WEBVTT 00:00:05.290 --> 00:00:07.490 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of 00:00:07.490 --> 00:00:09.910 Trinity Sermons. This week we are continuing 00:00:09.910 --> 00:00:13.289 our sermon series called Dear Church, where we're 00:00:13.289 --> 00:00:15.830 looking at the letters in the book of Revelation 00:00:15.830 --> 00:00:18.989 from Christ to the churches. And this week we 00:00:18.989 --> 00:00:21.750 are looking at the church of Smyrna, which was 00:00:21.750 --> 00:00:25.070 going through a lot of really hard times, a lot 00:00:25.070 --> 00:00:27.050 of persecution, a lot of difficult situations. 00:00:27.550 --> 00:00:30.109 And so what does Christ have to say to the church 00:00:30.109 --> 00:00:32.840 in the midst of hard times? And what does Christ 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.340 have to say to us in the midst of our hard times? 00:00:39.939 --> 00:00:43.380 Our reading today are from the book of Revelations, 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:46.780 beginning with chapter 1, verses 4 to 5, and 00:00:46.780 --> 00:00:51.640 chapter 2, verses 8 to 11. John to the seven 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:55.079 churches in the province of Asia, grace and peace 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:59.280 to you from him who is, and who was, and who 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:02.460 is to come. and from the seven spirits before 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:06.299 his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the 00:01:06.299 --> 00:01:09.439 faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:13.640 and the ruler of all kings of the earth. To the 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:17.780 angels of the church in Smyrna write, These are 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:20.659 the words of him who is the first and the last, 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:25.000 who died and came to life again. I know your 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:28.599 afflictions and your poverty, yet you are rich. 00:01:29.230 --> 00:01:32.090 I know about the slander of those who say they 00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:35.409 are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of 00:01:35.409 --> 00:01:38.890 Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:42.329 to suffer, I tell you. The devil will put some 00:01:42.329 --> 00:01:45.890 of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer 00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:49.849 persecution for ten days. Be faithful even to 00:01:49.849 --> 00:01:52.769 the point of death, and I will give you life 00:01:52.769 --> 00:01:57.379 as your victor's crown. Whoever has ears, Let 00:01:57.379 --> 00:02:00.260 them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:04.920 The one who is victorious will not be hurt at 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:08.599 all, but by the second death, the word of the 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:13.460 Lord. C .S. Lewis, who was a writer of Mere Christianity 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:16.080 and the Chronicles of Narnia, he went through 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.620 a period of pretty intense pain and suffering 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:20.780 in his life when his wife, whose name was Joy, 00:02:21.020 --> 00:02:24.300 got sick with cancer and ended up passing away. 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.620 He wrote in a journal throughout that whole time. 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:30.439 That journal became a little book. And so in 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.740 this book, which is called Grief Observed, you 00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:35.419 can hear about his reflections on grief. But 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:38.979 also throughout this book, he kind of does a 00:02:38.979 --> 00:02:41.539 little bit of... complaining about how some people 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:44.620 tried to say things to comfort him during his 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:48.560 grief, and it just didn't work out so well. So, 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:51.099 for example, let me read to you. He says, people 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:54.479 would tell me, oh, she's happy now, his dead 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:58.539 wife. They'd tell me she's at peace. What makes 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:01.400 them so sure of this? Why are they so sure that 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:03.680 anguish ends with death? How do they know that 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:08.080 she's at rest? They tell me that she's in God's 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.979 hands. But if so, wasn't she in God's hands all 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:16.379 the time? They say she will live forever in my 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:20.680 memory. Live. That is exactly what she won't 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:24.620 do. As if I wanted to fall in love with my memory 00:03:24.620 --> 00:03:28.560 of her. And then he says this great line. He 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:32.159 says, I do want other people to be around me. 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:35.819 But if only they would talk to one another and 00:03:35.819 --> 00:03:39.699 not to me. It's hard to know what to say to people 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:41.240 when they're in the midst of grief, and maybe 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:43.240 you know that, or maybe you've had someone try 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:44.939 to say something to you when you were grieving 00:03:44.939 --> 00:03:47.159 and it didn't help, or maybe it even made things 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:49.460 worse. Friends, I don't need to tell you that 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:52.979 all around our world, people are suffering and 00:03:52.979 --> 00:03:55.580 there is deep grief. Of course, we all witnessed 00:03:55.580 --> 00:03:59.099 the horrible public assassination of Charlie 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:02.960 Kirk this past week. And we are grieving that 