The Tested Church

it’s now been a week since our Solemn Assembly

it was a week in which the church shelved its regular activities and said, "We’re going to do nothing this week except to cleanse ourselves and seek God’s blessing on our church"

the one question I’ve heard a few times is, "Why didn’t we do it sooner?"

and the second most common question is, "How can we continue?"

I’ve sensed in my heart once again a rekindling of hope – not only for my soul, but for the church

I believe that God is on the move, and a lot of what we will have to do this year is remain responsive to him – to let him lead the church

but friends, I am excited about the future of Richview Baptist Church, because God is preparing us for something

it’s a bit frightening, because I don’t know what he has planned

but God is clearly on the move

and that’s the good news

but this morning, I have some bad news for you as well

and the bad news is this: it might get a lot worse before it gets better

I don’t know if you sensed it last week or not, but as usual, after a week in which God blessed and we had a sense of refreshment, Satan was on the move as well

I saw it in my personal life last week

there were some pretty intense counterattacks taking place against the work that God had done in my life the week before

without trying to over-spiritualize and give Satan more credit than is due to him, realize today that Satan does not usually concede ground without a fight

if we, as a church, resolve to be spiritually alive, and to rekindle our honeymoon love for Jesus Christ once again, Satan will attack

he will attack our leaders

he will attempt to bring disunity and division into the church

he will try to distract us from our purpose

he will do everything he can to demoralize and defeat us

that’s the bad news

it just might be that Satan is going to launch an intense counterattack on Richview Baptist Church, and we might go through an intense time of testing before we emerge victorious on the other side

the church we’re looking at this morning, in Revelation 2:8-11, was in the middle of a dark moment

the unsettling prediction had just been received that things were going to get even darker still

the church in Smyrna was in a savage time of persecution

verse 9 informs us that they had already been experiencing afflictions or persecution, poverty, and ridicule

most scholars feel that the persecution was coming from the Roman authorities who were angered at the Christians’ refusal to participate in emperor worship

you see, Smyrna was a center of emperor worship

sometime between 81 and 96 AD, emperor worship became compulsory for every Roman citizen on threat of death

once a year, every citizen had to burn incense on the altar to the godhead of Caesar, after which he was issued a certificate

all a citizen had to do was to burn a pinch of incense and say, "Caesar is Lord"

but because of their commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord, a believer couldn’t do it

perhaps nowhere in the Roman world at that time was life more perilous for a Christian than in this city of zealous emperor worship

and the results had been severe, in verse 9: afflictions, or persecution

and poverty – a word that signifies extreme and abject poverty, not just a tough time making ends meet

why was this church so poor in a prosperous city?

probably, because of their refusal to worship the emperor, economic sanctions had been leveled against the believers as the first step toward persecution

imagine not only being persecuted, but living an abject poverty because of your devotion to Jesus as Lord rather than Caesar as Lord

if this wasn’t bad enough, the Jews in the city of Smyrna were blaspheming and ridiculing the true Christians

verse 9 says:

(Revelation 2:9) I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

certain Jews in Smyrna viewed Jewish Christians as the worst sort of heretic, and persecuted them

notice the phrase, "who say they are Jews, but are not, but are a synagogue of Satan"

although these Jews were physically descended from Abraham, they didn’t have faith in Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham

and when they met together for worship, these Jews were accomplishing Satan’s purposes rather than God’s purposes

so in essence, the believers were catching it from both sides

the secular religious authorities, and then the religious Jews were ridiculing them

so the Romans are intimidating the believers at the church in Smyrna, leading to afflictions and abject poverty

and the Jews are ridiculing them

and now in verse 10 the prediction comes that things are going to get worse

(Revelation 2:10) 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.

there is more suffering on the way

some of the true believers in the church at Smyrna are going to go to prison for their faith, or even worse

a tougher testing time is coming, a time of even greater tribulation

a ten-day time frame, which is not a literal ten days

most scholars think that refers to a season of testing

but it’s headed their way

things are going to get much worse for the church at Smyrna

and let’s be clear who’s launching this attack

it’s Satan

according to verse 10, it’s Satan who is going to put them in prison for ten days and test them

now, I wonder what would happen to Richview Baptist Church if it was ever subjected to a season of intense testing?

what do you think?

