The Poor Rich Church

Welcome to this week's message from the church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

You may be seated and turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 2, verses 8 through 11 this morning.

Revelation 2:8–11

And again, I heard y'all had a fantastic Sunday school lesson on the book of life this morning.

And if you let me encourage you, it's just getting started.

I mean, it's exciting.

Get up a little bit early, and I know, but listen, hey, hey, listen, you can sleep in heaven.

Amen.

I mean, we ought to be gaining every opportunity we can to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3.18.

So come on to Sunday school.

It's a Bible study.

It's exciting.

It really is.

We're up to about 85 in Sunday school now.

This will be our, we just completed our first year in Bible study, averaged about, oh, about 65 for the first year, but I want to jump that on up to about 100.

And I, in fact, we're going to have more rooms.

We're going to have more teachers.

So we're going to start.

So if you've got the gift of teaching and you're a covenant member, you need to be talking to me and Rick and about possibly teaching, because we're excited about that.

We're excited about getting our Bible study program really going strong here.

That's what we've been waiting on, is just room.

So I'm excited because that's where discipleship takes place.

Can I get an amen?

Right there in those those classrooms.

And the teachers, they uh they are able to just kind of oversee and and you know know what's going on in each other's life.

That they kind of the teachers and the in-reach and outreach directors of each class help me know what's going on in your lives as we grow.

See, because let me tell you what I don't want to happen.

And we were able to do this at Open Door Baptist Church for for almost 14 years.

And uh we went over a we were running 800 to 1,000 in Bible study Sunday school every Sunday morning and 1,200 and sometimes big days, 1500 in a gym.

It was unbelievable.

But we kept that oneness and that that unity and that family through that, through our Bible, hey, Bible classes.

And uh and it's very important.

And doing fellowship and getting keeping up with each other and each class helping each other and letting the pastoral staff know what's going on too.

Which uh, you know me, I most of the time I'm ahead of you.

I want to thank you for all of you that call me um a lot of you Sunday afternoon late or Sunday night and Monday about Todd DeStaffano's uh oldest daughter, you know, uh going on.

Uh well actually she committed suicide.

It was in the paper too.

So, but uh I as I left here, as I left here and pulled in the my uh driveway, uh I got the phone call uh from the chaplain that was working it and said, Hey Doc, we need you.

Well, you know, Todd the staff.

I said, Absolutely.

So I spent, I was already there and spent Sunday afternoon with that whole situation, which was not good.

So just continue to lift them up.

But anyway, thank you for calling, making sure I know and all.

Don't ever hesitate to do that.

Uh please, because sometimes I don't know, and it's good to know, so that uh our pastoral staff and our church can respond like we need to respond.

And thank all you ladies and all you people that are involved in the serving, uh getting food and giving food.

A lot of times you already have way ahead, and I I just you don't know what that does to me in my heart.

It makes me feel so just happy for you and us and our church.

Intimate fellowship, that's one of our key core values, taking care of our members and our community.

We are a community church.

We're not trying to be a Birmingham church.

We are a community church right here in Chelsea and Westover and Starrett and Harpersville and Childersburg and Wilsonville, right here.

This is who we are.

And we we are so excited about how God has just really been allowing us to minister in this area because of you.

And we need help.

We always need help.

And in fact, if you are interested in being a covenant member, and I'll tell more about that.

But tonight we're having our first covenant class fellowship of all the new covenant members.

And I think there's a bunch of you.

There's about 12, 14 families, I think, will be coming to our house tonight at 5:30 for fellowship and goodies and the council too, please.

And uh, so anyway, you should have gotten, I think, a personal invitation from Susan, so we're excited about that.

So, with all that said, are you ready?

The church at Smyrna.

Do you, by the way, does everybody have an outline?

Anyone that does not have an outline of the message we're about to look at and teach?

Anyone?

Everybody got a worship guide?

Excellent.

Excellent.

Well, today, as we look at the church at Smyrna, I've titled it the Poor Rich Church.

They were poor.

They had nothing.

Nothing.

I mean, probably out of all the seven churches, they were the poorest.

But yet they were the richest.

They had more commendations from the Lord than any of the churches.

And the church that you study today, Philadelphia, that's the only other church out of the seven that didn't have any rebuke from God at all.

So, today, though, we're going to be looking at this poor little rich church in Revelation chapter 2, verses 8 through 11.

Revelation 2:8–11

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna, write, These things saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive.

I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich.

Notice after he says, I know that you're poor, and he literally meant that.

I meant they had nothing.

He said, But yet you're rich.

You know what he just says?

That's one of the most powerful rebukes to the world that could be given.

He says, You may be poor in the world's eyes, but bless God, you're rich in my eyes.

And that's what matters, folks.

By the way, let me remind you, Jesus didn't even have a place to lay his head.

Amen.

He said, Hey, the foxes have holes, the birds have nests, but I don't even have a place to lay my head.

So somebody else was poor in material things as well, named Jesus, but yet rich in mercy and grace.

And so what a powerful statement right there, right out of the gate.

He says, and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan.

Can you believe that?

Hey, listen, he just smacked the, hey, the churches that are ungodly right in the face.

He says, Not only are you ungodly, not only do you think you're a church, he says you're the son of God.

Hey, hey, your place is a place of Satan.

My soul.

Think about that.

It's kind of like either you're a child of the king or you're a child of the devil.

Amen?

Isn't that what scripture says, said Corinthians 2?

Huh?

Hey, you're a child of the king, or you're a child of the devil.

Well, guess what?

You're a church of the king, or you're a church of Satan.

Whoa.

You said, but wait a minute, I don't worry, we don't worship Satan.

Oh, I didn't say that.

I said, hey, Satan is deceived.

You know, Satan doesn't come in and say, hey, hey, I'm here, let's worship me.

That's not the way he works.

He's a liar, and the truth's not in him.

He's the angel of light.

