7 Letters to 7 Churches: Smyma

Have you ever seen a professional athlete, maybe they are a football quarterback or a hockey player or a boxer?

They're kind of been through the competition and they're kind of dazed.

Oftentimes you'll see them snort something, smelling salts, and it's designed to focus them.

You see it in boxing a lot, in the corner, the manager dealing with a beat-up boxer, snaps open this small vial and it just is a pungent odor.

And it wakes them up.

This morning we have turned to the second letter of the seven churches.

It's the letter, the message to Smyrna.

And it is smelling salts for us.

It's to focus us.

If Revelation 2, 8 through 11 were a kind of smelling salts, it would be this stark reminder of what the stakes are.

What one can lose for being a faithful follower of the risen, radiant, and reigning Jesus Christ.

So this passage, these four verses, smelling salts to our soul.

They would have been smelling salts to Smyrna, those Christians back in that first century.

And it's smelling salts to us.

Now don't get me wrong.

Well, there is a glorious, glorious picture of Jesus here.

And there is encouragement for our souls.

But it's against the backdrop of suffering, tribulation.

And these four verses are filled with words like tribulation, suffering, testing, prison, devil, dungeons, death, difficulty.

Jesus speaks right into it.

And this morning, Christ the King Church, on our fifth anniversary, God is providing us a sober reminder.

The stakes are high.

Jesus is worth it.

So be faithful to the end.

The stakes are high.

Jesus is worth it.

So be faithful to the end.

Last week, when we were looking at the letter to the church in Ephesus,

I showed you seven common components to all these seven layers.

There is this structure in each one of these seven letters that's common to them all.

It unifies them.

And this letter to Smyrna is no exception.

There's some little differences, though.

And so we're going to start by looking at, one, the address to this church.

It's to Smyrna.

I'll tell you a little bit about it.

And then John moves to addressing something about Christ.

Something about some aspects of who he is that are very purposefully highlighted for this church.

And then we move from church Christ to claim.

Jesus says, I know some things about you, Smyrna.

And from claim, he moves to commendation.

It's not as clear as the commendation to Ephesus.

Oh, but there is a commendation here.

Think parenthesis.

Jesus moves us from commendation then to speaking of a coming crisis.

This is where it differs from the other letters.

There's something about to happen to the Christians in Smyrna.

And Jesus tells them.

And in that coming crisis, he speaks a word, six point, of encouragement.

And it's been echoing through the church for millennia.

There's encouragement for us here, brothers and sisters.

And he closes with a closing call.

All these seven components are designed to be smelling salts to us.

To be a sober reminder that the stakes are high.

Your Jesus is worth it.

And we're to be faithful to the end.

And to be honest, I can't think of a better thing for us to hear on our anniversary Sunday.

So let's start with this church in Smyrna.

A little background.

This Smyrna was a city about 35 miles, 40 miles north of Ephesus.

And it was on this circuitous trade route that connected all these seven churches.

And so we're moving up to Smyrna.

And like Ephesus, it was a port on the Aegean Sea.

And it sat on a mouth to a river.

And so this city was an active trade city.

Ephesus was about 225,000 people in the first century.

Smyrna was about 200,000.

So it was a big place.

Two times the size of our city, Kenosha.

But here's what you need to understand about Smyrna.

They were staunchly, this city was staunchly pro-Roman.

Rome was the imperial authority of this time.

It was ruling over a huge amount of the earth at this time.

And Smyrna had hitched its wagon to the Rome pony hundreds of years before this letter was written to this church in Smyrna.

And so if you walked into the Agora, the marketplace of Smyrna, do you know what you would see?

You would see t-shirts.

Mia Roma!

You would see coffee cups.

Rome first!

This city was staunchly, enthusiastically behind the Roman agenda.

Now, let me just remind you.

About just a year or two earlier, the Emperor Domitian, who was the emperor when the Smyrna church was existing,

he required all of his citizen subjects in the entire Roman Empire to once a year go to an imperial temple,

walk in, take a pinch of incense, throw it on the altar, and then confess with your lips that Caesar is Lord.

He required it of everyone in the empire.

It was a way to unite the empire around him in worship.

So if you're a Christian living in this day, you know instantly that this is posing some kind of crisis.

