"Fear of Suffering"

Good morning, church.

Friends, one thing we do here at Trinity

is that we do our very best to humbly preach God's Word.

We try hard to take our key and our tune from Scripture.

And so what that means is that whenever we come to a passage

which talks about difficult things, we do not shy away.

This morning, the two subjects that Scripture presents for us

are difficult for many.

These two things are the subjects of suffering and death.

These are the two things in this world

that most people would do anything to avoid.

Most people, in fact, don't even like to talk about these things.

But today, our passage in Scripture has much to say

about suffering and death,

and so we're going to take these subjects head-on.

This is important to do because if you haven't noticed,

suffering and death are two things that hard as we try,

we cannot avoid.

They are inescapable,

and because of this, people fear them above all else.

But Christian, I wonder,

what about you?

Are you afraid of suffering?

Are you afraid of death?

What do you do, or what should you do when faced with these things?

Perhaps you are suffering now.

How are you enduring?

Perhaps you know that your end is coming.

How are you responding?

Well, if you find yourself afraid,

and we all do at times,

if you find yourself afraid of these things,

then take heart,

because the letter we are about to read

has good counsel for you.

In this letter, in the book of Revelation,

Jesus tells the ancient church of Smyrna

that they are going to suffer,

and that some of them may even die.

But Jesus says to them

to not be afraid.

And He promises

that He will defeat suffering and death.

And what He promises to them,

He promises to you, O Christian.

So let us walk through these things this morning.

The passage we have before us

can be found in the book of Revelation,

Revelation 2:8–11

chapter 2, verses 8 through 11.

This corresponds with page 965

in your pew Bible.

And just by way of reminder,

the author of the book of Revelation

is John the Apostle,

a disciple of Jesus.

And in this book of Revelation,

Jesus has appeared to John

in a heavenly vision,

and He's currently dictating letters to John

to send to local churches in Asia Minor.

And this brief letter we have before us today

was addressed to the church in ancient Smyrna.

And this little letter reads like this.

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,

the words of the first and the last

who died and came to life.

I know your tribulation and your poverty,

but you are rich,

and the slander of those who say

that they are Jews and are not,

but are a synagogue of Satan.

Do not fear what you are about to suffer.

Behold, the devil is about to throw

some of you into prison

that you may be tested,

and for ten days you will have tribulation.

Be faithful unto death,

and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear,

let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The one who conquers

will not be hurt by the second death.

Here Jesus counsels the church in Smyrna

not to fear suffering

and to be faithful even unto death.

And these will be our two themes this morning.

First, we will start with a little bit

of background to this letter.

We'll sketch out the historical context

to help us understand the sufferings

that the church in Smyrna was facing

and what they were to face.

And then we'll focus on two things.

First, what Jesus says about suffering.

And second, what Jesus says about death.

And we will see what counsel

he gives to those who face such things.

And we'll see what counsel he gives to you.

Let's pray together.

Oh, Father in heaven,

we thank you for your word.

We thank you for its timeliness.

And Lord, for how you cut to our hearts with it.

Father, we pray

that through your word this morning

you would give consolation

and comfort and encouragement

to those who are suffering

and to those who face death.

Lord, we pray that we would treasure

your word in our hearts.

Lord, that if now we do not face these things,

that in the future when we do,

we will remember your counsel

and we would cast ourselves upon you,

the one who has conquered suffering and death.

Father, we pray all this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Let us begin with a little bit

of historical background to this letter.

Remember, this letter was written

to the ancient church in Smyrna.

And Smyrna was a very wealthy city

in the ancient world.

It was known for its spices,

for trade,

and its beautiful buildings.

And it was also one of the chief centers

of imperial worship of the Roman emperor.

It was, in fact, specially selected for this purpose.

What this means is that the people of Smyrna

would have been making sacrifices

to the Roman emperor pretty much every day.

And along with this,

Smyrna also had a vibrant Jewish community.

But it must be noted that

of all the different ethnic groups

in the Roman Empire,

Jews at this time were exempted

from the requirements of emperor worship

by special agreement with the government.

This means that while probably everyone in Smyrna

was required to worship the Roman emperor,

the Jewish inhabitants likely were not.

