Do Not Be Afraid

English

Do not be afraid

Revelation 2:8-11

The news has been filled for months about places all over the world in which people are being persecuted. What doesn't make it into the news very often is that Christians are consistently the targets of the persecution. Some suggest that the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world is reaching levels never before experienced in history. This news rarely makes it into the media. Bishops across Africa and parts of Europe have issued statements this month highlighting the violence and discrimination that Christians are experiencing in many places in our world saying that "the International Community needs to quit shutting its eyes to what is happening, to see and admit the violence specifically targeted against Christians, and seek to bring an end to a growing global crisis." They said that even other Christian communities seem to be "half-hearted and pretending not to see."

So, let's open our eyes today both to the God who is sovereign over this world as well as to the reality of the persecution of his people that has happened in history and is happening now. By God's providence, we come to what I think is the best passage in Scripture to help us know how we should live in the light of the pressures that so many face in our world, i.e., Jesus' letter to the persecuted church in Smyrna, the city now called Izmir. Let me tell you what was happening in that city.
What Was Happening in Smyrna

Ancient Smyrna is known to have been among the most attractive places to live in the first century. The quality of life must have been extraordinarily high. By all accounts, it was a beautiful city: a magnificent harbor, spacious streets, stunning architecture, even one of the best climates. It must have been a bit like Santa Barbara, CA. In fact, the tourists who went there gave Smyrna the title, "The Glory of Asia."

Yet, for this little group of Christians who lived in Smyrna, it was a cruel city because they were undergoing pressure so great that they must have felt like it would crush them. Here's what was happening: Not many years before Jesus dictated these letters, six cities vied with one another for the privilege of erecting a new temple dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius of Rome. Guess which city won? Smyrna.

By the end of the first century, when Revelation was written, the worship of the emperor became law in Smyrna. Citizens who went into the temples to offer incense had to say, "Caesar is Lord". When they did, they were given a certificate verifying they had done it. Those who wouldn't do it would not only be viewed as irreligious. No, they were regarded as traitors, as enemies of the nation.

Are you beginning to see what it was like in Smyrna? There was no way that any genuine Christian would burn incense to "Lord Caesar" for Caesar was not Lord. Jesus alone is Lord. True Christians in Smyrna decided that they were determined make huge personal sacrifices rather than call anyone "Lord" other than Jesus. And so, it was inevitable that it was in Smyrna, where this Emperor worship so strong, that Christians came under severe attacks.

Jesus used three words to describe the difficulties Christians were facing there. The first was "persecution" or tribulation. This word in v. 9 literally means "under heavy pressure." It's the kind of pressure that we might see when a car is crushed. We say today, "I've been under a lot of pressure lately." Well, that was the situation of these Christians in Smyrna. They lived under constant psychological strain. Any day, the knock might come on the door. There would be a demand to see the certificate that they had worshiped Caesar – resulting in the humiliation of being dragged through the streets to stand trial for treason.

And that reality almost certainly contributed to the second hardship at Smyrna, i.e., poverty. The Greek has two words for being poor one means you have nothing to spare while the second means you have nothing at all. Jesus used the second word in v.9. These Christians, living in an affluent city, were reduced to living in destitution. "Living by faith" wasn't for them a religious cliché. It was a necessity because they had absolutely nothing. Career prospects? For a Christian in Smyrna? You must be joking! The only positions open to them were slavery and begging.
And then, on top of all this, there was a third burden they had to bear, i.e., slander. I will come back to this later. But, let me simply tell you that those they might have counted upon most for support were the very ones accusing them wrongfully. Bottom line: Christians had no place to go to find help in Smyrna.

So, Jesus wrote them a letter in the midst of their persecution. The letter has several applications to us.

#1: Preparing God's people for persecution
These faithful Christians were under enormous pressure. Note this: The church in Smyrna is only one of two letters in which Jesus has no criticism at all for the church. Clearly, these were good and godly people. Some of us may wonder, "Didn't Jesus know it? Why did he let this happen?" And the answer is clearly, "Yes, he knew." And he also knew that, from a human perspective, their situation would get worse. Jesus told them in v. 10 that they soon would suffer much more. He told them also that the devil was going to find a way to get them thrown into prison. And he told them that they would have to be faithful even unto death.

