But from salvation to glory there are three vitally important way stations that Why didnt the Lord say that to the family at Bethanyto Lazarus and Mary and Martha? Verse 10: Do not fear what you are about to suffer. However, to sin is an everyday reality of truth---a reality of faith. And the world passeth away . They believed the promises and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims in this earth [Hebrews 11:13]: Now, they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: And I turn the pages of the Book, And I John, saw that holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband [Revelation 21:2]. 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.. by 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. His salary was less than two hundred dollars a year. The real hero is not he who makes the fastest schedule but he who lasts the longest. This lesson examines the Rev. It was a difficult situation. 5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions. Some of you perhaps pray for it every day, that would be wonderful. We all love to be accepted. We see it here in this text its the second death. 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. Smyrna won the special privilege to build a temple to Emperor Tiberius. It would be possible for one to worship weekly and yet be as unfaithful as one who seldom, if ever, attended. Supreme love for Jesus our Lord(Luke 14:25-26), A. And He uses the word stugnaz, translated lowering, the sky is stugnaz, it is lowering. Most of us, if were honest, are scared of suffering. He knew they would experience difficult times in their lives. Text: Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mothers sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. We live, we die, we live again. If they die faithfully, they get a crown of life. But faith has ten thousand answers for every how. It would take maybe a half hour to read. 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. sanctified, hallowed, blessed, II. He lived, he died, he's alive. 1 John 5: 13-21 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. When we suffer, were tempted to doubt Gods goodness, to question His sovereignty, to find Him less glorious, to wonder if Hes left us or forsaken us. Number one let us pray for the persecuted church. Methodist. I would love to be a professor of English literature. What is preventing you from being faithful? 1 John 5:13-17. And they will come and go, and the worse they can do to you is put you to death. 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. Paul wrote along similar lines "I have fought the 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, 3 And said, They dont think anything of the second death, thats not a possibility, but maybe theres some way with the right potions and the right exercise and the right diet, I dont actually have to face my own mortality.. Believing it possible that through Christ we may live in the required manner, that we may avoid sin--desist from sinning--give it up and abandon it altogether, and put it forever away. One, starting with Nero, Christians were blamed for things in Rome and were being persecuted, at least intermittently. All of us do. I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. He comes with comfort, and notice He comes with commands. Picking things up after Polycarp has been arrested and hes being brought into the stadium in Smyrna. 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. Probably dates to around 108 A.D., that is shortly after the death of Ignatius. That is a big number. THE CHURCH THAT WOULD NOT SURRENDER And this allowed the Jews and the Romans to coexist. Oh, what a beautiful thing, a precious thing, a wonderful thing: to love our Lord and to follow humbly in the way of Jesus! A fifth characteristic of the true servant of Christhe possesses a continuing and undying faith in our victorious Lord Christ. I trust everyone understands the significance of the Gospel in relation to salvation in Christ. What youre about to suffer need not be fearful. The Basis of the Gospel It was a way for Rome to save, kind of save face and yet not have to go through this extermination of all the Jews, so well let them get by on a technicality. The weakness of men, universally, is to please one another. Where is your? Yes, death is an enemy for sure, but there is a worse enemy. In Jesus we pray. Free Sermons and Sermon Outlines for Preaching : Three Important Looks Or Paul's Last Testimony. 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. Pleasure leads many to neglect the Lord. and the rich young ruler(Mark 10:21-22, Matthew [John 13:34-35, 15:12-13, 15:7; 1 John 3:14, 4:7, 4:11, 4:21], Great Doctrines of the Bible: Practical Theology, And an unswerving continuance in the Word of God, A continuing living faith in a victorious Christ, And the last one that I mentioned: a devout, fervent love for Gods people. 2 Kings 2:1-12. Theyre such a testimony to Gods grace. Its called the Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians. When the crowd learned that it would not be possible to set a lion loose, thats what they called for, then they shouted for him to be burned alive. An unswerving continuance in the Word of The premise of this study is the foundation of creation. read more, Scripture: Deuteronomy 2:1-15, Denomination: He dressed like a Tory schoolmaster. 12:1). Thats the cry in each one of these churches. 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. The Pharisees did that (Matt. They worship every now and then but not with any kind of regularity. He knew what it was to suffer as a man. For almost 300 years Smyrna had a close connection with Rome. Father in heaven, we give thanks for Your many blessings. Job said, My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go (Job 27:6). 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. That is the child of God. For the white city thats soon coming down. They assume they will go to heaven. Dont think youre the only one to have this struggle. And anchoring every one of these commands, I said this to the leadership training on Friday night, theres a reason that chapters 4 and 5 come after chapter 2 and 3, because it is the vision of the One who sits on the throne that is the antidote for everything that challenges the churches in chapters 2 through 3. 3:14). The other place it is used is to describe the face of that young man. The governor said, Swear the genius of Caesar. Thats what it is. read more, Scripture: And because of the necessity pressed upon him in his growing family, he accepted an affluent church in London. We would like if He had said, Do not fear because you wont suffer. I would much prefer that. After several months of study we have come to the concluding passage of 1st John. The apostle John writes in 1 John 2:15-17: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Well be here listening. It is one of the truths of life. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.. Instead, He told them to be faithful unto death. Christ delivered man out of death to the promise of the gift of eternal life yet man thinking he is in the perfection of God's love, sins. 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4 And when they turned to drive away, his wife burst into tears and said, John, John, how can we do this? Or see the movie or tell the jokes or visit the websites that everyone else. [Matthew 19:20; Mark 10:20]. WebTrue faithfulness to God is maintained to the end. He motioned toward them with his hand and then groaning as he looked up to heaven said, Away with the atheists. Meaning the atheists. 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. That sadly has happened. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love (Jn. Hes telling us from Gods Holy Scriptures about our Lord. In 23 B.C. Let me finish, then, where we started. But what our Lord refers to is, compared to our love for Himour supreme devotion to Himall other love for wife, child, home, brother, sisters, all other love, compared to our love for Christ is as hate; our supreme love for Christ. And that leads me to the exact title of the sermon today, the seven characteristics of a disciple of our Lord, the seven marks of a true Christian. He was called to be pastor of a little church in a little town in Yorkshire called Wainsgate. The church in Smyrna was a church of paradoxes. Almost half of those were murdered, starved, died in prison camps in the Soviet Union. Fearing death is natural, but Jesus means to set us free. . 31:23). They will be there on your social media feed, theyll be there on your Instagram, calls to be like-minded ally in things that Christ cannot commend. The gate is too strait, and the way is too narrow for a man to enter heaven holding the love of the world in his arms [Matthew 7:13-14]. You can understand how this might happen. You dont reject your Savior. You have no picture of what actually that word describes at all in He was sad at that saying. The word is stugnaz. Putting this altogether, you can understand why in some parts of the Empire it was the Jews who sometimes instigated this persecution against the Christians. Holiness. He knows your broken heart in a way that no one else does. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You dont forget His promise. Maybe take a half hour to read it. As the song says, Just one glimpse of him in glory will the toils of life repay. Surely, seeing Jesus face to face will be reward enough for our faithfulness. Notice the Lord Jesus says in verse 9, I know your tribulation and your poverty. This was a church that had more pain than they had money. In order to adequately embrace the Gospel, we must understand the Gospel. 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. But why do you delay? Dont think youre the only one to whom injustice has ever happened. Psychologist The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris. I hope you have that somewhere in your regular rhythm. Revelation chapter 2, verses 8 through 11. Amen. James 1:12: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trail for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. In Mark 5, in Matthew 9, and Luke 8, they laughed Him to scorn at Capernaum [Mark 5:40; Matthew 9:24; Luke 8:53]. by choice to our Lord and Master forever, 1. I have never heard an exception to this in my life, and it is always false, it is always untrue. read more, Scripture: Not only that, but the Lord Jesus can sympathize because He, too, is a