And all these things help us to understand

Jesus' words to the church in Smyrna,

because when we take this letter

and we place it in the light

of these historical facts,

we can draw some reasonable conclusions.

First, it seems, for example,

that the Christians of Smyrna

must have felt pressure

to worship the Roman emperor

due to the imperially backed Roman cult

that was present in the city.

And in fact, this pressure may have been immense.

Along with this,

Christians also would have been living

amongst very wealthy people.

They would have lived among people

who flaunted their riches,

who had opulent homes,

who possessed many servants and slaves.

Yet, as Jesus tells us in his letter to the church,

the Christians in Smyrna were poor.

Furthermore, as I said,

we know from the historical record

that there was a vigorous and thriving Jewish population.

We gleaned from the letter

that the Jewish community of Smyrna

seems to have been slandering the Christians of Smyrna.

They seem to have been saying

that the Christians were not actually Jews.

That is, that they were not actually worshiping

the God of Israel.

This is relevant because,

as I mentioned before,

the Jews of Smyrna,

like all Jews in the Roman Empire,

they were exempted

from worshiping the Roman emperor.

We know also,

from reading the book of Acts,

that in the early days of the church,

Christians would often worship in synagogues,

since in the early church,

most Christians were Jews to begin with.

So the reasonable inference here

is that in a place like Smyrna,

there was immense pressure to worship the emperor.

But despite this,

Christians could likely have found a safe haven,

a shelter from persecution,

but only if they worshipped in the local synagogue.

This, for example,

is something that even the apostles did for a time

in the early church,

where the apostles continued to identify as Jews

and worship in the synagogues.

We see this throughout the book of Acts.

But there was a problem in Smyrna,

because the letter in Revelation says

that the Jews in Smyrna

were slandering the Christians

and saying that they were not Jews.

A reasonable conclusion

that scholars have made from these things

is that the Christians of Smyrna,

who had sought refuge in the synagogues,

had been kicked out of the synagogues,

and therefore they were exposed

to persecution

and the forced worship of the Roman emperor.

They seemed to have been accused

by ethnic Jews

of not being faithful to the God of Israel,

because they followed the Messiah Jesus.

And hence these Christians

were excommunicated from the synagogue,

and the result is that

they were no longer exempted

from worshiping the emperor,

and they were exposed to persecution

if they remained faithful to Christ.

Taken altogether,

we can conclude

that the church in Smyrna was suffering.

They were poor.

They were slandered.

And as the passage explains,

they soon would suffer imprisonment.

But what does Jesus say

to the church in Smyrna

in view of these things?

What word does Jesus have

for those in Smyrna

who are suffering?

Remember, Christian,

what Jesus says to the church in Smyrna,

he in many ways says to you.

So let me rephrase that question.

Instead of,

what word does Jesus have

for those in Smyrna

who are suffering?

Let us ask this morning,

what word does Jesus have for you

who are suffering

or who are facing death?

Let us start first

with what Jesus says about suffering,

and then secondly,

we'll discuss what Jesus says about death.

So let's begin.

In Revelation 2-9,

the first thing Jesus says

to those who are suffering is this,

I know your tribulation.

Friends, are you suffering today?

Jesus says to you,

I know your tribulation.

You are not forgotten by God.

He knows your tears.

He knows your doubt.

He knows your pain.

If you are jobless,

homeless,

anxious,

hopeless,

He knows these things.

If you are called at work

to stand firm in the gospel

and so to risk your career

or your income,

if you're called to cease from sin

and jeopardize your relationships

with your family or your friends,

all for the sake of Jesus,

whatever it is you are suffering,

whether it is bodily illness

or external oppression

or mental anguish,

whatever it may be,

Jesus says to you,

I know your tribulation.

Jesus is not blind to these things.

He knows.

He sees.

He understands.

Scripture declares

in Hebrews chapter 218,

because Jesus himself

has suffered when tested,

he is able to help those

who are being tested.

Friends, this is the first thing

Scripture says to you

who are suffering.

Jesus knows.

Jesus is aware.

Jesus is intimately familiar

with suffering.

He is not unacquainted

with these things.

He himself suffered,

and so he's able to help you

who are being tested by suffering.

You are not alone.

You are not forgotten by God.

