Sermon Cloud

What do you fear?

          14 children!  You already know what I’m talking about, everyone knows who she is even if they don’t know her name.  She had 6 children, but that wasn’t enough, she wanted just one more.  She got eight.  People are appalled, angry and confused.  What was Nadya Suleman thinking?  What could motivate a single woman, with no job to bring 6 children into the world, much less to have 7 more embryos implanted in her womb?

          Rhonda and I watched an interview with her the other night in which she explained exactly why.  She was an only child, never felt a deep connection with her family, and always wanted the connections that come with siblings.  So she wanted a big family so she could be surrounded by unconditional love.  My first reaction was: she’s selfish.

          But her answer still doesn’t answer the big question, why 14?  Or even 7 since that’s all she says she was hoping for.  Wouldn’t one or maybe even two have been enough?  Well, last night, as I lay in bed thinking about this sermon I remembered something I’ve learned over the last few years about my own selfish and otherwise bad behaviors.  Most, if not all of them, are driven by some form of fear.  Fear either of loosing something I have, or of not getting something I want.  Almost all fear falls into one of those two categories.  Nadia Suleman wasn’t just selfish, or mentally deficient, or uninformed, or even irresponsible.  She maybe some or even all of those things, but ultimately, I believe, she is a very frightened young woman; afraid of never getting the love that she has so longed for all her life.  And unchecked fear can produce the most unwise, and ungodly of decisions.

So I would ask you this morning: what are you afraid of?  What do you fear not getting or loosing?  Maybe it’s not being smart enough to get into the college of your choice or not being attractive enough to get or to keep that person you desire.  Maybe it’s not standing out enough to get the job you want or not being competent enough hold it.  Maybe you fear looking like a fool in front of your peers, of a spouse wandering from your marriage, or of your children wandering from the faith.  Maybe you fear the death of a loved one or just being alone forever.  In the current economic climate it’s almost a given that people fear financial loss: pay cuts, layoffs, foreclosures, vanishing investments, retirement, and health care. 

As Christians looking around us at a world drifting further and further from biblical foundations, do you ever fear persecution?  False accusations of hatred or bigotry?  Unfair treatment by employers because of a stand for righteousness?  Maybe you fear not having the spiritual fortitude to take that stand for righteousness and denying Christ to the world by your words or actions?  Maybe you’re afraid that no matter what you’ve heard, God couldn’t possibly still love you and use you after your past failures.  And there may even be some here this morning who have fears they can’t even identify, they just know their afraid.

How about as church?  Do we fear that people may remember the “good old days” before our umbilical cord was cut and we had greater resources to do what we wanted?  Do we fear being without a pastor and the uneasiness and discomfort that can come with not having a clearly defined way?  Do we fear that newcomers might not like our style of worship, or might not find us friendly enough or for whatever reason they won’t come and we won’t grow?  I mean, I’ve heard a lot about how we can grow and that’s good, but are we willing to do what God has called us to, even if we don’t grow, just because we love him?  In the face of the pressures of life, economic insecurity, and the potential of unfair treatment by those around us, we are all prone to fear rather than to have faith in God’s promised provision.  [FCF]

We should not fear! (v10)

But we must not fear the past, present or future.  Look at Christ’s command in verse 10, “Do not fear!”  We must not fear because fear is like poison to faith.  It weakens and eventually kills it.  We are called to be filled with faith.  Look again at verse 11 “be faithful…”  That is, filled with, or controlled by faith.  But fear and faith cannot rule the same heart at the same time.  I do not say that they cannot coexist in the same heart.  For when the disciples came to Christ on the Sea of Galilee, afraid of drowning, he did not say to them, “Oh you of no faith” but “Oh you of little faith.”  And he asked them “where is your faith?”  He assumed they had faith, but they were not being controlled by it.  And as Christians we must be, and I trust want to be, controlled by faith rather than fear.

But how, when we are faced with the disappointments, pressures and uncertainties of the past, present and future, can we find the fortitude to remain faithful rather than fearful?  What is the antidote if you will, to the poison of fear? [FCF] I have to admit, that when I first read this I couldn’t help but thinking, Jesus, how can you possibly tell these people not to be afraid?  The Christians in Smyrna faced hard suffering, abject poverty, and unjust slander.  They were going to face imprisonment, and for some, even death.  How were they supposed to not fear?  Out text this morning gives us at least three ingredients in the antidote for fear.  We should not fear because of Christ’s providence, because of Christ’s promises, and above all because of Christ’s person.

