Lent 1 MIdweek Revelation 2:8-11 Letter to Symrna
Lent 1 midweek sermon
2/16/2005
Text: Revelation 2:8-11
This afternoon we are continuing our Lenten series study on the letters to 7 congregations as they are recorded in Revelation, chapter 2 and 3. These congregations were located in what is today, Turkey. Last week, we looked at Christ’s words to the congregation at Ephesus. In that particular letter we found out that they were a wonderful congregation, doing everything that a Christian congregation should be doing.
I am sure that you were as surprised as I was, when we read in verse 4 that Jesus held something against them. You see in their eagerness to do church they had forgotten their first love, Jesus Christ, the very reason for their existence.
In that letter we learned that we too have to be careful in our eagerness to do church, so that we do not lose our first love. It sounds strange, but just like the church in Ephesus, churches today can get so involved in making sure that the letter of the law is followed, that they can lose sight of the real reason for their existence, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today we are going to look at another letter, the letter to Smyrna, a city about 40 miles north of Ephesus. I want to read the text one more time. "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty-- yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
As I read the text, what did you hear? If you were like me, you probably heard that they were going through some terrible times, and that it was going to get worse. Makes you glad you are not part of that congregation does it not?
Those people had a tough life, for to be a Christian in Smyrna meant no job, other than those no one wanted, or would do, no government help, only persecution. You were basically a non-being. People lied about the Christians and their faith. It is recorded in secular writings that it was commonly believed that Christians were cannibals. After all they ate the body, and drank the blood of Christ in their Holy Suppers.
Then there were those rumors of incest, a scourge to any society, even one as pagan as this one was. This nasty little rumor had gotten started because it was common for the early Christians to call each other brothers and sisters, and they were always meeting secretly in private homes. Who knew what was going on behind those locked doors? There was no doubt that those Christians were evil and had to be gotten rid of.
None of Jesus’ words up to this point would have been a surprise to the Smyrna Christians, for life, quite literally stunk. If that was not bad enough, He goes on to tell them that as bad as things are, just wait, for it is going to get worse. Now that is news they could have done without. I cannot even imagine what they must have felt as they read Jesus’ words to them.
The letter sounds like a real downer, but did you hear the good news that was in it? I hope so, for Jesus is telling them, and thus us, that if you stay with me over the long haul, you are going to make it, you will receive the crown of life and will not have to fear the second death, which is by the way, hell.
Hmm, maybe this letter is not just about acknowledging their problems and predicting that they were going to even have worse problems. Maybe this letter is a positive letter, one of good news, one that confirms that only if they are faithful enough they will not be left alone in their suffering. They will get through it.
I hope that Christ’s letter helped them, but I wonder if his command to be faithful is good news to Christians today who might also be struggling with problems in their lives, especially those of addiction, or recurring sin? They know that no matter how many times they repent, that no matter how sincere they are, that they are probably are going to do it again.
They hear Jesus’ words and think, “Lord, how can I be faithful to you when I am stuck in the mud and mire of my sin. Lord, how can I be faithful to you when deep down I know I do not have the strength to be faithful.
Or, what about that woman or man that always dreamed of being happily married to a Christian spouse, and having wonderful Christian children, but after years of arguing and fighting, there is nothing but unhappiness and discontent. The kids don’t want anything to do with the church. Life is not good and their thinking, “Lord, I have been faithful for so long and I am getting so tired. Is this the kind of life you want me to live? I am so unhappy. Do not you want me to be happy? Is this all there is to life, just existing?” “How can I remain faithful to you?
Maybe there have been times in your life, or you are going through one now, when you have said to God, “How can I remain faithful to you Lord?” If that is where you are, let me share with you the real purpose of this letter, for it is not about the people of Smyrna or you remaining faithful, it is about Jesus remaining faithful.
Remember the first words of his letter as he tells them and thus us, that he is the first and the last. That simply means that he existed before time began and will continue to exist after what we know as our world ceases to exist. It means that he is in control of everything in between. He sees the big picture and because of that he knows and will do what is best for us.
He can tell us that everything will be fine in the end, for he knows what we go through. He has been there. He was one of us. He was poor, He was tempted as we are. He suffered, He died, and now He is alive forever. He wants us to know that if we listen to him, not just hear him, but really listen to him, we will stay faithful, and that we will beat death, just like he did.
Life can be hard. If it has not been, at sometime or other it will be, and because of that, we desperately need these words of faithfulness from Jesus, so that we too can remain faithful to him. Just like the congregation at Smyrna, we need to hear who he is and what he has done for us. We too need to hear his words as they are written in verse 11 where he tells us, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
We need to hear those words, because we cannot remain faithful without knowing, no, believing, I mean really believing, that Jesus is faithful because he is the first and last, that he really did take God’s punishment for our sins, that he really did overcome death and that he is now alive and active in our lives.
That is the only way that we too can remain faithful to the end and receive our Crown of Life along with the faithful congregation at Smyrna. Amen
Next week Pergamum. Come to the Sunday morning Bible study and find out more about this particular congregation.
