Spiritual Health Check

If you'd like to take a seat and if you bought your own bible, you can turn now to Revelation chapter 2.

And we're gonna be reading just verses 8 to 11, this letter to the church in Smyrna, and then Rory will come and preach these words to us. To the angel of the church in Smyrna, right? These are the words of him who is the first and the last who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions. And your poverty, yet you are rich.

I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 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 10 days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your Victor's crown. Whoever has ears let them hear what the spirit says to the churches, the 1 who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

This is god's word to us this morning, and Rory's gonna preach it for us now. Good morning. Everybody. Welcome to Cornerstone, from myself. My name is Rory Kanard for those who don't know me if you're if you're visiting, for the first time, I'm 1 of the members of staff here at Cornerstone, and it's it's great to be continuing in, this book of Revelation and looking at this second church.

Let's let's let's pray for our time together. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the spirit says to the churches. Father, we pray, that as we come to your word this morning, you will give us is, to listen to what the holy spirit speaks to us through your word. Help us to, not be distracted, but help us to be attentive, and help us to, apply your word. Help us to see Christ.

For all his glory and help us to pursue him as a result. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Oh, man. Well, I want you to, to come back with me, to the year 155 AD. Yeah.

Yeah. I'm sure you're all very familiar with. And we're gonna go back to hundred and 55 a d to Smyrna. And in Smyrna, there was a bishop there by the name of Polycarp. What a name?

Do you like fishing? I don't know. Polycarp. I've just hit him with that joke myself. Okay?

Now Polycarp was the bishop of Smyna during Roman the Roman Empire, and because of the the suffering and persecution that, was was common there, to Christians, his congregation pleaded with him to leave Smyner to get out there and to be safe. Unfortunately, he was he was tracked down, but rather than run away, old polycarp invites the people in who would capture him for a little bit of tea and a bit of food before he gets taken back to Smyrna to be brought before the pro console. And when he was before him, this is what happens. This is what he is asked to do. He's asked to recant Jesus.

The proconsul says, have respect for your old age, swear. By the fortune of Caesar Repents and say down with the atheists. Atheist were what what Christians were called in these days. So he says down with the atheists. And then he goes on, swear, reproach Christ, and I will set you free.

What will Polycom do? He says this. 86 years. I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king and my savior?

The proconsul goes on. He says, I have wild animals here. I will throw you to them if you do not repent. Polycarp says, call them. It is unthinkable for me to repent from what is good to turn to what is evil.

I'll be glad though to be changed from evil to righteousness. The proconsul answers, if you despise the animals, I will have you burned. You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and is then extinguished. But you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly. Why are you waiting?

And I love this bit. Bring on whatever you want. 86 year old's polycarp. And he is burnt. Well, actually, they try and burn him they wouldn't work, so they ended up spearring them to death.

Now why am I telling you about Polycom? Well, Polycop was from Smyner. And he was probably in his twenties, if he was 80 86 at this time, when the letter came from the apostle John talking to the talking to the church's manor. And I imagine that some of what is said here to Smannah would have kept him through and would have kept him going even to this point where he says I will not give up Jesus. So what's going on here?

Well, here's my first thing that I want you to see the context context of Smyrna. Smyrna, it's actually you you'll see the word Merr, that's because Merr was quite a popular thing in Smyrna that it would sell. It's 40 miles north of Ephasis, which is what we we looked at last week, and it's a a pretty affluent city. Famous for its trade, its commerce, its arts, and and it and and they would've they would've been if you're from Smyrna, you'd have loved it. You know, those type of people aren't from Smyrna.

I've kinda cool. Because we had Homer. Not Simpson for the young people. They're like, oh, I love him. No, Homer, the the poet, the Greek poet.

He was this is the birthplace of Homer. This is brilliant. Not and and not only is it this incredible historic and and has a historic person, but also this is a place where there is a temple to goddess earth. This is a place where the imperial cult is quite common. In other words, people would worship the Roman emperors.