We should not fear because of X’s providence (v9-10)

          First of all, we should not fear because of Christ’s providence.  That is, his complete control over every aspect of our lives.  Look at verses 9 and 10.  In verse 9 Jesus declares that “he knows” the present sufferings of the church in Smyrna, the tribulation, poverty and slander they have and are enduring.  And in verse 10 he shows that he also knows their future suffering.  “Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison… and… you will have tribulation.”  Jesus knows the present and the future, but honestly, the mere fact that he knows these things doesn’t necessarily offer comfort.  I could tell some of you that I know what you’re going through, and in some cases maybe I could even foretell what you are going to endure in the future based on knowledge of the present.  But Jesus’ foreknowledge of the present is not a mere triviality and his knowledge of the future is not based on his knowledge of the present or even on some temporal 20/20 vision, whereby he can look down through the corridors of time and see what is about to happen.  His foreknowledge is based on his foreordination.  Look with me at verse 10 again.

          He tells the Christians the Christians in Smyrna that their imprisonment is intended for the testing of their faith.  This is the same word we heard about a few weeks ago in James chapter one, which can mean either testing or temptation, so the question could be raised, how can I be sure that it means testing here?  There are two reasons.  The first is because of the following statement, “remain faithful unto death, and I will give to you the crown of life.”  There is one other place where the phrase crown of life occurs in Scripture, and that is also in James chapter one.  There James says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”  The crown of life is promised to those who remain faithful when tested.  So their the purpose of testing is to prove the genuiness of faith.

          The second reason I know this refers to God’s testing of faith, is that the two cannot be separated.  The question was raised with me after John McGeorge’s sermon a few weeks ago on this topic, how can you determine whether suffering is the devil tempting you or God testing you.  The answer to that question is that in most cases it is both, and all suffering is at least God testing you.

           We can see this brilliantly illustrated in 3 places in scripture.  First in the first three chapters of Job.  We see clearly in those chapters that although the devil was given great power to tempt Job, it was all by God’s design and within his control.  At one point God says that he himself has stretched out his hand against Job, and in another we are told that “Satan… struck Job.”

          We can also see it in Joseph’s words to his brothers in Gen 50 when they come to him after their father’s death, afraid that Joseph will now retaliate against them for their past sins against him.  He says to them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good….”

          Finally and most clearly we see it in the cross.  The early churches commentary on the arrest, trial and crucifixion of our Lord can be found in Acts chapter 4.23-31.  There they ascribe the events surrounding Christ’s death both to evil men and to God.  They say that “there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”  In other words, it was the actions of evil men that put the son of God to death, but it was by God’s design.

          So the tribulation which the devil is going to inflict upon the Christians in Smyrna is intended by God to prove the genuiness of their faith.  This is one reason we can know that God governs it, because if he governs the outcome, he must also govern the execution. 

 But God doesn’t only govern the purpose, he also governs the extent.  Notice that he puts a limit on the suffering.  “For ten days you will have tribulation.”  As I’m sure you will know, there is much speculation over numbers in the book of Revelation.  And it is true that numbers have much symbolic significant in this book.  In all probability the use of the number 10 is intended to indicate completeness.  And if this is true it provides another evidence of God’s providential rule over the lives of the church, for it indicates they will endure the total amount of suffering allotted to them by God.  But I don’t want to focus too much on the question of the symbolic meaning of the number 10.  I told you when we started this series that I would not try to dazzle you with great insights, and I really don’t think they are necessary.  What if we had no idea that 10 was a number of completeness in scripture?  Would this part of the bible then become an exception to 2Tim 3:16, ceasing to be useful?  By no means.

          If we knew nothing else we could still conclude that there is a limit to the suffering appointed to the church.  This is supported by Col 1:24, where Paul says that he fills up in his flesh what is lacking in Christ’s affliction.  I’m not going to go into this here, but suffice it to say that part of what Paul is saying here is that there is a prescribed amount of suffering that the church on earth will suffer before Christ’s return.  And if there is a limit, that limit is not set by the devil but by God himself.  And if God has set a limit to the devil’s work, just as he did with Job, then God is ultimately the one who governs it.