You're going to have to decide whether or not you're going to do that.

Whether you're going to compromise and confess Caesar as your Lord,

or stay true to Jesus as your one and only Lord.

So you can imagine that if you're living in Smyrna in the first century,

with this requirement to worship the emperor,

you can bet on it that it would have been strictly enforced.

With one exception.

There was a group of people that this didn't apply to.

The Jews living in the Roman Empire of the time.

Now it's estimated there's five million Jews living in the world at this time.

Four million were living within the boundaries of the Roman Empire.

And Rome made a very shrewd political compromise with the Jews.

They said to the Jews living all throughout their empire,

Hey, you don't need to go to the temple.

You don't need to throw the pinch of incense.

You don't need to say Caesar is Lord.

We recognize that you are a monotheist.

We recognize you worship Yahweh alone.

So just pay us a tax.

We'll be happy.

And the Jews agreed.

Do you know why I'm telling you this history?

Here's why.

Romans viewed Christians as a sect of Judaism.

So our Christian brothers and sisters living in the first century,

from the Roman eyes, were considered kind of an offshoot of Judaism.

So they were grandfathered into this exception.

That they didn't have to worship Caesar.

Because they were seen as being part of the Jewish people.

Well, that's all well and good.

Until the Jewish people who reject Jesus as a crucified Messiah, rejected them.

And so when the Jews living in Smyrna, who rejected Jesus, rejected his church,

all of a sudden these Christians of the church of Smyrna have been pushed out of the umbrella of Judaism

and fully exposed to all penalties, death being one of them for not worshiping the emperor.

Our brothers and sisters in Smyrna, you're going to meet them someday.

They're in a precarious position.

What is Jesus going to say to them?

Let's now go from this church.

The stakes all of a sudden got real high, didn't they?

Let's go from this church now to looking at the Christ.

And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write,

The words of the first and the last who died and came to life.

There are two things that Jesus wants this Smyrna church to know about him.

Who he is, the first and the last, and what he's done.

He's no longer dead.

He's alive.

Both are very important.

Both are aimed at this church.

That little phrase, the first and the last,

well, it's a reference back to chapter 1, verse 17,

where Jesus puts his hand on the prostrate John,

and he says,

Fear not, I'm the first and the last, the living one.

It's a word of comfort.

But what you also need to understand is that that phrase,

first and last,

when a Jewish person would hear that,

or someone with a working understanding of the Old Testament,

you know what would be popping in their head right then?

First and last.

Where have I heard that?

First and last.

Oh, Isaiah 41.

Oh, Isaiah 43.

Oh, Isaiah 44.

Oh, Isaiah 48.

Yahweh claimed to be the first and last.

And in those passages,

in Isaiah 40,

Yahweh, the great I am,

he is saying,

I'm the first and last.

I am sovereignly reigning over all things.

And there's no one besides me.

It's a huge claim.

And so,

Jesus is claiming to be God.

And that he is sovereign over all,

and there's none besides him.

Not even the emperor.

It's a huge claim.

But he just doesn't stay there.

He talks about who he is,

the first and the last.

And if you're a Christian living at that time,

you'd be like,

okay, if he's the first and the last,

man, he is before me and after me.

He is bookending me.

He surrounds me,

just like it is true today.

But he moves on.

Not just saying who he is.

He talks about what he's done.

Who died and came to life.

You see that there?

Who died and came to life.

Our brothers and sisters in Smyrna,

when they heard that,

their hearts would have rose

in their hearts.

He's no longer talking about

sovereign control over all things.

He's not talking about

sovereign control over the devil,

or dungeons,

or difficulty,

or even death.

Well,

he is actually talking about death here.

He says it right there.

who died

and came to life.

Let me kind of translate

this intention.

Jesus is saying to this church,

you need not fear death

because

the one speaking to you

has overcome it

and has authority over it.

See?

Jingle, jingle.

I've got the keys

to death and Hades.

1.18.

Here's what Jesus is saying

in this church

who's facing persecution.

Even unto death.

Verse 10.

Here's what he's saying to them.

Hey,

my people,

I was dead

and now I'm alive.

I beat death

to death

with my death

and I'm going to throw death

into the second death.

death.

That's what he's saying.

I'm its victor.

I won

over death.