And it was famous as well for its for its athletic games. This this city and and Philadelphia like it, they're famous for its athletic games. And what's what's quite interesting about Smyrna as well, is that in 600 BC, it was destroyed. It was killed. It was dead.

And then in 290 BC, it was restored, brought back to life. And so this is the city in which Jesus wants to talk to his church. Now did you notice there's a very it's a very short, in fact, it's the shortest letter, and there is no complaint about Smyrna. In all the other ones apart from, Philadelphia, there's a complaint, but here there is none. And so what is it that Jesus wants his church and Smyrna to know?

Well, here's my second point then, Christ. Christ, the eternal death defeat. Look with me at verse 8. To the angel of the church in Smyrna writes, these are the words of him, who is the first and the last who died and came to life again. He's taken words from chapter 1 verse 17.

You can you can see that's where he said it before, but he is the first and the last. The word first is the the protos. That's the word that you ever get the word prototype. He's the first There was none before him. He's the very first, the the last as well.

So he's the first word and the last word of all things. In other words, he is the eternal God, he is the 1 that we sing about in that old song. Holy. Holy. Holy is the Lord God almighty who was first and is and is to come.

Last. And because he is the eternal god, he is the 1 that has always existed. He is the 1 who by his word created all things. That means that he is the king of all creation And because he's the king of all creation, it means that he is in complete control of everything. This is the god that is unmatched, that is incomparable with any others.

This is the god who is never caught out. He's never caught by surprise. He's not shocked by anything that goes on in this world. I, Rory, is so So limited. I found this out this morning.

I'd left my side lights on all day. I couldn't drive my car. It was a disastrous start to the day, but it didn't catch god off guard because he's the first and the last. Jesus knew what was going on. Great news.

He's eternal. He's in control. He knows all things. But he isn't just the first and last. He is the 1 who died and came to life again.

See, the eternal son of god came to this world in flesh, and he goes to a cross to suffer. He suffers at the hands of men. He suffers from the Jewish leaders who betray him and give him over to pilate to to hang him on a cross. He suffers the judgment of god as his hands are held out and says my god, my god, Why have you forsaken me? He suffers the darkness, the 3 hours of darkness on the cross for our sin.

Yet he does not stay dead. It doesn't just say who died. He wouldn't be talking to us then. Would he? He came to life again.

Resurrection, risen to life, risen to glory. Jesus is the death defeter. Jesus has punched a massive hole through death, and now death is nothing but a doorway to life because Jesus has risen to eternal glory he sits at the right hand of the father today. And Smyrna need to know this. That's what they need to know.

He's the first and the last, and he is the 1 that died and came to life again. Why? Well, here's my third point. Condition, or commendation, a suffering church, condition, and commendation, a suffering church. Like he says to all the churches verse 9, I know.

Look with me there verse 9 to 10. I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of satan. 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 10 days.

What does he know about his church? Well, he knows that they haven't got it easy. Do you see the word poverty? The word poverty literally means destitute of riches. They've got nothing.

Now remember, this is a an affluent city This is a city that that is famous for its trade where people are probably booming financially yet the church is poor. It has nothing, and it probably is poor because it refuses to take part in this imperial cult. It refuses to honor the name of Caesar above Jesus. And because of that, they're probably excluded from trading with those around them. And so they're poor.

Material speaking, they've got nothing. Yet. What did Jesus say yet? Lovely. Yet that.

You are rich. There is something much better than the riches of this world. Jesus says. You are rich. It's it's it's the word riches you're abounding.

In fact, Yeah. It looks like you've got nothing, but you're actually you have an abundance of riches. You you have the the word can be the muchness of god. You are you have the Christian gray in your life, you are filled with the grace of god. You have eternal possessions at your fingertips.

Yes, sir. You look. You look poor. But my goodness, smarter, you are rich. It's like, used to be a video going around where the football, I know if you hate football, don't worry.

