©1998 Larry Huntsperger
Peninsula Bible Fellowship
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1/11/98
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Back to The Future
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We are going back to the future today,
back to our study of the last book of the Bible,
the book of Revelation.
We left off our study in Revelation chapter 2,
a section of the book in which our Lord
is giving messages to 7 New Testament churches.
Just to get our minds back into this study
let me remind you what’s going on here.
This book was the last Book of the Bible to be written,
given as the Lord’s completion
to all that has come before.
It is unique in that, apart from the brief introductory and concluding remarks of John,
the entire book is a supernatural revelation
given to John by Christ Himself
about 50 years following the resurrection and departure of Christ.
Every book in the Bible was given to the author by the direct guidance of God.
Most of them, however,
are historical accounts
of historical events
that had taken place during the lifetime of the author.
But the Book of Revelation is unique
in that virtually the entire book
is the record of either the personal,
direct physical communication of the risen Christ to John,
or of a supernatural vision of future events
he was allowed to see.
The section we are in right now
is John’s record of a literal,
personal conversation the risen Christ had with him
in which he was directed to give
seven messages to seven churches.
Christ did not tell John why these 7 churches were singled out,
but it is evident from the content of the messages
that Christ selected these 7 churches
because every local body that has ever existed
can find itself mirrored in one of these 7.
Just as all seven of them existed
in 90 AD when John received this vision,
so all seven exist today.
In fact, not only are these 7 churches
symbolic of other churches
throughout history,
they are also representative
of each of us as individual Christians.
The pits we fall into
are not nearly as numerous
or as complicated as we sometimes like to believe.
And the ways out of those pits
are also not nearly as illusive
or as complicated as we sometimes think.
With each problem Christ addresses in these churches
He also offers a prescription for healing
and restoration.
We spent two weeks looking at
Christ’s comments to the first of those churches,
the church at Ephesus.
We saw there a church
that had replaced their love for Christ
with a love for truth.
And Christ’s prescription for their healing
was simple:
Rev. 2:5 ''Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place-- unless you repent.
Remember...
and repent...
Do you remember?
Do you remember what it was like
when you first met the King,
back when it was all so simple,
when all you knew
was that He loved you,
and He forgave you,
and He took you just the way you were,
back when all you really knew was that you needed Him,
and everything else was just details?
And then you started learning things -
lots of things,
lots of knowledge about God
and about the church
and about the world
and about the future
and the past,
and somehow things began to get so confusing,
so complicated.
I think maybe knowledge
is a lot like food.
We need food for life.
We need it every day.
More than that,
God has designed us in such a way
that good food,
well prepared can give us
a tremendous sense of enjoyment.
It’s a wonderful part of life.
But,
if we ever allow food
to become our reason for living,
it will turn something good
into a powerful, destructive force in our lives.
Knowledge is the same way.
We need knowledge of our Lord for growth.
It feeds us,
it builds strength
and stability into our walk with the King.
But if we ever allow
the preservation
and protection
and defense
and development of our systems,
our ideas
to become more important
than simple, daily obedience to the leadership of our Lord,
what was once good
will be turned to evil in our lives.
The people of God
have fought more ugly,
bloody battles with one another
over differences in doctrine
than over anything else.
It is so easy to get caught up
in the same deception
as the church at Ephesus -
the subtle, deadly shift from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ
to a staunch,
rigid,
and determined faithfulness
to our carefully crafted system of beliefs.
You remember, don’t you,
where we were a few weeks ago -
God never intended for us to learn doctrine about Christ,
He intended for us to learn doctrine through Christ.
The Lord’s prescription for Ephesus
and His prescription for us
when we begin to fall in love with our ideas is simple -
"Come back to Me."
Remember...
and repent.
Then, the second message
Christ gave John to deliver
was for the church at Smyrna.
And this message is unique among the seven -
this is the only message
in which there is no sharp warning,
no dangerous behavior addressed -
there is only
affirmation and encouragement.
Rev. 2:8 ¶ "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ¶ The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:
Rev. 2:9 'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Rev. 2:10 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev. 2:11 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.'
I see two key phrases
in this second message:
The first is "I know..."
and the second is "Do not fear..."
Some of you will remember a few weeks ago
I got away from my notes for a few minutes
and happened to mention
that if I were to choose God’s goals for me
I would suggest that He make me both
RIGHTEOUS and RICH,
both FAITHFUL and FAMOUS.