He comes in as wolves in the intersection.

Amen.

Oh me.

That's why a shepherd is a protector.

And Ephesus was doing a pretty good job of that.

They had just lost their pathos, their heart for God.

They had lost their honeymoon love.

But here, man, it's unbelievable.

And he says, and then he nails the unbelieving Jews.

He says, of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan, fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer.

Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison.

Wow, that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation.

Ten days, be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.

Woo-hoo! Yeah.

And then he that hath an ear, I love the way he ends each church.

He that hath an ear, let him hear.

Hear what the Spirit saith unto the church is he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Wow.

Wow.

There's no condemnation here from the Lord of this church.

The church at Philadelphia was the only other church that escaped the Lord's rebuke.

So let's see what pleased the church at Smyrna.

It's probably the smallest letter, the less said about a church, but yet the most powerful.

It really is.

So let's look at, first of all, in your outline, let's look at the assembly or the audience that is being addressed.

The city of Smyrna was a very important trade center.

She was located on a deep gul about 35 miles north of Ephesus.

It had a great harbor that could be totally enclosed in time of war, which made it such a strategic city.

And Alexander the Great rebuilt the city and determined to make it a picture of Greek mythology and Greek life.

That was his goal.

It was a city of wealth and commercial greatness and was referred to as the beautiful city.

It was a magnificent, beautiful city there.

And it received its name from one of its principal products and commercial products, which was, guess what?

You know what it was?

Yes, they they had vineyards, the wine was a big product, but their most sought-after commercial product was myrrh.

What about that?

Myrrh.

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

That's what the wise men brought to the baby Jesus.

Amen.

Myrrh came from a little short, uh thorny, fat-looking bush.

And it was bitter for its taste.

But oh, did it have a sweet, fragrant smell.

It was one of the, I meant, most sought-after perfumes of that time.

And it was used for several things.

It was used for perfumes, it was used for the holy anointing oil for the priest, it also was used for purification for women, and also embalming bodies.

So it was a very unbelievable sought after fragrance and item.

In fact, the Greek word is smornos, smornos for the word myrrh.

And here's what it means: smornos.

You know what it means?

Myrrh means suffering, it means suffering.

Myrrh was, again, a beautiful fragrant aromat.

But myrrh was a perfect symbol then.

Now watch.

Myrrh was a perfect symbol of the blessings that can come from suffering.

And even as we think about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, what a beautiful picture.

And this is what happened to the believers at Smyrna.

Now let me say something else about the church at Smyrna.

It was probably the most persecuted of all the churches.

And all were, but this one especially, and you'll see why in a little bit.

So it's a picture of how Smyrna was blessed through their suffering.

Now, how in the world, I know what you're thinking.

I don't know if I'm blessed through my suffering.

Well, if you take it like God asks you to take it, hey, and and there's a verse that we've learned in these last couple of months.

Romans 8.28 says, What?

We know, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

So through trials and tribulations comes blessings for the Christian.

Can I get an amen?

It really does.

So when you look at it from that perspective, it's a whole different understanding.

And again, in order for the spice, you know what I realized as I was studying the word myrrh and doing my homework this week?

Hey, in order for this spice to give out its full fragrance, a perfume, it had to be, are you ready?

Crushed and beaten.

It had to be crushed and beaten.

Kind of like they would do with the big, those big bolters with the wheat, and how they would grind it.

So we see right here that this is exactly what was done to the church at Smyrna.

It was crushed, it was beaten and persecuted.

It was the most afflicted and persecuted of all the churches.

But let me remind you what Paul said.

Paul said, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2 Timothy 3, 12.

And let me remind you of what Paul said in the book of Philippians, that I might know him and the power of his resurrection.

Now stop.

Let's stop right there.

I want the power of God on my life.

I do.

You got to read the next phrase.

The fellowship of his suffering.

Being made conformable unto his death.

In other words, to be like Christ means suffering.

To know Christ's power means suffering.

To know, hey, hey, to know Christ's power means suffering.

To know his protection means suffering.

To know his perseverance means suffering.

You can't walk away from suffering and be like Jesus.

Can't do it.

You can't do it.

And here we see probably the most exalted church and all the suffering that they were going through.

Now notice this.

Smyrna was an outstanding, beautiful city and claimed to be, here's the other word.

Not only was it claimed to be a beautiful city, it was named as the glory of Asia.

The glory of Asia.

Spacious streets ran throughout the city.

Now watch this.

The most famous street was called the Golden Street, lined with parts of gold.

And it began at the Temple Zeus.

And ran all the way down to the end of the street at the Temple Sibelah.

Sibela, which was the goddess of nature.

So, can you imagine?

It kind of looked like the street lined with churches.

Yeah.

Which church you want to go to?

I'm going over here to the goddess of nature.

I'm going over here to Zeus.

I'm going over here.

I mean, it was just a line.

Hey, kind of like commercial stores, you know, you came down that aisle, you started with the temple of Zeus, end up at the temple of Sibelah.

The God of nature.

So whatever you want to, or you could have a little bit of all.

A little dab a do you.

Amen.

Just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

So it was unbelievable.

All the temples were located on the same street.

The splendor of pagan worship appeared, really.

Now, watch this.

Smyrna was first in beauty, but also considered first, and here's where it gets bad.

Caesar worship.

Yeah, Caesar worship.

This really got my attention.

It was very loyal to Rome and always sided with Rome in any civil wars.

In fact, listen to this.

In 196 BC, Smyrna had erected a temple to ready for this?

Dia Roma.

Dia Roma.

You know what it stood for?

The goddess of Rome.

The goddess of Rome.

The emperor became the embodiment of Rome, and worship began to be directed toward him.

In other words, emperor worship started in the city of Smyrna.

Isn't that amazing?

Oh, yeah, they were so kissing up to Rome that, hey, they created an idea of a god, Dia Roma.

And then look what happened.

And it couldn't have happened at a better time for idol worship because Dominton, the emperor at that time, who was the one that sent John to the island of Patmos and who for ten years brought havoc to the Christians trying to kill them out.

So here he is.

And now watch.

Now here's what it was pretty good.

The emperor worship started as a demonstration of gratitude to Rome for peace and civility it brought to the world.

But toward the end of the first century, under the Emperor Dementon, it went, watch, from voluntary worship to mandatory worship.

See, it was okay as long as, you know, the goddess of Rome was uh Dia Roma was there and you had your choice.

But then by the end of the century, the Roman Emperor Dementon decided that everybody's going to worship him and that they had to, and it was evident that they had to worship him, because when they would go into their temple, they had to burn an incense to the emperor and sign a little paper, they got a little certificate.

But now listen, long as you did that, you could go back out and go and worship any other god you wanted to.

But you had to worship the emperor Caesar.

Then they didn't care.

Sound familiar?

Old Testament, Shedrat Me Shaking a bed ago?

Oh, you know, when the trumpets, when the trumpets sound, you're gonna bow.

And if you don't bow, you're going in the fiery furnace.

But if you bow, everything's okay, then go do what you want to.

Sounds like a lot of churches I know.

You just come and confess, then go do whatever you want to.

There's no righteousness, there's no preaching against sin.

There's all political correctness.

See, here you had to be politically correct.

You had to bow to the Roman emperor.

Then you could go do what you wanted to.

Worship anything you wanted to.

Anybody, any other goddess that you wanted to.

Smyrna then became a place of heroes for many of the Christians, refused to acknowledge Caesar as their Lord.

And you will study one of the most famous Polycarp, who was burned at the stake during this time.

He was 86 years old.

Very, very loved by the Christians in the community, the Christian community.

Very hated by the atheists and the non-believing Jews.

But he had been faithful for years.

And when they got ready to burn him at the stake, he said, Go do what you must do.

They said, All you got to do, and a lot of people that liked him said, Polycarp, Pastor, all you got to do is just say, Yeah.

Where's, you know, burn your little incense, get your little certificate, and keep preaching, Jesus.

He couldn't do that.

He said, Jesus has never let me down.

Jesus has protected me all my life.

I will not recant, my Lord and Savior.

And you know what he said then?

Go get the wood.

Do what you must do.

But I will not recant my loyalty to my Lord and my King.

And so he was burned at the stake.

And the last thing he said, as he was dying and being burned, he said.

I love my Lord and I'm glad to be a Christian.

Wow.

Notice the second thing.

The author or architect of the letter.

Verse 8.

In the Bible days, the author of the letter identified himself at the beginning of the letter, not the end.

And we know that the Lord wrote it.

We looked at that two weeks ago in the end beginning that he's the author, that men were used to write what he told them to write through the power and person of the Holy Spirit.

But notice what he says here.

The Lord identifies himself in verse 8 as the first and the last, as the one which was dead and is alive.

The first and the last are turned from God in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 44, verse 6 says, and I think I have it up there for you.

Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts.

I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.

Now what?

Oh, what he is saying here is powerful.

He's letting this persecuted church know that, hey, it's gonna get worse, hey, before it gets better.

But I've got good news for you.

I've already been through it.

I've already been there.

I've even suffered death itself, and I came out on the other side victorious.

So regardless of what you go through, I am with you even through death.

That's what he's telling the church.

And then I wrote this: He says, I am the supreme authority over life and death.

That's what he is.

And then I wrote this to myself.

When the trouble first begins, and I wrote it this way, when the trouble first begins, I am here.

When the trouble's going on, I am is here.

And when the trouble ends, I am is here.

I am the beginning, the end, the first, the last.

Before anything was, hey, before anything will be, I am and still will be.

That's exactly what he was telling them.

Revelations 1 and 8.

I am.

I am.

I thought about Romans 8, 35 through 37.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Can I get an amen?

Nothing.

Nothing, not anything.

Why?

We know.

The term dead and alive are in the air's tense.

This is interesting.

Indicating a completed act in the past.

In fact, as I was researching that statement, this verse can be rendered.

Which was dead but came alive again.

Which was dead but came alive again.

What he was telling the church, even because, and you'll see, over five million during this period of time, Christians were literally killed.

And you'll see some of the horrible ways they were killed.

It was unmerciful, worse than, or as bad as the Nazis that killed six million Jews.

It was terrible.

I mean, horrible.

But what he was telling them, even if you have to go through what Polycarp went through, I am with you.

And go back to verse 18 in chapter 1, Jesus says, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I'm alive forevermore.

And behold, I hold the keys of death.

I am the resurrection and the life.

He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

John 11, 25 and 26.

Powerful insight right here.

Powerful.

Unbelievable.

Our Lord consoles them by reminding them that he had passed through suffering and death and triumphed over it.

I love John 5, 24.

Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and is passed from death, condemnation, to life.

Wow.

This is who's saying this now to the church that's Myrner.

Can I say something?

He is saying the same thing to the church.

I don't need it.

Hey, he was saying the same thing at the church at CCW.

Amen.

And all our other mother churches.

Same thing.

Which brings me to the third point.

Verse 9 and 10, we see the affliction and adversity.

God said there would, notice what he said, that there would be.

They would have tribulation.

Look at it.

For ten days, indicating that they were going to undergo intense suffering.

But it would be brief.

It would be brief.

Now that's the key.

Now, others believe that the ten days here could have been a reference to the persecution under Domenton for ten years.

And there it went on about that long.

And each year representing I mean, each uh ten representing ten years.

The main thought seems to indicate a time of intense testing, though.

That's it.

The number 10 in the Bible is a number of testing, it represents testing or divine completion.

So there's a purpose in that testing.

And what was the purpose?

We know what the purpose was.

Second, in fact, put down 1 Peter 4 12.

He says, Count it not strange.

Now watch this.

