Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000003
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00:20 Good evening! Welcome again this evening
00:24 to The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:27 We're very happy that you're here. 00:29 And all of you that are joining us by television 00:32 or radio or through the Internet 00:34 we welcome you tonight. 00:35 This is a seminar that deals with the book of Revelation, 00:40 and we're going through the book of Revelation 00:43 chapter by chapter. And this particular section 00:47 we're studying the 7 churches of Asia Minor. 00:51 These are very important because they set 00:54 the tone for the whole book of Revelation. 00:58 As we move out of these 7 churches in our next section 01:02 we will find it will take us right into that. 01:04 And so it will progress through the book of Revelation 01:07 so it's a very important one. 01:09 Also, because these are personal letters 01:13 that Jesus Christ wrote. Letters that He wrote 01:17 to the seven churches of Asia Minor. 01:20 And as we mentioned the other night, 01:22 those seven letters had meaning to them; 01:25 they have meaning to us today 01:28 and also to the church down through the ages. 01:31 So you need to look at it as we study it from night to night 01:35 in that aspect... that you will understand 01:38 what He's talking about. 01:40 As I've encouraged you - I'll encourage you again - 01:42 be sure and bring your Bible and follow along. 01:48 Underline, folks, or highlight. 01:51 Write notes because we'll be sharing different things 01:54 with you that happened in these churches. 01:57 And we hope it will help you because when we're through 02:00 with this seminar, you should be able to pick up 02:04 the book of Revelation, read it, 02:05 and understand what it's talking about. 02:08 And that's what we want it to do for you. 02:10 So we're very happy to welcome you; glad you're here. 02:13 And we hope it will bless you in a special way. 02:17 Tonight we are dealing with the second church: 02:21 the church of Smyrna. 02:23 Our next presentation that we give 02:26 will be on the third one which is the church of Pergamos. 02:32 And that is also a very important time 02:36 in history. 02:39 In fact, Pergamos... or Pergama... 02:43 was a period in Greek culture 02:46 that we'll say a little bit about that you need to know. 02:49 But much of the statues and all those Greek statues 02:55 you see came from the time of the Pergama period. 02:59 And this is a church that we're going to be looking at 03:02 tomorrow in our next session. 03:05 Tonight, as I mentioned, we're looking at Smyrna. 03:08 A very, very important lesson 03:14 for you and I to learn in this church. 03:16 And so we hope you'll follow along. 03:19 Be sure and take your Bible and write down the things that 03:24 it's talking about. 03:27 Tonight we're very happy that Dona Klein, 03:31 who has worked with us now for some 24 years now... 03:38 she's been playing for us and singing. 03:41 And she's going to sing for us tonight a beautiful song 03:45 entitled Have You Knelt At the Foot of the Cross? 03:48 But before she sings, Chuck Allgaier is going to come 03:52 and share with us the Word of God 03:54 and what the scripture says about the church of Smyrna. 04:05 Smyrna... the church of Smyrna. 04:09 What is the message to the church of Smyrna 04:13 and how does it apply to you and I tonight? 04:16 If you have your Bibles, turn them to the book of Revelation. 04:19 Revelation the second chapter verses 8 through 11. 04:24 Revelation chapter 2 verses 8 through 11: 05:20 May God bless the Word tonight. Thank you. 05:38 You have stood with the rich 05:42 and the famous. 05:47 In the paths of the great 05:51 you have walked. 05:55 You have reached for the stars 05:59 and succeeded. 06:03 But have you knelt at the foot 06:07 of the cross? 06:12 Tho' your deeds here on earth 06:16 have been mighty, 06:21 they will all be counted 06:25 as loss 06:29 when you stand to answer 06:34 this question: 06:38 Have you knelt 06:40 at the foot of the cross? 06:46 Have you knelt at the foot 06:51 of the cross 06:55 and accepted the pardon 07:00 He bought? 07:03 You can stand with the saints 07:08 up in glory 07:12 if you've knelt 07:15 at the foot of the cross. 07:29 All the kings of this world 07:33 and the princes... 07:37 they rule for a while 07:42 then they're weak. 07:46 For now they're so high 07:51 and so mighty... 07:54 but one day they too 07:59 will be meek. 08:03 For there's a great day of judgment 08:07 that's coming 08:12 when all of life's battles 08:16 have been fought. 