Jesus knows.

Every tear you have shed

and every drop you have bled.

Be comforted in this,

my brothers and sisters.

But there's a second word

that Jesus has for you

who are suffering.

He goes on to say

to the church of Smyrna

in Revelation 2.9,

He says,

I know your poverty,

but you are rich.

To put this another way,

though it appears,

Jesus says,

that you are poor now,

you in actuality are rich.

Though it appears

that you are suffering now

in the heavenly

and spiritual reality

that Jesus has ushered in,

all these hardships,

are working together

for your good,

both now and in the future.

And this is not some

far-off promise

of spiritual riches.

It is a promise

of spiritual riches

that can be redeemed

here and now

in the present moment,

in this very instant.

This is why Jesus says

to the church,

I know your poverty,

but you are rich.

Jesus does not say,

I know your poverty,

take heart,

you will be spiritually rich

in the future

when I return.

Instead, He says,

I know your poverty,

but you are rich

here and now.

This idea

that the heavenly blessings

in Christ

are present now

is illustrated

by Jesus' promise

in the Gospel of Mark

in chapter 10.

Jesus says,

Truly I say to you,

there is no one

who has left house

or brothers

or sisters

or mother

or father

or children

or lands

for my sake

or for the sake

of the Gospel

who will not receive

a hundredfold now

in this time

houses

and brothers

and sisters

and mothers

and children

and lands

with persecutions

and in the age to come

eternal life.

but many who are first

will be last

and the last first.

Notice here

the promises of Jesus

for you, Christian.

He says that

if you follow Me,

you will suffer

in this life,

but in the life,

this life,

you also will receive

a hundredfold

in return.

You'll receive

spiritual friends

and spiritual brothers

and sisters

and spiritual children

and houses

and countries.

And Jesus says,

in the future,

though you are last now,

you will be first then.

Hence,

if we return

to the church

in Smyrna,

Jesus says that

though Smyrna

was at that time

poor

in an earthly sense,

in actuality,

they were rich

towards God

in that very moment.

And Jesus

says the same

to you, Christian.

Though you may be

poor now,

you are rich

in God.

And this goes

for all kinds

of suffering,

whatever form

it may take,

be it poverty,

physical pain,

despair,

slander,

betrayal,

persecution,

or anything else.

If you are a follower

of Jesus Christ,

there is not just

a renewed body

awaiting for you

in heaven,

but even now,

you walk,

you run

in the spiritual gifts.

You possess

the unsurpassable gifts

and abilities

of the Holy Spirit.

These are yours now.

Joy,

hope,

love,

fellowship with the saints

and with God above.

If you weep now,

those tears are being

and will be wiped away.

If you suffer slander,

take heart

because in this moment,

you're found innocent

before God

and you will also

be found innocent

in the day of judgment.

If you suffer today

with the shackles

of addiction,

you can be freed

now

and in the future,

those temptations

will pass away forever

when Jesus comes.

All this to say

that if in this life,

in this world,

you are suffering,

what Jesus promises

and what he calls you

to recognize

is that an actual reality

of the matter

is that day by day

there are blessings

being poured out

on you this very moment

and there is spiritual treasure

stored up for you

in heaven

in the world to come.

Well, friends,

from these,

we can derive

a third word

that Jesus says

to those who are suffering.

The church in Smyrna

was poor,

but Jesus said

they were rich.

This is an example

of a profound

gospel truth.

It turns out

that when you are suffering

in the path

of obedience to Jesus,

God has promised

that he will take

your sufferings

and he does not simply

bless you

in a general spiritual way

in the present moment

in your suffering,

but he takes your suffering

and he works upon it

with a kind

of precise antidote,

a counter agent

that turns

that specific suffering,

that turns

that specific evil

into an exact

corresponding

and matching gift.

So if you are poor

in this world,

then faithfully,

humbly,

enduring that poverty

makes you rich in God.

If you are slandered

in this world,

then patiently persevering

in that slander

by God's grace

turns that slander

into vindication.

If you are abandoned

by friends or family

for following Christ,

then you are called

the friend of God.

And you receive

the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit

and the fellowship

of spiritual brothers

and sisters in Christ

and this kind

of spiritual inversion

where God

turns your suffering

into blessing.