Count it not strange concerning the fiery trials.

Hello.

You okay?

Fiery trials.

Why couldn't he just say trials?

Why didn't he have to say fiery?

Because the word fiery means intense suffering.

See, we get tried every day.

I get tried when I wake up every morning.

I get tried.

You know what my first test is?

Do I want to stay there and sleep or get up and go to work?

Hello?

No, now that's not a test.

Oh, yes, it is.

I know.

Hello.

Here's another test.

I don't feel good this morning, so I'm not going to work.

So you live your life by feelings.

Oh, yes.

I don't feel like going to church this morning.

It's raining.

I might have an accident.

Then you get out of bed and slip and break in.

Hello, just a thought.

Huh?

Hello.

Huh?

Huh?

I'm glad that I don't live my life by my feelings.

I'm glad, hey, that my salvation is not determined by my feelings, or I'd be a loss a lot of times.

Hello?

I'm glad that my wife doesn't determine my love toward her by my feelings.

So sometimes I'm a jerk.

Hello, don't laugh at me.

You are you're one, too, guys.

We all be jerks, and all the women said amen.

No, you're not gonna say amen on that one.

Well, thank you, darling.

I'm just not nice.

Is that a better way of saying it sometimes?

Or I'm not no, I got it.

I'm learning.

I'm not sensitive to your needs.

Amen.

Boy, that's good.

That's good, preacher.

That's good.

Amen.

Well, under your breath, the wife is saying you're a jerk.

That's Greek for jerk.

Just a thought.

But you know it's true.

My wife's been real sweet to me today.

The church at Smyrna suffered from three sources of pain.

Are you ready?

And we all do.

Here it is.

Boy, this is good.

If I was here, he'd say, That's good, preacher.

He's watching.

I know he's watching there in Texas.

Watch this.

First of all, he says, I know your tribulation.

The Greek word here for tribulation is klipsis.

Clipsis, which means pressure, affliction, trouble, anguish, burden.

It means supreme persecution.

The word was used of a man, now watch, who was tortured to death by being slowly crushed by a big bolter.

In other words, they would tie him out and they'd bring this big bolter down and just let it start easing down on him.

And they wouldn't just drop it, they would ease it down and just watch him literally just hear bones and ribs crack and oh, it was horrible.

It was awful, but that's the way they did it.

It was terrible.

It was used to describe, are you ready?

The crushing of wheat under the millstone.

The Smyrna church was under great stress, pressure, and persecution, being crushed by the Romans.

They hated and by the non-believing Jews.

They hated the Christians.

Now watch.

Jesus told them he knew what they were going through.

Have you ever thought about that?

It's your worst moment, your worst pressure, your worst burden, your worst situation you could ever possibly be in.

Jesus says, I am with you, but I know what you're feeling.

Watch this, Hebrews 4.15.

For we have a high priest who can sympathize with us in our weakness.

Hey, why?

In all points he was tempted as we are without sin.

In fact, I wrote it like this for we have a high priest that understands our weaknesses, for he, hey, he faced all the same testings we do, yet he didn't sin, yet he walked through the fiery furnaces, he walked through the, hey, hey, the depths of hell.

He was there.

He suffered it all.

And he said, You can be victorious.

And because of that, he wrote, the writer wrote verse 16, because he knows everything we're feeling, he knows what we're going through.

He knows those emotional thoughts that we're having and the down and out.

And that's why I can't stand Satan when he causes a person to kill themselves, because it's nothing but inpure thoughts and just garbage and death and destruction.

And we don't have to submit to that because we know Jesus is there.

And look at verse 16.

He says, we can come boldly to the throne of grace that, hey, we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

There's nothing that you and I are going through that the grace of God, the presence of God, the power of God, and all that God is in you.

If you submit and yield to Him, can I get an Amen?

Wow.

Wow.

Then B, He says, I know your poverty.

Now there's two Greek words here for the word poverty.

One is the word pina.

P-E-N-I-A.

Pina.

Which degree which describes the poverty of a man who has to work for a living.

That's about, I hope, about I used to say about 80% of us.

Well, in America, it's only about 50% now.

Hello.

I'm waiting.

I'm waiting for my check.

Well, don't wait too long.

Jesus may come and be gone.

See everybody lined up in heaven.

I didn't get my check.

I shouldn't.

No, I'm not going there.

Not going there.

All right.

Hey, but look at the other word.

The other word for poverty is to chia.

Which means destitution.

The implication is the person has nothing at all.

He's destitute.

It's just like Jesus in Matthew 8.20.

He didn't have a place to lay his head.

Nothing.

Nothing.

These folks were so poor that the poor folks thought they were poor.

That's how poor they were.

Really?

I'm serious.

I mean, it's the poor little rich church.

They were poor.

They were destitute.

The folks were so poor that, hey, hey, that even the poor folks thought they're poor, but here's why.

Because they're stand for Christ.

Why were they so poor?

They lost their jobs.

They lost everything.

Nobody would hire them.

Nobody would help them.

In fact, they would vandalize their homes.

They would go and steal stuff out of the homes.

And the Romans let them do it, because everybody hated them.

We've never seen that kind of persecution in America in the church.

We've never seen that.

It was horrible.

But though we were poor, or though they were poor and we were poor in money, they were rich in God's grace.

Listen, 2 Corinthians, I don't think I put this up.

God gave me 2 Corinthians 8.9.

Listen to what Paul said.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Jesus gave up everything.

Hey, hey, he gave up everything, became poor so that you and I could be rich.

And this is the picture of Jesus, the Smyrna church.

They gave up everything, materially speaking.

Reputation speaking.

Oh, you'll see in a minute the slander, the word slander there.

They slandered.

I mean, you would have thought they were the most horrible people of anybody ever in the city.

They gave up everything, everything they owned, everything they had, the reputation, everything, but yet they became rich in God's power, God's presence, God's perseverance, and God's honor.

Wow.