08:20 And you stand to answer 08:25 this question: 08:29 Have you knelt at the foot of 08:34 the cross? 08:38 Have you knelt 08:40 at the foot of the cross? 08:45 Have you accepted 08:48 the pardon He bought? 08:55 You can stand with the saints 08:59 up in glory 09:03 if you've knelt 09:05 at the foot of the cross. 09:12 You can stand with the saints 09:16 up in glory 09:20 if you've knelt 09:23 at the foot of the cross. 09:45 Our gracious Father in Heaven, 09:49 tonight as we look at this letter that You wrote 09:53 to the church of Smyrna 09:55 we ask, Lord, that in these last days 10:00 in which we're living - which the book of Revelation 10:04 speaks so much about - 10:06 may we understand and may we take courage. 10:10 May we realize that indeed You are God. 10:16 There is none other like You, 10:19 and that You are more than capable 10:23 of taking care of each one of us. 10:26 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 10:37 Well the second church... Smyrna. 10:41 The scripture speaks of it as a very, very 10:47 special group of people. 10:50 There is no reproof to the church of Smyrna. 10:56 The others - except for one other... and that was 10:59 Philadelphia - all the others there's reproof. 11:02 But in this one and Philadelphia there's no reproof from Christ. 11:08 And so this is a very, very special group of people. 11:12 A very special time, 11:14 and we need to follow it very carefully because 11:17 I believe there's great parallelism 11:19 between this church and the end of time. 11:22 And you and I need to be prepared in our hearts 11:26 for what God has to say about this church of Smyrna. 11:30 So it starts out and says: 11:35 "These are the things I'm going to tell you. 11:39 Put them down, write them so the people can read them. " 11:42 And these letters were read in these churches 11:44 and probably without doubt copies were made 11:47 of that particular letter for that group of people 11:50 that was kept with them 11:52 because it was taken on and read to the other churches. 11:55 But I'm sure they treasured the words that Christ had 11:59 to say to them as a group of people. 12:09 It actually comes from a plant, 12:14 myrrh, a plant that grew about 6' high 12:19 and it had a very, very nice smell. 12:24 And the interesting thing about it is 12:28 if it was crushed or beaten 12:34 it put out more. The more they beat it 12:38 the more it smelled and all. 12:41 So... and very important in relationship to this church, 12:45 what it had to say about it. 12:47 Also you might remember it comes from 12:51 the word myrrh. And you remember the wise men 12:56 brought to Christ what? 12:59 Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 13:03 Myrrh... do you know why they brought Christ 13:06 gold, frankincense, and myrrh? 13:08 Huh? Do you know that? 13:09 Well they brought Him gold because He was a king. 13:14 That's why they brought Him gold. 13:17 They brought Him frankincense because He was a priest. 13:22 That's what they brought the frankincense for. 13:25 They brought the myrrh... 13:27 that was to anoint Him for burial 13:30 because they knew He would die. That's what they brought... 13:35 and myrrh was used many times in the burial. 13:38 And so this church gets its name from that aspect 13:43 because it was to be crushed. 13:47 Smyrna lies about 40 miles north of Ephesus. 13:52 You're looking at the Aegean Sea 13:54 and the land there, and if you went north of Ephesus 13:59 you would come to Smyrna. 14:02 As you can see, it's set more on the coastline 14:06 than Ephesus did even. 14:09 And as I mentioned to you as we studied Ephesus, 14:12 that port that there was so famous today is not there. 14:17 There's no port there. But Smyrna 14:20 who had also a very good port 14:23 today has a marvelous port 14:25 and ships come in there from all over the world. 14:28 It's a great, great port, and that's where it's set: 14:32 very close to the Aegean Sea 14:34 and had a very, very good access to land. 14:39 It was a good port. 14:42 Uh, interesting that 14:46 all these other places that we're going to be talking about, 14:51 all these other churches... not much left of them, folks. 14:56 They're... I mean, the city that they were in 15:00 is pretty much in ruins laying there. 15:02 This is not the case with Smyrna. 15:04 This today is the Turkish city called Izmir. 15:09 And Smyrna is ruins right there in the city of Izmir. 15:15 And the city of Izmir is about 300,000 people 15:19 is how big it is. 15:21 And if you fly into Turkey, that's where you fly into. 15:25 And it's quite a place there. 