Jesus is speaking

to this church

as one

from the

other side

of death.

I've come through

and I'm going to bring you

through too,

Smyrna.

I've got you.

So how do you think

our brothers and sisters

in Smyrna

who are facing persecution

even unto death,

when they hear this letter

read to them,

how do you think

that they're going to respond?

I think they're going to respond

with the sense of,

okay, okay, okay.

He is in control.

He's won the victory

and that translates,

those truths

about Jesus

translate

into present hope

which translate

then into

present day courage

to press on.

imagine that one day

you're sitting

at the great

marriage feast

of the Lamb

and you're sitting

next to someone

never seen him before

and you're like,

hey, my name is Mike.

You know,

I'm 21st century

church of Kenosha

and he says back to me,

oh,

my name is Alexander

first century

church of Smyrna.

I'm like,

oh, man.

Alexander,

talk to me, man.

Talk to me.

What was it like

to get the letter?

Mike,

let me tell you,

right up to that point

before that messenger

brought the book

of Revelation

and Jesus spoke

those words,

I'll tell you what,

I was flipping out.

I was freaking out.

I was thinking,

we're done.

I cannot confess

Caesar as my Lord.

I can't go into

that temple.

I can't throw a pinch

of incense on that altar.

I can't do it

and because we got

kicked out by the Jews,

I can't do any of that.

So I'm flipping out.

I'm thinking we got to move.

I'm thinking we got to

get somewhere else.

What does this mean

for my kids?

What does it mean

for my wife?

What does it mean

for my livelihood?

And then the messenger

showed up with the book

and Jesus spoke

to our church

and he said,

he said,

Smyrna,

my church in Smyrna,

I'm in control.

I'm the first

and the last.

I've won the victory

over death

and do you know

what happened?

Mike,

do you know

what happened?

No, Alexander,

tell me what happened.

He gave us strength.

Two months later,

two of my friends

got arrested.

One was killed.

We remained faithful

to the end.

I didn't know

what was happening

but we were holding

on to Jesus.

Can you imagine that?

These words meant

everything to our

brothers and sisters

in Smyrna

in the first century.

Now here's the gap

we need to bridge

right now.

We hear these things

and we're like,

okay,

they were persecuted

intensely facing death.

We don't really

have to deal with it

as Christians

living in the 21st century

here in America.

Okay,

that's good to know.

Let's move on.

Well,

let me ask you this.

How do you think

the church of Ephesus

after hearing

what Jesus said

to them,

return to me

as your first love,

how do you think

they would have responded

when they heard

what the risen Christ

said to the church

of Smyrna

because they would

have heard it?

Their brothers and sisters

40 miles down the street.

Do you think

they would have responded,

honey,

man,

man,

I'm glad we moved

out of Smyrna

14 years ago.

Man,

I'm glad we're out

of that place.

I mean,

Ephesus is looking

really good right now.

Maybe they would have

said that

but I think

they would have

eventually got,

I think the pastors

of the church

of Ephesus

would have said,

hey,

gang,

we just heard word

from Smyrna

that they're facing

some hard stuff.

We're calling

a prayer meeting.

We're going to pray

for them.

We're going to ask

Jesus,

who's our first love,

that they would keep

Jesus as their

first love

and that they would

endure to the end.

That they won't

confess that Caesar

is Lord

because he's not.

That they would

confess

Jesus

as their only

one Lord

and deal

with the consequences.

He's the first

and the last.

He died

and is now alive.

The stakes

are high.

Jesus

is worth it.

Be faithful

to the end.

This past week

I

saw a video,

five minute video.

If you want to

write this down,

I would encourage you

to write it down.

The website is

persecution.com.

It's the website

of the Voice

of the Martyrs.

And it's an organization

committed to

making known

the plight

of the persecuted

church,

our brothers and sisters

around the world

who are suffering

directly for

confessing Jesus

as their Lord

and they are there

to encourage

the persecuted church.

church.

This past week

I watched a video,

you'll see it

if you go there,

about

Christians,

four Christians

in Pakistan,

in Fassal,

Pakistan.

And what

they are having

to live with

because they're

a minority group

in a predominantly

Muslim country.

It's going to

sadden you,

but it is going

to encourage you.