This is the very thing

that Jesus promises

in his Sermon on the Mount.

He says,

blessed are the poor

in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven.

Blessed are those

who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit

the earth.

What we've covered

so far is this.

Remember,

when you are suffering,

remember first,

God knows

and understands,

for he suffered also.

He has not abandoned you.

You are not alone.

He is with you.

Secondly,

though you are suffering,

you are blessed

both in the world

to come

and in this present world.

You are blessed

in the here and now

as well

as in the hereafter.

And thirdly,

God takes that specific

suffering you are enduring

and he works

a corresponding blessing

through your patient

and faithful endurance

by his grace.

Now I know

and understand

what toil

and hardships

suffering can be.

I understand

how such things

can blind you

from seeing

these spiritual promises

and spiritual realities.

As many of you

are aware,

I was born

with a severe heart defect.

I've had two

open heart surgeries.

I have more surgeries

to come.

I know what it is like

to be a boy

in agony

in a hospital bed

crying,

Lord,

why is this happening

to me?

Why have you allowed

me to suffer?

I know what it is

to see all the other

children grow healthy

and able to run

and play in ways

that I could not.

For many years,

friends,

I grew bitter

against God.

I could not see

his promises

for me.

But then,

brothers and sisters,

Jesus Christ

stepped into my life

and what I learned

from him

is that in Christ Jesus

who suffered for us,

in him

our suffering works

an eternal weight

of glory

that is not worthy

to be compared

with anything

in this world.

The Apostle Paul

speaks of this.

He says to the Corinthians,

for this light,

momentary affliction

is preparing for us

an eternal weight

of glory

beyond all comparison

as we look

not to things

that are seen

but to the things

that are unseen.

for the things

that are seen

are transient

but the things

that are unseen

are eternal.

Friends,

those of you

who have tasted

this weight of glory

beyond all comparison,

you know

of what I speak.

And those of you

who have not yet

tasted this truth,

come to Jesus,

behold him,

and you will understand

that all these sufferings

of this world

are nothing

compared to knowing Christ.

You see, friends,

we worship a God

who does not fear suffering.

He himself

came down

into this world

in the person of Jesus

and he knowingly

and willingly

and volitionally

suffered the punishment

of a slave

on the cross.

And he became like us

in every way.

Scripture says

in the book of Hebrews,

in the days

of his flesh,

Jesus offered up

prayers and supplications

with loud cries

and tears

to him who was able

to save him from death.

And he was heard

because of his reverence.

And although

he was a son,

he learned obedience

through what he suffered.

And being made perfect,

he became the source

of eternal salvation

to all who obey him.

Christians,

if Jesus

became perfect

through suffering,

how much more

will God take

our imperfect lives

and perfect them

through the suffering

we experience?

Therefore,

on account of this,

Jesus says

to the church

in Smyrna

in Revelation 2.10,

do not fear

what you are about

to suffer.

The profound truth

of the matter is,

O Christian,

that when you find

yourself to be poor,

turn to God

and become rich.

When you are in pain,

cast yourself upon him

and receive the consolation

of his presence.

When you are lonely,

receive the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit.

When you are betrayed

or persecuted,

go to the one

who is betrayed

and persecuted

for you.

Endure suffering

for Christ

and Christ

will redeem it.

And therefore,

do not fear suffering.

Well, friends,

we've discussed

suffering,

but there is one more

important matter

to cover.

We all must face suffering.

That much is clear.

But what of

that other reality

that we all must face?

What about death?

death?

This is unavoidable

for us, too.

So what words

does Jesus say

to us

who are facing death?

Jesus says this

to the church

in Smyrna

in Revelation 2,

10 through 11.

He says,

Be faithful

unto death

and I will give you

the crown of life.

He who has an ear,

let him hear

what the Spirit

says to the churches.

The one who conquers

will not be hurt

by the second death.

From these words,

friends,

we gather

that this persecution

that was to come

upon the church

in Smyrna

was going to be

very severe.

So Jesus exhorts them.

He says,

Be faithful

unto death

and he says this

with a promise

and I will give you

the crown of life.