One of the many unsettling things about Scripture
is the way it has of blasting holes
in our flesh-based value system.
Christ’s comments to Smyrna are an excellent example.
Here is the one church
to which Christ offers no word correction,
and the very first thing the Lord says to them is,
I know your tribulation
I know your poverty
I know the blasphemy being aimed at you.
Now, don’t you find that offensive
to our cultural Christianity
that believes God’s goal is to make every Christian healthy, wealthy, and wise,
rich and righteous,
famous and faithful.
If Christ knows their tribulation,
why doesn’t He stop it?
If He knows their poverty,
why doesn’t He deliver the goods?
Scripture is remarkable
both for the answers it gives
and for the answers it doe NOT give.
When we go through pain,
when we suffer physically or emotionally,
the first two questions that so often come to our minds are,
Q. "Why is this happening, Lord?"
and
Q. "Why don’t you stop it?"
Did you see the Lord’s answers
to those questions
in His comments to His people at Smyrna?
Me either...
All He says is, "I know."
"I know you’re hurting.
I know your tribulation.
I know your poverty.
I know."
That’s all He says sometimes,
because there are times
when that’s all He CAN tell us,
and at those times
that’s all we really need to know.
There are many times when we suffer
because we’re making stupid choices,
times when our own actions
are the source of our pain.
At those times in my own life
my Lord has always been very effective
and faithful
in showing me exactly what’s causing the pain,
and how to take steps to correct it.
But there are also times
when we have made all the right choices,
times when our heart’s desire
is to live pleasing to our God,
and yet suffering still comes into our lives.
That’s where the church at Smyrna was at.
And at those times
the first, and sometimes the only thing our Lord says is, "I know...
I know you hurt.
I know your pain.
I know what you’re going through."
And with those words
He is also telling us
He is going through it with us.
This world is not the world our God first created.
Our rebellion against Him
has imbedded a legacy of corruption
and evil
and suffering into every life,
and every aspect of human society.
Paul said simply,
2 Tim. 3:12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Some of the suffering will come
as a direct result of our allegiance to Christ.
Some of it will come
because we live in a sin-filled world.
There are some things God can only accomplish in our lives
through allowing us to suffer.
There are some things He can only communicate to this world
through allowing His people to suffer.
The first thing He wants us to know at those times
is that He knows when we hurt,
and He is going through the pain with us.
Then the Lord goes on to offer His people at Smyrna 3 more things:
1st He honors them.
Did you notice that one little phrase in parenthesis
after He talks about their poverty?
He says, "I know your poverty (BUT YOU ARE RICH)".
And with that one little phrase
He is pulling them out of the world’s perspective
and showing them the way things really are.
He is saying,
"I know the world looks at you
and calls you all fools.
I know they think you’ve chosen a course in life
that will rob you of all the good stuff.
I know they see your poverty
in comparison to them
and think you’re crazy.
But I want you to know the truth.
You are the wealthy ones.
Paul said it really well
in II Cor. 4:17-18
2 Cor. 4:17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
2 Cor. 4:18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
EX. Wall Street bonuses.
Burket interview:
"We don’t need much, and that not for long."
The Lord honors them.
2. Then He tells them not to fear.
And, folks, when God Himself tells you not to fear,
you don’t have to fear.
He’s not saying it won’t hurt.
But He is saying they will find Him adequate for whatever they face.
3. And then, finally,
He gives them perspective -
He tells them what they’re going to go through,
and where they’re going to end up.
... Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
Early in my Christian life
I read a book that had a powerful impact on me.
That book was, The Robe.
Its an historical fiction
about the life of some of the early Christians
during and immediately following
the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
I don’t recall the exact setting,
but there was one scene in that book
in which a Roman official was frustrated with the inability of his military leader to stamp out this
stubborn little group of Christians
who were causing such turmoil in Jerusalem.
I believe the Roman official
had told the soldier to just kill them all.
And I will never forget the soldier’s response.
He said, "Sir, you can’t kill someone who won’t die!"
Those early Christians
had seen their Lord alive on the other side of the grave,
they had heard Him promise
that just as He rose from the dead
so would they.
And that knowledge changed everything forever.
Life in this body was no longer something
to cling to at all costs.
Life in this body was simply a temporary assignment,
one that would be followed by something so much better.
It was that perspective
that Christ offered His people at Smyrna.
"... Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. and ... He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.'