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:04.819 this happened. And we're grieving what is our 00:04:04.819 --> 00:04:08.180 world becoming where such acts of violence become, 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.599 you know, or something that we see right in front 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:12.780 of our eyes and our kids see them in front of 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:15.479 their eyes and so on. What's going on in our 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:18.709 world? What's going on closer to home? You're 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:20.370 probably grieving. Some of you are going through 00:04:20.370 --> 00:04:22.509 tough times now. Maybe it's at home. Maybe it's 00:04:22.509 --> 00:04:24.149 with your help. Maybe you're grieving the loss 00:04:24.149 --> 00:04:27.310 of a loved one like C .S. Lewis was. Family, 00:04:27.449 --> 00:04:31.800 health, money, jobs. Whatever. You know, 2 ,000 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:35.959 years ago, Jesus used a human author whose name 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:38.860 was John to write a bunch of letters to some 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:42.420 churches throughout Asia Minor. And one of the 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:45.100 churches that he wrote a letter to was a church 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:47.579 that was going through a very intense period 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:52.399 of suffering and pain. The church was in the 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:58.360 city of Smyrna. And they were in a moment of 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:02.279 severe Roman persecution at that time. I mean, 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:04.079 there was suffering, there was death, it was 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:07.500 horrible. And so Jesus sends a letter to that 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:11.160 church. And unlike us, Jesus knew exactly what 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:14.279 to say to people who were suffering. And so today, 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:15.660 all we're going to do is we're going to open 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:17.459 up that letter and we're going to read it ourselves. 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:21.620 Why? Because if not now, someday you're going 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:23.920 to be in a place of suffering. Suffering comes 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:28.050 for us all. and it is really good for us to know 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:32.029 what Jesus says to those who suffer. And so we're 00:05:32.029 --> 00:05:33.589 going to go through this, and to guide us, I've 00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:36.009 divided this sermon into four parts. We're going 00:05:36.009 --> 00:05:37.930 to talk about the setting of Smyrna. What is 00:05:37.930 --> 00:05:39.689 this city all about? We're going to talk about 00:05:39.689 --> 00:05:43.230 the suffering in Smyrna, the solace that Jesus 00:05:43.230 --> 00:05:46.170 has for Smyrna, and finally, we're going to share 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:50.850 one story that comes out of Smyrna. And I've 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:53.370 created some sermon notes for you to follow along, 00:05:53.470 --> 00:05:55.319 and of course, Those sermon notes are also available 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:59.319 on our church app. Smyrna. Let's talk about the 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.920 setting of Smyrna. What about this city? It was 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:05.860 located about 35 miles north of Ephesus, which 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:09.730 was the church that we studied last week. which 00:06:09.730 --> 00:06:12.069 is about the distance from here to Oakville, 00:06:12.230 --> 00:06:16.829 just no traffic, right? And Smyrna was built 00:06:16.829 --> 00:06:18.550 by the Greeks. It was built on this beautiful 00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:20.870 hill right along the sea. It was built about 00:06:20.870 --> 00:06:23.670 1000 BC. A few hundred years later, it was totally 00:06:23.670 --> 00:06:26.470 destroyed. And then 100 years or so later, it 00:06:26.470 --> 00:06:30.250 was rebuilt into a glorious city. And so like 00:06:30.250 --> 00:06:34.930 Jesus, Smyrna had died and come back from the 00:06:34.930 --> 00:06:37.230 dead. And if you want to find Smyrna on a map 00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:39.579 today, it goes by... by a different name, it's 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:44.220 the Turkish city of Izmir, okay? Back in the 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:49.060 day, Smyrna was glorious. It was considered to 00:06:49.060 --> 00:06:53.060 be, like, the most beautiful city in Asia. And 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:56.019 I mean, like, the, right? It was because, again, 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:58.720 because it was built on this hill, the whole 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.500 city kind of sloped down into the water. And 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:03.839 on the top of the hill, it was like a crown with 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:05.379 all these beautiful buildings. And then on the 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:07.699 slopes going down, there was these amphitheaters 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:13.439 and temples and parks and colonies. It was amazing. 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:17.639 There was a stadium in Smyrna that held 20 ,000 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:21.220 people, which is just a few more people than 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:27.060 we had at church last week. It was a famous city 00:07:27.060 --> 00:07:29.660 because it was also the birthplace of Homer. 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:33.500 And I'm not talking about Homer Simpson. I'm 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:35.839 talking about the Greek poet Homer, right? So 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:38.860 Smyrna was, in some writings, called the first 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:44.910 city in Asia. the glory of Asia. So Smyrna was 00:07:44.910 --> 00:07:47.790 glorious, right? But it wasn't just the glory 00:07:47.790 --> 00:07:51.649 of Asia. It was the religious city in Asia too. 