FAITHFUL WHEN LIFE IS HARD
Revelation 2:8-11
When things are going well, we can
somehow hold on to our Christian faith, but what about when life is hard and we
are persecuted for being Christians? We began our journey through the seven
churches in ancient Asia Minor, learning principles that would help us on our
journey of faith. We looked at the Ephesian Church, which once was on fire for
the Lord but ultimately lost its first love for God and others. We saw how God
called the Church to repent and return to its first love. Today we will learn
about another church that remained faithful even when life was hard and what
lessons we can draw from it. Revelation 2:8-11
I. Jesus is the First and The Last
Revelation 2:8 "To the angel of the Church in
Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the
Last, who died and came to life again. Here, Jesus is called the First and
the Last, once dead but now alive. In Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12, God is portrayed
as the beginning and the end, with no one equal to him. By saying, "I am
the first and the last," Jesus asserted that He is God. He went further,
saying, "I was once dead, and now I am alive."
John received a powerful revelation: Jesus is a living God,
fully alive and actively involved in His followers' lives. The first recipients
of those assuring words from Christ must have been comforted, knowing that
Jesus was with them in their struggles. Are you facing hardship? Be assured
that Jesus is with you. To better understand the power of God's presence with
us, let us look at what is really going on in Smyrna and in the lives of
Christians there.
II. What Do We Know About Smyrna?
Smyrna is the only city that has
continued to the present day, now known as Izmir. Another harbor city with a
thriving export trade, thirty-five miles north of Ephesus, it was renowned for
its beauty and civic pride and called itself "the first in Asia."
It was the first city in Asia to erect
a temple to the goddess Roma (195 B.C.). The famous temples of Zeus and Cybele
were connected by a mall that the ancient world envied. A group of buildings
called "the crown of Smyrna and a beautiful roadway called "the
Street of Gold." It had a large Jewish population that vehemently opposed
Christians.
The Church in Smyrna faced persecution
during Domitian's reign. Rome had granted the Jews the right to practice their
religion, and they did not want this precious privilege threatened. In the 80s,
Judaism excommunicated the Christian "heretics" from their
synagogues, and they wanted nothing to do with them. In A.D. 155, the famous
bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp, was burned alive for refusing to call Caesar
"Lord" during an extensive persecution instigated by the Jews.
Christians in Smyrna wondered whether God knew what they were going through.
III. God Knows Our Struggles and Sufferings
The Church in Smyrna is experiencing both affliction
(persecution) and poverty. Christ said, "I know your affliction and
your poverty, yet you are rich." What has contributed to their
poverty? Due to their uncompromising faith, they found it difficult to make a
living in a pagan environment. The linking of persecution and poverty together
suggests that poverty may be more than just a lack of employment; it is a lack
of the basic needs that sustain life.
Many people around the world are facing this situation
today. Even here in the USA, finding employment is difficult. I know a faithful
Christian woman with a PhD who has been unemployed for nearly three years. We
can only imagine the financial struggles many Christians face in countries like
China, Cuba, and India, as well as in many other Muslim countries.
This is what the Church at Smyrna was experiencing: they
were poor; however, God called them "Rich." When we were back in
India, we had a fine Christian woman from a very poor background work for us at
home. Despite her poverty, she maintained dignity and integrity.
She had a strong faith in Christ. She fasted every Friday,
prayed often, and was, all in all, a radiant Christian. If Christ looked at her
situation, He would say, "I know your affliction and poverty, yet you are
rich." What would Jesus say about you? Returning to the believers in
Smyrna, despite their poverty, they took comfort in knowing that Jesus noticed
them.
Jesus commended them, saying they were truly rich. In the
midst of their affliction, God has given them spiritual riches beyond their
wildest dreams. The only reason we might not be experiencing these blessings is
that, unlike the early Christians, we are distracted by many other attractions.
The early Christians focused on what is unseen rather than their troubling
circumstances; therefore, they were ready to pay the price and endure
hardships. Let's talk about paying the price and how it will reward us in the
end.
III. Faithful When Life Is Hard
When we are about to close a business deal or take a new
job, we naturally ask, "What is in it for me?" In other words, how will
it profit me? I am sure the believers in Smyrna asked themselves the same
question; they may have known the price they had to pay, yet they decided to
become Christians. How many of us are aware of the price of following Christ?
When someone
decides to follow Christ or join a church, I wonder what they are looking for.
Are they only looking at the blessings of following Christ and not at the high
price, and are they unwilling to suffer for Him? The truth is that following
Christ brings great blessings, but God never promised total ease and comfort.
Jesus said to his disciples, "They must deny themselves, take up their
cross daily, and follow Him" (Luke 9:23).
Paul, writing to the young Timothy, echoes this in 2
Timothy 3:12: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted." The message couldn't be clearer. Ironically,
many churches today have emphasized prosperity theology.
We give very little attention to a theology of suffering
and hardship. Yet throughout Church history, Christians have suffered for their
faith, and many have been killed. A whole book was written about them called
the "Fox Book of Martyrs." The 2nd-century Church Father Tertullian
wrote, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church." It is
estimated that 100,000 people are killed each year because of their Christian
faith.
These numbers will only increase in the end times. So, dear
friends, if we want to follow Christ, we must be willing to pay the price, even
if it means losing our very lives. It is somewhat bearable and justifiable
when opposition comes from pagans, but when it comes from the so-called people
of God or our own Christian brothers and sisters, who can bear such opposition?
That is exactly what the Church in Smyrna endured. Christians
were being accused by zealous Jews. Jewish opposition to Christianity was quite
common in the NT. Several scriptures indicate that the Jews caused many
problems for Christians. (Acts 13:45-52; 14:19; 17:6-9). With its large Jewish
population, this opposition against Christians reached its height."
Vs 10, "Do not be
afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of
you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even
to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." As I
read this letter to the Church in Smyrna, I cannot help but wonder: we American
Christians, who always get what we want, who don't want anyone telling us what
we should or shouldn't do.
How will we be able to handle it when real persecution hits
us? Jesus' exhortation to the believers then and now is the same: "To be
faithful till the end." Whatever tough situation you are facing today, God
knows it. We may be poor in the eyes of the world but are rich in the eyes of
God. No matter what may come, when we remain faithful in hard times, God
blesses us with eternal life. That is the greatest blessing that we could ever
receive.
