Our home is not here, it is there [John 14:1-3; Reveltion 21:1-5]. I recognize the first born of Satan. So he didnt mess around. Listening to a man expound the unsearchable riches of the Word of God. Picking things up after Polycarp has been arrested and hes being brought into the stadium in Smyrna. As we think of Gods love, what could we do but be faithful? The Bible discusses faithfulness as being much more than worshipping God. read more, Scripture: Genesis 50:1-26, Denomination: B. And Jesus will reign now and into eternity. May I turn to 1 John 3:14? That is the child of God. Where is your? Yes, death is an enemy for sure, but there is a worse enemy. When I was a youth growing up, Clarence Darrow, the great agnostic and atheist, literally covered the horizon in the legal profession. In fact, this one disqualifying sin will exclude us from ever going to heaven and receiving eternal life. Many people have is just the opposite. He comes with comfort. Its important to remember what happened after the Resurrection! But here in the second half of the first century, several things had happened to make this situation untenable. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. [First John] 4:7, Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another [1 John 4:11]. So, what is this sin? Colossians 3:2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. First Corinthians 15:19: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.. Deuteronomy 2:1-15, Denomination: I dont look forward to it. The Lord never said that to him. We allow ourselves to be involved in so many activities that we no longer have the time to devote to Bible study and prayer. It is like manna from heaven to a hungry heart. If youre faithful unto death, you will get the crown of life. All seven of the churches of Asia have some castigation from our Lord except this church. Then, they feel they dont need God, because theyve succeeded in life. And He uses the word stugnaz, translated lowering, the sky is stugnaz, it is lowering. If they refuse to swear by Caesar, if they refuse to worship our gods, then we must punish them., Polycarp replied, For 86 years I have been His servant and He has done me no wrong. While we sing our appeal a thousand times welcome, come. Matthew 9:24, Luke 8:53), 2. But in this context, in Smyrna, apparently, it was some of the Jews, whether because they felt like the Christians had sold them out or because they were worshiping another god, or they claimed to have had the Messiah, they would sometimes rat them out and be the informers that would then bring upon the Romans to these Christians in Smyrna. There is one surviving document we know that came from Polycarp. 21:25). Web"Faithful unto Death" Sixth Sunday after Pentecost St. Mark 6:14-29 July 16, 2006 IN NOMINE JESU In the rite of Confirmation, the confirmands are reminded of what they have undergone, as the pastor states: You have been baptized and you have been taught the faith according to our Lord's bidding. self in my heart and enthrone the Lord Jesus, 1. WebSermon Series: RevelationSermon Title: The Church of Smyrna: Be Faithful Unto DeathScripture Text: Revelation 2:8-11Speaker: Rev. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3 And said, You couldnt help but know a man like that. And you cannot enter heaven loving the wrong world. And he was invited to preach before the king, King George III, in 1780. Where, O death, is your victory? The first one is this: and I take these out of the Bible, out of the New Testament. Since we know that God will richly reward us, we should be faithful. How do you respond when you are living your best, walking by faith, serving God and the bottom falls out? He knew what it was to face external temptation when that suffering came. It may be in your classroom, when they think that all your beliefs make you a bigot. 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. And He took him out under the chalice of the night sky and said, Abraham, count the stars. And Abraham said, Lord, I cannot count that many. And God said, So shall thy seed be [Genesis 15:3-5]. 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. WebWe know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. [First John] 4:7, Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth II Timothy 4:6-8 Paul was looking with Will you be willing to be faithful when youre misunderstood as a Christian? Inspirational devotions delivered right to your email inbox. Smyrna won the special privilege to build a temple to Emperor Tiberius. Hebrews 9:24-27. today we want to focus our attention on John. In the little city of Bethany, they plotted His death. read more, Scripture: But why do you delay? WebClosed with a few words from Revelation chapter 2, including the line, "be faithful unto death." For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it. Matthew 16:24-25: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Its been translated into English. Why Jesus, in His letter to the church at Smyrna, instruct those Christians to Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.. The most remarkable Polycarp, who proved to be an apostolic and prophetic teacher in our own time, bishop of the catholic church, meaning the orthodox, universal church in Smyrna. Nathan Hale entered Yale University as a ministerial student studying to be a preacher. He uses these reminders as an example to us of how we, too, can accomplish great things through our faith. Romans 6:10-23, Denomination: Give it up. Doubt will say, How? read more. For me I have it written down. Wed be fooling ourselves to make any sort of comparison. If I live, bless God, it is to love Him. But I do not have a child and I am old and my wife is old. They could offer sacrifices in honor of the emperors, not as gods but as rulers. Remember, they considered the