15:29 And as we read through the scripture, 15:32 you'll notice He makes some statements about this 15:35 that you need to apply. What you're looking at 15:38 is ruins of the marketplace. 15:41 That was the marketplace there in Smyrna 15:44 and the different ruins there. This city, folks, 15:47 was extremely loyal to the Emperor. 15:52 I mean, Rome was everything to the city of Smyrna. 15:58 They... they worshiped the Emperor. 16:02 This is what went on here. 16:03 In fact, the Senate - the Roman Senate - 16:06 built a temple to the Emperor Tiberius 16:10 and it was here in Smyrna. 16:12 And so you have some of these ruins 16:14 about the different buildings there. 16:16 I mentioned to you that in Ephesus they had a theatre 16:21 that would seat 25,000 people and all. 16:25 But there's one here in Smyrna that almost rivaled it. 16:29 They had a theatre there that seated 20,000 people. 16:32 And so what I'm trying to tell you is that 16:37 these weren't just little towns. 16:42 They were large cities where great populations of people 16:46 lived and went about their activities there. 16:49 And in the city of Smyrna 16:53 right in the middle of it was a mound... 16:58 a mountain. Not a big mountain - but it was about 500 ft. high 17:04 and it was called Mount Pegasus. 17:07 And on the top of it was a temple. 17:11 And they had roads and all going around it. 17:15 They had a road going all the way around 17:19 Mount Pegasus and the houses all laid around it. 17:23 And it gave the appearance because of the temple and all 17:27 of a crown. 17:29 OK... gave that appearance of a crown. 17:31 And she was referred to as the Crown of lona, the city was. 17:36 And the street that ran around this mountain 17:40 was called the Golden Street. 17:42 So there was a lot of things that went on here in this city 17:46 where these people lived and worshiped. 17:48 What you need to understand 17:53 is Christianity, folks, 17:56 was not favored. 18:01 I mean in no way... Christianity was a threat. 18:06 I told you last night that in the city of Ephesus 18:11 by the end of the first century there were 50,000 Christians 18:16 in that city... in Asia Minor. 18:21 In Asia Minor at the end of the first century 18:23 there were 7 million Christians. 18:26 And so Christianity was invading 18:29 all of the Roman Empire. 18:32 And as it invaded the Roman Empire 18:34 it threatened... it threatened the Empire. 18:38 It threatened their religion. You need to understand that. 18:41 So this city is not friendly to Christians. 18:47 In fact, against them. 18:50 Doing all they can to wipe them out. 18:52 This was what the Roman Empire intended to do 18:56 is to wipe out Christianity. 18:59 And every Emperor from the time of Christ 19:03 to 300 AD persecuted Christians. 19:08 Every Roman Emperor did... trying to wipe them out, 19:12 get rid of them. And this is why in this city 19:15 these people are going to suffer for what they believe 19:20 because the Roman Empire is trying to get rid of them. 19:23 Doesn't want them around. 19:27 The Christians that lived here, 19:31 uh, did so at the peril of their life. 19:35 So as we go through you'll see many statements 19:39 that talk about this and about the city. 19:42 OK. This represented a church age from about 100 AD 19:46 to 323 AD. 19:49 And I'll tell you a little bit later why 19:52 we kind of put the time of 323 AD in there... 19:56 because it fits a certain time. 19:58 As I told you the other night, don't try to tie these 20:02 church ages down to exact dates. 20:05 It represents a period of time, 20:08 and this was a period of time in which the church 20:11 was persecuted very, very strongly. 20:17 All right, let's go on. 20:20 Identification. 20:22 This is where Christ identifies Himself to that church. 20:28 And He says: 20:37 Very important. He's telling those people there 20:40 who lived every day, folks, 20:43 at the threat of their life being taken. 20:46 I mean it was not something that 20:49 they heard about in the newspaper. 20:52 Wasn't something they heard about on the television set 20:56 about somebody suffering persecution on the other side 20:59 of the world. It was every day with them. 21:03 And so He's telling them: "Listen, 21:05 I'm the One who was dead, and I came to life. " 21:10 In other words, He's telling you: "Trust Me... 21:14 I can offer to you life. 21:16 What happens here on this world 21:19 and in this life isn't the end. " 21:22 Unfortunately, to many people today 21:27 who don't know the Lord, 21:31 this life is it. 21:34 But for the Christian... no. 21:38 This life isn't it. 21:40 There's a whole lot more, and Jesus said: 21:42 "I am living proof that there's something beyond this. " 21:58 He said: "I've been here; I've lived here; I died here; 22:03 I arose. You can count on it. I am the Almighty! " 22:08 And dear friend, you and I can base our faith and our belief 22:13 in Jesus Christ on what He says. 22:16 So the church in Smyrna is a group of people 22:21 who understood and accepted Christ. 