Turn back to Revelation Chapter
2. Revelation Chapter 2. You're going to look at the church
in Smyrna. I titled this message, I Know. I Know. have comforting. We ought to find that. The Lord
says, I know. I know your work, your labor,
your tribulation, your pain, your poverty. I know. I know it. Let's look at this. You know,
one thing I've realized about these letters, these seven letters.
I believe that these seven letters to these seven churches really
represent the church throughout all ages, what she goes through. She'll go through all these things
that you'll find in these seven letters. You'll find the church
going through these things throughout the ages. And here we come to
the second one. And there is no fault mentioned
about this church. The Lord doesn't find one fault
in her. He doesn't mention one thing like he did the church
in Ephesus. And he dictates this letter to
John to give to this church in Smyrna. to comfort them in their
tribulations, which was severe. It was severe. Some would be cast into prison. Some would even die for the faith. Some believe that the martyr
Polycarp was the first bishop of this church and was put Now,
whether he was or not, I don't know, but many of the writers
believe that Polycarp was the bishop and he was put to death. Persecution comes with identification
with our Lord in this world. If you are truly identified with
him, you're going to suffer persecution.
That's what he's pointing out here in this letter. John was
in exile when he wrote this. All the other apostles had already
been put to death. All of them had already been
put to death when this was written. Turn over to 2 Timothy. We'll turn to a few different
scriptures here. 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3, look in verse
10. But thou hast fully known my
doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity,
patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch,
at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured. But out of them all
But out of them all the Lord delivered me, yea, and all that
will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Paul's
saying it's going to happen. All who live godly now in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. Look over in the book of Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14. Let me find my place. Look in
verse 21. And when they had preached the
gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again
to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls
of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith,
and that we must through much tribulation, not a little, not
a little, but much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Much tribulation. Look over in
Matthew 16. Notice what our Lord says here
in Matthew 16. This caught my attention this
week in my reading, and I thought of this as I was reading this
letter to this church. In Matthew 16, Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
this is to his disciples, are there any disciples here tonight?
This is to you, this is to me. If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever
will lose his life for my sake shall find it. What is a man
profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own
soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? But in verse 24, let him deny
himself and take up his cross. There is no such thing as a painless
cross. If it's painless, it's not a
cross. It's not a trial. I want to go back here to Revelations
chapter 2. I want us to first notice that
Christ identifies Himself to this church and to this church,
this church right now. He says He's the first and the
last, which was dead and is alive. This is for our comfort. Christ
is the first. He is before all things. Nothing supersedes Him. Look over at Colossians chapter
1. Colossians chapter 1, it says
in verse 16, that are in heaven, that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him
and for Him, and He is before all things." He said, I am first. In the beginning, God. He is before all things, and
by Him all things consist or are held together. All things
are held together. So this is why I comfort. I am
the first. All things are under his rule
right now. As I grow older, I find, I'm telling you, I find
so much comfort when you turn off, when you finally turn off
the news. I find so much comfort and the fact, the truth, that
the Lord Jesus Christ is ruling this world. I'm telling you,
I don't know how people keep their sanity that don't believe.
I guess it's because they're dead. That explains dead, doesn't
it? But I find great comfort in that.
And he says here, he's the last. begin with him," now get this,
all things are going to end with him. What he's saying here is, I am
the sovereign. It all begins with me and it
all ends with me. He has the first and the last
word. You know, when you're with your children,
you say, I have the last word on this. If you're the boss,
if you're over something and you have the responsibility,
you have the responsibility. Now you listen. If you have the
responsibility when all is said and done, when all the committees
have met and everybody's sitting there at peace, you have the
last word to make sure of that. If you bear the responsibility
of it, you bear the last word of it. He says here, I have the
last word. I'm glad he does. I know we're
glad He does. But He has the last word and
everyone will stand before Him and give account to Him. To Him. All things are subordinate
to Him. Not going to be. They are now. Right now. And then He says here, which
was dead He sets forth his substitutionary work. That's what he's doing.