One of the things

that's going to be

important for us

as a church

moving forward,

I think we're

going to be

dealing with

our own persecution

in the States,

mildly,

but we need

to know what's

going on with

our brothers and

sisters around

the world.

We need to know

what's going on

in Pakistan,

in China,

North Korea,

in Iran,

and in Nepal.

who he is

and what he's

done.

He's worth it.

He's worth it.

And then we move

from that to the

claim.

This Jesus,

he claims

something.

Verse 9,

I know,

I know your

tribulation,

I know your

poverty,

I know your

being slandered,

he knows all

these things.

He knows all

these things

about that

church,

and about the

six other

churches,

and about all

the other

churches at

that time,

and about every

church of every

time and every

place since.

He's dialed

into his

people.

He knows

what's going

on.

He knows

the tribulation,

the pressure

that they were

experiencing

because they

had confessed

Jesus as

Lord,

and they

weren't going

to waver

on it.

He knows

the crushing

pressure,

the suffocating

pressure,

the wilting

pressure,

the isolating

pressure that

comes with that.

He knows,

I know.

He knows

their poverty.

He knows

that these

Christians in

Smyrna,

he knows that

doors were

closing of

opportunities for

his people in

that city

because they

confessed him

as Lord.

Could you

imagine you

walking in,

you see on

the marketplace,

help wanted,

you walk in,

you're like,

hey, I'd like

the job,

and it comes

out that you're

a Christian,

and that

shopkeeper says,

well, position

filled, only to

find out the

next day your

friend who's not

a Christian got

the job after

you.

That's what was

going on.

No work,

only indignified

work.

that voice of

the martyrs,

I almost showed

it here this

morning.

What you will

see will rend

your heart,

but it will

encourage your

heart.

Poverty.

Material poverty

on account of

Jesus.

Jesus knows.

And Jesus knew

that they were

being slandered.

And the slander

of those who say

that they are Jews

and are not,

but are synagogue

of Satan.

The Jews in

Smyrna of this

time, who hadn't

believed that Jesus

is the crucified

and risen Messiah,

they were slandering,

speaking falsely,

intending to hurt

with their words

our brothers and

sisters living at

that time.

Think about this.

Think about, like,

the Roman governing

officials in Smyrna.

They had a 1-800

tip line.

And that 1-800

tip line was,

hey, if you see

anybody not

worshiping Caesar

as Lord, you just

call us and we'll

take care of that

insurrectionist.

Well, there was a lot

of anonymous Jewish

people who had

rejected Jesus,

calling that 1-800

number.

And you know what?

On the next day,

there was a lot of

knocks on our

brothers and sisters

doors.

Hey, have you

confessed Caesar

as Lord?

Let's go together

now to the temple

and you can do the

pinch of incense

on the altar so

that we can watch

you confess Caesar

as Lord.

Slander.

But Jesus knew.

Jesus knew what

was going on.

these particular

Jews who were

claiming to be

real descendants

of Abraham.

Jesus knew

that they were

not.

That's Jesus

speaking.

Jesus knew

that their

hearts,

though they were

professing to be

devoted to

Yahweh,

they were far

from Yahweh

because they had

rejected Him

as the Messiah.

Did you notice

the connection

between slander

and Satan?

Satan,

the devil,

the enemy of our

soul,

he is the

accuser of the

brethren.

And what these

Jews who had

rejected Jesus,

they were trying

to say in the

name of Yahweh,

were actually

opposing the

God of the

Bible by

causing God's

new people,

the church,

to suffer.

They were

doing Satan's

work.

That's why they're

called a synagogue

of Satan.

But Jesus knew.

He knows the

pressure that they

were under.

He knows the

impoverty, the

impoverishment that

they were suffering.

He knows the

slander they are

experiencing.

He knows our

last five years

and all that

went into it.

He knows the

next five years

of Christ the

King Church and

all that will go

into that.

He knows what's

coming.

He knows what

storms are brewing.

He knows it.

He knows.

And He's the

first and the

last.

The one who

died and is

now alive.

Who gave

Himself for us.

He claims.

He knows.

He knows

everything.

For those

brothers and

sisters of ours

in Smyrna and

currently in China

and North Korea

and Nepal and

Iran, the stakes

are unusually

high.