22:26 But in accepting Him, they accepted Him knowing 22:31 that it put their life in danger. 22:34 Now you could compromise and live. 22:41 You hear me? 22:43 You can compromise... these people could compromise 22:47 and live. 22:51 And I find a lot of people today that are willing to compromise. 22:55 But that's not the way these people were. 23:00 Condition. We're going to take a look at the condition. 23:04 This is what was going on at that day. 23:17 That's strange. 23:19 "I know your works; I know your tribulation; 23:23 I know your poverty... but you're rich. " 23:35 Said: "I know these things; I know these people. " 23:38 Works. Now, we studied last night about 23:43 in the church of Ephesus that they had problems 23:46 with the Nicolatians. 23:48 And these were people that taught that the spiritual 23:53 and the physical had nothing to do with it. 23:55 And you find that teachings came in from Gnosticism 23:59 and brought in the idea of antinomianism. 24:02 And all that came in from here, 24:04 and that has influenced this church, folks. 24:07 All these churches are at the same time. 24:09 And so those things have come into these churches 24:11 and influenced them, and it influences us today. 24:17 Because I have people that say: 24:18 "Oh, works don't have anything to do with it... 24:22 none whatsoever. " Let me tell you something: 24:25 Every letter... every letter that Christ wrote 24:30 said: "I know your works. " 24:34 Now I'll assure you that your works don't save you. 24:38 That isn't the way it comes about. 24:41 But I'll assure you also that works has something to do 24:47 with your relationship. 25:04 Now that's strange. 25:06 Speaking against you as evildoers? 25:10 Christians aren't evildoers. 25:13 Why were they speaking against them as evildoers? 25:17 Well one... they didn't support worshiping the Emperor. 25:24 They were against what was happening there. 25:27 They weren't willing to go along with that. 25:29 This is what made them evildoers 25:32 is because they were going the other way. 25:35 They were saying: "No, I'm not going to worship the Emperor. 25:38 I'm not going to be part of your festivities. 25:42 I'm not going to partake of your pagan temple. " 25:45 That was all evil to those pagans. They were evildoers. 25:57 So He said, you know, "Let your works 26:01 speak for the life that you live. " 26:05 People ought to know you as someone who is good. 26:11 Someone who does good things. Your works... 26:16 your works ought to glorify God. 26:20 That's what they should do for you and for me. 26:39 See, folks, there is no such thing 26:45 as following Jesus Christ and walking with Him 26:51 without their being good works. 26:54 And that is the fruit that produces good works. 27:00 And if my life isn't producing good works, 27:04 isn't producing fruit, there's something wrong. 27:07 And a person needs to stop and look at that 27:11 and make sure that it is. 27:13 Important that it produces good fruit. 27:18 Good works always, always, always 27:24 produces tribulation. 27:28 Put it down... it never fails. 27:32 It produces tribulation because the devil doesn't like it. 27:37 And let me tell you something: it's the devil that 27:40 does these things, not God. 27:43 It's the devil that does it. 27:46 It's the devil that brings on the tribulation. 27:48 It's the devil that does these things. 27:51 But he doesn't like the witness of a Christian life 27:56 and therefore he brings about tribulation. 28:21 That person 28:24 who has never been afflicted 28:30 in their lives 28:33 has suffered the worst affliction there is. 28:39 That person who has never suffered affliction 28:44 has had the greatest affliction there is. 28:51 For it is tribulation 28:55 even though we don't like it, 28:58 even though it's hard, 29:00 even though it's disagreeable, 29:03 even though it makes me live in circumstances 29:06 I don't want to live in... 29:08 it is that that is necessary to change me 29:13 and to change my character. 29:17 You see... men are like 29:22 rivers. 29:25 If they follow the course of least resistance, 29:30 they wind up crooked. 29:35 Therefore I must learn... I must learn 29:40 to suffer as Christ suffered. 