I'm the first and I'm the last. I'm God. That's what he's saying. I'm God. Who was dead. I died. His death was real. His death was real. He has tasted
death for every one of his sheep. You see, he's going to tell this
church here, some of you are going to die. Some of you are
going to die. You're going to be martyrs. You're
going to die for the sake of the gospel. But I tell you what,
you're not dying for sin. There's a big difference. He
did. He did. He has tasted death for every
one of his sheep. He took death and he conquered
it. He took the sting out of death. He took the victory away from
the grave. He did this. The believer's death
is no more than a good night's sleep. You ever had a good night's
sleep? They get fewer as you get older.
But I tell you, you have a good night's sleep, you wake up, you're
refreshed. That's what happens when a believer
dies. It's just like a good night's
sleep when you wake up in the morning. But he says here, which was dead, and is alive. I think it was Barnard I heard
say this and it just clicked the light on for me. I dig Christ
can't save anybody. It's the risen Lord who saves.
Saved just by His death, by His blood, by His righteousness.
But it's the risen Lord who saves sinners. Because I watch live, you shall
live also. He conquered death, hell, and
the grave. His resurrection is proof that
God has accepted Him and us in Him. I was dead and now I'm alive. Look over here in chapter 1.
Look in verse 17. John said, I fell at his feet
as dead. Everyone who met the Lord, everyone
fell at his feet, didn't they? Abraham. See everybody standing
up there? They all fall at his feet and
worship him. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto
me, Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth
and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Death has no more claims on him. And death has no claims on any
of those in him. I don't know if we'll ever enjoy
the comfort of that until it's time that we die. You know, when
we really come up to the place to die, then we'll find out what that
means. And we'll find out that I'm alive forevermore. Because
I live, you shall live also. He's alive, he's alive to reign
forevermore, no more to die. And then he says this, he says,
I know, I know. There in verse 9, after he reveals
himself, after he reveals himself to the church, then he says to
them in verse 9, I know, Christ is the omniscient, omnipotent,
all-knowing God. He knows all things. I do not
know all things about you. You don't know all things about
me. I don't know what's going on
in your lives. I don't know what's going on
in the past of your lives. I mean, I don't know your lives.
He does. He knows every minute second
of it. He knows all things. He's God. He knows all hearts. No thought
can be withholden from Him. Now what does He know? He says
here, thy works, thy works. Christ knows our work, our works. and labor of love done in His
name. It never really dawned on me today when I was going
over this, not even a cup of cold water given in His name
goes unnoticed. Not even a cup of water goes
unnoticed in His name. Struck me when I read that. He
said, I know thy works. See, we think of doing great
things. We think of, you know, it's like running a marathon
or something for Christ. That's the kind of attitude that
people think when they... No, he said, just a cup of cold
water in my name. It's recognized. Just like that
woman. All those people passed by the
treasury and those who had plenty cast in their money and plenty.
He said, they cast in their plenty, but there's one poor old woman
walked by and cast in a penny. And he said she's cast in more
than everybody. Now who would have thought that?
If he hadn't revealed that, you and I would have never known
that. She cast in from her poverty, her want, but she gave it. And
the Lord took notice of it. The God of heaven and earth took
notice of that penny dropped in that plate. Look over in Hebrews chapter
6, and look in verse 10. and do minister. You might have
just helped one, and you might have thought it, and it may have
appeared so insignificant. He recognizes it. That you've
ministered to the saints. You gave one a cup of cold water.
It's thirsty. He said, when I was hungry, He
fed me. When I was thirsty, He gave me
a drink. When I was naked, he gave me
something to wear. He took notice of that. They
said, Lord, when did we see you like hungry, thirsty and naked? As much as you've done it to
the least of these, my brethren, you've done it to me. You've
done it to me. I know thy works. I know them. And then he says, I know your
tribulation. You go through some troublesome times, some real
heartaches, and you think no one knows. No one knows. There's one that knows that really
matters. There's one that really matters. And he says, I know
your tribulation. I know what you're going through.
I know the pain of your heart. I know it. I don't know about
it. He doesn't say I know about it.