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:55.050 Its skyline was dotted with different temples. 00:07:55.170 --> 00:07:58.089 And there was a temple to Zeus here. There was 00:07:58.089 --> 00:08:00.449 a temple to Aphrodite there. There was a temple 00:08:00.449 --> 00:08:03.050 to Apollo. All sorts of different gods were honored 00:08:03.050 --> 00:08:06.339 in Smyrna. But Smyrna... was the birthplace of 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:09.699 a very unique kind of religion that became very, 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:11.899 very important. And that was the religion of 00:08:11.899 --> 00:08:17.329 emperor worship. Smyrna, I think, became like 00:08:17.329 --> 00:08:21.490 the very first city to build a temple to an emperor. 00:08:21.790 --> 00:08:24.149 It was Emperor Tiberius. There was actually a 00:08:24.149 --> 00:08:25.790 competition. Who's going to get to build the 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:28.209 temple to Tiberius? And Smyrna, the beautiful, 00:08:28.329 --> 00:08:31.050 glorious city, won. It was a huge honor. And 00:08:31.050 --> 00:08:33.289 it shows you how committed they were to this 00:08:33.289 --> 00:08:36.929 whole idea of worshiping the emperor, worshiping 00:08:36.929 --> 00:08:39.529 Caesar. And other emperors that came along later 00:08:39.529 --> 00:08:43.730 would get their temples too, Hadrian and Domitian. 00:08:43.789 --> 00:08:47.409 And Smyrna was, so it was a very religious place. 00:08:47.490 --> 00:08:52.070 In many ways, it was very, very religious. Smyrna 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:56.350 was also known as Smyrna the Fragrant. Because 00:08:56.350 --> 00:08:59.950 you see, the name of the city, Smyrna, it took 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:02.690 its name from one of its chief exports. Can you 00:09:02.690 --> 00:09:13.320 guess what it is? Smyrna. Myrna. Myrna. That's 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:18.259 right, myrrh. Myrrh. Myrrh gets used as a perfume, 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:21.779 of course. It's a medicine. Bodies were embalmed 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:24.340 with myrrh. It was actually one of the most valuable 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:27.440 commodities in the ancient world, which makes 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.980 Smyrna this big hub of commerce. It was a bustling 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:35.220 port city. And you'll know that myrrh plays an 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:37.860 important part in Scripture, of course, right? 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:40.539 It was one of the gifts that the Magi brought 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:43.000 to the baby Jesus, myrrh. It's the one that in 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:46.549 the pageants the kids can never pronounce. It 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:49.909 was when Jesus was on the cross, they offered 00:09:49.909 --> 00:09:52.470 him wine mixed with myrrh as a bit of a painkiller. 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:56.350 And when he was wrapped up after his death, we're 00:09:56.350 --> 00:09:59.009 told that among all the spices they used to embalm 00:09:59.009 --> 00:10:03.809 his body, there was myrrh in there as well. And 00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:07.549 so myrrh is actually always associated, therefore, 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:10.820 with suffering. and pain, which makes it a very 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:15.120 fitting name, the city of Smyrna, given what 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:17.000 the church was going through, because that church 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:22.320 was suffering. The church in Smyrna was persecuted 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.440 and suffered horribly. You know, it's interesting. 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:27.399 In all of Jesus' seven letters to those seven 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:29.299 churches, he usually has some kind of a critique 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:32.340 to offer to these churches. You know, last year, 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:34.659 last week, rather, you remember he said, Ephesus, 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:36.860 I hold this against you. And he said they had 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:38.860 lost their first love and all this stuff. But 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:41.960 Jesus has nothing really bad to say to the people, 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:43.840 to the church of Smyrna. That's because Jesus 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:47.580 knew that this church in this city was suffering 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.940 and amazing. major, major way. So what caused 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:55.440 Smyrna to suffer so much? What did that look 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.860 like? Well, in verse 9 of our reading, there 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:01.460 are three really kind of telling Greek words 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:04.620 that describe the kind of suffering. We read 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:08.039 that, I know your afflictions, Greek word phlipsis, 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:13.759 and I know your poverty, which is tohea, and 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:18.429 I know about the slander, blasphemy. Okay? So 00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:19.870 let's just look at these three words and figure 00:11:19.870 --> 00:11:22.110 out what they were enduring there in Smyrna so 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:25.409 long ago. First, Jesus says, I know about your 00:11:25.409 --> 00:11:28.730 flipsis. I know about your affliction. The word 00:11:28.730 --> 00:11:31.730 flipsis actually means pressure. It means, you 00:11:31.730 --> 00:11:34.389 know, a heavy, heavy weight has been placed on 00:11:34.389 --> 00:11:36.370 something. It's like, imagine