12:1). 2:10 states, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. There are too many professing Christians which the Lord cannot depend upon. Title: Death of two great patriarchs The church in Smyrna was a church of paradoxes. Some of you will be thrown into prison for a time. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. But look at Jesus (John 1:10-11, Mark 5:40, And on the first anniversary of that wonderful experience, he wrote that marvelous hymn: [O for a Thousand Tongues, Charles Wesley]. Let me finish with three points of application. Of those 70 million that scholars estimate, 70 million Christian martyrs in the history of the Church, 45 million were killed in the 20th century, in the last 100 years. We have to remember the reality to come which will last forever and the reality that exists now. He said you can avoid that second hellish death and though you may face martyrdom, you can live a glorious, joyous life, because on the other side of the first death, is eternal life. They worship every now and then but not with any kind of regularity. The Lord said, if we are faithful unto death, He would give us a CROWN OF LIFE. So the men prepared the pyre and stripped Polycarp of his clothes, and as they were about to nail him to the stake, Polycarp interrupted. read more, Scripture: Tempted to disbelieve the Word of God. The Bible says that Zaccheus was a rich man [Luke 19:1-2]. He comes with comfort, and notice He comes with commands. While we stand and while we pray. WebClosed with a few words from Revelation chapter 2, including the line, "be faithful unto death." They are all doing it. Repent. Now the next verse: And God counted his faith for righteousness, because he believed in the Lord [Genesis 16:6]. That right there was meant to be comfort. WebBe Faithful Unto Death The sixth step Jesus said, "Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Polycarp was born in A.D. 69, so just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of the Temple, well within the lifespan of some who would have been eyewitnesses to Christ and his work. This is a study of the book of Genesis. Some of those Christians have been killed by other Christians. Knowing that we are not facing these exact circumstances, and we can be thankful for it, what does this mean for us? Self, by nature, is on the throne of my heart. He lived to be 86 years old, and for the second half of his life he served as the bishop of Smyrna, which we just read is the second city in Revelation, today the modern city of Izmir in Turkey. And what you do and what you believe and how you carry yourself is thought strange? having been freed(Deuteronomy 15:12-18), B. The Lord knows. Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. I recognize the first born of Satan. So he didnt mess around. He never knows a turning back or an ultimate defeat. Each sermon has to do with our Christian life down here in the earth. 10:17), 1. Remember, they considered the Christians to be atheists because they didnt have any statues, they didnt have idols. He dressed like a Tory schoolmaster. And Jesus will reign now and into eternity. Now even saying it that way can make us nervous, is this anti-Semitism? Faithfulness is required for all four quarters, all three periods, all nine innings. It is like manna from heaven to a hungry heart. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love (Jn. The Word of God tells us to have compassion for our brothers and sisters who are facing difficulty and prison and opposition, and some will even pay the ultimate price of martyrdom. Faithfulness involves giving our whole heart to God and trying to please him each day we live. IF we are in CHRIST. Some put it much lower than that, if its actually killing you because you confess Christ, the higher number is if in some way the state has starvation or death or opposition to religious groups, including Christians. All England came to know him. WebFEATURE SERMON TEXT-FEATURE Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands The other place it is used is to describe the face of that young man. Hezekiah held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments (2 Ki. And that is our invitation to you: a family gathering the children coming to be with us in our pilgrimage to heaven, a couple you, or a one somebody you, Pastor, today we have decided for God, and here we stand. As the Spirit shall press the appeal to your heart, that decision you make, if it is for God, will be the sweetest and most meaningful you will ever know in your life. Whatever the church is facing, and here in Smyrna it was persecution, hatred, opposition, suffering, what they need to see more than anything is not a 12-step plan, not a 3 steps to their better life now, they need to know ultimate reality of the One who sits on the throne and they need to know the ultimate reality that will be theirs should they be faithful unto death. And they had a little boy born to the home and they named him JohnJohn Fawcett. We can remember the love that God has for us. FAITHFUL Centuries earlier, during the period when Rome was struggling with Carthage for supremacy, Smyrna sided with the Romans. [Matthew 19:20; Mark 10:20]. That number of about 0.8% of Christians throughout history, in fact, has been constant over many centuries. by But to be left out like a lone, lost black sheep is to be hurt and the child is a thousand times sensitive to it. We read when the magistrate persisted and said, Swear the oath and I will release you. 2 Kings 2:1-12. Christian Life, Faith, Love, Loyalty, Self-Denial, Great Doctrines of the Bible: Practical Theology, 1983, Revelation. Jesus calls us to overcome. Try to set an example from time to time to pray for it here from the pulpit. THREE IMPORTANT LOOKS OR PAUL'S LAST TESTIMONY The Bible contains many examples of those who forsook God because of evil influences. Its a letter from Jesus, who is the Jewish Messiah. 