It's not really about that, but Cristiano don't Cristiano Ronaldo? I'm sure you've heard of him plays a little bit. And he he used to dress up as a homeless person and then and then surprise people with his football skills. Bit like that. The smell and they look poor.

Right? But actually, they've got loads, but it's not just loads of money. It's actually the riches the riches of of glory. They have Christ. They have There's nothing more they can have.

You know, when when John says, look, that god has lavished his kindness upon us. We're we're lavishly gifted the grace of god. They're they're rich. So, yes, they look poor, but they are rich. But he also says, I know your afflictions.

That what that word is tribulation. That is tribulation. It's like, It's like you're you're you're hemmed in. You're constricted. You're you're you're rubbing against things uncomfortably.

That there's pre it can be pressure within. But here, I think it's external pressure. It's like I'm so tight in. I feel like I can't escape at all. You know, when you're you're stuck with something I remember, my my my granddad died, we we took out the the coffin, me and my brothers And, I, and I heard this sort of scuffling behind.

And I looked back, and our our Andrew, who's, my eldest brother had his head stuck between the door and the coffin, and it was Steven was just pushing the coffin so he could get through. That's kinda what I'm thinking means. You're kind of you're hemmed in. Sorry. I've not got a picture of Angie's head.

Just trapped. Yeah? But it it's uncomfortable. And and and and and and what Jesus is saying, I know. I know that you're getting it in the neck.

Do you see what's happening as we go on there? I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. See, there is these the the the Jews at that time they were allowed to, take part in their monotheistic religion amongst the polytheistic religion of Rome. They just had to pay a tax. And it seems what's going on here is they're saying Those Christians aren't anything to do with us.

They're wrong. Prescute them. And so these Jewish people who claim to be god's people are not god's people at all. Are they? They're actually serving an accuser.

They're serving Satan. They're a synagogue of Satan. Satan, the root word of Satan means accuser, and these people come and they're accusing. They're doing the work of Satan. So they think that they are they are luring god's service, but actually they're serving satan.

Jesus promises this. In John, he says there are people there who he says to the Jews, he says, you claim to have god as your father, but your father is the devil himself. And so you think, well, what do these Mearns hear? What what usually when we hear when someone's having a rough time, we do this kind of British thing, don't we? Where we say, oh, it'll it'll be alright.

It'll be better soon. I'm sure it'll blow over. And you think, oh, maybe Jesus will say that. It'll be alright, Smymens, it'll blow over. You'll be okay.

So here he is, this is the there he says it there in verse 10. Do not be afraid of what you're about to suffer. What? Ah, I thought it was gonna get better. No.

Jesus says it's gonna get worse. Look. He goes on. I tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. And you will suffer persecution for 10 days.

Be faithful even to the point of death. Gosh. It's not gonna get better. Smurns, it's going to get worse. The devil is gonna put them in prison for 10 days, and they will suffer tribulation is the word again.

It's not gonna get better smelling. It's gonna get worse. And you're gonna suffer persecution because the devil's gonna tempt you because that word's test is translated as temp as well. And he will come and he will tempt you to give it all up. To abandon the faith.

But where the devil tempts the lord Jesus tests, and he says, will you be faithful? Will you be faithful to me? The great news is, I I guess I guess so of us can can think when bad things happen or when suffering occurs or when persecution happens, we might think what's going on here? I thought the devil wasn't meant to win, and the great thing is this passage here says the devil doesn't win. The devil's on a leash.

The devil has to have permission to do this. And it look, it's only 10 days. And in other words, there's 10 days of persecution. It's a limited time. It's not gonna last forever Smynens.

It's just gonna be a time of testing. Where you can, where you can show that you, that you are faithful to me. And listen brothers and sisters here at Cornerstone, don't be surprised that this happens to the church. Jesus and and the word of god always talks about persecution. You go to 1 of Jesus's most famous, sermons that he ever preached, Matthew 5, the sermon on the mount.

