I mentioned that Christians sometimes are fearful of flying in an airplane, getting mugged, or even going to a dentist. I know one prominent theologian who admits every time he goes to the dentist he has an ominous dread that just comes over him. And I know some people have to have anesthesia to get their teeth cleaned. There was one lady by the name of Elva Manette Martin. She said she used to have panic attacks and could not sleep a wink the night before that she went to the dentist because she feared, what if I can't swallow? What if I can't move in the dentist's chair? And her testimony of moving from absolute terror to joy I think parallels some of the steps we're going to be looking at in this letter to the church at Smyrna. She relates how God convicted her of the sin of fear. And yes, that is a first step that we've got to acknowledge. Our fears of creation are many times sinful fears. We cannot hit the home run that this church in Smyrna hit that had a wonderful response We know from history if we do not acknowledge that most of our anxieties and our fears are sinful So anyway, she related how she became convicted that her fear was a sin how she overcame it and the first dentist visit where fear was gone She said what a joyous time God suspended my fear I'd never thought that I could ever say that going to the dentist was a wonderful experience, but it was. Not because of what went on around me or what happened to me, but because of what was in my heart. With his help, I am learning to say, God is in control. I will not be afraid. And if we do not learn the steps for conquering fears in our everyday life, I don't think we're going to be prepared to face persecution effectively. So here is a test. If verse 10 was spoken to you by Jesus, would you be able to face the future without fear? Verse 10 says, do not fear any of the things that you are about to suffer. Take note. The devil's really about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will have an affliction of 10 days. Stay faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." For some people, that would institute panic, right? It would not calm their fears. But what about you? Would knowing that you were about to be imprisoned, possibly tortured, and it seems here that some of them for sure would be killed, would that induce fear in you? Or would you be able to obey Christ's mandate? Do not fear. These Christians had already had their homes looted. They were now poverty stricken, and now Christ warns them, hey, it's going to get worse. It's going to get worse, but don't fear. What's going on with that? You see, with Jesus, bringing comfort does not involve ignoring our troubles. It involves a different perspective about our problems that we are facing. Two people can face exactly the same tribulation. One of them is extremely fearful, the other is not fearful at all. It's not the difference out there, it's the difference in our hearts and perspective is a big part of that. And so we're gonna look at seven major perspective changes that the Apostle John gives to the church of Smyrna in order to deal with their anxieties. The first perspective is that we're not alone. Praise God that Jesus has provided a church and officers to care for us. Verse 8, and to the messenger of the church in Smyrna write. Now we'll see what John writes in a little bit, but the very fact that there still was a church and that Jesus instructs these church officers to care for the sheep, I think is a great gift. God guaranteed that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church of Jesus Christ. It was there to serve the sheep. And the main point that I'm giving right here as he did not intend for us to go it alone. Some people are so independent that they just cannot open up and share with the brethren their struggles and the fears that they are going through. But God really did intend the church to have each other's backs when we're going through trials and tribulations. God designed the church to do that, to pray for each other, to encourage, to stand, to minister to each other during trouble. Can we do that? Can we commit to doing that in the upcoming difficult times that we face in America? In fact, Bill Goodwin, he gave a wonderful devotional at the men's prayer meeting, Gary mentioned that earlier, on the foolishness of isolating ourselves from the church. I really liked it. He started with Proverbs 18, verse 1, which says, a man who isolates himself, seeks his own desires, he rages against all wise judgment. A man who isolates himself rages against all wise judgment. When you read the history of persecution, you realize how absolutely critical it is that the body of Christ act like a body, that they be involved in each other's lives. And church history on Smyrna tells us it wasn't just the officers who stood on behalf of the members, the members stood on behalf of the officers as well when they were thrown into prison, when they were being martyred. And when you read the stories of these pastors from Asia Minor, people like Papias and Ignatius and Polycarp, it really stirs the heart when you see the kind of care that the church had for every member that was suffering. Polycarp went out to meet Ignatius when he was being marched through the streets of Smyrna on his way to Rome to be martyred. And he not only risked his own life by going and talking to him and ministering to him, but he kissed the chains that were on Ignatius' wrists. And the point is, Jesus will always have a church to care for the wounded, and he'll always have officers who are commissioned to be in charge of the spiritual hospitals, so to speak, who are charged with your care. So do not downplay point number one. Make sure you're part of a good church as tough times come. and engage in all of