Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

Here's what you need.

Now need somebody to fill the pool with.

It looks good at all like that.

You don't like the church nothing.

But, but we're glad that you're you're here today, and I appreciate Vicki picking out all the music that she does.

That always goes well with the sermon and I was thinking, as I was standing there and singing, I was thinking how hard it is to praise the Lord in the storm it in it.

When you think about the storms in your life, do you praise the Lord even in the midst of the storm?

Well, last week we started a new series on the seven churches, in in Revelation and if you remember last week, we talked about the church at Ephesus and they had lost their first.

What their first love and other words, they were busy serving Christ and they were doing a lot of good things but they were doing it with the wrong motivation.

Not because they love Christ so they were just doing it out of a sense of Duty and not devotion.

Well, we we sing about the storms in life.

And what I want to talk about today in the title of this sermon Is the coming persecution?

And what I'm talkin about is the coming persecution.

Not only of of individual Christians but also of the church.

now, what we don't hear in the news, is that Ever since the church began, the church has been persecuted.

And we don't hear a whole lot in the news about Christians being martyred for their faith.

We think about that may be back in the first century.

But we don't think about that happening today.

But did you know, around the world every year?

Over 100 million Christians are martyred, think of that number.

In the last decade or so, matter of fact.

In the twentieth century from there to now 65% of all the martyrs have taken place.

But we don't hear that.

Do we in the news?

We don't we don't we don't hear about Christians being killed for their faith.

And so today, what we want to talk about and what I want to talk about is coming persecution.

And we going to talk about the church at Smyrna and they were the what I would call The Suffering Church.

You know, we did a series not too long ago on suffering.

I hope that you can apply some of what you learned in that to this message today.

So turn the Revelation Chapter 2 and we're only going to look at verses 8 through 11 and this is the church at Smyrna.

Now there's two churches that Christ does not have anything bad to say to.

One of my Smyrna and the other was Philadelphia.

So today what you going to know this is he says nothing bad about this church, anything that they had lost her first.

Lovely.

They still serve that he has no message of reprimand whatsoever.

But look what he does say to this church beginning in church in verse 8 and to the angel of the church in Smyrna, right?

And Angel course, neither a guardian angel or the pastor of the church, Angel of the church in Smyrna, right?

These things says the first and the last.

Who was dead and came to life.

This underlined that who was dead and came to life.

Because that's going to mean a lot to these people at Smyrna and I'm going to let you know why in the message.

Now, look what he says.

Now, I'm reading.

Now, the new King James.

If you have a King James or New King James, it's going to say, I know your works.

If you have basically any other translation, you're not going to see that phrase, your works.

He just goes right into tribulation.

So I know you're Works tribulation and poverty and I look in the parenthesis, but you are rich.

And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan.

So not only are these Christians being persecuted by the Romans, they're being persecuted by their own people, the Jews.

First 10, do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.

indeed the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days, underlined 10 days, the last That's a little confusing statement.

I think I could Bend you or anything for 10 days, if that's what it means, 10 days but he says be faithful unto death and I will give you the Crown of Life, underlined that phrase Crown of Life cuz that's going to be important to He who has a ear.

Let him hear what the spirit says, to the churches.

He who overcomes.

Shall not be hurt by the underlined that second death.

What in the world is that I know what your dad wants, what's the second?

We'll see about that.

Shall not be hurt by the second death notice.

He says, he who overcomes You know, the Bible calls us as Christians to be Overcomers many Christians think we ought to be Cooper's.

No, we're not copers.

We don't cope.

We overcome, maybe then.

That's what we do.

We overcome and we will overcome it in the New Testament, much as written to Believers in Christ, who are suffering because of no fault of their own except just being faithful.

So, what do you say to people who are suffering for their faith?

This is not some theoretical question.

People all around the world are suffering today for their faithfulness to Christ.

And friends, the day's going to come.

We're more and more people will suffer for the same reason and I'm not talkin about in Africa, or Egypt or places Suitland in places like that.

I'm talkin about in America.

In America, we're going to suffer for being faithful to cry.

It's already happening, it's already Preachers are going to be phone in jail.

We're going to suffer and it is coming quickly to America.

The second of the seven letters, contains Christ words to a suffering church or to suffering Christians.

That's why it's so important that we understand this boat.

Let's look at Point.

Number one is the destination of the letter, you say, well, it's the smart.

Well, what is where is Smyrna?

Well, let me tell you about.

It was 35 miles north of Ephesus.

and it is of all the seven churches that Christ wrote to Smyrna is the only city.

The Still Standing today.

Where the church in Smyrna was is today.

Modern-day Izmir Turkey.

Now Izmir Turkey is the third largest city in Turkey is behind.

I think it's been Bull and one more.

So I pulled Izmir Turkey up on Google Earth yesterday and it looks like that you're looking at downtown Dallas.

There's roads going ever.

I mean it is a huge, huge Metropolis.

And just homes and buildings and businesses everywhere.

There's today and Izmir Turkey, where Smyrna was remember the suffering church today, there's 3.5 million people there.

Just incredible.

Now, why is that important?

Well, because Smyrna was founded.

As a Greek colony and 1000 BC and it was destroyed in 600 BC.

And it was rebuilt by one of Alexander the Great's generals around 300 BC in that has been ever since a matter of Pride, for the inhabitants, not only a Smyrna, but of Izmir Turkey.

Because here's the saying that they say Our city died.

But now it is alive again.

They've been saying that for thousands of years Our city died but now it is alive again.