But Jesus is

worth it.

He knows.

So we're to be

faithful to the

end.

There's a

commendation in

this text.

It's

parenthetical.

I know your

tribulation and

your poverty.

But you are

rich.

Rich in whose

eyes?

Rich in the

eyes of Jesus.

Not in the

eyes of the

world.

You are

rich.

Jesus knows

their tribulation.

He knows their

material poverty.

He knows that

they're being

slandered.

He knows what's

around the

corner, that

they're going to

be tossed into

prison by the

devil and

they're going to

face death.

He knows it

all.

And He also

knows that

they are rich.

What is Jesus

talking about?

What kind of

wealth is this?

Jesus is

describing a

characteristic of

blessedness.

Remember the

Sermon on the

Mount?

Matthew chapter

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

5?

Listen to Jesus'

words.

Blessed are you

when others

revile you and

persecute you and

utter all kinds of

evil against you

falsely on my

account.

Slander.

When that

happens, rejoice

and be glad for

your reward is

great in heaven.

Your reward is

great in heaven.

But you are

rich.

For so they

persecuted the

prophets who

were before you.

You see, Jesus

considers richness

as faithfulness to

Him.

That's wealth.

That's

riches gained in

heaven.

That little

parenthetical

comment, but you

are rich, is a

commendation from

the first and the

last, the one who

died and is alive,

to this suffering

church.

He knows that

they're suffering

for Him.

And He's saying,

oh, sweet

church, in my

eyes, you are

rich.

The stakes are

high.

Jesus is worth

it.

Be faithful to

the end.

We move from

commendation now to

the coming crisis in

verse 10.

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 10 days you

will have tribulation.

Jesus knows the

tribulation, poverty,

slandering, their

real wealth, and He

also knows what's

right around the

corner.

It goes again to

what He knows.

Their situation is

about to get worse.

Here Jesus is once

again pulling back

the curtain and

helping us to see an

intersection between

what is seen and

what is unseen in the

spiritual world.

world.

The devil is about to

throw some of you in

prison.

The devil.

Satan is behind this

imminent imprisonment

of some of our

brothers and sisters

from Smyrna.

Now I seriously doubt

that the synagogue in

Smyrna or the Roman

officials living in that

time, that they were

consciously aware that

they were being used by

Satan, but they were

being used by Satan.

He's the prince of the

power of the air, the

ruler of this world, at

least for the time

being.

And the slander of

these pseudo-Jews

most likely was landing

these Christian brothers

and sisters of ours,

some of them, in a Roman

prison in Smyrna.

Here's what I want to

help you think about.

Here's what this means

for us.

Satan is real.

He's active.

And he works on a scale

that we tend not to be

aware of because we

don't see it.

He uses governments.

He uses religions.

He uses economies.

All to oppress God's

people, the church.

Jesus is out of reach for

Satan now.

And so what Satan does is

he takes the next best

shot.

The people Jesus has

bought with his blood.

This is a sober reminder

of what we find in

Ephesians 6.

Our battle is not against

flesh and blood, but

against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers

over this present

darkness, against the

spiritual forces of

darkness in the heavenly

places.

And

Jesus helps us to see

things as they really

are.

And Jesus knows it all.

He sees it clearly.

Now when we talk about

Satan, I know that can

make some people feel a

little unsettled and a

little uncomfortable, so

let me just remind you of

something.

Our risen Jesus, he's

already been given

dominion over all things.

It's every square inch of

this planet is his.

By virtue of his work on

the cross and his

resurrection, it's all his

now.

It's been handed to him.

But the devil is real.

And he's on a rampage

right now.

He knows his days are

numbered.

So here's where we live

right now.

The cosmic conflict between

God and the devil is

real, but it's not a

standoff between two

equally matched opponents.

Jesus has already

decisively won the

victory over sin, death,

and the devil.

His kingdom of grace is

boots on the ground now,

and his saving reign is

spreading to the nations.

So his reign has already

begun, but his reign has

not yet been fully

realized.

But there's a coming a day

when it will be.

And we're living between the

already and the not yet.

And in the meantime, there is

a spiritual street fight

going on beyond our typical

eyes can see.

The devil will not relinquish

what once he thought was

his.

So here's what this means.

Christ's church will suffer

until Jesus returns.

