September 30, 2001

Revelation 2:8-11

A Church on the Edge

1. Introduction

1. Illustration – Vesper Bauer writes, My aunt and uncle had a missionary family visiting. When the missionary children were called for dinner, their mother said, "Be sure to wash your hands." The little boy scowled and said, "Germs and Jesus. Germs and Jesus. That’s all I hear, and I’ve never seen either one of them."
2. Context – It’s easy to sit back and chuckle at that anecdote, but we as Christians tend to do the same thing when it comes to our faith. When the tough times hit, we look to that which we can see, rather than to our unseen Lord. Let’s see what Jesus had to say to the Christians in Smyrna about making it through tough times.

1. Scripture Passage

1. Revelation 2:8-11 – from The Message – Write this to Smyrna, to the Angel of the Church. The Beginning and Ending, the First and Final One, the Once Dead and Then Come Alive, speaks: I can see your pain and poverty – constant pain, dire poverty – but I also can see your wealth. And I hear the lie in the claims of those who pretend to be good Jews, who in fact belong to Satan’s crowd. Fear nothing in the things you are about to suffer – but stay on guard! Fear nothing! The Devil is about to throw you in jail for a time of testing – ten days. It won’t last forever. Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you. Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death.
2. In this passage the church at Smyrna is facing some things we find very uncomfortable to think about. Pain, poverty, and persecution are three kinds of suffering we’d rather avoid. But here we also find encouragement as well as instructions on how to make it through.

1. Smyrna – a Hotbed of Persecution

1. Smyrna was not a fun place to be a Christian. The empire-wide persecutions began with Domitian in 81 AD, but the policy wasn’t very aggressive. The rule was if you were brought in before the court and accused of being a Christian and didn’t either offer a certificate that said you had worshiped the emperor or do it in front of the court, you were sentenced to death or exiled. But even if government officials knew you were a Christian, as long as you weren’t brought into court and accused, you were left alone. The apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos during the Domitian persecution rather than being executed. But things were different in Smyrna. Even before the time of Domitian, the people of Smyrna persecuted the church, killed Christians, and destroyed their property. In other words, the pagan population hated Christians and tried to wipe them out. They were persecuted at every turn. You might be thinking, "That’s too bad, but what does that have to do with me?" Have you ever felt persecution at work or school or in your neighborhood because you are a Christian? Well, you’re in good company!
2. Knowing all this about Smyrna helps us understand what Jesus was telling the Christians there. Jesus tells them that He sees how much they are suffering, but if they focus on their suffering they’re missing the point. Jesus tells them, "I can also see your wealth." The Greek means "very rich" or "very wealthy." Timeout! How can they be in constant pain and dire poverty and at the same time very wealthy? Jesus was using a different standard of wealth. He’s saying that their wealth is found in their faith – they are very rich in faith. In James 2:5, he writes, Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him? By the way, that’s a rhetorical question – the implied answer is a resounding "yes!" Eugene Peterson puts it even more succinctly – Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.
3. Unfortunately, that means we have to come to grips with an unpopular concept – being rich in faith is much more important than avoiding persecution. It goes back to the "first love" we talked about last week. When we love God so much that persecution doesn’t matter to us, then we are rich in faith. Jesus is telling the church to focus on God, not the suffering. If He is the focus, suffering seems like a discomfort rather than an earth-shattering catastrophe. Jesus says, "I know all about this stuff and what it takes to get through it. I got through it, and so can you. All by focusing on the Father." Jesus identifies Himself in the Greek as the one who became death and lived. Jesus understands our suffering. Loving God because Jesus died and yet lives for us has got to be our focus in the midst of our suffering.
4. Illustration – Paul Dawson of Pendleton writes, While visiting Grand Coulee Dam, my family and I were surprised to see that the visitors’ center was dark, even though it was a sunny day. We thought the center might have tinted windows, but as we got closer we saw that there were no lights on. We went in and saw that none of the displays was working. Suddenly, it became clear: there was no power in the center. Due to a technical difficulty of some kind, the visitors’ center that sat only a few hundred feet from a hydroelectric dam had no electricity. How could something be so close to the power source, yet not be plugged in to the power? When we focus on the suffering, we aren’t plugged into the power. Jesus says, "Focus on the power." We would do well to listen.