Now watch this.

Christians were considered disloyal to Rome because they would not worship Caesar.

Secondly, Christians were considered atheists because they would not worship the Greek and Roman gods.

Listen to this.

Christians were accused of being cannibals.

You said, what?

Yeah.

Because they misunderstood the Lord's Supper.

You know, we eat of the the bread is the body, we eat the body, and the wine is the blood, we drink the blood.

So they accused them of being cannibals.

You ready for this?

They were accused of being immoral because of their greeting each other with a holy kiss.

And then Christians were accused of being homebreakers because of the division that was caused when one spouse was saved and the other was still lost in sin.

So these are the main things that caused the whole city to hate them.

Wow.

But then there's a third thing: tribulation, poverty, and then he says, I know the blasphemer.

The blasphemy.

The Greek word for blasphemy here is blasphemia, which means slanderer.

The Jewish unbelievers hated the Christians and sought to destroy their reputations.

Can I remind you of what Jesus said?

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you.

Now listen, blessed are they that revile you and persecute you.

Now watch.

And say, are you ready for this?

All manner of evil against you, falsely for my sake.

In other words, they're gonna persecute you, they're gonna revile you, they're gonna say all hatred about you, they're gonna say things about you that's not true.

Hopefully they're not true.

Can I get an amen?

Hopefully they're not true.

That's coming.

But now notice verse 12, he says, rejoice and be exceedingly glad.

Wow.

For great is your reward in heaven.

For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Wow.

And remember, Satan's a liar and what?

The father of lies.

Powerful, powerful.

This is a strong message to every church.

He says that we are assembly of people that honor God, or we are an assembly of people that dishonor God.

Jesus said it this way: Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 10, 32 and 33.

Powerful statement.

They were confessing Christ in the midst of the worst temptation and tribulation they could face.

The appeal.

Jesus told them now what?

To be faithful unto death.

And they would receive a crown of life.

The word faithful comes from a root word which means to be convinced.

Jesus told them not to be afraid, but to depend upon Him, to be convinced of Him and let Him be their strength and courage.

Many of these believers were faithful to the death.

Remember, I told you?

Let me tell you how they killed these Christians.

Hundreds were brought into the ample theaters of Rome to be fed to hungry lions and tigers, while thousands cheered their death.

Listen to this.

Many were crucified on crosses.

Others were covered with animal skins and tortured to death and eaten by wild animals.

Then watch this now in the ample theater.

Nero did this to, hey, hey, listen.

Some were covered with, oh, this was horrible, tar or wax and set on fire to serve as torches, and he would put them up on the crosses, set them on fire while he watched his chariots race.

They were the lanterns.

God help us.

God help us.

And we think we have it back.

Unbelievable.

Well, what a testimony they had for Christ.

Listen to Mark 8:38.

Mark 8:38

Whosoever shall be ashamed to me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation.

Boy, we're living there right now.

Of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels.

Five million.

We're estimated to have been martyred for Christ during this period.

Wait, listen to the new estimate.

Grant Jeffrey, a historian, says that over the past 2,000 years, probably 50 or more million Christians have been martyred.

50 or more Christians have been martyred.

50 million.

Jesus said that those who were faithful would see receive a crown of life.

Now, the word crown here, this is awesome, are two words for crown in the Greek language.

One died.

Diadema, diadema, the royal crown that you see on the heads.

It forms our English word diadem.

The other word is Stephanos.

It's actually where my youngest daughter got her name.

Stephanos.

It means the crown one.

It means the crown or wreath of victory given to the winner in the athletic games.

As Christians, we are in a race for Christ.

It is God's desire for us to finish a race and be victorious in living our lives.

Listen to what he says in Hebrews 12:1.

Hebrews 12:1

You ought to rememorize it.

One of the best verses.

It's so applicable right here.

Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, they're up there cheering us on.

You can debate that, whether you really believe that or not.

That's okay.

I believe they're up there and they're cheering us on.

I really believe when we get in a tough spot, and when, hey, when I mean it looks like Satan's about to take us out.

I believe some of our loved ones that's going on up there.

I believe my grandmother and my granddaddy reaches over and says, Lord, he needs a little help.

He needs a little help.

And then so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us.

And then verse, the rest of it said, Let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us.

The word endurance means let us give it everything we got.

Don't ever quit.

Don't ever give up.

Don't ever quit, don't ever get up.

Yeah, but I you don't know what I'm going through.

No, I don't, but Jesus does.

He knows your feelings.

He knows where you are.

He knows how close you are to quitting.

I used to fly in private planes all the time, and man, we'd be taken off, and we'd been in the clouds, and the weather started getting a little bumpy, and I'm about ready to turn over to Byron and say, not that Byron, there was another, well, actually, it's Brian.

Brian.

And I'd say he was one of my grand assistants that flew the president's plane, took me everywhere to preach.

He'd he'd I'd turn, I'd be, oh Brian, we need to turn around, land this sucker.

And about that time we'd go, whoop.

Man, I look down there and I see the lightning and I see all this bad stuff.

And I'm up here in the most beautiful sky you've ever seen.

He said, Preacher, I told you, just hang on.

I didn't want to hang on, I wanted to get down.

Hang on.

Just as calm and beautiful.

See?

You don't know how close you are.

Popping through.

Hang on.

Don't give up.

Don't give out.

Just hang on.

The Christian life is a life of joy.

Now and for eternity.

The Stephanos was also a crown worn at joyous occasions and festivals such as weddings and Olympic occasions winning.

It was joy for the joy of the Lord is my strength.

So, what about the crowns?

Several crowns will be rewarded to the believers at the judgment seat of Christ.

You ready?

Look at them.

There's five.

Number one, the crown of glory.

Look at 1 Peter 5, 2 through 4.

How many are you are pastors?

Raise your hand.

Okay.

Do you realize there's a crown just for the pastor?

Just for the pastors.