I wonder what would happen if word came to us from God that every believer in this church, even you, is going to have to look forward to a season of intense persecution, abject poverty, constant ridicule, if you continue to serve God here at this church

I wonder how many of us would remain faithful to Christ and faithful to each other if doing so would cause us to pay that kind of price?

a Christian leader whose ministry has spanned many decades and many continents made an observation a few years back that rarely does an effective church go ten years without an intense time of testing

his opinion was that the evil one refuses to let a vibrant ministry go unopposed for more than a decade

often, during what seems to be a period of relative calm, Satan is busy planning strategies and laying snares so that when the time is ripe for a major assault, many casualties can be sustained

when God’s people in a church begin to cry out for his blessing, as we did a week ago, you can be sure that Satan takes note

you can be sure that any time a church begins to move in a positive direction; any time a church begins to attack the strongholds of Satan; any time a church enters a period of spiritual battle; any time this happens, Satan will respond

the point I want you to ponder this morning is that Satan specializes in attacking churches and Christians

and he sets well-laid snares and uses cunning devices to bring shame, poverty, and division to God’s servants

no church is exempt from Satan’s attacks

and those churches that are more effective can expect more of Satan’s attention

on the basis of Scripture and church history, I can say this morning that we will not go unopposed

we can expect major times of opposition from the evil one

our time of testing as a church is coming sooner or later

I wonder how many of us gathered here this morning will stand strong through it?

and to a church that’s about to undergo an intense time of spiritual battle, Jesus gives two words of encouragement

FIRST, WE CAN TAKE COMFORT IN THE FACT THAT WE AREN’T BEING ASKED TO ENDURE SOMETHING THAT JESUS DIDN’T ENDURE HIMSELF

in verse 8, Jesus says:

(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.

Jesus introduces himself in a way that is unique among the seven letters to the churches in Revelation

and in verse 8, he essentially says to the church at Smyrna, "Remember who’s writing this letter to you. I know suffering firsthand. I know what severe testing is all about. I know what poverty is like. I know how it feels to be ridiculed. I’ve been there, firsthand and full-force."

and he says, "I was dead, and am now alive"

can you imagine what this word must have meant to the church in Smyrna?

when told that they were about to undergo a more severe time of testing, they could remind themselves that not only had Jesus suffered in the same way, but he had triumphed

he had experienced the worst that Satan had to offer, and still he made it through

I’ve been in churches under Satan’s attack before

but no matter how severe the time of testing, I remind myself that I don’t know the true meaning of suffering

whenever I find myself having to pay what I consider to be a rather high price now and then for being a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit reminds me that I’ve never taken a physical beating for the cause of Christ, not even once

I’ve never spent a night in jail for Christ’s sake

I’ve never shed a drop of blood for my faith

and when I process thoughts like this and think of what Jesus had to go through to accomplish his mission from God, to go through his time of testing, I think to myself, "Why should I expect to pay a lesser price than my Savior paid?"

why should we have to pay a lesser price to accomplish the mission that God has given us, than Jesus paid to accomplish the mission that God gave him?

his was a high-cost mission – should mine be a low-cost mission?

if our church enters the tunnel of testing, and many of you have to pay higher prices for following Christ than you’ve ever paid before, and some of you have to pay a higher price for staying faithful in your service here, then keep your eyes on the price that Jesus paid

he set the pace, he showed us how to stay faithful unto death, and he did not ask us to pay a price that he himself was unwilling to pay

and as I can see it, when Jesus identified himself as the author of this message to Smyrna, what he was saying was, "Your testing time is coming. I expect you to be faithful even to the point of death. I was. Let me example inspire you. Let it fire you up to follow my footsteps, no matter what the price"

the second word of encouragement Jesus gives a church under Satan’s attack is this:

REALIZE THAT SATAN IS LIMITED IN WHAT HE CAN ATTACK

remember that Satan is not like God – his powers are limited

over and over again, Satan overplays his hand

he lacks subtlety

and although Satan can make life very difficult for a church and for a believer, there are certain limitations on what he can do

God has the final word on all of our testings

in the case of Smyrna, Satan was limited in three ways

he was unable to affect their spiritual condition

(Revelation 2:9) I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich!

despite the material poverty and persecution, and the pressure from Romans and Jews, the church in Smyrna remained faithful

despite their material poverty, this was a church that was spiritually rich

their spiritual condition was a healthy one

and unlike five of the seven churches addressed in chapters 2 and 3, this was a church that received no words of condemnation and warning from Jesus Christ because of their spiritual condition

I don’t know about you, but I find it encouraging that in a church that was experiencing Satan’s direct attack, the people were able to stay spiritually healthy

no matter how much Satan attacks, we through Jesus Christ can withstand his attack

as we depend on God, Satan is unable to affect our spiritual condition

Satan is also limited in the duration and target of his attack

(Revelation 2:10) I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.

not everyone was going to suffer in the same way

only some of them were going to be cast into prison – probably those who God knew would be able to endure it

but not everybody would come under attack

and it would only be for a limited duration

the verse says, "ten days" – probably symbolic for an unknown and yet limited amount of time

in the first century Roman world, you weren’t just imprisoned as a punishment

imprisonment was a prelude to trial and execution

(Revelation 2:10) Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

and that leads us to the third limitation of Satan

Satan is limited in the result of the attack

although Satan could and would be able to persecute them economically, to subject them to ridicule, to imprison them, and even to kill them, there was one thing he could not do – deny them the crown of life

to those who are faithful to Christ even to the point of death, Christ will reward with the imperishable crown of life, which cannot be taken away

let me tell you about one man who was probably sitting in the congregation when this letter was read

his name was Polycarp, who later became bishop of Smyrna, and one of the best known Christians in the early church

we know that at about 155 AD, sixty years after Revelation was written, he was martyred as the "twelfth martyr of Smyrna"

he was asked to say Caesar is Lord, and to reproach Christ

and he replied about Jesus, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?"

so Polycarp, perhaps a young man sitting in the congregation hearing the letter read, became one of many who would give up their lives for Christ

God is faithful to us in life, and God even remains faithful to us to the point of death

to those who are faithful to Christ to the point of death, there remains a crown of life

and as verse 11 says:

(Revelation 2:11) He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

he will be faithful to us on the day of resurrection, and as verse 11 says, we will not be hurt at all by the second death, the death of eternal punishment

can you imagine what an encouragement this must have been to the believers at Smyrna?

they learned that a severe time of testing was coming, and were challenged to remain faithful no matter what

Jesus endured his time of testing

and not only that, Satan is incredibly limited in what he can attack

he can’t attack their spiritual condition; he’s not in control of the duration and target of his attack; in fact, he can’t even control the result of his attack

God had the final word on their testings

and today, in 1999 at Richview Baptist Church, God has the final word in what Satan can do in our lives and in this church

an intense period of spiritual battle might be around the corner – we don’t know

but we do know that no matter how bad things might get, Jesus has endured struggle himself

and no matter what happens, Satan is limited in what he can do

think about it, friends, soberly

Satan has the power to rock your life with tests and adversity

Satan has the power to rock this church to its foundations

he can engineer a series of events and tragedies that could push each of us to the edge of our limits

the question is, when that happens to each of us individually, or all of us together, will you endure the test? Will I endure the test? Will we together endure the test?

if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, I think we can, and I hope I can, and I hope you can

as we focus on the example of Christ, and know he understands, and we keep reminding ourselves of the reward for those who stay faithful in the tests

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The Tested Church (Revelation 2:8-11)