One final note.  That God controls and even designs our suffering might not be at all comforting, if it is not balanced by the reality that God is also good, and has our best interest in mind in everything.  If God’s control is not balanced by God’s compassion then the result will be inevitable anger and even hatred of God.  We must have firmly fixed in our minds and hearts the truth of Ps 84.11, that “the Lord bestows grace and glory” and that “no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  So if God allots suffering to our lives, it is because he knows, in his divine wisdom, that it is what is best for us.  To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, “when we want something other than what God gives us, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy,” including comfort and peace.

We also should not fear because of X’s promises (v10-11)

          If the reality of God’s complete control, coupled with his inconceivable compassion toward his people is one ingredient in the antidote against fear, his very great and precious and sure promises are another ingredient.  Look with me again at verse 10.  To the one who remains faithful to the end he promises “the crown of life.”  We have seen this phrase already back in James 1.  What is the crown of life?  Well, it might be clearer if we were to translate this, legitimately, “I will give to him the crown, which is life”.  The crown, which by the way refers not to a crown of royalty, but a crown given to someone who was the victor in a game or competition as a prize, is life!

          This verse might raise a question with someone as to what it means to be faithful to the end.  The full explanation of that is probably the subject of another sermon.  But I do want to address it briefly to avoid adding to people’s anxiety rather than the goal of this sermon, which is to alleviate it.  Could being faithful to the end mean not denying Christ?  It could, and in context that would make perfect sense.  But I don’t believe that’s what it means.  Part of why I believe that is because of Jesus’ words to Peter in John 21, where after his denial Jesus restores him  and his only question is “Peter, do you love me?”

          A second thing that makes me believe that remaining faithful does not mean never denying Christ is that James says in his epistle that God has promised the crown of life to those who love him.”  I take from this, that the basic definition of faithfulness to the end, is loving God, or more specifically Christ, to the end.  This will, hopefully, result in not denying Christ, but even if we should fail as miserably as Peter, there is always hope for restoration if we can honestly fall at the foot of our savior, grieved and cry “Lord you know all things, you know that I love you!”

          There is a second statement of promise in this passage in verse 11.  “He who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”  I have two questions to ask here, and one insight share.  First what does “the second death” refer to?  We are told clearly what this means in chapter 20.  It says that the lake of fire, which is the destiny of all who’s names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life, is the second death.  So the second death, which will not harm the conquering one, is the lake of fire, or eternal destruction, or hell if you will.

          The second question, then, is “who is the conquering one?”  As I studied and mediated on this, I saw two possibilities: us or Christ?”  So which is it?  The answer I came to was: Yes!  In other words, it’s both.  Here’s why. 

First, it is clear enough from the passage that this refers to us.  It is Christians who will suffer, it is they who must be faithful unto death, it is they who will receive the victor’s crown, life.  Since here the reward for conquering is the same as the victors crown in James, namely life, this must refer to us.  But which of us could find any comfort in this?  I certainly don’t.  Because I know that in myself I have no hope of conquering, I am too weak and my enemy is to strong.  I have less than 40 years of practice in godliness, he has over 4000 years of practice in temptation and deceit.  The best, on my own, that I could hope to do is make peace with him before we meet in battle and he conquers me.

          How then are we to conquer?  Well, I trust you know the answer already, but let’s see it before we say it.  Look again with me at Rev 20.6.  There we are told, “blessed and holy is the one who participates in the first resurrection!  Over such the second death has no power.”  Almost the same statement as in 2.11, he will not be harmed by the second death.  What then is the first resurrection?  It could mean the resurrection of the body but that’s not possible because we know that everyone participates in the resurrection of the body.  In Rev 20.5 we find the statement “this is the first resurrection.”  So obviously we have a biblical answer to the question.  But a question remains whether it referring to the statement immediately preceding it in verse 5, concerning the rising of the dead after the 1000 years reign, or to everything preceding, but not including that, which speaks of those who reign with Christ during the 1000 years described?  I’m not going to go into this at length either, I’m going to give you my opinion and one reason why I believe it and let you study more on your own.  I believe it refers to verse 1-4 but not 5.  I think the comment in verse 5 is like a parenthetical statement.  What I truly believe the first resurrection is referring to is Christ’s resurrection.  There may be much more going on in Rev 20, but I promised I wouldn’t get into all that.  But what does Christ say to Martha in John 16.33?  Jesus said to her “I am the resurrection and the life.”  Note that, Jesus is the resurrection!

          So I believe that the conquering one of chapter 2.11 is the one who participates in the resurrection of Christ.  And we participate with him in his resurrection by being united to him by faith.  For those of you who are interested in considering this further this afternoon or this week, you might also want to look at these references: Rom 8:37; 1Jn 2:13-14; 4.4; 5.4; 5.5; Rev12:11.