29:52 Count it what? How many of you do that? 29:56 Count it all joys when you have trials. 30:00 But he says we are to count it joy. Why? 30:10 Have you been in situations where, you know, 30:14 you didn't like it. You couldn't... 30:17 just didn't like it at all 30:19 but you couldn't do anything about it 30:23 and you had to develop patience? 30:27 This is what God expects us to do. 30:29 It produces patience in our life. 30:32 It has me to look to Him 30:36 for guidance and for direction and for help. 30:54 So tribulation does that for you. 30:59 And since it brings about patience in my life 31:03 it produces the fruits that needs to be there 31:06 then I should accept it with joy. 31:09 You remember, don't you? You remember Paul 31:12 and Silas there at Philippi. They had been thrown in jail, 31:16 had been beaten... and they were what? 31:18 Remember what they were doing? 31:20 Singing, see? Yes! 31:22 You and I need to learn to have that same experience. 31:26 And any time you have tribulation, 31:30 tribulation always produces poverty... 31:36 because the things you have are taken from you. 31:39 You've lost it; it's tribulation. 31:40 They've stripped you of the things that you have. 31:43 And I have people say: "Oh Brother Cox, 31:45 they came in and took my home away. " 31:47 Yeah... that's part of it. 31:52 See? Tribulation. 31:56 Hard times. But that produces poverty. 32:00 What does the scripture say about poverty? 32:04 Let me tell you something. 32:05 Poverty's not a bad thing. 32:09 Just not a bad thing, folks. 32:11 You can look at it any way you want to, but it's not. 32:23 How are you rich? 32:27 Hmmm? 32:29 Oh, there's a song that says my Father is rich 32:33 in houses and lands. 32:36 He holds the wealth of the world in His hands. 32:39 Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold 32:42 His coffers are full... He has riches untold. 32:46 You see, He's rich! 32:48 If my Father's rich, what...? 32:53 I'm rich. Yeah. 32:56 So you see, poverty in this old world isn't bad... 33:02 isn't bad at all. 33:04 If you don't have all the things that people think you need 33:08 to have today, praise the Lord! 33:11 You know? 33:30 Yes! He left heaven - 33:34 riches beyond anything that you and I can comprehend - 33:41 gave it all up to come here 33:47 and became poor so that you might become rich. 33:54 So consider poverty not a bad thing 33:57 because I'll assure you... 34:02 Well, let me just illustrate it for you. 34:05 I come here... I've lived here in the United States 34:08 I've held meetings all over this country 34:11 and people come... 34:16 but nothing like they do in countries where there's poverty. 34:21 When I go to countries where they are poor 34:25 and they don't have anything, 34:27 they come carrying their Bibles by the thousands to hear. 34:35 Where people have an abundance 34:38 and all the things that they think they need in life 34:42 and all the entertainment, they don't have time 34:48 for the Word of God. 34:50 See, poverty is not a bad thing. 34:54 I have to be willing... 34:57 I have to be willing just to give it all up. 35:01 Just to give it up. 35:05 See, there's something much better. 35:17 Here we go... here's poverty. 35:32 I have to be willing to give it all up for the Lord. 35:39 I cannot have... I'm sorry... 35:45 but I cannot have this world and Jesus too. 35:51 You have to make a decision. 35:53 Do you want Christ or do you want the world? 35:57 They're not... they're not the same, folks. 36:00 You can't hang onto both of them. 36:02 You've got to turn one of them loose. 36:05 You've either got to turn the Lord loose 36:07 and go with the world 36:09 or you've got to turn the world loose 36:11 and go with Christ. 36:13 You can't have both. 36:15 Just doesn't work that way. 36:17 And true, in this life 36:20 you may suffer persecution 36:23 and you may experience poverty. 36:26 But how much better it is in Christ Jesus. 36:32 Much, much better. 36:53 See there's such a thing 36:55 as being a rich poor man 37:00 or being a poor rich man. 37:05 See? That's what it says. 37:09 When He says that you're rich, what are you rich in? 37:13 Do you know? 37:15 When He says "you're rich, " what are you rich in? 37:19 Well, you're rich in grace. 37:24 You're rich in faith. 37:27 You're rich in patience; rich in meekness and humility. 37:32 Rich in courage... Christian fortitude. 37:34 Those are all fruits of the Spirit that are given 37:40 to you that you're rich in. 37:42 God gives all that to you and to me. 37:55 Now folks, this has to do 37:59 with the covenant. Now let me explain. 