if you were at 00:11:36.370 --> 00:11:39.269 the gym and you were lifting like heavy, heavy 00:11:39.269 --> 00:11:43.649 free weights like I do every morning. But the 00:11:43.649 --> 00:11:46.169 bar slips and it lands on your chest and you 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:48.509 can barely breathe and you can't get it off and 00:11:48.509 --> 00:11:49.789 you're being pressed and you're being pressed 00:11:49.789 --> 00:11:51.350 and you're pressed. That's kind of the meaning 00:11:51.350 --> 00:11:55.409 of flipsis. It's like the mill wheel that grinds 00:11:55.409 --> 00:11:58.990 the wheat through pressure. It's like the grapes 00:11:58.990 --> 00:12:01.860 that have the juice. pressed out of them through 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:05.879 pressure. That is how it felt constantly to be 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:10.059 a Christian in Smyrna. Constant pressure. And 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:13.240 I mean, some of you here, you know that feeling. 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:14.840 Even this morning, some of you feel like you 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:17.080 have weight on your shoulders, you would say, 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:20.340 rather than your chest. But you feel like, oh, 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:22.460 I can barely breathe. I got so much going on 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:24.700 in my life. I feel the weight. I feel like I'm 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:27.740 being crushed. But I have to tell you, in Smyrna, 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:31.299 it was extreme, extreme what they were suffering. 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:33.659 And it all came down to that emperor worship 00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:36.299 thing, right? Every citizen in Smyrna was supposed 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:38.340 to go to the temple once a year, give a little 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:41.580 bit of incense. and say, Caesar is Lord. But 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:43.139 of course, Christians who believe that Jesus 00:12:43.139 --> 00:12:45.480 is Lord were not willing to do that and did not 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.700 do that. And so they were branded as disloyal 00:12:47.700 --> 00:12:49.960 and they were seen as treasonous and they were 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:54.179 persecuted. Some of them were tortured to death. 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.299 They were imprisoned. Right? Some Christians 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:02.100 in Smyrna were put on the rack. Yes, the rack. 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:05.399 Like medieval, like will rip you from limb to 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:09.279 limb. Some were thrown in pots of boiling oil. 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:14.539 Some were crucified. Many were thrown to the 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:18.019 lions in that stadium that we looked at. And 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:22.259 eaten. And people just watched for sport. And 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:24.940 I suppose... What I think might be one of the 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:26.779 most painful is some of them were just burned 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:30.480 at the stake, you know, just tied there and set 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:34.940 on fire. I mean, and Jesus says, I know your 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:38.659 flips. Right. I know your afflictions. I know 00:13:38.659 --> 00:13:40.559 the pain that you're suffering. So that's the 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:44.679 pressure they were under. But I should say poverty 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:51.299 has created a new word. But Jesus also knew about 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:55.080 their destitution. Right. In Greek, there's actually 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:57.639 more than one word for poverty. There's a one 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:01.639 word, which means you're kind of living, you 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.120 know, day to day, hand to mouth. You're like 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:07.460 working poor, like you're barely scraping by 00:14:07.460 --> 00:14:09.840 like, oh, geez, I'm just barely making it. Maybe 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.779 some of you know that kind of level of poverty 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:15.679 in your own life. But actually, that's not the 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.100 word that's used to describe the poverty that 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:20.580 the Christians of Smyrna were enduring. The word 00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:24.759 instead is this word. which means absolute destitution 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.740 right the smyrna christians weren't just struggling 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.639 they had nothing because following jesus had 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:34.039 cost them economically they had been looted they 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:35.940 had been boycotted they had been robbed their 00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:38.080 stores had been burned down right they weren't 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:40.299 even allowed to like sell stuff in the marketplace 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:43.240 because once they were known as christians well 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:44.779 who's going to trade with you and once you're 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:46.279 known to be a christian well who is going to 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:49.559 employ you And again, some of you might know 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:52.000 a little bit about this. Maybe you lost a job, 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:54.279 feel you were overlooked for an opportunity because 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:58.039 