That's what this means.

We're in a street fight.

The stakes are high.

Jesus is worth it.

Be faithful to the end.

On one level,

Satan is

wreaking real

havoc on real

people,

real churches,

because he hates

the church of Christ,

because he hates

Christ.

But on another level,

God is using

Satan's schemes

for his

kingdom

purposes.

Has anybody else

been feeling something

as we've been reading this?

Maybe you just haven't

put words on it.

It goes something like this.

Okay, I'm reading

Jesus saying to this church,

do not fear what you're

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'll

have tribulation.

Be faithful unto death.

Can I just ask a question,

Jesus?

Why are you letting this

happen?

Why are you letting your

people

be thrown into prison

by the devil

and then face

death?

Why are you letting

this happen,

Jesus?

Why do we have

brothers and sisters

right now

in prison in China,

North Korea,

Iran,

Nepal?

Why?

Anybody want to know

why?

Why?

The answer's in the text.

that you may be tested.

It's purposed.

There be imprisoned.

Jesus letting it happen

is purposed.

So let's take a step back

and I want to help you

understand the purpose.

Jesus was using the Jews

of Smyrna,

the Romans of Smyrna,

even Satan's schemes

in Smyrna

to carry out

the advance

of his kingdom

of grace.

Here's what you need

to know.

The suffering

of the church

of Christ

is not an obstacle

to the advance

of the kingdom.

The suffering

of the church

of Christ

is a means

to the advance

of the gospel.

Our brothers and sisters

around the world,

suffering,

it's not taken

by Jesus' surprise.

it's not outside

of his will.

It's part of his purpose.

The Lord orchestrating

events

so that Christians,

that their faith

in him

proves true

and as they remain

faithful to their

confession

that Jesus

is the Lord,

do you know

what happens?

Guards

hear the gospel.

People

in positions

of authority

hear about Jesus.

If you follow

what happened

to Paul

in the book of Acts,

you will see

that his suffering

served a kingdom

proclamation purpose.

Jesus uses

persecution

of his people

in order to purify

them

and to proclaim

his kingdom.

it's a package.

Years ago,

I was listening

to WNBI

and I heard

it was either

a Cambodian

or Vietnamese

pastor being interviewed.

He was

for decades

a pastor

of a persecuted

church in his country.

He himself

had suffered

greatly

and his church

had suffered

much

and when the host,

the American host

asked this man,

hey,

what can we be

praying for you

for?

Do you know

what this guy said?

I will never

forget it.

Don't ask God

to stop

the persecution.

I'm like,

what is he

saying?

And then he said

this,

God

uses

the persecution

of his people

like the tightening

of a violin string

so that the

persecuted church

could add

a minor key

to the praise

of the risen

and reigning

Jesus Christ.

God

uses

persecution

of his people

to prove

them

and purify

them

in order

for him

to proclaim

the kingdom

through them.

Do you know

what the pressure

of persecution

produces

in the people

of Christ?

Praise.

How glorious

and worthy

our risen

and radiant

and risen

Lord truly is

and when you

put that praise

and throw

in the backdrop

of that

dungeons

and the devil

and difficult

and death

you've got

a shocking

testimony.

Crisis is coming

church

saying to his

Smyrna

Christians

this crisis

is actually

the risen

Christ

purifying

his people

and using

them to

proclaim

his glory.