2/16/2005
Text: Revelation 2:8-11
This afternoon we are continuing our Lenten series study on the letters to 7 congregations as they are recorded in Revelation, chapter 2 and 3. These congregations were located in what is today, Turkey. Last week, we looked at Christ’s words to the congregation at Ephesus. In that particular letter we found out that they were a wonderful congregation, doing everything that a Christian congregation should be doing.
I am sure that you were as surprised as I was, when we read in verse 4 that Jesus held something against them. You see in their eagerness to do church they had forgotten their first love, Jesus Christ, the very reason for their existence.
In that letter we learned that we too have to be careful in our eagerness to do church, so that we do not lose our first love. It sounds strange, but just like the church in Ephesus, churches today can get so involved in making sure that the letter of the law is followed, that they can lose sight of the real reason for their existence, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today we are going to look at another letter, the letter to Smyrna, a city about 40 miles north of Ephesus. I want to read the text one more time. "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty-- yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
As I read the text, what did you hear? If you were like me, you probably heard that they were going through some terrible times, and that it was going to get worse. Makes you glad you are not part of that congregation does it not?
Those people had a tough life, for to be a Christian in Smyrna meant no job, other than those no one wanted, or would do, no government help, only persecution. You were basically a non-being. People lied about the Christians and their faith. It is recorded in secular writings that it was commonly believed that Christians were cannibals. After all they ate the body, and drank the blood of Christ in their Holy Suppers.
Then there were those rumors of incest, a scourge to any society, even one as pagan as this one was. This nasty little rumor had gotten started because it was common for the early Christians to call each other brothers and sisters, and they were always meeting secretly in private homes. Who knew what was going on behind those locked doors? There was no doubt that those Christians were evil and had to be gotten rid of.
None of Jesus’ words up to this point would have been a surprise to the Smyrna Christians, for life, quite literally stunk. If that was not bad enough, He goes on to tell them that as bad as things are, just wait, for it is going to get worse. Now that is news they could have done without. I cannot even imagine what they must have felt as they read Jesus’ words to them.
The letter sounds like a real downer, but did you hear the good news that was in it? I hope so, for Jesus is telling them, and thus us, that if you stay with me over the long haul, you are going to make it, you will receive the crown of life and will not have to fear the second death, which is by the way, hell.
Hmm, maybe this letter is not just about acknowledging their problems and predicting that they were going to even have worse problems. Maybe this letter is a positive letter, one of good news, one that confirms that only if they are faithful enough they will not be left alone in their suffering. They will get through it.
I hope that Christ’s letter helped them, but I wonder if his command to be faithful is good news to Christians today who might also be struggling with problems in their lives, especially those of addiction, or recurring sin? They know that no matter how many times they repent, that no matter how sincere they are, that they are probably are going to do it again.
They hear Jesus’ words and think, “Lord, how can I be faithful to you when I am stuck in the mud and mire of my sin. Lord, how can I be faithful to you when deep down I know I do not have the strength to be faithful.
Or, what about that woman or man that always dreamed of being happily married to a Christian spouse, and having wonderful Christian children, but after years of arguing and fighting, there is nothing but unhappiness and discontent. The kids don’t want anything to do with the church. Life is not good and their thinking, “Lord, I have been faithful for so long and I am getting so tired. Is this the kind of life you want me to live? I am so unhappy. Do not you want me to be happy? Is this all there is to life, just existing?” “How can I remain faithful to you?
Maybe there have been times in your life, or you are going through one now, when you have said to God, “How can I remain faithful to you Lord?” If that is where you are, let me share with you the real purpose of this letter, for it is not about the people of Smyrna or you remaining faithful, it is about Jesus remaining faithful.
Remember the first words of his letter as he tells them and thus us, that he is the first and the last. That simply means that he existed before time began and will continue to exist after what we know as our world ceases to exist. It means that he is in control of everything in between. He sees the big picture and because of that he knows and will do what is best for us.
He can tell us that everything will be fine in the end, for he knows what we go through. He has been there. He was one of us. He was poor, He was tempted as we are. He suffered, He died, and now He is alive forever. He wants us to know that if we listen to him, not just hear him, but really listen to him, we will stay faithful, and that we will beat death, just like he did.
Life can be hard. If it has not been, at sometime or other it will be, and because of that, we desperately need these words of faithfulness from Jesus, so that we too can remain faithful to him. Just like the congregation at Smyrna, we need to hear who he is and what he has done for us. We too need to hear his words as they are written in verse 11 where he tells us, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
We need to hear those words, because we cannot remain faithful without knowing, no, believing, I mean really believing, that Jesus is faithful because he is the first and last, that he really did take God’s punishment for our sins, that he really did overcome death and that he is now alive and active in our lives.
That is the only way that we too can remain faithful to the end and receive our Crown of Life along with the faithful congregation at Smyrna. Amen
Next week Pergamum. Come to the Sunday morning Bible study and find out more about this particular congregation.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:09 AM
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