of your faith. But these people could not provide 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:04.159 for their families, right? Persecution is hard 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:06.580 enough as it is. A weight on your shoulders is 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:11.460 hard. But you add to that like economic devastation, 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:16.500 poverty, the load gets so, so much heavier. So 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:18.600 Jesus knew about their philipsis. He knew about 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:20.840 the pressure. Jesus knew about their tohea. He 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:23.860 knew about the poverty. But he also knew about 00:15:23.860 --> 00:15:27.820 the blasphemia. And that is a Greek word that 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.730 gets translated as slander. And it refers to 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:33.250 all these malicious lies that people were spreading 00:15:33.250 --> 00:15:36.070 about the Christians in Smyrna. Especially Jewish 00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:38.769 groups who, according to Jesus, weren't really 00:15:38.769 --> 00:15:41.350 Jews. They were part of the synagogue of Satan. 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:44.370 But these people were spreading horrible, horrible 00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:46.649 rumors about these Christians. They would accuse 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:49.230 them of things like treason, right? Because they 00:15:49.230 --> 00:15:51.090 weren't worshiping Caesar. They're treasonous. 00:15:51.149 --> 00:15:53.769 Or atheism. They would say, these Christians 00:15:53.769 --> 00:15:56.090 are atheists because they won't worship our gods. 00:15:57.330 --> 00:16:00.500 Cannibalism. A rumor got started that these guys 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:02.059 were all cannibals because they kept hearing 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:05.340 about them eating the body and blood of someone. 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:08.559 Or immorality, because Christians would have 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.759 these regular get -togethers called love feasts, 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.279 which were just big communal meals. That's all 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:16.740 they were. But again, the rumor mill twisted 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:19.659 this and made it sound so, so perverted. Love 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:22.440 feasts, what's that all about? And I would again 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:24.960 say, still today, many Christians, they're totally 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:29.070 misunderstood. They're mocked. The media misrepresents 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:31.149 them to everybody else. And these lies, what 00:16:31.149 --> 00:16:33.789 happens? They spread like wildfire. They poison 00:16:33.789 --> 00:16:38.009 people's opinion of Christians and fuels more 00:16:38.009 --> 00:16:42.950 violence. Sounds familiar, eh? So you got pressure. 00:16:43.570 --> 00:16:47.389 You got poverty and persecution. That was the 00:16:47.389 --> 00:16:50.190 suffering in Smyrna. You know, I was reading 00:16:50.190 --> 00:16:54.019 about how myrrh is made. And it's very interesting. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:55.480 You know how they make myrrh? There's a certain 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.639 type of tree and you have to go up and you have 00:16:57.639 --> 00:17:00.720 to hack it. You have to cut into it. And once 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:03.320 you cut into it and you create this scar in it, 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:07.980 then the resin starts to bleed out of it. And 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:10.700 eventually that resin will harden. And it literally, 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.200 it hardens into these tear -shaped balls, which 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:18.859 are called myrrh tears. And then finally, these 00:17:18.859 --> 00:17:22.340 tears get kind of collected from the trees. Pulverized, 00:17:22.340 --> 00:17:24.839 pounded into a powder that can be used for all 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:28.819 sorts of various uses. What a fitting name for 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:31.259 that city. What a connection to the Christians 00:17:31.259 --> 00:17:33.940 in that city. These Christians in Smyrna are 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:37.500 being cut and they're being wounded and they're 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:42.960 bleeding and they're being pulverized. But, you 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.059 know, here's the thing. Just as myrrh's fragrance 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:48.380 only really gets released after it's been cut 00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:51.440 and crushed and processed. So too, the church 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:54.180 in Smyrna, despite or maybe even because of all 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:57.779 that they were going through, their lives released 00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:01.880 a fragrance, if you will, that drew others to 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:03.660 Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote something about 00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:06.160 this in another letter. He said, we are to God 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:11.000 the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.299 are being saved and among those who are perishing. 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.880 Even in their suffering, they were faithful and 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:23.009 fragrant. So we've seen now the setting. We've 00:18:23.009 --> 00:18:26.470 seen the suffering. But what words of solace 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:30.720 does Jesus offer to them? As we said earlier, 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:32.599 it's really hard to know what to say to people 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:34.680 who are suffering like this. But Jesus speaks 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.339 some important words to a suffering church because 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:40.220 he knows exactly the right words to say. His 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:42.799 words are not going to be trite or shallow or 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:47.299 cliche. These are words of compassion and solace. 