He says blessed are those who are what? Persecuted. Whoa. Because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and he goes on blessed are you and people insult you, percute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. And then he says this, which I can never get my head around.

Rejoice and be glad. What? I'm getting persecuted. And I have to rejoice and be glad. Okay.

Because grace is your reward in heaven. For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In John, Jesus says, that they will put you out the synagogue apostles, and they says that that there will be those who are killing you who think they are doing a service to god. And so the apostles are all persecuted and suffer, and the people of god are persecuted and suffer for the name of the lord Jesus Christ, but they think it's brilliant. Why?

Well, acts chapter 5, an amazing passage says, the the the the apostles are beaten up and they're they're flogged for following Jesus and proclaiming Jesus and they leave the Sanhedron, but they don't leave the Sanhedron, whinging and whining about the the cuts on the back that they've just had to endure because of the flogging. No. They go out and they go, they are rejoicing. They're they're glad they're rejoicing. Why are they rejoicing?

Because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the name. It should not surprise us when persecution hits us, but it should not crush us either. And so today, today, right now, There are millions of Christians who are being persecuted for being faithful to the lord Jesus Christ. Around the world, we have brothers and sisters. I looked it up.

360000000 Christians are facing extreme persecution in 1 way or the other. A recorded 5000 Christians were killed last year 4000 killed in Nigeria. There are those who are killed by their own family and honor killings. There are those who are completely Beating up physically and verbally, and some of them put into prison. North Korea is number 1, persecuted country in the world.

For for reading a bible, you will put in the concentration camp. And do you know what this should hurt us? I don't know if you just find it it's so easy just to take this for granted and just think, oh, that's cold facts and there's nothing to do with me that's out there. No. This is Jesus' body.

We're all part of. Brothers and sisters are being absolutely murdered and and suffering persecution. So brothers and sisters, shall we we we we must pray, and we must feel because when 1 suffers, we all suffer. Now you might be thinking, okay. We can pray for the out out out of the world there.

Not nothing to do with us though. Right? Part from the fact that in verse 11, it says whoever has ears, let them hear what the spirit says to the churches. So this applies to us. In the UK, we might not have it like this yet.

But you may suffer in this world. And maybe some of you have. Maybe some of you have been isolated and alienated. Maybe some of you have been mocked and have been laughed at because you follow the lord Jesus Christ. Maybe some of you are accused of believing horrendous things because of what the Bible teaches.

Maybe some of you at school have lost friends because you said, actually, I go to church and I follow the lord Jesus Christ. Maybe there are people here who have suffered verbal or even physical attacks. Maybe some of you, and I know there are some here who go to people that are supposed to love them and are attacked and are disowned. By those very people because of your love of the lord Jesus Christ. We should expect it though.

We should expect that. If you are gonna speak the words of Jesus, and if you're gonna live for the lord Jesus as you follow him, your life is gonna be completely different and your words are gonna be completely different, and they will be offensive to a world that hates god. But it is worth getting prepared now. It is worth suffering in the ways that we suffer now because it could be that in this country, that we start getting it harder and harder. And if we can learn to love Jesus and get the flak that we get flak now in in a slightly less, intense persecution than when the real persecution comes, which it could do, mean, I I guess you're all digging in your heart.

It could never happen here in the UK. We're too we're not we're too civilized for that. It used to happen here all the time. You go to Oxford. There's a place.

There's a plaque where the martyrs were burnt, to the stake. There's people who've been put in prison in this country. And the the first and the last, the god of eternity will know if it's coming towards us. And so let's get ready in case this does happen. And so what is it that we need to hear from Jesus?

Well, we need to hear that he is the eternal god. That even though we may suffer, It doesn't catch god, of of god. And we need to know that Jesus suffered and died and rose again for us so that when we suffer, we know that 1 has done it before us. When we suffer, we know it's not because we're abandoned by Jesus. It's because we are Jesus's.