IV. Overcoming Fear of Persecution

1. You know, an interesting thing happens next in this passage. Jesus says that He knows about the slandering folks who claimed to be true Jews but who were really serving Satan. What’s interesting about it is that it showed the Smyrnan church that Jesus knew the particulars of what they were going through, and told them not to fear their future sufferings. Then He tells them some of what they’ll be facing. Some of them would be put in prison as a test of their faith. They would suffer persecution for "ten days." There has been much speculation about what "ten days" means, but the consensus seems to be that Jesus was telling them that their time of persecution would be very brief when compared to eternity.
2. Jesus is telling us the same thing. We may go through times of suffering, but He knows exactly what’s coming and how long it will last. Jesus knows right now any and all suffering we have or ever will go through during our entire lives. So the personal application for each one of us is this: Jesus knows everything we will ever go through. And still He assures us that He will be with us and take us through persecution and suffering full of faith if we will trust Him enough to focus on the Father rather than on ourselves. That’s what He is telling the church in Smyrna, and that’s what He is telling all of us. Jesus is much more powerful than our sufferings. We know that in a theological sense in our heads. But how much do we allow ourselves to experience it in our hearts? When we go through suffering and persecution, we look hard for Jesus. But we look for Him so that we can persuade Him to take us out of our circumstances, not so that we can experience His presence in the midst of our circumstances. There’s a big difference! So we as individuals have to make the choice to focus on God and His purposes in the middle of the worst persecutions and sufferings. Then we will truly be rich in faith. Jesus promises that two things will be waiting for those who are faithful even to the point of death – a crown of life, and safety from eternal death.
3. But there’s another twist to this passage. Jesus wasn’t just talking to individuals. The letter was addressed to the whole church. And the same principles apply to our church as they did to the church in Smyrna. This church is not rich, and it has suffered much over the years, but if the focus is on God and His purposes and not on avoiding future pain, we as a church can be rich in faith. Even when it seems like we’re going to die spiritually and emotionally from the pain, we don’t get to duck out because God says His purposes are the most important. He knows about all of the Satanists that are trying to derail us and what they are doing and planning. He knows that in our workplaces and in schools and in our communities we’re facing increasing opposition to the principles we stand on. He knows that in our own families we are often subject to derision and persecution. He knows that what’s ahead in our future isn’t going to be easy. But God also says that it’s only a short time in comparison to eternity. If Sodaville Evangelical Church is faithful, even when we feel like dying or giving up on this ministry, our church will live and will experience the power of God in our midst. We must be faithful. We must not abandon our first love. We cannot afford to draw lines as a church and say to God, "This far and no farther."
4. Jesus says, Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The truth is, I’ve been afraid. Ever since our most recent relational struggle as a church, I’ve been afraid to do much. I’ve been afraid of doing anything that anyone may use as an excuse to leave the church. I’ve been afraid to be aggressive in pushing what I know God wants us to do. I’m ashamed to admit this, and I’m sorry, and I’m asking for your forgiveness, as individuals, as leaders, as a congregation. When we allow fear to control our actions the devil has won already. Forgive me for allowing fear to control me. Forgive me for bypassing my leadership responsibilities. Forgive me for compromising by doing this. Please forgive me. And may God forgive us for doing the same things as a church! We need to ask His forgiveness as a church for allowing fear to control our actions. God, please forgive us! It’s time all of us got back in the game. If we don’t, our faith will die, guaranteed. The Ephesian church didn’t listen to Jesus’ warning and eventually died. The church at Smyrna, as of the 1960’s, still made up about a third of the population of the city, which still exists in modern-day Turkey. It listened to the warning and obeyed. Which will we choose?
5. Illustration - Gary Preston, in Character Forged from Conflict, writes, The star of our city’s NHL team was given unusual recognition by the local paper. The measure of this man’s stature as a hockey player was not his salary, number of goals scored, or minutes on the ice. Rather, the local sportswriter nominated him for greatness because of his ability to "play hurt." Consider the symptoms of this athlete after receiving a hard check in the first period of play in a recent hockey game: he couldn’t take a deep breath, he had bad bruises on his torso, and his shoulder and rib cage felt as though they had been through a meat grinder. His own description of his injuries made me cringe: "I couldn’t breathe. I was lucky my head didn’t land in the boards. I would have been dead, almost." He was finished for the rest of the game. Now, consider the prognosis for this athlete: he was expected to return to the lineup after missing one game. Two, at most. To athletes, playing hurt is a badge of honor, reflecting the measure of their inner drive. The team needs them. They have to compete in the event. The work has to go on. That’s also true in life. I would say, "That’s also true in the faith." We’ve got to be willing to play hurt, or we won’t play at all. The enemy of our souls will make sure there’s enough pain in our lives to ensure that. We’ve got to play hurt.

V. Conclusion

1. How do you as a person measure up in this fear factor? Is your faith in God’s ability to lead you into His fullness through times of suffering greater than your fear of the suffering? Have you done what I did and sold out to fear? No matter where you are today, the question is, what are you going to do about faith, fear, and suffering? Will you continue to draw a line in your life? Will our church continue to draw a line in its corporate life? What will we choose today?
2. Just as we did last week, let’s spend some time in prayer, confession and repentance.
3. Let’s pray.