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:49.440 And I got to tell you, they're just as important 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:53.720 for us today as they were back then. So I'm going 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.400 to go quick. But here's what we can learn by 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:58.680 a quick reading of those verses that we heard 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:02.670 this morning. First. It's clear Jesus knows their 00:19:02.670 --> 00:19:06.130 pain. Twice in this passage, Jesus says, I know. 00:19:06.269 --> 00:19:09.630 I know what you're suffering. I know your afflictions. 00:19:09.630 --> 00:19:13.369 I know the slander. Jesus knows. And he doesn't 00:19:13.369 --> 00:19:15.990 say, I know, because, well, I can imagine what 00:19:15.990 --> 00:19:18.630 that's like. Or I know because I see what's happening 00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:21.150 over there from a distance. No, he knows because 00:19:21.150 --> 00:19:24.490 he himself has been mocked. He himself has been 00:19:24.490 --> 00:19:27.710 slandered. He himself has been beaten and crucified. 00:19:29.849 --> 00:19:33.269 pressure or pain the church endures, Jesus has 00:19:33.269 --> 00:19:36.430 felt it too. And whatever you are enduring, you 00:19:36.430 --> 00:19:40.450 are not alone in that suffering. Jesus knows 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:43.410 your suffering. And in the city of Smyrna, there 00:19:43.410 --> 00:19:45.369 were all these gods, but these gods were detached 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:48.309 from human experience. It was this crazy idea 00:19:48.309 --> 00:19:51.250 to say that God would know what suffering is 00:19:51.250 --> 00:19:54.529 like, but that is exactly what Jesus knows. He 00:19:54.529 --> 00:19:56.930 knows all about your pain. He knows all about 00:19:56.930 --> 00:20:01.559 their pain. He knows all about my pain. Secondly, 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:05.339 the second thing Jesus says is, He tries to change 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:08.759 their perspective. He doesn't just sympathize. 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:11.420 He wants to remind them that there's more going 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:14.319 on than what they can see, right? He writes, 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.859 these are the words of him who is the first and 00:20:16.859 --> 00:20:20.559 the last, who died and rose again. In other words, 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:23.039 he reminds them, hey, listen, I was here before 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:27.240 Caesar was here. And I will be here long after 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:30.220 Rome has turned to dust. I am the one who was 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:32.660 dead and I'm the one who came to life again. 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:34.609 And I know that all... All you can see are the 00:20:34.609 --> 00:20:36.150 problems that are right in front of you right 00:20:36.150 --> 00:20:38.990 now. But I'm bigger than that. And my plan is 00:20:38.990 --> 00:20:43.289 better than that. And there's more going on than 00:20:43.289 --> 00:20:46.890 you can see. There's another perspective. The 00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:50.089 third thing Jesus reminds them is actually just 00:20:50.089 --> 00:20:54.210 how rich they are. Rich? Rob, we just heard that 00:20:54.210 --> 00:20:57.829 they were dirt poor. He says, I know your poverty, 00:20:57.950 --> 00:21:03.410 yet you are rich. See, the world looked at Smyrna's 00:21:03.410 --> 00:21:05.750 Christians, and they just saw a bunch of beggars. 00:21:05.789 --> 00:21:08.150 But Jesus looked at them, and he saw wealth. 00:21:08.750 --> 00:21:14.390 Why? Because true riches are not measured by 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:17.029 what you have in your bank account, but by your 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:21.509 treasure in heaven. They had the presence of 00:21:21.509 --> 00:21:23.650 Jesus. What a treasure. They had the Spirit of 00:21:23.650 --> 00:21:27.400 God. Amazing treasure. They had the promise of 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:30.519 eternity to go with all that. That made them 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:35.200 rich beyond measure. And actually, it's sometimes 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:38.480 only in times of poverty and pressure that you 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.819 actually realize the spiritual riches that we 00:21:41.819 --> 00:21:46.279 do have in Jesus Christ. Fourthly, and this one's 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:51.000 kind of an interesting one. Jesus limits their 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:55.059 trials, I said here. Why do I say that? It seems 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:57.039 like Jesus reminds them that even though they're 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.039 suffering, their suffering is only for a fixed 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:02.339 period of time, which is brief when it's compared 00:22:02.339 --> 00:22:05.420 to eternity. He says, you will suffer persecution 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:08.359 for 10 days. Now, some scholars have tried to 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.079 figure out what is this 10 days? Is this referring 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.980 to a specific 10 day event? Do these 10 days 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:17.420 refer to a 10 year period? You can do your own 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:20.359 digging in the week ahead. But I think that the 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.720 point of it all is that Jesus is saying your 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:26.519 suffering will be. Right there. Jesus draws a 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:28.880 boundary line around their suffering. He says 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.480 it's going to go this far, but no further. And 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:37.380 compared to eternity, their trials would be short. 