38:03 At the time of this church 38:08 there are basically three religions. 38:13 Paganism. Emperor worship, all that went along with paganism. 38:19 The Jewish belief... and Christianity. 38:23 That's what's there. 38:24 The Jewish belief and the Jewish people 38:28 joined the pagans in persecuting the Christians. 38:34 And so there were people among them 38:39 there in the church at Smyrna 38:41 that said they were Jews 38:46 but they really weren't. 38:48 Now that doesn't mean they weren't Jews physically. 38:53 They were... 38:55 as far as flesh and blood is concerned. 38:58 But they were not what the scripture counted as Jews. 39:04 You see the Jewish people 39:07 had made a covenant with God. 39:12 And that covenant was that if they would obey the Lord 39:17 and keep His commandments and follow Him 39:19 that He would be their God 39:21 and that they should be His people. 39:23 They had entered that covenant with the Lord. 39:26 These people here... they weren't willing to do that. 39:31 They wanted to persecute the Christians and yet 39:33 they said they were Jews. 39:34 He said: "They're not Jews; 39:36 they're of the synagogue of Satan. " 39:39 You see, to the Christian it says: 39:43 "If you be of Christ, then you are... " What? 39:49 "Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. " 39:55 What promise? 39:59 That "if you obey My voice and keep My commandments 40:02 I will be your God. " That's the promise God made to them. 40:05 And so you and I as followers of the Lord 40:09 come under that covenant... the covenant that was made. 40:14 And that's what He's talking about here 40:17 when He talks about these people. 40:19 All right, let's take a look at the problem. 40:31 "Don't fear any of those things you're about... " 40:35 Now He didn't say, folks, "you're not going to suffer. " 40:38 He said: "Don't fear any of those things 40:40 you're about to suffer. " 40:57 Uh, this always worries me. 41:01 Worries me very, very much. 41:04 And why it does is simply this: 41:07 do you remember the time when Jesus had fed the 5,000 41:11 and it says that He had crossed the sea and gone over to 41:15 Capernaum? And these Jewish people 41:18 had followed Him across the lake over to Capernaum. 41:23 And when they got there they asked Him - 41:25 because they didn't know how He got there - 41:27 they said: "How did You get here? " 41:28 And Jesus, in the course of conversation with them, said: 41:33 "Well I know why you're looking for Me... 41:35 because you want bread for your stomachs. " 41:38 And they said: "Well, tell us what we've got to do 41:42 to believe in You. " 41:44 And He said to them... He said: "You want to believe in Me? " 41:47 Then He said: "You must eat My flesh 41:51 and drink My blood. " 41:55 And they said: "What? " 41:57 "Eat Your flesh and drink Your blood? " 42:02 And He went on to say to them: 42:03 "The words that I speak unto you: 42:05 they are Spirit and they are life. " 42:09 And they said: "Oh, that's a very, very hard saying. " 42:13 And it says many of His disciples 42:16 walked with Him no more. 42:20 In fact, so many of them left Him 42:23 that he turned to the twelve 42:25 and He said to them: "Will you leave Me also? " 42:29 And Simon Peter said: 42:30 "Thou hast the words of life... 42:34 to whom shall we go? " 42:37 Now what worries me about this, folks, 42:40 is we live in an age when there are so many Christians 42:46 that are strictly fair-weather Christians. 42:50 They want to accept Christ but they don't want anything 42:54 of hard times or suffering or tribulation. 42:57 They don't want that to happen. In fact, they 42:59 build beliefs that are contrary to scripture 43:03 telling them that they won't have any of that 43:06 because they are strictly nothing but fair-weather 43:10 Christians. That's all they are. 43:11 This worries me because this applies to us today 43:15 and particularly to you and I who are living down here 43:18 at the end of time. 43:21 That we need to understand that we ARE going to suffer 43:25 persecution. There's no question that's going to happen 43:28 to the Christian in the last days. 43:31 Question is: is your faith in Christ strong enough 43:36 to stand there? 43:37 I can remember I was holding a meeting 43:39 and this woman came to the meeting and 43:43 we got into Biblical truths of God's Word 43:48 and we got into the question of the Sabbath. 43:51 And she had checked on a card that she understood it 43:56 and believed it and everything. 