the one-anothering passages, ministries that Gary preached on over the last year. Now verse 8 goes on to give a second adjustment to our attitudes. Jesus says, these things says the first and the last. Now we already looked at that phrase briefly in chapter 1. We saw that it was a title for Jehovah in Isaiah 44 verse 6 and Isaiah 48 verse 12. That's the only other two places that that term occurs in the Old Testament. And those two chapters, when you look there, they're incredibly comforting. Chilton comments, it is obvious from the context of those verses in Isaiah that the expression identifies God as the supreme Lord and determiner of history, the planner and controller of all reality. The biblical doctrine of predestination, when rightly understood, should not be a source of fear for the Christian. Rather, it is a source of comfort and assurance. And that definitely was my experience. When I was in my early 20s, I was fearful of all kinds of things. I was fearful of praying in public, for sure speaking in public. I remember the first time I was asked to speak for five minutes. I couldn't even see the audience. It was just swimming colors. I was terrified. I was fearful of filling out my taxes. I was fearful of all kinds of things because I did not think these things were for me. They were against me. And it really, when I became convinced that God is the sovereign predestinator of all things, it was one of the most stabilizing things in my life emotionally. If the supreme planner and controller of all reality is putting me in the midst of what I perceive to be an affliction, then I know it too will work together for my good. I can welcome it like polycarp. I can kiss those chains. I can say, Lord, I know everything you bring into my life is for my good. Help me to maximize my proper responses, my growth into the conformity of the image of Christ. I would hate to face a difficult future if I thought God was not sovereign. If I thought God was wringing his hands and frustrated that everything was out of control, well, I'd be tempted to wring my hands and be fearful that everything was out of control. But meditation upon God's sovereignty has instilled incredible confidence in me. So Jesus uses this phrase to remind the church of the theology Isaiah 44 and 48. He is Jehovah. He's the controller of history and that has got to be a firm foundation under our feet. The next phrase, who became dead, is a phrase that shows that Jesus can sympathize. So Jesus is not a distant controller who's kind of You know, running strings, controlling things from a distance. No, He entered into our sufferings in His incarnation, in His life, and in His death. And by doing that, He showed us that He understands what we went through. He cares for us. To use a football analogy, it's not as if He is a football potato couch critic. who knows everything that the team is doing wrong, but's never played a day of football in their lives, you know, does not understand what we're going through. Hebrews says it's the exact opposite. Tells us that he went through every trial and temptation that we face, and he faced it successfully. But more importantly, the passage in Hebrews 4 verse 14 says that his sufferings and his death enable him to sympathize with us. So don't think Jesus is too busy to care about your little struggles and your little fears and afflictions that you're going through. He went through the trials of babyhood. So he can identify with babies and what they struggle with. He went through the afflictions and trials of teenage years. He experienced, you know, the hungers and the needs. You know, he was thirsty. He wept. He could feel pain. And Hebrews says he did this in part to be a high priest who can sympathize with us. Now, how much did he sympathize? He told Saul of Tarsus that Saul's persecution of the Christians were persecutions of him. He identified so much with Christians that he said to Saul, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus says that every time that a Christian is neglected in prison or is starved or is naked, he, is neglected in prison. He is starved and is naked. So it's more than just sympathy. It is empathy. It's a stronger word than sympathy. It is empathy. Let me read you a passage that shows God's empathy with us. Isaiah 63 verse 9 says, In all their afflictions, He is afflicted. That's speaking of God there. He is afflicted. Now that may seem hard to even fathom how it's possible And God is not a God of passions or needs. And yet in some way, because of our spiritual mystical union with Jesus Christ, because it's so real, He suffers. when we suffer. He is afflicted when we are afflicted. Now this may be, I think, a key to understanding Colossians 1.24, which is abused by Roman Catholics. Paul says this, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. How can our afflictions fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions? Well, it's not because Christ needed more suffering after he died so that people could be redeemed. It's not like some treasury of merit that we're earning up. He said it is finished. All the affliction needed for our atonement was accomplished in Christ's life and in his death. What this actually means is that Jesus was predestined to be so united with His people that as they suffered, He would continue to suffer. So when we are suffering, we are filling up what is lacking. In other words, filling out what has been predestined what Jesus would suffer. Now that is just an incredible concept when you think about it because it shows such identity with us that it is a comfort. We know He's not forgotten us. How could He forget us when He's afflicted? when we're afflicted. To me, this is a huge perspective change that makes all the difference in the world when I face troubles. Now