And so are you willing to suffer for the name of the lord Jesus Christ? And how far are you willing to suffer? Because Jesus says to the point of death here, so how far will you And so fourthly, the command. Fear not be faithful. Fear not be faithful.

See, look at verse 10. It says do not be afraid. Of what you're about to suffer. And then at the end, it says be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your Victor's crown. It would be really, really easy, wouldn't it to give in to fear?

I I imagine, you know, even with that story of polycarp, and he says, just just recant Jesus. Oh, I could just recant him, and I'll be alright. It'd be easy just to say, I don't really wanna die. I'll I'll just I'll just bow the knee to Caesar for now. It'll be alright.

I'll just I'll have the mark of the world. I I I won't I won't trust Jesus in this area. I'll I'll I'll I'll I'll tone down on that that teaching because it's so offensive, and I don't wanna I don't wanna get it in the neck. You know, you you're in this if you if your eyes are on the storm, you think about Peter in the storm. And when his eyes are on the on the storm, he he gives us into fear and he starts to sink.

And so if our eyes are on the storm of suffering and persecution, we might sink and we and we fear. And then we drown, and we say, actually, it'd be I I'd rather just float in a nice boat that the the world has made. And Jesus says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.

Be faithful. Don't be afraid. Be faithful. To the point of death. Just as Jesus, just as Jesus was faithful to the end.

You look at him in the garden of gethsemane. I will not give in to this world. And although he recoils from the cross, he says, not my will, but your will through the the the droplets of blood that are sweating out of his head. He says, not my will, but yours be done. I will be faithful to the end.

And after gethsemane, he marches to the cross where he is faithful to his father to the end. Keep him in your mind and be faithful. Remember that he is the first and the last, that he died and that he rose again. So we can too be faithful in the power that he supplies. Fear not fear not be faithful.

And then lastly, the covenant, a crown of life. Look at verse 10 again. The end, be faithful, even to the point of death. And I will give you life as your Victor's crown. In there, in Smyna, you would have seen these sort of crowns every these kind of, you know, those laurel wreaths You know, if you remember the 2004 Olympics, which some of you weren't alive for, apparently, they all wore those sort of wreath on their heads.

Well, that was quite a common thing that you would get in this culture. And, if you did stuff for for this your civic duties, you might get a lovely wreath, and you'd obviously, that meant you were quite an important person. And if you won in the athletic games, you know, you've wonder you're in these athletics and smurner, you'd get this this wreath that, you know, would show how great you are at, I don't know, running yeah. And Jesus is saying, okay. I I actually would have these coins would have these crowns on as well.

And so I think it's a culture where you would have seen these sort of crowns, but Jesus is not saying, I'll give you 1 of those crowns. He's saying, I'll give you a much better crown. I will give you what? The crown of life. I will give you life as your Victor's crown.

It's not just a a little bit of plantation on your head. No, it's life itself. I'll give you life. I'm the 1 who who died and I came to life and I will crown you with life myself if you're faithful to the end. If you keep on going to the end and you go through death, faithful to the lord Jesus Christ, you will have life.

You will have eternal life. And so he says in verse 11, look with me, the 1 who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. So there you are with your crown of life, and you walk into the day of judgment, and it says you will not be harmed by that second death. He's talking about revelation twen look with me at Revelation 20. It's all about judgment day.

And Revelation 20 11 to 15 says this, then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

The sea gave up the dead that were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. There is a day of judgment coming where you will have to answer for all that you have done in this life. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. There is a judgment for those who are not faithful to the lord Jesus.

Anyone verse 15 whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. 21 verse 8, but the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic art, see idolaters, and all liars they can be consigned to the fiery lake of Burning Silver. This is the second death. There is a an eternal spiritual death that is to come. Friends.

For those who are not faithful to the lord Jesus Christ, And if if if you are not faithful to Christ today, can I can I point you to these verses and say, look, I don't want that for you? Come trust in the lord Jesus Christ. Getting Christ. Come to the 1 who was the first and the last who died and rose to life, who can say, actually, you don't need the second death. I can crown you with life itself.

