Feb. 02, 2025

Background:

• Jesus has nothing bad to say about the church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia
• The 2nd letter addressed to them in a large, wealthy place (30 miles from Ephesus)
• Believers continue to be persecuted in Muslim nations elsewhere to this day
• Christianity is the only belief that continues to be persecuted to this day
• We ought to be glad that we are in a nation where we can be free to express our faith in Jesus Christ
• Some places (e.g. China, Russia, etc.) do not allow Christians to openly express their faith
• All of us as believers are going to be tested (James 1:2-4)
• There are different ways that we can handle temptation and trials:
  • To be boastful
  • To have a pity party
  • To not understand it, but accept it and let God have His way knowing that it will work out for our good
• To become mature, we must be tested

Sermon Key Points:

1. Jesus identifies himself at the beginning

• The depiction of the writer as the First and the Last has come to identified himself as the glorified Lord
• There is no one before or after him
• The First and the Last is the title of God in the Old Testament (Isaiah 44:6)
• Christ is equal to the eternal and infinite god
• God was never created and has no equal
• The opposite of Satan are the angels
• Jesus transcends time, space, and creation
• Jesus has the keys to death so death for the believer is just passing on to Christ
• Jesus conquered death (Hebrews 2:14)

2. The suffering church

• Suffering is not always avoidable
• We can't others to avoid suffering
• The disciples would endure the same suffering as the King and would be rewarded later
• One of the reason the church was suffering was because it was socially unacceptable (this church didn't fit in with society, but stood with the Word of God)
• The Christians refused to declare Caesar as their Lord and were considered disloyal to the government
• We need to make sure that we are not fitting in socially by taking on the world's fads
• We have an obligation to our King and Lord to serve him
• Jesus said he knows their works, tribulation, and poverty
• He also knows our works and our motivations
• Jesus said that they were physically poor, but they were spiritually rich

3. Jesus describes the suffering church

• Jesus knew everything about the church, including their intense faithfulness
• If we're not doing anything for Christ, then we won't go through anything
• If we are doing things for Christ, then we will go through things:
• The tribulations of the church were:
  • Pressure
  • Poverty
  • Persecution
• The believers faced blasphemy of Jews that didn't have a relationship with Christ
• Do not fear suffering, but be faithful and stand up for right and righteousness

4. Jesus warned the church that more is coming

• More trials and tribulations were coming...and it would get worse
• Jesus didn't leave them guessing about what would happen, but told them what would happen so that they could get ready
• Jesus will give us the strength to endure and won't put more on us than we can bare
• In the world we have tribulation, but Christ has overcome the world
• By successfully enduring the trials we would prove that our faith is lasting
• Faith is no good until it is tested...which is the tough part
• God will give us enough grace to get through trials
• Even though Paul was in circumstances beyond his control, he knew that God was still in control
• We can still stand even when we are in the valley!
• We will receive a crown if we stay faithful until the end!