that clause in verse 8 says, who became dead and came to life. He conquered death to help us face death with confidence. It is a short-sighted to fear death, when death really is just a portal into an eternity in God's presence, in his comforting presence. Too many people would rather face an eternity in hell than to risk a few hours or a few days of torture right now. Jesus paved the way and scripture says that for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. So we need to have that confidence that there is a joy that is set before us. Our Savior can carry us over the river of death safely. Knowing that death is a vanquished enemy helps us to face it better. Now, verse 9 gives us another truth that can help us to have perspective. Jesus knows what you are going through, every bit of it. Verse 9 says, I know your works, and affliction, and poverty, but you are rich, and the slander of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Jesus knows everything that we are going through. He knows our heartaches, every pain, every tear, every burden. No wonder the hymn writer wrote, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer. I think some of us are sometimes tempted to think God has left us in the lurch, that he's kind of forgotten about our little situation when things don't seem like they're going right. In fact, David on occasion was tempted to think the same thing. when he said this to God, Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Psalm 42 verse 9. David had to struggle to fight against his fears by convincing himself that God does indeed care, He does indeed remember. And in the same way, Jesus assures us, I know. I know what you're going through. Now let me comment briefly on each of the things that he knows. First of all, he knows their works, and I think it's so cool that these guys were involved in ministry to each other, in good works, even though they were suffering. They were not so focused on their own suffering and pain that they forgot to look at the fact that other people have suffering and pain as well. In fact, when you are bent out of shape with the suffering that you experience at the hands of anyone, Serving is a great way to break the pity party that sometimes ensues and to say, Lord, I want to take on more of your character. Pity parties never sanctify you. They never involve you in grace. In fact, pity parties actually insulate you from God's grace. So, sir, think of Jesus who was undergoing persecution and the agonies of the cross, and yet he served. What did he do on the cross? He's thinking about his mother who's going to be left without provision. And he says, John, I want you to be taking care of my mother. He's serving her needs. And what does he do with that thief when he repented? He serves him by giving him comfort and assurance that his sins are forgiven, that he would be with him in paradise. At the Last Supper, even though he's agonizing in his heart, he's spending a great deal of time bringing comfort to his disciples. He's ministering to them. Malchus, the high priest, you know, he's part of the party that's persecuting Jesus, and yet Jesus takes the time to heal his ear. And Christ loves it. He loves it when He sees the same attitude of service in the church of Smyrna. He says, I know your works. Bearing up in that way connects us to the heart of Christ and He appreciates it. He loves it. He goes on to say that He knows their affliction. Now the word for affliction is literally the tribulation, not just any tribulation, but the tribulation. They were partway through the great tribulation. They didn't get left behind in the rapture. They didn't get forgotten. He knows their tribulation. It was not a mistake. God was glorified in it. And you know, if God is glorified in our lesser, more minor tribulations that we face, it does make us able to bear them better. If we thought we were being persecuted because God had made a mistake and he was blindsided by it, I think it would be tough. But Jesus says, I know. I was not blindsided. He knows their poverty. Hebrews 10 verse 34 indicates that many Christians had by this time, this was written probably in 66 AD, by this time they had become subject to repeated vandalism and theft, government confiscation, and economic boycott. Okay, it was tough. It was really tough to be a Christian. And yet in their poverty, they were rich in all kinds of things that count. They had been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's Ephesians 1 verse 3. They were blessed with an incredible church that ministered to each other. It was a strong church. They were blessed with wonderful pastors who supported them during this time. One of whom currently, was Saint Boukoulas, who apparently was an amazing, amazing pastor. And there was another pastor by the name of Polycarp. Boukoulas had been, of all of the churches in Ephesus, he was elected to be the moderator of that presbytery. And Polycarp had been in ministry fewer years, but he was pastoring another church in that city and eventually replaced Boukoulas as the moderator of the Presbyterian in Ephesus. And he served Christ for 86 years. But both men were amazing, absolutely amazing when you read their histories. In any case, there were many blessings that made them rich spiritually. And how does that help us to have perspective during times of tribulation? Well, it reminds us that we shouldn't focus on what we have lost. Instead, we should focus on what we have in Christ Jesus. Don't mope about what you don't have. Focus on Christ's statement, but you are rich. You've got it good. Now, if you're a glass half-empty kind of a person, cut it out. Don't excuse your pessimism as if you've got an unchangeable personality. No, personalities can be changed by God's grace, as mine