          I said there was also one insight in this verse.  It is something that doesn’t come out clearly in English but does very clearly in the original.  Our English versions say that the conquering one will not be hurt by the second death.  And that sound nice but it really doesn’t convey the force of john’s statement.  John uses a double negative together with a subjunctive verb here.  Now, for those who may not be overly familiar with their formal grammatical terminology, a subjunctive verb expresses something that might possibly happen in the future.

In Greek using two negatives is like using them in Spanish, it doesn’t negate them, it adds emphasis.  It’s a way of saying this is really certainly not going to happen.  When you put that together with the subjunctive verb form what we wind up with is essentially the statement “there is not even the remotest possibility of being harmed by the second death.”  In other words, if your heart or mind can come up with some way to doubt God’s promise of security in Christ, it is an unconditional guarantee that you are wrong, because there is not even the least possibility of being plucked out of the hand of Christ.

We should not fear because of X’s person (v8)

          Finally, the last ingredient in the antidote against fear is Christ’s person.  We should not fear because of who Jesus Christ is.  There are just two things here.  First, he is divine.  This is clear in two ways.  First the phrase “the words of” could also be, and is often, translated elsewhere, “thus says….”  You will recognize that phrase, because it is most often heard in the prophets when God speaks a word through them.  “Thus says the Lord.”  The words of this letter are no ordinary words, they are the God’s words.  Second, “I am the first and the last.”  This is a title for God both in the OT and the NT, particularly in Revelation.  This is another way of Jesus saying, I’m equal with God, I am God.  And the significance of this description is that it indicates that God is immutable, that is, he is unchangeable.

          If he is the first, then he is uncreated.  If he is the last, then he cannot be corrupted.  Let everything else be corrupted and decay, God will still be around.  And try as they might, no created thing can ever cause the uncreated creator to change.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and so his promises can be trusted.

          Finally, Jesus points out that he died and rose again.  If his being the first and the last give him divine authority by virtue of his being, his death and resurrection gives him redemptive authority by virtue of what he has done.  As has already been mentioned, he is the resurrection, and the life!  Note, he is the life.  Brothers and sisters, we are promised the crown, “of life.”  Our final, ultimate reward is Christ himself.  What a comfort this divine title would have been to those who had just been told that they would suffer and die for the cause of Christ.  You and I may likewise be called upon to suffer and die, but what awaits us is the glory of Christ himself, for the Lord bestows grace and glory!

Conclusion –

Why we fear (v9)

          Given all these reasons not to fear, why do we?  Is it not because we cast our eyes on ourselves and our circumstances, rather than having them ever on the lord, gazing on his beauty and meditating on his glory?  I can’t help but wonder if that’s the point of the parenthetical statement in verse 9 (but you are rich).  As if God is saying, I know the obstacles you’re up against look like the end of the story, but they are not.  I have established for you a great hope, and a glorious inheritance, and I have worked great power on your behalf in Jesus Christ.  You are co-heirs with Christ, and that’s the rest of the story.  Faith, as Heb 11.1 says, is the evidence of things not seen, not the result of those that are.

How do we not fear?

          So how do we not fear?  Let me say before I give the answer, that on some level we don’t.  As I said earlier, fear and faith are not mutually exclusive.  The great preacher Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones once defined faith as “fear kept silent, fear kept perpetually under foot.”  I like that, because I am still riddled with many fears. 

But how can we keep them silent, how can we keep them perpetually under foot?  The answer is simple, though totally out of our reach in our own power.  We must look past the past the present and even the future of this life, to the promises of God which are all yes and Amen in Christ Jesus.  And above all we must, in the words of Ps 25.15, keep our eyes ever on the Lord, knowing that he will pluck our feet out of the net.  We must give our first, best and most concerted efforts to being fully satisfied in the promise that we will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives and have the incomprehensible joy of gazing on the beauty of the Lord and meditating on it forever (Ps 27.4).  We must turn again to Rev 1:12-20 and soak in the magnificent vision of the risen, ascended, glorified Christ and pray that God will grant us, by a sheer gift of his grace a recurring and increasing view of his glory here on earth, till all the things that are in the world, the toys and the trivialities, the trials and the tribulations grow dim in the light of this glory and grace.  Let us look to Christ and live in the confidence of the resurrection.