Christians to be atheists because they didnt have any statues, they didnt have idols. The master of the house was to take an awl, a punch, and pierce the ear of the slave and drive it against the wall, against the door of the house; a sign and a symbol that this slave was driven to the loving service of his master forever [Deuteronomy 15:16-17]. This comes in chapter 21, the final chapter in some of the manuscripts of The Martyrdom of Polycarp. Faithfulness means you keep bearing witness to Jesus. It tarries through the last breath. Text: 8 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says: 9 I know your tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. They were hated, they were harassed, they faced the prospect of persecution and even death in this city of Smyrna. We must And worse than strange, is thought hateful. This morning, we want to examine the biblical teachings concerning our faithfulness and call us to faithfulness to God. Friends. Come. What youre about to suffer need not be fearful. A hundred years old and Sarah, ninety years of age and no child is born [Genesis 17:17]. And on page four hundred he says, If there is one scrap of proof that we are alive after we are dead, why is not that scrap given to the world? William Akehurst HSWC But in particular it blames some of the Jews. Church Of God, Joshua 2:1-15 THE GREAT ESCAPE Intro: Ill. 4:2). THE CHURCH THAT WOULD NOT SURRENDER The governor said, Swear the genius of Caesar. Heres the key-those men and women were just like we are. 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. So you add them all up, and what? FAITHFUL EVEN UNTO DEATH II Kings 2:1-12 For the child of God, heaven is our ultimate destination. That means we are never turning back. What was important to them in the beginning was no longer important. Fearing death is natural, but Jesus means to set us free. Certainly Christians in many places are relatively free from that threat, but at all times there will be part of the Church that will be called upon to make the good confession in the midst of danger, hostility, and death. Two commands. . Revelation 2:8-11, Denomination: will tell you one of the driving forces in human life is to be accepted, The same thing is true of those in Hebrews 11. read more, Scripture: Its called the Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians. You dont forget His promise. 10:17), 1. read more, Scripture: If there was a crime worthy of death, what would it be? Maybe take a half hour to read it. Title: The Face of Faithfulness: John Listen to what it says: Now the blessed Polycarp was martyred on the second day of the first part of the month Xanthicus, seven days before the Kalends of March, on a great Sabbath, about 2 oclock in the afternoon. but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. When a man loves the world and the things that are in the world, the day finally comes when he finds his hands empty and his heart broken. Could I take time to turn aside? living faith, consumed with one desire to please Him(John 12:42-43), 1. And the Lord, looking deep in the soul of the young fellow, said to him, Your heart is in the world. It is a sermon in the series on the Great Doctrines of the Bible. And in this section, composed of about five sermons, the messages are addressed to us who are Christians. A. Its the basic foundation of the Christian faith it is fundamental Isnt that unusual, that you would have a minister really converted? Jesus will be there with you. Instead of worshipping as they should, they play golf on Sunday mornings or they go the race track or they go fishing. Some believe godly living, great faith and positive thinking will exempt them from trials. Suffering. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. This was the problem with the Ephesian church-I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Rev. Will God reward you? That is to say, even in Charlotte, North Carolina should you be a true, passionate, on fire, biblical Christian, absolutely in love with Jesus, no matter what it counts, at some point you will face opposition. Now even saying it that way can make us nervous, is this anti-Semitism? How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? There proconsul continue to press him to recant Christ and swear by Caesar and Polycarp refused. Suppose I were to stand in this pulpit and speak and discuss English literature three times once a week? The author of Hebrews had just finished writing about great men and women of faith-He wrote about how they obeyed God out of their faith. 5-12-03 One of the marks, I say, of a true disciple of Christ, he never wearies, hes never seen, hes never sated listening to the Word of God. And unbelief will ask, How can such a thing be? You couldnt see their god, so they said they were atheists. And thank Thee, Lord, for each soul You give us, in Thy precious name, amen. So 36billion total. 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. Hes already won. After their conversion, they stop using alcohol but after a while they begin using it again. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways (Prov. Methodist. We have to remember the reality to come which will last forever and the reality that exists now. Revile Christ. This was typical Roman procedure. Of those 36 billion who have lived in the past 2000 years, by a very generous estimate, 12 billion were evangelized, had some access to the Gospel. Remember Jesus says those who utter all kinds of false things about you, who slander you, that, too, is a kind of persecution and we ought to pray that we will not grow spiritually flabby as a church should we be called upon to face persecution. Supreme love for Jesus our Lord(Luke 14:25-26), A. Web Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 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