was. And we need to look to the Lord to help us to be conformed even in that area. By faith, start focusing on the fact that you are rich and incredibly blessed. Now, the last thing Jesus says that he knows is the blasphemy of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. So who are these people who are pretending to be Jews? Well, virtually all my commentators say they were first century Jews who gathered in every city in their synagogues. Nobody else gathered in synagogues. So if they're first century Jews, why on earth does John say it's a blasphemy for them to claim that they are Jews? Well, in the first century to be a Jew was equivalent, if the term was used properly, to being a Christian. to being a believer, to being in covenant with God. And because the synagogue system had apostatized from God, they were being treated as heathens and publicans. They had a different authority than the Bible. Their authority was what has now become the Talmud. It was the traditions of the fathers. They had rejected Jesus. They had rejected the covenant. And in effect, they had rejected the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and of Moses. So he is saying spiritually, they really are not Jews. They might think they're serving God by killing Christians, but they are serving Satan. In other words, spiritually, they were not to be considered in any sense of the word, the people of God. And for modern Christians to call the inhabitants of modern day Israel The holy people of God is blasphemy in John's eyes. Until Israel repents, he doesn't even have the right to the name Israel, according to the scripture. Not all Israel is Israel, Paul says. And that's why John calls the city where Jesus was crucified, that's Jerusalem, right? John calls it Sodom and Egypt, just in just as much need of judgment as Sodom and Egypt was. That's in chapter 11. If they reject Jesus, the Lord of the covenant, they are completely outside the covenant. And by the way, the Apostle Paul said the same thing in several passages. I'm going to read you just one. It's from Romans chapter two, where he says, look, they may be circumcised in their flesh. but they are not circumcised in heart. They may call themselves Jews, but they are really not Jews spiritually. He said, For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God. In Philippians 3 Paul says that the church is the real circumcision and the Jews were the mutilation is the word that he uses. In Ephesians 2 Paul says that we once, you guys once were Gentiles but no more. Now you are members of the Commonwealth of Israel. You are heirs of the covenants of promises made to the fathers. Though we are unnatural branches, we've been grafted into Israel and the unbelieving natural branches have been broken off. And this point is a major dividing line between covenant theology and dispensationalism. In fact, some dispensationalists are so strong in their idea of two peoples and two covenants one with Israel, one with the church, that some extreme dispensationalists believe that current Jews can be saved without Jesus. And Revelation says it's not possible. There is one covenant, and since Israel rejected it, they are no better off than Sodom and Egypt. The whole book of Revelation is centered on Jesus, okay? As Paul said, all of the promises of God are yea and amen in Jesus and in Jesus alone. Modern-day Talmudists and modern-day Israel cannot have a single promise apart from Jesus. And by the way, this passage I think helps to explain how any church Any church can eventually become a persecuting anti-Christ church like Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy has become. Outwardly they claim to be the people of God, but inwardly they are what the Westminster Confession of Faith calls a synagogue of Satan. So just as John refused to call them true Jews, the Protestants refused to call Rome a Catholic church. They said they abandoned the Catholic faith. Instead they called them Papists. Now it may seem harsh, but it's exactly the same logic that John uses in this passage. Now let me comment on another point here. You might wonder why the Jews were even mixed up in this persecution in the first place. Well, the reason is that the Jews had actually, we saw before, instigated the persecution. They got the Romans eventually to persecute. They started the persecution. They kept talking the Romans into persecuting. Eventually, they got Poppea, who was the wife of Nero, to begin the persecution in 62 AD. And it really heated up in 64 AD after the fire of Rome. But it was Jewish in start and the Jews were hand in hand together with Rome and trying to imprison Christians and trying to destroy them. And they were very influential in Smyrna. One commentary says this, Smyrna had the largest Jewish population of any Asian city. If this was written prior to 80-70, then it was a period in which the main adversaries of Christianity were Jews. The church there was understandably harassed more than most. And it's almost as if the first century Talmudists or Jews were demonically driven in their hatred for Jesus and for Christianity. And you read some of the statements that have been preserved the Talmud just blasphemous statements about Jesus makes your skin crawl that they would dare to say such things and you realize there is demonic that is behind it. All through the book of Acts they had persecuted Christians as I said in 62 AD they talked Nero into starting the persecution heated up in 64 AD. By late 66 AD when Rome finally turned against Israel itself Until that time, the two of them worked in tandem in confiscating Christian property, putting them in prison, and killing Christians. And one ancient history that I have, it's actually a letter written from the church of Smyrna to another church