It should be mentioned

again

that what Jesus says

to the church

in Smyrna,

he says to you,

Christian,

Be faithful

in all things

even unto death

and I will give you

the crown of life.

By this,

Jesus means

that we should be willing

to sacrifice

all things

in obedience

to him

and his word

even at the cost

of our lives

just as Jesus

laid his life down

for us.

And by being faithful

unto death,

Jesus also means

that we should be

faithful to him

throughout our whole lives

even to the point

of death.

For you see,

says Jesus,

if you are faithful

unto death,

you will receive

the crown of life

and to the one

who conquers,

you will not be hurt

by the second death.

Now,

this phrase,

the second death,

can be mysterious

to some

but it's clear

from the scriptures

that Jesus

is speaking

of that second death

of hell.

That second death

that comes

after bodily death

where one

is eternally cast

from the presence

of God.

And if this

is the second death,

then logically

the first death

is the earthly death

when our earthly body

passes away.

And so given this,

there are two kinds

of deaths

from Jesus' perspective.

The first death

is that which is

the earthly

or bodily death

that we all face.

And the second death

is that which takes

place in hell

and is reserved

for those who reject

Jesus.

We as Christians,

we all face

the first death,

the death of our bodies.

But afterwards,

we are all rescued

from it.

We are rescued

from that first death

by being resurrected.

resurrected.

And then when judgment

comes,

we are spared

from the second death

by being redeemed

and forgiven

by Jesus.

So we as Christians

do not face

the second death

at all.

Logically then,

if we are resurrected

after the first death

and we do not face

the second death,

then what can we conclude

but that we should not

fear either death?

Christian,

the sum of what

I'm saying is this.

When your end

is coming,

when your time

on this earth

hastens to a close,

when the sun

is setting on your life,

whether you have lived

many or few years,

whatever age you are in,

when the door

to this world

is closing,

then you have

nothing to fear.

Jesus has promised

to resurrect you

from this death

and he has promised

that you will not

be hurt

by the second death.

And the whole

New Testament

proclaims

that Jesus

will rescue you

from these things.

In fact,

the whole New Testament

proclaims

that Jesus

came to die

in your place

to destroy death.

The whole purpose

of Jesus

departing from

his throne in heaven

and becoming human

and partaking

of flesh and blood

was so that he might

die to destroy death

for you

and for God's glory.

Scripture says

in Hebrews chapter 2,

Hebrews 2 · chapter mention

since therefore

the children,

that's us,

since therefore

the children share

in flesh and blood,

Jesus himself

likewise partook

of the same things,

that through death

he might destroy

the one

who has the power

of death,

that is the devil,

and deliver

all those

who through fear

of death

were subject

to lifelong slavery.

And so for you,

Christian,

when you are facing death,

when your end

is coming,

do not fear.

Jesus has destroyed

the power of death

and the grave.

And therefore,

Jesus says to the church

in Smyrna,

be faithful unto death

and I will give you

the crown of life.

And he adds,

the one who conquers

will not be hurt

by the second death.

But after all these things,

I should mention

there is also

in Jesus' letter

to the church

in Smyrna

an additional word

of consolation

about facing death.

This is at the very

beginning of the letter.

It's in Revelation chapter 2,

Revelation 2:8

verse 8.

At the very start,

Jesus announces himself

and he says,

quote,

I am the first

and the last

who is dead

and has come to life.

In this verse,

Jesus identifies himself

as the one who was dead

and who came to life.

Brothers and sisters,

what a precious Savior

we have in Jesus.

He's able to rescue you

from death

because he's been there.

He's gone down

to the gates of hell

in person.

He fought death

and won.

It is he

who was dead

and came to life again.

He knows

all about death.

He went to its

outer limits.

He saw it face to face.

He descended

to the pit.

He let it come upon him

and he defeated it

for all time

for you

and for all you

who believe.

The grave,

the tomb,

the crypt,

none of these things

had power

over Jesus.

Scripture likens

Jesus defeating death

to Jesus defeating

the great dragon

or Jesus commuting

your sentence

or freeing you

from prison

or taking your place.

And all this imagery

serves to communicate

that you do not need

to fear death,

O Christian.

Death has died

through Jesus Christ

and you,

when you die,

you will live forever

beholding your Savior

face to face,

which is better by far.