And I would probably include those that are in leadership, serving, missionaries, pastors, all that's serving, that have the, we all have the calling to be ambassadors.

But that special calling to be that shepherd or that pastor or that bishop, that elder.

Notice what he says.

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not because you have to, not for the money, but of a ready mind.

Neither is being lords over God's heritage, you're not a dictator, but being examples to the flock.

Verse 4, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Wow.

Paul wanted this crown just as much as any Olympian would want to win the gold medal.

Listen to what Paul said in Acts 20, 24 through 28.

This is so powerful.

But none of these things move me.

Nothing's gonna keep me from pressing toward the mark.

Neither count on my life during the mistake.

It's not about me, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more.

But now look at verse 26, for I take to you record this day.

In other words, you can, hey, you can write it down in stone that I am pure from the blood of all men.

For I'm not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to feed the church of God, which he had purchased with his own blood.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna tell you something.

When I or any man or woman stands up here and teaches you the word of God, they are held under such a strict accountability that God better be honored and glorified.

Listen to me, you don't just get up here and start talking.

You get up here with the power of God, with the word of God, through the instruction of the Holy Spirit of God.

And that doesn't just happen in a few minutes.

Amen.

That's right.

James says, James talks about being a teacher.

You may think you like the grandeur and the glory and all that, but I've got news for you, folks.

Do you realize Hebrews 13 says that I'll give an account to God?

Hey, Himself, for everything that I teach you, shepherd you, how I love you, shepherd you, take care of you.

And I'm convinced that we don't need preachers that don't like people.

Preach on introverts.

Tired of it.

I had a preacher tell me the other day I love preaching, studying on, but I just don't like people and problems.

I looked at him, I said, Well, you don't like yourself.

He looked at me, he said, Well, I said you're a problem.

We're all problems.

Save by God's grace.

Can I get an amen church?

All my righteousness is filthy rags.

God told me another day, he said, I'm just looking for the perfect church.

I said, Don't join it because it won't be perfect anymore.

Amen.

Hello.

You okay at that church?

Every time.

Then, secondly, watch there's the crown of righteousness.

Look at 2 Timothy 4, 7, 8.

For those who look forward to the return of Christ, they are faithful and live a godly life.

Faithful and live a godly life.

Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all those who love his appearing.

Our expectancy of the Lord's return should motivate us to live righteously.

I've never heard so much commotion over an eclipse.

My soul, can I get y'all as excited about the expectancy of Jesus coming back?

Man, everybody's gotta buy these.

Everybody sold out of the glasses.

Well, bless God, when the rapture takes place, you won't need glasses.

Oh, you gone.

Hey man! Never heard anything like it.

Oh, we gotta go up to the mountains.

My wife even said, bless her.

You think we ought to go to the cabin?

It's gonna be right there, blah blah blah.

Sensitive meaning.

Sensitive.

Now let me get this right.

Now let me get this right.

And eclipse.

Sun, moon, earth.

Something covering the sun.

Is that correct?

It's the moon.

So we gotta get excited about the moon, too.

The moon coming over the eclipse.

Hundred years this hadn't happened.

No?

Yeah, yeah, but it's a hundred years since it's come in this alignment.

Because in another time they're gonna come back from this side and have another alignment.

I got news for you.

Praise the Lord for the eclipse.

Because God makes this happen, by the way.

But I'm gonna tell you what, I'm more excited about one day the trumpet's gonna sound, and the dead and Christ are gonna rise first, and those which are alive and remain shall be coming up together with him in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air.

We're gonna fall comfort one another with these words.

Now that's what I'm excited about.

Amen.

Man.

The crown of righteousness, the expectation, hey, the expectation of Jesus coming.

Now, see, let me, I'm gonna throw this in real quick.

To say that the rapture occurs in the middle of the tribulation, which is the mid-trib, see, that's why I don't agree with that.

It takes away all the surprise and the expectation and the expectancy of Jesus coming as a thief when no man knows the hour time.

Oh, oh, but if you're in a minute, you say, well, now he's coming, it's time for me to get ready.

Hmm.

Just stay with the Bible.

Just stick with the truth.

Amen.

Just stay right there.

Think about that now.

For all you med-tribers, I know I've got some watching.

Just think about it.

And I know which verses you're gonna come.

In fact, you're gonna use some of the verses I've used about us enduring tribulation.

I understand, but that'll take a long time, and you buy me lunch and we'll talk about it.

Number three, the crown of life.

For those who love the Lord and are faithful in testing.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he has tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

Folks, you gotta you gotta stay true when the trials come.

You can't give up, can't give in, don't quit.

Keep on keeping on.

Then, number four, the crown of rejoicing.

You had the crown of righteousness, you had the crown of glory, you have the crown of life.

Now we have the crown of rejoicing.

This is one of my favorite.

It's winning people to Jesus.

That's why you invite people.

That's why you give out the life and death tracts.

That's why you invite people, you share Jesus, you tell them Jesus is awesome and why he's awesome.

You do that and you say, Well, I've never actually led somebody one-on-one to Christ.

If you've invited them to the church, if you're giving them a Bible, you're giving them a track, you know, whatever.

They get saved.

You have a part in that.

Do you understand?

You have a part in that.

You're gonna get a crown.

Some of you are gonna have crowns of rejoicing that you don't even know about when you get up there.

You know why?

You invite them to go to church, they didn't come to your church, you didn't even know it.

But bless God, they went somewhere, got saved somewhere, and you had a part in that.

You're gonna look over there and the guy in heaven's gonna say, Here's your here, here's your wheelbarrow full of crowns for rejoicing.

Oh.

And all of a sudden you're gonna, and maybe, I don't know.

Well, you'll know, you'll you'll probably know, then you'll realize, oh yeah, I said this.

Or maybe they'll say, Hey, you remember when you did this?

You remember when you shed that?

Remember when you took them, remember when you fed them?

Remember when you gave them some money, or you fed them and you gave them a track?

We used to have people get saved with our tracks.

At Open Door Baptist Church, we were called the, hey, the half-gun track will travel.

We would give out a thousand tracks a week.

Open door Baptist Church tracks.

I mean, everywhere you went, you couldn't go to the bathroom, you couldn't, you'd have them, they would be pinned up on everywhere.

And we'd have one or two people call us monthly and get saved through the telephone ministry that TV we were on TV, all that though, because they picked up a track.

We'd have people of worship come to our service because they picked up a track.

Anyone can give a track.

You can give a track going through McDonald's.

You say, but I'm shy.

Don't say anything, just say, woo, boom.

Just leave it on the table.

With a good tip.

Don't leave a track with 50 cents.

And be thinking the other thing about you.

No.

Leave a good tip.

And then the last crown.

Well, I didn't, I gotta read the verse.

For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of rejoicing are not even ye in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ as coming, for ye are our glory and joy.

In other words, the people that have been saved, that you have influences, hey, that you've had an influence on, you're gonna get a crown.

That's awesome.

That's awesome.

Every once in a while.

I swore I'd never get on Facebook, but actually I've enjoyed it.

But now if anybody says anything, I'll I'll deface you real quick.

Defringe you.

I'll deface you real quick, folks.

Don't y'all like me.

Don't you like my, I mess up so much and you get to laugh at me.

Don't you enjoy that?

I enjoy laughing at myself.

Hey, now what's this?

What's this?

Every once in a while, somebody on Facebook said, Dr.

Love it.

I know you don't remember me.

But I was in your adventures with some class at Liberty University.

And I taught 800 to a thousand days every class.

And they say, I know you don't.

But that class changed my life.

So you never know.

You never know.

Can you imagine when you get to heaven, Rick?

Hey, Ricky! I like to call him Ricky every once in a while.

You remember that stupid thing you did with the motorcycle that bout ran over the preacher's head?

I got saved.

Changed my, that's right, 37 that night.

I got saved.

Children's church.

Trunk or tree coming up.

35 last year got saved.

We got some couples in here right now because of that.

Amen.

Remember that ice cream truck where you just coming through giving away free ice cream in a track?

I got saved.

Wow.

Folks, that's what I'm talking about.

You're always sharing Jesus.

Always.

And then the incorruptible crown.

Let me remind you, Proverbs 11:30, he that wins souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:30

The incorruptible crown, for the believer that subdues his body, keeps it under control, and finishes his course for the glory of God.

Look at what he says.

Now, Paul says, Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize, so run that you may obtain.

And every man that strives for the mastery, for the goal, is temperate in all things.

That means he's got self-control.

Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we are incorruptible.

I therefore so run not as uncertainty.

In other words, I've got a goal, I know what I'm supposed to do, and I'm doing it.

So fight.

I, not as one that beats there.

I'm not just trying to go through life.

It is what it is.

No, it is what you make it through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's not, it is what it is.

Jesus Christ is.

Amen.

And then he says, not as beating there, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection unless it by any means I have preached to others, I myself shall not be a castaway.

The Lord is coming soon.

And he says, I'll bring my reward with me.

Behold, I come quickly, my reward is with me to give every man according to his work shall be.

Revelations 22, 12.

Wow.

Okay.

What are we gonna do with these crowns?

You ready?

Revelations 4.10.

We're gonna cast them at his feet.

Woohoo! The 24 elders fell down before him, sits, hey, before him who sits on the throne and worships him who lives forever and ever.

And cast their crowns before the throne, saying, What a mighty God we serve.

Is that not gonna be awesome?

I don't wanna, hey, I don't wanna, I don't want to dump.

I don't want a uh wheelbarrow full of crowns.

I want a dump truck full of crowns.

Amen.

Now listen, those five crowns I just gave you are powerful.

That's what you will be judged at the beam of judgment seat.

That's what you will be rewarded.

Those are very powerful.

Don't you take those home and and and read them.

Now, I got three minutes.

I'm joking.

Overcomer.

What is an overcomer?

Say, I told you, I'm gonna dig the nuggets.

You just hit that word overcomer, and here's what you think.

Most commentaries say this.

You know what they say?

You're victorious, you got saved, you're living for the Lord, you're an overcomer.

But what does that really mean?

You're living for the Lord, you're an overcomer.

What does it really mean?

All right, I'm gonna let you fill in the blanks.

Ready?

Number one.

The subjection of your body is essential.

We just talked about it.

Having control, hey, of your body, of your thoughts, everything that you are.

Here's what it means: that you have spiritual discipline.

Amen.

You study the words, you pray, you're faithful to your church, your Bible study, your i.

That's what it means.

Secondly, satanic temptation must be resisted.

By staying in the word.

1 Peter 5, 8 and 9.

By the way, we just read the verses on subject in your body, 1 Corinthians 9, 27.

But now watch this.

He says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.

Verse, the next verse 9, resist him by being what?

Steadfast in the faith.

Now, what does that mean?

Faith cometh by hearing.

Hearing by the what?

Word of God.

So you're steadfast in the word.

Your s hey, your sword, your offensive weapon.

Good.

You walk in the spirit.

Walk in the spirit and do not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5, 16.

Then number three, hey, you're you are steadfast in your spirit and attitude.

What does that mean?

1 Corinthians 15 58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Now watch.

For as much as you know that your labors not in vain.

And Paul put it this way this one thing I do, I forget those things which are behind, I reach forth for those things which behind.

Or before I pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in and through Christ Jesus.

You've got to be steadfast.

And by the way, have the right attitude.

We have a lot of people that are steadfast but have a bad attitude.

You gain nothing.

I have one of the greatest leaders.

You know what, John Maxwell, you've read his books.

If you read anything on literature, you know what he said?

The greatest qualification a person has for him to hire is not his ability.

It's his attitude.

Did you hear me?

It's not his ability.

It's his attitude.

He says, I can teach him the ability part, but I can't teach him the attitude part.

Whoa! Whoa! You ever been around somebody that's complaining, has a bad attitude?

What do you want to do?

Yeah, leave.

Get me out of here.

Or you want them to leave.

Would you please go talk to that person over there?

And isn't it amazing that the what's that old saying, the birds of a feather?

I can gift you in a room of a hundred people and the negative ones are gonna be sitting together.

Give them ten minutes, they'll be sitting together.

Give them one break, they'll be together.

Man, that instructor.

You know how we're wasting our time.

We paid$100 to be here.

We've got to be here all day.

No, you don't leave.

Or you're here in the church.

Uh oh, I'm really fixing it.

Well, yeah, not in the church.

You come in, and man, oh the preacher, the preacher, you know, he's he he preaches too too long.

Don't you say anything?

He preaches too short.

He didn't even shake my hand.

He didn't hug my neck.

I mean, it's just on and on and on and on.

Or you're sitting back there doing uh texting or whatever, and not paying a bit a bit of attention.

All that stuff.

See, that's that's attitude.

That's all about attitude.

I I leave my phone in my car on Sunday morning because it starts beeping.

And you know what?

Here's what happened.

That thing goes, you say, Well, I've got it on silence, and it goes, all of a sudden you don't hear another word.

I said, I wonder who that is.

It could be my kind.

Never pleasing.

Never pleasing.

Folks, come on.

Don't, you don't have to live that way.

Amen.

I don't have to live that way.

Hey, I'm guilty some too.

Hey, I'm not just preaching to everybody else.

I'm preaching to me.

I can get sometimes, you know what my mine is?

I just don't get any respect.

Nobody appreciates me.

We're just going over there.

And and when I get that way, you know, my wife, she doesn't come calling me, oh honey, I love you.

She just says, hey.

Yeah.

Get in the word.

Get in the book.

All right, number four, supplications.

Should be made to the Lord consistently.

Ask, and it shall be given you seeking, you shall find knock.

It shall be open unto you.

Everyone that asketh, receive, and he that seeketh findeth, and him that hey, knocketh, it shall be open.

Matthew 7, 7, and 8.

And number five, spiritual strength and growth.

You gotta grow.

You gotta be in the book.

You gotta be in church.

I mean, it's all there.

Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Number six, the sinful lifestyle and crowd should be avoided.

I want you to see these verses.

Folks, you can't run.

Hey, you can't run with the wrong crowd.

You can't fellowship with the wrong crowd.

That's the hardest thing I have a lot of people I disciple.

They can't let go of that past life and those past friends.

And here's what they say.

Well, I'm gonna change them.

You know what happens?

It always happens this way.

No, they bring them back.

They bring them back.

Why do you think he says?

Have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Ephesians 5 11.

But what?

Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil.

Avoid it, do not travel on it, turn away from it, and pass on.

Can I get an amen?

Whew! That's good.

That's good.

Evil communications corrupt good morals.

1 Corinthians 15, 33.

Then number seven, speech.

My mama used to say, and I don't like the word, shut your mouth.

That's what you'd say when I was talking bad.

Shut your mouth.

Our tongue creates many problems for us when it's not kept in check.

Can I get a can we all say amen?

Learn to be quiet.

Psalms 39:1 says this.

Psalms 39:1

I said, David said, I said, I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue.

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth.

Keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalms 19, 14.

The words of my mouth, let the words of my mouth, meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Psalms 14, 19.

Last thing.

This is it.

Now, folks, those are powerful statements.

Subjection of your body, satanic temptation.

We gotta get it out.

Steadfast with the right attitude, serving and getting excited, praying, spiritual strength, staying in the word, the sinful lifestyle, stay away from those that pull us down or get us back.

Hey, hey, and then watch what we say, how we say it, and then the last thing support and strengthen others.

You gotta get involved in other people's lives.

Amen.

You got to get involved in other people's lives.

That's an overcomer.

Isn't that good?

Somebody say that's good, preacher.

So today you've learned how to be an overcomer.

Even through the persecution.

Amen.

That's it.

Church, let me tell you why God's blessing this church.

We're learning to be overcomers.

We really are trying to do what God's word tells us to do.

And I'm have you noticed how that's a battle every day to do that?

Every day.

You say, hey, it's even a battle with your preacher.

Satan will try to.

And again, I love my phone, but it's in the car.

I mean, even at 6:30, 6 o'clock, you start hearing that phone beep, beep, getting off.

Boop, boop, boop.

And next thing you know, you're involved in whatever's on the phone, and and in between your quiet time and your prayer time.

Unplug that thing, set it for an hour or 30 minutes where nobody but you and the Lord can have a little bit of time together every day.

It'll make a difference in your life.

Amen.

I love you.

I know it's been a little tough today, but I love you.

And you know I don't do it out of legalism, out of math.

I don't, I, I don't, I don't think that way.

But I'm telling you, we're living in the last days.

And when I look at this church at Smyrna, I have to ask God to forgive me.

The way they were persecuted and the way they stood when nobody else would stand, the way they were reliced, and the way they they never gave in to denouncing who God really was.

Burned at the stake.

Folks, that's powerful.

I don't think American Christianity's there.

How many of us would be crucified and lined up out there on that property, Darren?

And then set on fire.

Huh?

You can't even fathom that.

You can't conceive that.

I can't either.

And then now I know who's gonna be.

Can I go ahead and tell you something about those crowns?

Those kind of martyrs, those kind of sufferers, those are the ones that's gonna be in the front line.

Those are the ones not gonna have a dunk truck load.

They're gonna have semi-trailer loads.

The cast at Jesus' face.

We're spoiled rotten Christians.

I didn't call you that, I called me that.

I'm a spoiled rotten Christian.

That's what I am.

That's what I am.

And Lord forgive me.

Lord forgive me.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.