written about 150 AD. It tells us that the Jews were so eager to have Polycarp burned at the stake that they violated their own Sabbath laws by gathering kindling and wood. And the text says they eagerly gathered the wood to try to have him burnt. So this verse not only hints at the persecution from the Jews, which will become much more explicit later, but it also speaks of there being only one covenant people. And it is blasphemy, those are John's words, not mine, it is blasphemy for Jews to claim that they are in covenant with God or that they are true Jews. Thirdly, it indicates the reason for their blindness and opposition to God. It's Satan. Since synagogue also means a gathering together, it is Satan who gathers them together in worship in the synagogue and keeps them blind. He's the one who keeps them in bondage. And this gives us a hint of the need for intense spiritual warfare when we are engaging in Jewish evangelism, which we should engage in. Here's how Paul words it in 1 Corinthians 3. He says, But their minds were blinded, for until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now in a later sermon, I'm gonna try to tie together all of the different threads that you find in the book of Revelation and give one or two sermons just on spiritual warfare itself. There's some fantastic stuff in the book and this will be one of the threads. But let's go on to verse 10. Do not fear any of the things that you are about to suffer. Take note, the devil is really about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested and you will have an affliction of 10 days. It's very easy when we are getting persecuted to focus on the people. And there were people involved, Jewish people, Roman people. But where does John focus? John realizes that we're not wrestling against flesh and blood. We're wrestling against principalities and powers. See, he talks about Satan who is motivating and moving these human agents of persecution. The culture wars in America will not be won by politics alone. And the reason is there's some spiritual dynamic going on. There's the demonic behind these culture wars. And the same is true of the persecution of Christians in other countries. You look at some of the mean spirited things that Muslims and Hindus are doing right now to Christians. And you wonder how anybody in his right mind could do something like that. It just turns your stomach. It's sadistic. And You do find that some of these torturers later on have regrets about it. They wonder what came over me that I got involved in these kinds of things. Well, there was demons that came over them. It's demonically engendered. Now, perhaps a brief comment about the 10 days. Many commentators see this as 10 periods of persecution that Smyrna faced before the empire of Rome becomes Christian. I don't agree with that interpretation. But I do find it interesting that there were 10 periods of persecution, so I want to at least outline what they say there. Okay, first one was Nero, AD 62 to 68, then Domitian, AD 95, Trajan, AD 108, Marcus Aurelius, AD 162, Septimus Severus, AD 202, Maximus, AD 235, Decius, AD 249, Valerian AD 257, Aurelian AD 274, and Diocletian AD 303 to 313. I bring that up because even a lot of partial preterists buy into that idea that he's talking about 10 periods and while that is possible, while it's consistent with the symbolic language of the book, let me give you three reasons why I think it's 10 literal days. during the Great Tribulation. First, verse 10 uses the term about to. He says, do not fear any of the things that you are about to suffer. And then he lists those things. The full colon shows that everything in verse 10 is about to happen. Something 100 years and 200 more years later is not about to happen. It's the Greek word mellow or melee, depending on where in the sentence it occurs. It always means it's going to happen soon. It's on the verge of happening. I cannot conceive of that word ever meaning something 247 years later. Second, the word about to is used a second time in verse 10. The devil is really about to throw some of you into prison. Now, since commentators take the 10-day affliction and the deaths as being a result of that imprisonment, that is a second proof that everything in verse 10 is about to happen. And then third, anywhere else in Scripture where the word days has numbers attached to it, it's always literal. It never refers to a longer period of time, always literal days. So for those three reasons, I reject the idea that this was prophesying 10 periods of suffering. Instead, I see it as proof that God was actually protecting the Church of Smyrna during the Great Tribulation because of its faithfulness. And let me explain that. The Great Tribulation, as I said, started in 62 AD. heated up in 64 AD, and when this was written in 66 AD, there was still almost two years of that great tribulation left against the church. And it almost wiped out the church in some regions of the world. We looked at that. But Smyrna was largely spared. Though they had suffered from vandalism and looting and were poor as a result, They had not yet faced death like some of the other churches had. So here's my take. Rather than facing six years of tribulation that some of the other churches had, and it was intense in the other churches, They already went through some tribulation, but they would only have a 10-day period of intense suffering and testing. So there's a degree of protection. The enemy cannot bring one day more of persecution than what God allows him to bring. Satan's on a leash, and that's encouraging. I wasn't able to track down the source of the quote, but someone once said, sometimes the Lord calms the storm, Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child. Well here God does both. God limits