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:43.680 Again, when you're enduring something, cancer, 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:48.480 grief, loss, or someone betrayed you or something 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.809 like that, it can feel like. That pain is never 00:22:51.809 --> 00:22:54.130 going to go away. Like, it's endless. But Jesus 00:22:54.130 --> 00:22:57.349 says it won't last forever. And I'll carry you 00:22:57.349 --> 00:23:00.529 through it. Okay, so Jesus knows their pain. 00:23:00.609 --> 00:23:03.109 He changes their perspective. He declares their 00:23:03.109 --> 00:23:05.230 riches. He says there's a limit to your trials. 00:23:05.390 --> 00:23:08.410 And in doing all that, what has he done is he 00:23:08.410 --> 00:23:11.829 has removed their fears. He says, do not be afraid 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:14.990 of what you are about to suffer. You know, fear 00:23:14.990 --> 00:23:18.950 often goes hand in hand with suffering. And fear 00:23:18.950 --> 00:23:22.069 makes suffering worse because fear whispers in 00:23:22.069 --> 00:23:24.130 your ear and says, you're not going to make it. 00:23:24.230 --> 00:23:26.890 You're going to be destroyed. But Jesus comes 00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:30.150 along and says, no. Don't be afraid. Not because 00:23:30.150 --> 00:23:33.589 the suffering is going to come. He told them 00:23:33.589 --> 00:23:36.609 that. But because he's going to be with us in 00:23:36.609 --> 00:23:39.529 it and he will see us through it. And when you 00:23:39.529 --> 00:23:43.250 know that, when you know that, fear loses its 00:23:43.250 --> 00:23:46.099 grip on you. You know, at our life group this 00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:47.680 past week, someone said, you know what the book 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:49.900 of Revelation reminds us? The book of Revelation 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:54.019 reminds us that Jesus wins in the end. And if 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:58.559 you know that Jesus wins in the end, then fear 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:02.599 loses its grip on us. We know how this is going 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:07.680 to end. Finally, Jesus promises to reward their 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.519 faithfulness. He gives them this word of encouragement. 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:13.619 He says, be faithful even to the point of death. 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:19.160 and I will give you the crown of life. He promised 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:23.619 these people not just survival, but a crown, 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:30.839 a victor's wreath that lasts forever. When the 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.859 world experiences suffering and death, it feels 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:38.039 like devastation. But when Christians experience 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:41.200 suffering and death, it's actually a coronation. 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:45.880 Jesus promises a reward, a crown for those who 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:51.400 are faithful. So there he goes. That's what Jesus 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:56.440 says to them in their suffering. But what does 00:24:56.440 --> 00:24:59.980 that mean for us today? And what do we do with 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:02.819 all this? This was Smyrna 2 ,000 years ago, but 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:05.279 he's still speaking these words to us today. 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:08.500 So if you are here today and you feel the pressure 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:10.960 of life pushing down on you, Jesus says, I know. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:16.299 I know all about it. And if all you can see is 00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:19.220 your own problems, Jesus says, change your perspective. 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:21.200 I'm the first and the last, the beginning and 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:25.559 the end. If you're walking through poverty of 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:29.579 any kind, financial or other types, I suppose, 00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:35.339 Jesus says, yet you are rich, right? If you're 00:25:35.339 --> 00:25:38.700 weighed down by fear, fear of the future, fear 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:41.660 of loss, fear of suffering, Jesus says, do not 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:44.839 be afraid. And if you're wondering, how much 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:47.119 longer can I hold on? Jesus says, hey, listen, 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:49.000 your suffering's not going to last forever. I've 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:54.160 put limits on it. And then finally, if you feel 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:57.880 like your faithfulness to Jesus is costing you 00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:01.349 everything, Jesus says, just be faithful. And 00:26:01.349 --> 00:26:05.390 I will give you the crown of life. I couldn't 00:26:05.390 --> 00:26:08.269 say these words to you and comfort you. You couldn't 00:26:08.269 --> 00:26:11.069 say them to me and comfort me. But when they 00:26:11.069 --> 00:26:16.450 come from Jesus, they give us solace for every 00:26:16.450 --> 00:26:22.450 season of suffering. And if that doesn't encourage 00:26:22.450 --> 00:26:25.109 you this morning, perhaps this final story will. 00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:27.150 This is a true story, by the way, that came out 00:26:27.150 --> 00:26:31.109 of Smyrna. It's about a man. Whose life and death 00:26:31.109 --> 00:26:34.309 shows us kind of exactly what it looks like to 00:26:34.309 --> 00:26:38.849 live out Jesus' words. I got this from an account 00:26:38.849 --> 00:26:43.430 called the Martyrdom of Polycarp. About 60 years 00:26:43.430 --> 00:26:45.630 after John wrote the book of Revelation, the 00:26:45.630 --> 00:26:48.349 church in Smyrna again faced another horrible 00:26:48.349 --> 00:26:51.710 wave of persecution. And their pastor, their 00:26:51.710 --> 00:26:55.609 bishop at the time, was this old man named Polycarp. 