I know it. He's touched with it, with the
feeling of our infirmities. I know your tribulations. It's
not possible, first of all, to believe on Christ, be His disciple,
and not suffer for it. Not if you let it out. If you're
in, you'll let it out. Now, I know this, though. I do
know this. We live in a free society, and we are not persecuted
like they were persecuted. This is our forefathers here,
spiritually, the church. This is it. It cost them their
job. When one of them was baptized,
and they believed on Christ, they were kicked out. They were
kicked out of the home. and lose their jobs, especially
when they were Jews, they would lose their jobs, they'd lose
their family, then they was cast into prison. They suffered. They suffered. Someone lost their life on this
earth, this fleshly life. You can't lose your life. It's
here with Christ in God. But we still suffer rejection,
We suffer misunderstanding. And some suffer more. Some suffer less. But we do suffer.
And the Lord says, I know. I know. You may not know. I may not know.
But He knows. He knows. You know, how many
times did I find out something that's already a month past? You know, somebody goes through
something and they say, did you hear about it? It was all on
Facebook. You wouldn't know how many times
I hear that. It's all on Facebook. Well, I'm not on Facebook. And
I find out about it two or three weeks later. He knows before
it happens. That's the truth. He knows before
it happens. And I'll show you this. I'll
show you this here in a minute. And it says here, and I know
you're poverty. I don't want to be poor, do you?
There's not a person here who wants to be poor. Everybody would
like to be rich. I have not met one person who
would like to be poor. I've not ran into one. We all like to be rich, but he
said this, I know your poverty. Why were they poor? Were they not very intelligent?
I'm going to tell you why they were poor. They were poor for
Christ's sake. They were poor because of the
gospel they believed, because of their connection to Christ,
because of their faithfulness to Christ. Like I said, they
lost jobs, they were harassed. They were poor over the gospel.
And Christ says, I know your poverty. Your poverty. They were poor because of the
gospel they believed. But then it says there's a parenthesis
there. I know you're poverty, but now
listen. You don't really know it yet
like you're going to know it. It's not tangible where you can
get a hold of it and look at it. He said, but thou art rich. Look at it. But thou art rich. Thou art rich beyond measure.
I'm looking at some of the richest people in the world. I'm telling
you, that's real to me. That's real. You're rich. If you have Christ,
all things are yours in Christ. And Christ is God's. We have
all that God can give us. We can't even start to imagine
what that is in this flesh, these little peanut brains of ours.
But you're rich, he says. The riches we have in Christ
are durable riches. The rich man in this life, the
Scripture says, the rich man's riches won't let him sleep. But
I tell you what, the riches we have in Christ let us sleep like
a baby. Durable riches. They cannot be
lost, cannot be stolen. They cannot rust. Only those in Christ are truly
rich, unsearchable riches of Christ.
Then he says this, I know the blasphemy of them who say they
are Jews but are not. But they're the synagogue of
Satan. One time some of those Pharisees
said to the Lord, we be Abraham's seed. He said, no, you're a father
to the devil. He knows all hypocrites. He knows them. He knows the weak
from the terrorists. He knows the sheep from the goats. He knows the pretenders. He knows. He knows. The Lord knoweth them
that are His, Scripture says. He knows the real from the false.
He knows them that trust Him and them that do not trust Him.
A lot passes off for Christianity. But He says, I know. I know. Them who say they are the Jews,
they are the people of God, He says, I know who they are. I
know who they are. And I'll take care of them. I'll take care of them. And then
here's a comfort. He says, fear none of those things
which thou shalt suffer. First of all, he's telling us
here, you're going to suffer. You are going to suffer, but
fear none of those things. You know, fear is just a part
of us because of sin, because of the fall. It's such a natural
thing for us to fear. It's hard to overcome, isn't
it? It's hard to overcome. And I tell you this, fear will
shut you down. It'll shut you down. There's
one thing I keep telling Jeremy that Paul Thacker told me. He
said, you can't run a business with fear. You can't be afraid.