The stakes

are high

Jesus

is worth

it

be faithful

to the end

we come

to the

encouragement

verse 10

do not fear

what you're about

to suffer

be faithful

unto death

and I will give you

the crown of life

he says

don't fear

and we think

okay

okay

there's

the difficulty

there's

the devil

who's going to

throw us

into a dungeon

and then

there is

the whole

death thing

I mean really

what's not to fear

what's not to fear

and Jesus says

do not be fearing

do not be fearing

what's coming

Jesus

why are we not

to be fearing

what's coming

he says

be faithful

unto death

be faithful

to me

unto death

to not compromise

to not

shrink back

to not

step out

and hide

to not

compromise

to be faithful

unto Jesus

unto death

Jesus

Jesus

is our

king

he rules

our heart

we're not

to fear

the devil

or difficulty

or dungeons

or death

because

because he

is the first

and the last

because he

has victory

over death

and he

is promised

to give

the crown

of life

to all those

who are faithful

to the end

that crown

of life

was a laurel

wreath

that we're

giving to

victors

in the

Olympic Games

you won a race

you get a

laurel

wreath

put around

your head

and so here's

what Jesus

is saying

here

hey

if you

are to die

in Smyrna

do you know

how I think

about that

Jesus thinks

about that

as a W

as a win

for him

and the

reward

is a crown

of life

that word

life

describes

the nature

of the

crown

it is

everlasting

life

in

symbol

I've bought

you with my

blood

be faithful

to the end

and I will

crown you

with the life

I've promised

so when

remember who's

saying this

the first

and the last

he's sovereign

over all

even every

persecution

on earth

he is the

one who died

and who came

to life

he is uniquely

qualified

to hand out

a crown

of everlasting

life

he himself

died

and was

raised

this is

Christ's

encouragement

to us

do not

fear

be faithful

to me

until

death

happy

anniversary

Christ the

King

Church

the stakes

are high

Jesus is

worth it

be faithful

to the end

the closing

call

verse 11

he who has an ear

let him hear

hear what the

spirit says

to the churches

the one who

conquers will not

be hurt

by the second

death

first there's

the call

to heed

what he's

saying

take to

heart

what I'm

saying

church

take to

heart

be sobered

but be

encouraged

I'm risen

radiant

and rainy

but then

there's the

call to

overcome

like the

crown of

life

it's got a

promise

attached to

it

the one

who conquers

the one

who is

faithful

unto death

unto the

end

will not

be hurt

by the

second death

last week

the one

who conquers

in Ephesus

is the one

who keeps

Jesus

as their

first love

and they

will eat

of the

tree of

life

in paradise

now the

one who

conquers

who's

faithful

to Jesus

in the

face of

persecution

all the

way to

the end

they are

promised

that they

will not

be hurt

by the

second death

now what

is the

second death

Revelation

Revelation 20:14

chapter 20

verse 14

the second

death is

the lake

of fire

the ultimate

eternal

death

and what we

learn from

chapter 20

in Revelation

is that the

devil in his

demons

the false

prophet and

the beast

the anti-trinity

they're going to

get tossed

into the

lake of

fire

we also

learn that

death itself

gets thrown

into the

second death

the lake

of fire

we also

learn that

all who

have not

bound the

knee to

Jesus

and have

not been

faithful to

the end

their names

are not in

the book

of life

they'll get

thrown into

the lake

of fire

too

in fact

do you know

what else

gets thrown

into the

lake of

fire

all

dungeons

in the

old

earth

get thrown

into the

lake of

fire

because there's

no dungeons

in the

new

Jerusalem

but for

those of

us who

overcome

there is

no chance

no chance

whatsoever

that we

will be

thrown into

the lake

of fire

because we

got a

crown of

life on

it's been

given to

us by our

king

who's

victorious

over

death

the second

death

poses no

threat to

us

we're

destined

for a

city of

peace

the new

Jerusalem

and when

we get

there we're

going to

throw our

victor crowns

at his

glowing feet

and we're

going to

say something

we're going

to say not

to us

oh lord

not to

us

but to

your name

give glory

for the

sake of

your steadfast

love and

faithfulness

in winning

our victory

over

sin

death

and the

devil

the second

death is

no threat

to those

who are

faithful to

Jesus to

the end

in the

words of

one

LA pastor

those who

are born

once

die twice

but those

who are

born twice

die once

if you

belong to

Jesus

you've been

born twice

you need

not fear

the second

death

we're called

to overcome

brothers and

sisters the

stakes are

high

Jesus is

so worth

it

so be

faithful to

the end

this is

smelling salts

for us

in the

21st

century

and I

can't

think of

a better

word for

us to

hear on

this

anniversary

Sunday

in fact

let's

continue

celebrate the

victory

by coming

to the

table

reflecting on

the death

Jesus won

his death

over death

let's pray

Lord

Jesus

Christ

you

are the

risen

one

you are

the first

and last

God

would you

sensitize

us to

make us

aware

even

break our

hearts

for our

brothers and

sisters around

the world

and God

would you

help us

to be

faithful to

the end

it's the

name of

Jesus

we pray

amen