the amount of storm that the church would have to face, but he calms their hearts through it all. Now the last instruction that helps to give perspective during tribulation is that this life is not all that there is. Starting with the last clause of verse 10. Stay faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The one who overcomes will absolutely not be harmed by the second death. Christians need not fear death because it is simply a stepping stone to eternal bliss. And the early histories of the persecutions in Smyrna record Christians saying that they would gladly, gladly face torture and burning now in exchange for eternal bliss. And they would not abandon Christ to be spared torture and then have to face eternity in hell. They were driven by an eternal perspective. And I think too often Too often we sacrifice an eternity for pleasures right now. Every time you sin, that's what you're in effect doing. Every time you fail to lay up treasures in heaven, that's what you are doing. The glories of eternal hope should be so strong in our chest that it prevents fear, lust, pride, envy, anything else from robbing our future in order to have something right now. Now onto the conclusion, let me end with John's three last admonitions and these each help us to maintain and summarize how we can maintain heaven and hell and eternal values and eternal rewards in our minds. I should have put it into your outline but I didn't. But the first concluding statement is, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. And I want you to notice churches plural, and that occurs all through these seven letters. In effect, what he is saying is, Smyrna needs to listen to what he said to the church of Laodicea and Ephesus and all the other churches. You have to listen to the whole book if they're gonna get a balanced advice. All of the principles help all of the churches. But I find it interesting that Jesus is giving these words, but this phrase indicates that listening to the words of Jesus amounts to listening to the Holy Spirit. You see, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all work in our lives through the Bible, and it is the Bible that helps to keep proper perspective during trying times. Like we said last week, the more immersed in the Scriptures you become, the more likely you will see straight during trying times. The second concluding statement is that John calls us to be overcomers. Now last week we saw how easy it is to drift and we have to be resisting that drift, being overcomers there. But there are other things that we need to resist during times of trouble. One is fear, another is Satan, another is giving up because of pain, another is bitterness. When there is trouble, I think our tendency is to react inappropriately. And it's natural, we understand it. That's the most natural thing in the world, is to react inappropriately. But Jesus didn't want us to live naturally. He wants us to live supernaturally by His grace. And by His supernatural grace, we can overcome these tendencies to respond sinfully. In any case, God has not given us a bed of roses, and if we think He's given us a bed of roses, we're going to be frustrated our whole life. God has called us to be soldiers and to endure, and we must overcome. This book calls us to overcome fear, Satan, pain, lack, bad attitudes, and any other things that the world throws at us. Finally, keep an eternal perspective. Always, always, always keep an eternal perspective. Paul said that when thinking about the eternal weight of glory that is laid up for us in heaven, the tribulations we go down here on earth are nothing, absolutely nothing. Compare your little sacrifices now with what you can lay up in heaven, and you will find that it is worth it. One of the pictures in your outlines is of a Christian house in the Middle East that has that mark on it. is marked by Muslims indicating this is a house that contains Nazarenes or Christians and that house is being targeted for slaughter and the Christians fled. One of the Christians who fled joyfully told one of the voice of the martyrs workers told them we lost everything but Jesus is worth it. That's having an eternal perspective. And let's begin to develop an eternal perspective on our minor woes and sorrows so that we can be prepared to be faithful should we have to face major woes and sorrows. Your minor woes and sorrows might be insignificant. It might be, you know, your boss is treating you poorly. And rather than getting bent out of shape or getting you down, use that as a training ground to learn how to gain this supernatural joy in the face of adversity, how to overcome evil with good. It's a great training ground. God is giving you the opportunity to learn how to live by grace in your afflictions. And as you implement these steps to gain perspective, you will over time overcome your fears just like Elva Martin overcame her fear of the dentist. And over time, you will gain the joy that she gained. And what a joy it is to trade in fear, bitterness, anger, discontent, and all of the other inappropriate responses in exchange for the fruit of the Holy Spirit. May we every day make the choice, yes, Lord, I choose the supernatural fruit of your Spirit today. I'm choosing not to live in the natural. Amen. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that You constantly challenge us to be overcomers. Help us to not give up in our fight against our flesh, our fight against the devil, and our fight against the world. Help us to be overcomers who enter into, on a daily basis, that joy, that contentment, and the love, the satisfaction that comes from walking in Your Spirit. Give us ears to hear the convictions that Your Spirit brings and guide us by Your Spirit, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.