43:58 And some of the folks that were helping in visitation 44:01 went out to visit her. 44:02 And they talked to her about the... the Sabbath 44:05 and if she was willing to keep it and if she believed it. 44:10 She said: "Yes, she believed it. " 44:11 But when they asked her if she was willing to keep it 44:14 she said: "No! " 44:15 And they couldn't get anywhere with her 'cause she 44:19 just refused. 44:21 And so I went out to visit her. 44:23 Got out there and we visited and I asked her 44:26 questions about the Sabbath. 44:27 I said: "Do you understand what the scripture teaches? " 44:30 She said: "Yes. " 44:31 I said: "Do you believe it and all? " 44:34 She said: "Yes. " 44:35 I said: "Can you... can you keep it? Is it that? " 44:39 She said: "No. " 44:41 And I said: "I don't understand. " 44:44 I said: "You're telling me you understand it. 44:47 You're telling me you believe it 44:48 but you're not willing to keep it. " 44:50 And she said to me... she said: "Brother Cox, 44:53 what you don't understand is I have cancer 44:57 and the only insurance I have is with my employer. 45:04 And if I go and ask to have the Sabbaths off, 45:10 he'll probably let me go 45:13 and I'll lose my insurance. " 45:20 And I said to her: 45:24 "You know, when you accept Jesus Christ 45:30 you accept Him for life 45:34 AND for death. 45:38 You don't accept Him just for life. 45:44 You have to be willing to accept Him for both. " 45:49 And she said: "You're right. " 45:52 She said: "I'll go talk to him. " 45:55 And she went and talked to her employer 45:57 and he gave her the Sabbaths off. 45:58 She had no problem getting it off. 46:01 But what I'm trying to say is that you and I 46:04 must be willing to step out there and say: 46:09 "I'm willing to stand for the Lord. " 46:10 These people did! 46:12 Back then Rome didn't care who you worshiped. 46:18 They didn't care who you worshiped at all 46:20 because they were polytheistic. 46:22 They had many, many gods. 46:24 What Rome was concerned about was the fact that they 46:27 wanted your allegiance. 46:30 That's what they wanted. 46:31 And so they had their god - Roma Dia - 46:35 which you once a year you had to come and pick up some incense 46:40 and drop it in the fire before this goddess 46:44 and say "Roma Dia. " And if you did that, 46:46 they gave you a certificate of allegiance to Rome. 46:51 The Christians weren't willing to do that. 46:55 These folks in Smyrna weren't willing to do that. 46:58 And because of that they took them to arenas 47:04 and they made human torches out of them. 47:08 And they fed them to the lions. 47:11 What bothers me is... that's your heritage. 47:18 That's what the word Christian meant. 47:22 And you and I must understand that, and we must be willing 47:28 to stand for our faith and what we believe. 47:32 Tradition tells us that Polycarp 47:38 that John - the apostle John - 47:43 ordained him as the bishop of the church of Smyrna. 47:47 Polycarp gave his life. 47:50 Standing before the judge, and the judge asked him if 47:54 he would renounce his belief and renounce it in Jesus Christ. 47:59 And Polycarp said these words: 48:13 They burned him at the stake. 48:16 It said "you will have tribulation ten days. " 48:21 These are just some of the martyrs, folks, 48:23 during that period of time. 48:38 These are a few. Christians during this period of time - 48:44 died by the thousands - that gave their life 48:49 for what they believed. 48:51 Ten days of persecution. 48:54 That ten days... as I told you, all the Emperors persecuted... 48:59 but the last one - Diocletian - was the worst. 49:03 And for ten years - from 303 AD to 313 AD - 49:09 he persecuted the church unmercifully. 49:12 That's why it says "for ten days. " 49:15 As the scripture tells you, a day represented 49:17 a year in Bible prophecy. 49:20 And then we come to the counsel. 49:31 Interesting that He would use that terminology 49:34 since that Mount Pegasus sat right there 49:36 and was known as "The Crown. " 49:38 And He said: "Trust Me. Be faithful unto death. 49:42 I'll give you a crown of life. " 49:46 Promise to you and to me. 49:48 Do you know you're... you're given three things? 49:51 Hmmm? Do you know what those three things are 49:54 that you're given? 50:07 The three things that you receive: you receive a gift. 50:12 You receive an inheritance 50:15 and you receive a crown. 50:18 Those are the three things you receive. 50:21 What's the gift that you receive? 50:24 What? 50:26 Eternal life. That's right. 