And I tell you, when he told me that, it was like a light
clicked on. You can't be afraid. And I remember we were looking
at a building. We were looking at a building here somewhere,
I think it was in Arlington or somewhere. And Henry told me,
he said, now, if you think that's the building to buy, he said,
if you buy it, Don't you look back. He said, you go forward
and don't dare look back. He said, when you make the decision
to do something, do it and don't look back. I thought, man, those
are nuggets. You can take it home with you.
Those are nuggets. You can't do anything in fear.
Fear shuts you down. The fear of man, the Scripture
says, bringeth a snare. If I tell you this, the fear
of God will make you bold as a lion. It will. Christ foretells them of coming
in trouble because of their faithfulness to the gospel. He said, but fear
none of these things. And listen, he says here, the
devil is going to cast some of you into prison. He's telling them what's going
to happen. These people have families. John
Bunyan spent twelve years in a dungeon over the gospel. Twelve years. All he had to do
was deny the gospel, deny Christ, and they'd let him out. Gone
home to his family. He said, the devil is going to
cast some of you into prison. I found comfort in this. He knows what's coming and He
controls it. It's not like this is going to
sneak up on anybody. Nothing's going to sneak up on
Him. And He forewarns His church here. And He's going to control
it because listen to this. Boy, this is good. You shall have tribulation ten
days. There's a limit. There's a limit
to every trial that you and I go through. And he says ten days. You say, well, that's not very
long. Our lives are not very long. And what we go through
in this life is never very long. Look over in 2 Corinthians chapter
4. He tells him exactly how long
this is going to last. Now, whether it lasts an actual
ten days or what he's telling here, There is a definite time
period on this trial, and it's over. That's the way it is with
every trial. There's a definite time period.
Sometimes it feels like it's not going to be over. But he
says here, you shall have tribulation ten
days. Listen to this in 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. Paul says in verse 15, for all
things are for your sakes. that the abundant grace might,
through the thanksgiving of many, bring down to the glory of God.
For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction
which is but for a moment." And he's always talking about our
lifetime. You take our lifetime. If I live to be 70, 80, or whatever, It's but for a moment, ten days. It's just a short period of time.
Well, I need to finish reading it, don't I? Let me go back. Okay. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal way to glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, a little while. But the things
which are not seen are eternal. You're going to have tribulation,
he said, for ten days. There's a set time to all trouble,
and then it's over. Now, it may lead to death, as
it's going to here with some of these people in this church. They gave their life for the
gospel. Put to death. But it's over, isn't it? He said,
these tribulations are going to last for ten days. And I'm
telling you what, they lost jobs, homes, family. Where are they
now? And they've been there now almost 2,000 years. My, that little short period
of time. Look, they're in eternity. They're in eternity. Here's the promise. Here's the
promise. Let me get back here to Revelation
chapter 2. But be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown
of life. What's that crown of life? It's eternal life. This is it. Here's the crown of life to every
believer. It's eternal life. Eternal life. Now he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. I pray that what you have heard
tonight is what the Spirit hath to say. What He hath said. Not me. Not me. I pray that He's the one speaking. Did you hear him? He that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh
shall not be hurt of the second death. Second death? What's that? That's hell. That's hell. That's what that is. Look in
Revelation chapter 20. Now I'll wind this down. Revelation
chapter 20, verse 6. Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second
death hath no power, but they shall be priest of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. But the
second death, he says, has no power. Now look over in verse
fourteen. Well, let's go to verse eleven.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was
found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God, and the books were opened. And another
book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which
were in them. And they were judged, every man,
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire." This is the second death. Now look
in chapter 21, verse 8. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things. As I said, all things are yours
in Christ. And I will be his God, and he shall be my Son.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers,
and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire
and brimstone, which is the second death. But he says here, back over in
chapter 2, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. He that overcometh, he that believes on Christ, follows
Christ, loves Christ, shall not be hurt by the second death. Not at all. That person, that sinner is a
partaker of the First Resurrection. Christ. But here's our comfort. Here's our comfort. Christ says,
I know. I know your work. I know your
labor. I know your poverty. I know your tribulations. I know. I know. And that ought to give
us great comfort.