Christians,

I have one final word

of exhortation

to you.

Jesus says

to the church

in Smyrna

in Revelation 2.10,

he says to those

Christians back then

that some of them

would be imprisoned

for ten days

and he counsels them

to be faithful

unto death.

And I wish I could tell you

what the Christians

in Smyrna

suffered in that time

and how they persevered

in their imprisonment,

but all that

has been lost

to history.

We don't know

exactly what happened

regarding that imprisonment,

but we do have

another witness,

another witness

from a member

of that very church

in Smyrna

who received

this letter

from Jesus.

History tells us

that the Apostle John

sent this letter

to the church

in Smyrna

probably in the 80s

or in the early 90s

of the first century

when he wrote

the book of Revelation.

And it so happens

that one of John's

own disciples

was actually

from Smyrna

itself

and he went on

to become

the leader

of the church

in Smyrna.

This man's name

was Polycarp

and it actually

is very possible

that Polycarp

was even sitting

in Smyrna's congregation

on that very day

when Jesus' letter

in Revelation

was read to them.

And we know a bit

about Polycarp's life.

We know it seems

that he took

this letter to heart

because he remained

steadfast in suffering

through many decades

of ministry.

We know this in part

because of a letter

that Polycarp wrote

that we still have.

He wrote this letter

around 107 A.D.

and he records

this passage

about suffering.

He says this,

Let us therefore

hold steadfastly

and unceasingly

to our hope

and the guarantee

of our righteousness

who is Christ Jesus

who bore our sins

in his body

upon the tree,

who committed

no sin

and no deceit

was found in his mouth.

Instead,

for our sakes,

he endured all things

in order that we might

live in him.

Let us therefore

become imitators

of his patient endurance

and if we should suffer

for the sake of his name,

let us glorify him.

For this is the example

he set for us

in his own person

and this is what

we have believed.

Friends,

here Polycarp

echoes Jesus' letter

and exhorts his church

in Smyrna

to be faithful

in suffering.

And many years later,

Polycarp modeled

not just what it is

to suffer for Jesus,

but also what it is

to not fear death

for Jesus.

After a long

and fruitful ministry,

Polycarp was brought

before a Roman governor

who threatened

to execute him

if he did not

deny Jesus.

And Polycarp

uttered these words.

He said,

for 86 years

I have been his servant

and he has done me

no wrong.

How can I blaspheme

my king who saved me?

And then with those words,

Polycarp went off to die.

Polycarp remembered

Jesus' words

to his congregation

so many decades before.

The words where Jesus said,

do not fear

what you are about

to suffer

and be faithful

unto death

and I will give you

the crown of life.

Friends,

the sum and total

of our Christian life

is to lay our lives

down for Jesus.

When suffering

and death

come upon you

and they will,

whether they come

through persecution

or bodily ailment

or family catastrophe

or through any

other circumstance,

then like Polycarp,

remember our Lord Jesus

who suffered

for you

and who died

for you

and become imitators

of that patient

endurance of Jesus.

Remember his words

to the church

in Smyrna,

do not fear suffering

and do not fear death

for though for a time

you will have to endure

these things,

Jesus knows your suffering

and he is working for you

in such things

an eternal weight

of glory

and an everlasting

spiritual treasure

that you may partake of

here and now

and forevermore.

friends,

let's pray together.

Oh Father,

we come to you

and we bow our hearts

before you.

Lord,

we pray for those of us

who are suffering

right now.

We pray, Lord,

that you would comfort them,

that you would encourage them.

Lord,

that you would bless them

in the midst of trials

and temptations

and tests.

We pray, Lord,

that when we suffer

we would turn to you

and receive comfort

and consolation

from your Holy Spirit.

Father,

we pray

that we would not fear

these things

but that in them

we would see

that unsurpassable

weight of glory

that far outweighs

all these things

in this world.

Lord,

we pray

that you would wipe away

our tears,

that you would help us

to stand fast,

Lord,

if we face persecution,

that you would help us

to endure.

Lord,

we pray that you would

give us joy

in these things,

that we would rejoice

knowing that you are glorified

and that,

Lord Jesus,

you will return.

And we pray this

in the mighty name

of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.