And Christian, do you see why it's worth it? Can you see why it's worth it? It's wake up of your fallen asleep, please. It's worth it. There's a crown of life.

It's like you think about the athletes. You you may have watched the Olympics in the summer. And they they go through the hardship and they go through the, they always talk about how I sacrifice going to kid's birthday parties, and and I didn't do Christmas, and we didn't even say off a new year because I had to I had to train twice a day, 3 times a day, 4 times a day, and I and I I train and I train and I beat my body so that I can win the gold medal. But that's not for Christians. That's not even worth it.

No. For Christians, we we go through the hard the suffering, the the sacrifice, you get hurt and hurt and hurt, but it is worth it. It's worth it. Why? Because we go through death, and we don't suffer the second death, but we come to life eternal.

And so we can rejoice with the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 and say, I consider these present sufferings incomparable to the glories that will be revealed. And so we can go through the suffering and like the apostles, we can come out and we can rejoice that we have been counted worthy to suffer for the name. We can rejoice with the writer of Hebrews that when he he lists off all those people who have suffered and have been persecuted, and he says this, the world was not worthy of them. Brothers and sisters, I want this world not to be worthy of me. I wanna be worthy of the lord Jesus Christ he is of a better world, he is of a greater time, a better place, a time of eternity, a time of life.

I don't wanna be part of this life of death. And so, Let us not be afraid. Don't be afraid. Be faithful. Be faithful.

Be a faithful. Fix your eyes on the lord Jesus Christ. The first and the last. Fix your eyes on the lord Jesus Christ. Who died for you?

And rose again to give you eternal life to crown you with life. Will you do that? Should we pray for our brothers and sisters and worldwide and let us pray for ourselves? That we will bear the name of the lord Jesus, that we will walk worthy of him, that we will keep our eyes fixed on him. To the day that he crowns us with life.

That's what Polycop did. Polycop. Let me leave you with these words, and I'll finish. There he is. He's got he gotta love this man.

They go they set him up to be burnt. They're gonna tie. He says, don't don't tie me. I'll just stand here and take it. Bring on whatever you've got.

And as he is about to be burnt, he says, oh, 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, powers and every creature. And of all the righteous who lived before you, I give you thanks that you count me worthy to be numbered among your martyrs sharing the cup of Christ and the resurrection to eternal life, both of the soul and body through the immortality of the Holy Spirit only goes on. What a prayer at the end? Fateful to the point of death. Will you be faithful?

Let's pray. Father, We thank you for this letter to the to the Church of Smyrna. And, we thank you for what you show about who you are, but you are indeed the first and the last. But not only are you the eternal, unmatched, and comparable gods, but you are the 1 who died and came to life again. For us.

And so we pray father, give us such a vision of Christ. We're so dull sometimes. We'll see Christ for all he is and all he has done for us. And with With eyes of faith that are fixed on the lord Jesus Christ, we pray that we will follow in his footsteps. We pray father that the law name of the lord Jesus will be on our our lips and will be the identifying thing of our lives.

And we know father that if that is gonna be the case in this culture that is increasingly secular, We know that that will then bring persecution. But we pray father that you will help us to be those who are courageous. Those who are so fixed on you that we aren't afraid of this world, but we are faithful. And who then can face the persecutions of this world. We pray father for our brothers and sisters across the world.

Let us not grow numb. To the fact that they are there are 360000000 suffering right now. Let us weep with them. And let us pray for them that they will be reminded of who Jesus is for them, and that they will not be afraid, but that they will be faithful. And as we pray for them, let that be our prayer for ourselves.

And lord Jesus, we pray father, we pray Jesus. Sorry. That as we fix our eyes and you, you'll constantly remind us of the reward that is to come. Life everlasting with you. Christ is mine forevermore.

We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.