Revelation 2:8-11

Sermon Notes

7 Letters to 7 Churches exhibit a common pattern:

• City/ Name of the church
• Reference to Christ from ch. 1
• Commendation
• Accusation
• Exhortation
• The summons to hear and heed
• Motivating promise

7 churches, 7 categories of spiritual training:

1. Ephesus – learning to keep first things first
2. Smyrna – encouragement in times of suffering
3. Pergamum – exhortation to hold fast to the truth
4. Thyatira – discipline to become more holy
5. Sardis – warning to wake up and strengthen what remains
6. Philadelphia – exhortation to stay on mission

“The churches of the Revelation show us that churches are not Victorian parlors where everything is always picked up and ready for guests. They are messy family rooms… They are not show rooms. They are living rooms, and if the persons living in them are sinners, there are going to be clothes scattered about, handprints on the woodwork, and mud on the carpet.”
Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder

Revelation 2:8-11 – The Letter to the Church at Smyrna

“Eighty and six years have I served Christ, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
Polycarp

Encouragement for those who suffer:

1. Know that the Lord is aware of our past and present sufferings.
2. Be aware that there is more suffering to come.
3. Do not be afraid as you faithfully endure, because no matter what kind or how much suffering may befall us in this life, Christ will have the last word .

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:11-12

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

“Nothing provokes the world’s opposition more than the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it emphasizes such unpalatable doctrines as the gravity of human sin and guilt, the reality of God’s wrath and judgment, the impossibility of self-salvation, the necessity of the cross, the freeness of eternal life, and the dangers of eternal death. These truths undermine human pride and arouse human opposition.”
John Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church

“Think of the way Jesus feels about Good Friday now. It is no longer painful to him, but triumphant and happy. So, one day, will every ounce of suffering in this life be to us. Resurrection is coming: which means not
merely the end of pain, but turning pain to glory.”
Gavin Ortlund