So, in our human way of thinking, we usually believe God is answering prayer when he takes our troubles away. But, Jesus said that this kind of thinking is incomplete. He taught that a part of our calling might be to go into difficult places and experience difficult things and, while doing so, be faithful to him. Jesus wrote this letter to get his people prepared to live courageously and faithfully through the trouble that was ahead. And I think a part of my role as a pastor is to get you ready to think and live "Christianly" for whatever comes into your life in the future.
Many have said that the "messenger/angel" in 2:9 who read this letter to the church was none other than a man named Polycarp. He would have been about 25 years old at the time. 61 years later, Bishop Polycarp was seized by the authorities in Smyrna and called upon to recant his faith in Jesus. With confidence and without flinching, he knew what to do and he knew what to say. People attending his interrogation recorded his words. "He called on me to be faithful unto death. 86 years have I served Jesus and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme the King who saved me?" And Polycarp was killed for his faith.

You see, Jesus words here in Revelation 2:9-11 had laid a foundation for Polycarp's life. They had set him on a path for life that, when death came, Polycarp knew what to do. What did Jesus teach him? I can only show you briefly. What we see here is a Jesus-centered faith and Jesus-centered perspective on the world. I ask you to consider this way of looking at the world. Consider it carefully and with much prayer.

#1: "I am the first and the last (2:8)." There is an order and purpose to all that happens in this world.
Jesus taught that what happens is not random or coincidental. Here, he says that he is the one through whom all was created in the first place and he will have the last word as well. His last word found in Revelation 21-22 is that all will be made new – and that it will be very good again. Therefore, he is saying in this phrase that what is happening now in the middle of history is his too. We should find comfort in that truth when we know who Jesus is. However, many people become very confused when Jesus himself says that a part of his work allows for suffering, imprisonment and death. But, in this first phrase, Jesus is asking you to believe that he knows what he is doing when he allows us to go through trials. Do you?

#2: "I died and came to life (2:8)." Jesus is in control of all that happens.
When you remember that Jesus experienced the worst in this evil-filled world – even death – and overcame it through his resurrection, then you should also be able to grasp that he can bring victory out of whatever this world throws at you – unemployment, sickness, imprisonment and even your own death. Jesus' point is that even the worst thing in this world will not last forever. Did you notice v.10? "The devil is about to throw you into prison... and for 10 days you will have tribulation." You know the devil would want that to last forever. But, tribulation will not last forever. Yes, physical death will come but -- see v. 11 -- you will not experience the Second Death. You will never die to God. You have eternal life. Jesus is saying, "The reason is because I, the crucified and now resurrected Jesus, am your Lord and Savior."

#3: I know your tribulation, poverty and the slander...(2:9)." Jesus is not distant from you. He knows.
He knows what you're going through. He knows why he's letting it happen. He knows what he's going to bring out of this situation. He knows how he will make all things just in his time.

#4: "I will give you the crown of life (2:10)." Being faithful to Jesus is worth whatever it costs.
I really should say more than that. It's more than just "worth it". Jesus is saying you find your life – you discover what life is all about -- when you follow Jesus wherever he leads you.

So, let me ask you two questions:
What do you think it means to follow Jesus? To get him to do what you want? To have him take away all your troubles? Following Jesus means being willing to follow him wherever he leads. For these Christians in Smyrna, it meant the loss of their security, the loss of their wealth, the loss of their popularity, the loss of their reputation, the loss of their freedom and it would eventually mean for some, the loss of their lives. You need to know this. You need to be ready to name Jesus as Savior no matter what the world may do to you.
If you lived in Smyrna, would you have been a Christian? Be honest. If not there, what makes you think you really are a Christian in these easier times here? I fear for people who seem ready to leave the church when no one speaks to them or when they found the sermon a bit boring.

I think something terrible has happened in the way modern American Christians think about our faith. We've presented our faith as being something the early Christians would never have believed possible. We've tried to make it easy. Comfortable. Status Quo. Unexciting. We've even made it safe. But when you embark on following Christ, it's the beginning of the greatest adventure possible a sometimes-dangerous adventure in which we often live counter to the world's ways. That's the challenge of being a Jesus-follower: You are to give your life to Jesus and to be faithful to him no matter what happens.

So, it's all about Jesus and the question you will constantly have to ask yourself is this: Do I trust him? If so, you need to follow him wherever he takes you. He simply says this: "Do not be afraid (2:10a)." Be faithful even unto death (2:10b)." "Never forget that I know..."
Jesus taught these things and the young Polycarp was ready for whatever the world threw at him. I want you to be as prepared to be faithful to Jesus as he was no matter what happens in your world.

