Revelation | Pt. 4 - The Church Of Smyrna

Revelation
Pt. 4 - The Church Of Smyrna
Revelation 2:8
Christ addresses all 7 churches the SAME
Angel = Angelos
ANGELOS - messenger; human or divine
Died & Came to life again
Revelation 2:9
Affliction = Thlipsis
THLIPSIS - heavy pressure, suffocation, tribulation
Roman torture practice
Tribulation = Poverty
Why abject poverty?
Trade Guilds = Unions (Auto, police and so forth)
To have a job you had to be a member of a trade guild
Problematic for Christians
Each trade guild had a god they worshipped
Required to attend trade guilds meetings
Began with giving thanks to the god, eating sacrificed meat, drunk, lead to other debauchery
Members were expected to attend and particpate
Christians were in between a rock and a hard place
Refuse to worship = no job
Worship false gods = abandon true God
These Christians chose to worship God
Revelation 2:10-11
5 Crowns For Believers
1. Crown of Exultation (1 Thes 2:19)
For those who win others to Christ
2. Crown of Righteousness (2 Tim 4:8)
For those who live in the expectation of Christ’s coming
3. Crown of Imperishability (1 Cor 9:25)
For those who run the race of life in purity and self-control
4. Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4)
For those who lead the church with humility
5. Crown of Life (James 1:2, Rev 2:10)
For those who endure persecution unto death
Pain
When it comes to pain and suffering all people speak the same language
We may have different backgrounds but we all relate to pain
Doesn't matter whether you are from the middle east or the east coast; pain is pain
Jesus knows our pain and suffering
"I know" - Jesus
The pain you entered here with Jesus knows
That pain is not from God
God is not your problem
These Christians experienced suffering because of people used by the devil
There is a real devil, but there is also a real God
If God is for you it doesn't matter if the devil is after you
Our God is not a distant deity, but a faithful companion in the good and not so good
Jesus never promised a life with no trouble
In fact he promised trouble
John 16:33,
We all experience pain
We can find beauty in tragedy
Pain is inevitable and unavoidable
Job 14:1
Pain is a fact of life, misery is optional
If you look around the world you will see pain and suffering
School shootings, drugs destroying families, divorce and bankruptcy, tornadoes and hurricanes, corruption and all kinds of evil
Look back in history = pain and suffering
World Wars, Evil Dictators, Plagues
Surrounded by pain in our past, present and until the Lord returns pain is in our future
Pain is a part of life
Why is pain all around us?
Simple answer = Sin
Sin brings death, pain and sorrow
God created this world pain free
But sin shattered everything like glass
Sin is why there is divorce, violence and evil
Remove sin and you remove suffering
But you cannot remove sin because we are all born into sin
"Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen to people?"
In life bad things happen to the wrong people
Sometimes life makes no sense
I'm thankful for the Bible
Jesus was asked why a man was born blind
Did he sin or his parents sin cause him to be born blind
Neither, so God would be glorified
Through our pain and suffering God in the end will be glorified
He knows the end of the story
Pain is inevitable but it has a purpose
Some allow pain to destroy them
Other allow pain to strengthen them
Through pain and rejection we find purpose and direction
Rejection is just new direction
There is a purpose for your pain
It is a piece to the puzzle that is you
Each piece matters
Your pain matters
When you go through pain it changes you
All pain changes us
You get to choose how it changes you
Bitter or better; choose better
Don't just go through the pain grow through the pain
Practical advice = where God has put a period stop trying to insert a question mark
Some things this side of heaven you will never understand
Some mysteries belong to the Lord
In your pain trust God
God sends rain on the just and unjust
Meaning we all experience pain in life
God can take your scare and turn into stars
Pain into purpose
In our times of pain we see the goodness of God
Impossible to know God as healer...
Very thing you suffered God will have you help others with
Beauty from tragedy
Hope
Rev 21 = New heaven and new earth
Revelation 21:3-4
For a lot of people the Book of Revelation is a book of doom and gloom and that is true if you do not know the Lord.
But for those of us in Christ this Book is a Book of Hope.
Revelation 21:21
Gates made of pearls
What we call a pearl is great suffering for an oyster
No accident the 12 gates of the new Jerusalem are pearls
Out of great suffering can come great beauty
Jesus knows your pain and wants to bring beauty out of the tragedy
John gives us a glimpse into what’s coming so we have hope
Zechariah 9:12
Prisoners of Hope
Job 8:13
Our nation seems hopeless because we have forgot God
Forget God = No Hope
Reverse is true | Remember God = Hope