50:28 You are given eternal life free. 50:30 You do not deserve it. 50:33 You have nothing to earn it. 50:34 It's given to you out of the graciousness of our Lord 50:37 Jesus Christ. It's handed to you and I free. 50:40 OK. You're given an inheritance. What's that? 50:46 You're given an inheritance... "blessed are the? 50:50 meek, for they shall inherit the earth. " 50:55 Yes. Given that as an inheritance because you and I 51:00 are children of the King... and He's rich 51:03 in houses and lands. 51:04 And you're given a crown. 51:06 And the crown is given to you based on? 51:10 Works. 51:13 That's what the crown has to do with... based on works. 51:17 So you have those three things that are given to you. 51:20 Closing: 51:27 Listen carefully to these messages 51:30 because they have great lessons in them for you and for me. 51:35 Then He gives the promise 51:37 to the church here in Smyrna. 51:39 And the promise says: 51:46 You and I... we all face the first death. 51:53 You face it quicker than you want to, you know. 51:57 But we do... we face it. We know it's coming. 52:00 Unless the Lord comes and redeems us 52:02 and gets us out of here, we're going to face the first death. 52:06 That's not the worry. 52:08 It's the second death that you have to be concerned about. 52:24 So it says the first resurrection... 52:27 if you come forth in that, then you're not going to have to 52:31 be faced with the second death. 52:51 That's the one that you and I do not want to be 52:56 involved with is that second death. 53:07 Dear friend, the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed you from that. 53:14 That's what He died for is that there would be 53:18 redemption from death. 53:20 "O death, where is your sting? 53:24 O grave, where is your victory? " 53:25 There isn't any to the righteous 53:28 because Christ redeemed us from the sting of death. 53:32 We're not faced with that. 53:34 In Jesus Christ there's life not death. 53:48 If you want life... and I don't care who you are watching... 53:52 oh person, young person... if you want life 53:56 it's found in Jesus Christ. 54:00 Not found in this world. 54:03 All there is in this old world is death, 54:08 but in Christ there's life... life eternal. 54:20 Tonight do you know that you have eternal life? 54:27 You can have it in Christ Jesus. 54:30 Oh, yes, you may suffer persecution. 54:36 You may suffer hard times. 54:39 You may suffer poverty. 54:41 But dear friend, let me tell you something: 54:44 there's life, 54:46 marvelous life, in Jesus Christ. 54:49 Heavenly Father, 54:51 Thank you. Thank you for redeeming us. 54:55 Thank you for the hope 54:58 that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. 55:01 Bless each one that's listening, Lord. 55:04 May they be drawn unto You. 55:06 May our hearts be open to You 55:09 in all that we do. We pray in Christ's name, Amen. 55:13 Good night; God bless you. 55:17 Hello, folks. 55:18 One of my favorite things to do in the springtime 55:21 is to take a walk and look at all the new growth. 55:25 The earth seems so fresh, 55:26 and each tree bursts forth with buds and flowers. 55:29 That reminds me of a parable that Jesus told His followers 55:34 in Luke 21. 55:35 You see, He had just described the events which will happen 55:39 immediately before His second coming. 55:56 But in verse 29 Jesus turns their attention 55:59 to the fig tree. 56:01 And ever since then, budding trees have served as a permanent 56:05 reminder that our time here is very short 56:08 and the second coming is very near. 56:26 Folks, many of these signs are already upon us. 56:30 The earth groans from the greed of those who have 56:32 exploited her resources, ravaged her land 56:36 and destroyed plants and animals and atmosphere alike 56:39 in a selfish pursuit of wealth. 56:42 Have you seen the signs? 56:44 Have you seen men's hearts failing with fear? 56:47 If you haven't, then I'm afraid you're not watching 56:50 very closely. However, the Holy Spirit is hard at work 56:54 and so are many Christians who long for an end to sin 56:58 and look forward to their soon-coming Savior. 57:01 And that's why we continue to preach the gospel 57:04 to as many as we can through any means that we can 57:08 as often as we can. 57:10 Our ministry team is supported solely 57:13 by your contributions... and we thank you for your 57:16 faithful prayers and financial support. 57:20 May God richly bless you. 57:22 Please consider what you can do for those who still don't know 57:25 about Jesus. As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:28 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:43 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:45 through television and radio. 57:47 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation 57:49 to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17