The Church in Smyrna

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Hymn — God, All Nature Sings Thy Glory
• Call to Worship — Psalm 19:1-6, 14
• Hymn — God, All Nature Sings Thy Glory
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 28:6-7
• Scripture Reading — Ezra 3
• Hymn — We Are God's People
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — Day by Day
• Sermon
• Hymn — And Can It Be
• Benediction
• Doxology

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Sermon Title: The Suffering Church and the Crown of Life

Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11

I. Suffering Is Known by Christ

A. Christ introduces himself to the church in Smyrna as "the first and the last, who died and came to life" — he speaks from the other side of suffering

1. Smyrna was Rome's most faithful ally, the first city to build a temple to the goddess Roma (195 BC)
2. When Caesar worship became required, Christians refusing to confess Caesar as Lord lost employment, faced imprisonment, and death
3. Jewish authorities in Smyrna slandered Christians before Roman officials — Christ calls their assembly a "synagogue of Satan" (meaning false accuser)

B. Christ's declaration "I know your tribulation and your poverty" is intimate knowledge, not merely intellectual awareness

1. Hebrews 4:15 — we do not have a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin
2. Human comfort after tragedy is real but limited — it fades after the funeral; Christ never leaves

C. Christ's empathy is untinged by sin and unrestricted by mortality

1. John 1:14 — Christ is full of grace and truth
2. Ephesians 2:4 — God is rich in mercy; he abounds in steadfast love
3. 1 Corinthians 13:12 — now we see dimly, but then face to face; Christ now sees clearly from the seat of glory and says to the suffering church, "You are rich"

II. Suffering Is a Test from Christ

A. Revelation 2:10a — "the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested"; Satan works through his instruments, yet the sovereign Lord ordains it

1. The Gospels repeatedly show Christ testing people — the Syrophoenician woman passes; the rich young ruler does not
2. 1 Peter 4:12 — "Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you"
3. The same God who tested Abraham with the sacrifice of Isaac continues to test the sons of Abraham

B. Suffering without a sovereign purpose destroys; suffering understood as a test from God sustains

1. Illustration: Life Is Beautiful — a father convinces his son the concentration camp is a game with a prize; the boy endures because he believes the trial has a goal
2. Dostoevsky observed in a Siberian prison that non-Christian prisoners often went insane, while Christians endured in hope
3. Every moment of suffering in the hands of Christ is an instrument to shape his saints and prepare them for glory

C. Excommunication in 1 Corinthians 5 and 1 Timothy 1 is described as handing someone over to Satan — suffering outside Christ's lordship prepares one for the second death, not for glory

III. Suffering Is the Path to the Crown of Life

A. The "ten days" of tribulation (Revelation 2:10) most likely symbolizes the brevity of the season of suffering, not a literal duration

1. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 — "this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison"
2. Suffering may even lead to death, but in light of eternal glory it will seem a blip on the screen

B. Death itself becomes the crown of life for those united to the one who died and yet lives

1. Satan's chief weapon — death — has been annihilated by Christ's resurrection
2. Romans 8:37 — we are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us
3. The second death (Revelation 20) — the lake of fire — holds no power over those who belong to Christ

C. Historical illustration: Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (traditionally a disciple of the Apostle John), martyred c. AD 155

1. When ordered to swear by Caesar and reproach Christ, he answered: "Eighty-six years I have served him and he never did me any injury — how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?"
2. When threatened with fire, he replied that the proconsul's fire burns for an hour, but the fire of eternal punishment — the second death — is reserved for the ungodly
3. Polycarp embodied the letter written to his own congregation: faithful unto death, receiving the crown of life