3:14). That about 1 out of 120 Christians in the broadest sense of the term, may face martyrdom for the cause of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4 read more, Scripture: 18:6). And you cannot enter heaven loving the wrong world. Be faithful even unto the point of death because brother, sister, friend, when youre faithful to the point of death for Jesus, you get a crown of life. Which leads to a second point of application. Well, no, notice what this letter says: The slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not. WebFeaturing a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands including all mobile platforms + newsletter. The one who overcomes, who conquers, will not be hurt by the second death, that is, the eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Faithfulness means you keep bearing witness to Jesus. The reason our adolescents, our young people, fall into, say, drugs, or into drinking, or into a thousand compromising positions, is because of peer pressure. by The real hero is not he who makes the fastest schedule but he who lasts the longest. Web10/ 9/ 94 FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH REVELATION 2: 10 (PAGE 1785 COME ALIVE BIBLE) JESUS CHRIST is appropriately spoken of as "the faithful witness" (Rev. Lets pray. I love that. He was soon to dieto be rejected [Mark 10:32-34]. Faithfulness is full time until the end of time. John 1:10-11: Jesus was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. And when John Fawcett stood and preached before the king, the king was so moved he said to the preacher, Ask anything and I will give it to thee. And the wonderful preacher replied, Sir, I have nothing for myself, but one of my families has a boy, a wayward boy who faces the sentence of death for forgery, in the strict laws of that time. We do not have a more beautiful or meaningful invitational hymn than this: Though no one go with me, I still will follow. THE CHURCH THAT WOULD NOT SURRENDER Evil influences prevent people from being faithful. In many parts of the West, though not facing yet death, are facing increasing hostility and discrimination, not the likes of which our brothers and sisters may see in Afghanistan or North Korea or parts of northern Africa, but yet facing opposition, persecution. Not only that, but to receive from Jesus this comfort, its not simply the comfort of a really good friend who can put an arm around you or a counselor or a therapist or a pastor who can listen to you say and say, I feel so bad for you.. Thats loving Jesus. It tarries through the last breath. That may sound daunting. Moule]. And if you would just swear by Caesar, recant Christ, just let them go. Listen to this: Romans 4:17: God, who quickeneth the dead, calleth those things which be not as though they were, Abraham [Genesis 17:5], against hope, believed in hope. Youre going to suffer. You may say, Well, wait a minute, Pastor. Polycarp by all accounts was a venerable man, highly respected for his holiness and orthodoxy. Where, O death, is your victory? It continues to the last stitch. A third characteristic of the true child of Christ: we are one who has deliberately chosen the cross. To us, we use the word cross to refer to some handicap or some suffering or some disappointment, I have an incorrigible child, an obstreperous child, and it is a cross for me to bear. Or, I have some physical ailment, I have a cross to bear. Or, I have a frustration or a disappointment in my life; it is my cross. There is no such idea of that in the Bible; in the Scriptures a cross is something to die on. So, what is this sin? We all love to be acclaimed. read more, Scripture: In the fifteenth chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy is one of the most unusual parabolic instances of devotion that you could ever think for or find in all literature. So many fall away because they are selfish-they dont care what God says theyre going to do what they want to do. Not only is there no evidence of immortality, but the facts show it is utterly impossible for us that there should be a life beyond this one on earth. Thats what they say, the unbeliever and the infidel and the agnostic. 22:37). We respond in Faith! Paul wrote along similar lines "I have fought the 4:7 ), I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. While God promises that He will keep all that He saves, the process is Given This comes in chapter 21, the final chapter in some of the manuscripts of The Martyrdom of Polycarp. It was a difficult situation. If we are faithful, God will save us and glorify us in the life to come. You have no picture of what actually that word describes at all in He was sad at that saying. The word is stugnaz. The second characteristic and mark of a faithful Christian: the denial of self. Death to sin through Christ Luke 14:25 and 26: And there went great multitudes with Him: and He turned, and said unto them, If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, his wife, and children, his brothers, and sisters, and yea, his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Gave his life to be a Baptist preacher, VII. By a living faith, I mean one consumed with one desireto please our Lord. He was a friend of Ignatius and he was a mentor to Irenaeus. Faithfulness. But from salvation to glory there are three vitally important "way stations" that are a part of our Christian pilgrimage. As we begin the New Year, I felt compelled to preach a series that deals with the foundational element of our faith the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We would like if He had said, Do not fear because you wont suffer. I would much prefer that. It may be in the workplace when you will not agree to do the advertising campaign they want to do, or the training that theyre making everyone do. He wants to be acclaimed and accepted and praised by them. 5-12-03 That grace, should that come, and for most of us, maybe all of us, it wont come like that, but when the opposition comes, when the moment comes at your workplace, youre going to go along with this program or who knows what happens to your job. We could put it like this death comes to us all, heaven does not. That is a big number. The fourth characteristic, the fourth mark of a true disciple of our Lordone who continues unswervingly in the Word of God. sanctified, hallowed, blessed, II. I dont look forward to it. So 36billion total. Pastor Wayne Tindale Father in heaven, our prayer is simple. Rev. Now, listen to His exact word: Give away what you have. Irenaeus tells the story that on one occasion when Polycarp came face-to-face with the gnostic heretic Marcion, Marcion asked, Do you recognize me? to which Polycarp responded, I do, indeed. He knew what it was to face external temptation when that suffering came. 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