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:58.759 And I know that name sounds like it comes from 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:01.559 like a Pokemon character or something like that. 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.740 But Polycarp was a real man. He was a real name. 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:08.759 And he was a real pastor in Smyrna. He was probably 00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:11.380 a disciple of John himself who wrote these letters. 00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:15.519 And anyways, the authorities said, we got to 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:18.240 go arrest Polycarp. And when they arrived to 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.099 arrest him at his house, he didn't even run. 00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:24.259 He invited the soldiers into his house, and he 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:27.980 fed them. He gave them food and drink, and they 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:30.859 ate. And then he asked the soldiers, can I just 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:34.200 have one hour to pray before you arrest me and 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:36.940 take me back to the city? And they actually gave 00:27:36.940 --> 00:27:40.660 him two hours, we're told. When they got him 00:27:40.660 --> 00:27:42.519 back there, they brought him into the stadium, 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:47.000 you know, with this bloodthirsty crowd. And the 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.619 Roman governor at the time, he was like, hey, 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:53.400 listen, you're old. Just swear by Caesar and 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:56.740 we'll call it a day and we can all go home. And 00:27:56.740 --> 00:27:59.599 we read that the proconsul pressed him, take 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:04.160 the oath and I will let you go curse Christ. 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:08.920 That's all he needed to do. And that's when Polycarp 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:12.960 gave one of the most famous lines he ever spoke, 00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:16.240 recorded in the history books. He says, 80 and 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:19.059 six years I have served him and he has done me 00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:23.230 no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved 00:28:23.230 --> 00:28:27.250 me? And then the governor threatened him with 00:28:27.250 --> 00:28:30.230 the lions and the wild beast. And Polycarp replied, 00:28:30.789 --> 00:28:34.609 go ahead, call them in. And then the governor 00:28:34.609 --> 00:28:38.369 threatened to burn him. And Polycarp answered 00:28:38.369 --> 00:28:40.970 this. He said, you threatened me with fire that 00:28:40.970 --> 00:28:43.890 burns for a short time and is soon extinguished. 00:28:44.470 --> 00:28:47.490 You do not know about the fire of the judgment 00:28:47.490 --> 00:28:54.609 to come. Well, then what happened is they said, 00:28:54.650 --> 00:28:56.690 fine, Polycarp, that's what you want to do. We 00:28:56.690 --> 00:28:59.349 are going to burn you. And so they bound him 00:28:59.349 --> 00:29:01.289 to a stake and they were actually going to nail 00:29:01.289 --> 00:29:03.369 him in place to the stake. But he said, no, you 00:29:03.369 --> 00:29:05.029 don't have to nail me. I'm not going to move. 00:29:05.710 --> 00:29:09.289 And he said, he who gave me the strength to endure 00:29:09.289 --> 00:29:11.029 the fire is going to give me the strength to 00:29:11.029 --> 00:29:14.869 stay in the fire. And then he prayed aloud. Everyone 00:29:14.869 --> 00:29:17.950 could hear him. He prayed to actually thank God 00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:21.210 that he was counted worthy to share in the suffering 00:29:21.210 --> 00:29:25.730 of Christ. The fire was lit. The old man burned 00:29:25.730 --> 00:29:32.170 up. And that was his story. And I think in that 00:29:32.170 --> 00:29:37.410 moment, the words of Jesus to Smyrna came true 00:29:37.410 --> 00:29:40.450 for him. Be faithful unto death, and I will give 00:29:40.450 --> 00:29:43.869 you the crown of life. Polycarp was faithful. 00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:48.779 He received the crown. So the city of Smyrna, 00:29:48.859 --> 00:29:51.480 it's gone. Like I said, there's a new city there. 00:29:51.579 --> 00:29:54.279 The emperors who demanded all that worship, they 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:57.559 are now dust. And Polycarp's faith, though, it 00:29:57.559 --> 00:29:59.880 still speaks to us. And these letters, they still 00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:02.980 speak to us. My friends, I just want to say, 00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:05.640 whatever poverty, whatever pressure, whatever 00:30:05.640 --> 00:30:09.220 persecution you're facing, Jesus has words for 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:13.849 you. You know, our words. Always seem to fall 00:30:13.849 --> 00:30:16.450 short, but Jesus' words don't. And he says this, 00:30:16.490 --> 00:30:19.509 I know what you're going through. Do not be afraid. 00:30:19.549 --> 00:30:22.269 You are rich. Be faithful to the end, and I'll 00:30:22.269 --> 00:30:24.970 give you a crown of life. So let's go from this 00:30:24.970 --> 00:30:29.430 place. As people who have the courage of Polycarp 00:30:29.430 --> 00:30:33.609 and the hope of those Christians in Smyrna, that 00:30:33.609 --> 00:30:37.990 our suffering is never the end, but it's a doorway 00:30:37.990 --> 00:30:42.599 into a greater life with Christ. Thanks be to 00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:47.920 God. Amen. Thank you for listening to this week's 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:50.259 episode of Trinity Sermons. This sermon was recorded 00:30:50.259 --> 00:30:52.660 at Trinity Church Streetsville in Mississauga, 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:56.160 Ontario on September 14, 2025.