man, a human being, even now in heaven, the God-man. You couldnt see their god, so they said they were atheists. Darrows The Story of My Life said there is no evidence of immortality, B. Gods There are many benefits to remaining faithful. It is used twice in the Bible. This comes in chapter 21, the final chapter in some of the manuscripts of The Martyrdom of Polycarp. And a youngster wants to belong to the group. Heres the mayor, heres the governor, heres the president. That right there was meant to be comfort. Could you imagine it? Listening to a man expound the unsearchable riches of the Word of God. We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul (Heb. [Matthew 27:57]. Hebrews 9:24-27. today we want to focus our attention on John. By a living faith, I mean one consumed with one desireto please our Lord. And of those 8 billion Christians in the 2000 years since Christ, even nominally Christian, about 70 million have been martyred by one definition or another, a little less than 1%. Rev. Hold fast to what you have, that no one may take your crown (Rev. Hymn, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, C. Faith approved we fear repudiation, censure, 2. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. His townspeople where He grew up in Nazareth took Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built to cast Him along to His death [Luke 4:28-29]. Every sabbatical, every seventh year, the slave in a Hebrew household was to be free. You cannot help but admire this young man. 6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he knows nothing about defeat (Romans 4:17-21, Genesis I started with the story of Polycarp. Hezekiah held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments (2 Ki. . But we also know that suffering brings with it many temptations. Or do with your weekends what everyone else would do. But in 1776, he joined the Revolutionary Army. And he gave his life to be a Baptist preacher, John Fawcett. That is our faith. Truly, temptations----works of the devil challenge our daily thoughts and decisions. 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. Would to God we had ten thousand lives to offer to Jesus. 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. A Then, they feel they dont need God, because theyve succeeded in life. Isnt that unusual, that you would have a minister really converted? Knowing that we are not facing these exact circumstances, and we can be thankful for it, what does this mean for us? UNTO DEATH THE MARKS OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN, I. He knows your tribulation. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it. Dethrone 22:37). and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Heb. However, many Christians are not as faithful as they need to be in their service to God. Three points of application. 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? And thank Thee, Lord, for each soul You give us, in Thy precious name, amen. Our inheritance is not here, it is there [1 Peter 1:4-5]. We respond in Faith! He knows the fear that you have. 21:25). Because when the Lord looked into the heart of that rich, young ruler, he loved things more than he loved God [Matthew 19:21-22; Mark 10:21-22]. That is what the Bible said about Jesus: Jesus, looking upon him, loved him [Mark 10:21]. Give us ears, give us courage, no matter the time, no matter the opposition, no matter the circumstances. What was important to them in the beginning was no longer important. 8:14). But, if in a household there was a slave, and when time came, when that seventh year came and the slave was freeif he so loved his master or she so loved her mistress, that he did not want to leave, then they went through this kind of a simple ritual. 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.. read more, Scripture: They could offer sacrifices in honor of the emperors, not as gods but as rulers. Polycarp by all accounts was a venerable man, highly respected for his holiness and orthodoxy. There will be a temptation to want to raise your flag as well and say, Here I am, you can count on me. Or to wear the sort of clothes that everyone would wear. Committed to a belief in another world(Colossians 3:2, 1 Corinthians 15:19), A. Clarence But whether it is a diadem or a garland, whether it is a royal crown or a victors crown, God says if we are faithful and true, at the end of the way He will reward us with a crown of life [Revelation 2:10]. Will God reward you? This was the problem with the Ephesian church-I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Rev. If youre faithful unto death, you will get the crown of life. The handles of my plow where tears are wet. WebSermons by Bible: Sermons by Category: Sermons by Topic: Sermons by Speaker: Sermons by Language: Sermons by Date: Staff Picks: Comments, ALL -0 sec: Top Sermons: Online Bible: Hymnal: Daily Reading: About | $1 Signup! He went away grieved, for he had great possessions: loving the wrong world [Mark 10:22]. 1: 5). 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 Or whether we die or whether we live, we are with Him [1 Thessalonians 4:15-17]. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways (Prov.
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