#2: Standing with the global persecuted church
Not all the churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3 were going through persecution. The church in Laodicea, in fact, was quite wealthy and doing quite well. One of the messages of the New Testament however, is that when one church is suffering, other churches should stand with them in prayer and support.

And, we here in the USA are not yet in a time in which we are a church persecuted like the church in Smyrna. However, brother and sister churches in Christ are going through persecution in our day that, in many ways, is at least as intense as anything that happened in Bible times. Perhaps you say, "Pastor Greg, I never hear about how Christians in other parts of the world are persecuted." Frankly, I cannot comprehend why there seems to be a cone of silence around the fact that churches are being burned, pastors are being imprisoned, and Christians are being slaughtered in many places in our world.
What do I want you to do? I would like you first to become aware of what is happening. You may not hear anything about what's happening in the mainstream news. But, there are some website that I recommend highly to you:
www.persecution.org -- (I will have this streaming while I speak of what is in the news on the day I preach.)
www.persecution.com -- Associated with Voice of the Martyrs, founded by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand.
www.opendoorsusa.org -- A ministry going back to the great work of Brother Andrew.

Then as you become aware, make a commitment to pray daily for the persecuted church as the Holy Spirit prompts you. Pastor Scott White has visited many of the places where the church is being persecuted and he reports that consistently the church members have one major request, "Please pray for us, and especially for our children."

I imagine there will be other ways that can stand with our persecuted brothers and sisters when we are not experiencing persecution. But consider the words of one Pakistani pastor: "Our people have been killed. No one seems to care." I want to be sure we care about and for the persecuted church. Let us pray for what Jesus asked: That they will not fear, that they will be faithful to him, and that they will know that he is near.

#3: Bringing blessing to those under great pressure in our own neighborhood
There is one more thing we should be doing when we are not experiencing the kinds of persecution the Christians in Smyrna were experiencing. We should be a Christ-centered community offering the love and help of Jesus to those in trouble in our own neighborhood. This comes out in a verse that has caused Bible readers a lot of confusion over the years: 2:9b: "I know the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." Throughout the centuries people have used those words to persecute Jewish people -- including in Nazi Germany. Some have read them and said that Jesus and John the Apostle were anti-Semitic. But that's a misreading. In particular, Jesus and John were not anti-Semitic. No, they were Semites! They were Jewish! So, what's going on in this text?

There was a significant Jewish community in Smyrna. In fact, many of the most successful business owners were Jewish. At that time, in Smyrna and throughout the Roman Empire, the Jewish people had a special privilege. Because of their religious heritage, they – and they alone – were exempt from having to worship the Emperor. For a number of years the Christian churches were also exempt because the government viewed them as being a branch of Judaism. But in Smyrna, the Jewish community did not like that and they became the main accusers of the Christian people.
What Jesus is saying in his strong words is that true Jews were established by God to further his purposes and reflect his ways. But, in Smyrna, they were doing the opposite. That's what Jesus meant by them becoming a "synagogue of Satan". Did you know that the word "Satan" literally means "accuser". Here, Jesus is saying that those who should be providing support for God's people had become the main accusers of God's people. Can you imagine how hard it was for Christians, many of whom were of Jewish heritage themselves, to run to a synagogue to find support and help? Then, when they went into the synagogue for help, they found the people there to be their main accusers. Let me tell you this: Some of the deepest psychological damage happens to children when they run to their families in times of feeling pressure from gangs or from other forces, only to find their own family is a place of abuse. That's what was happening to Christians in Smyrna. The very people whom they counted on for support had become the people who slandered them.

So, here we are here in Southern California living in one of those rare times in which we are not persecuted for being a Christ-centered church. We are not thrown into prison for saying "Jesus and Jesus alone is Lord." Not yet. We are living in a place of privilege and blessing. Jesus' call is to be stewards of our privileges and blessings in times like we are experiencing as the church in the US to help those in our neighborhood in the midst of their times of great pressure (in ways that the privileged Jewish community did not do in Smyrna). I want hurting people in our area to know that when they walk up the entry to that church with the big cross towering over the 210, that they will find people of compassion – not accusers.
When we experience times of God's blessing, we should pass that blessing on to the world around us. My conviction is that, when we have the opportunity and resources to do so, our church should be a place of refuge as God is a God of refuge (Psalm 46:1).

Now, Nancy Stiles, the Executive Director of the Lake Avenue Community Foundation, will come and tell us a few ways we might be able to fulfill that calling...

 

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor