To download this audio sermon, click the download button in the player above.

Smyrna: Grace Under Pressure

April 23, 2023

In Revelation chapter 2, there was a church in a place called “Smyrna” that was under tremendous pressure. This church was under pressure to deny Christ, compromise their faith, bow down to Caesar, and join the cult of conformity. But they showed grace under pressure. Like the men in the fiery furnace, they didn’t bend, bow, or budge, all because of one thing this church was taught and this church remembered. It is this sermon in a sentence - Whatever you are going through, remember who you are coming to. I don’t know what you are going through right now, but whatever it is, I want to give you four things to remember and to live by in the midst of whatever pressure you’re currently facing.

Topics: Grace

In this series

This is Your Captain Speaking

Over the course of this seven-week series called, “This Is Your Captain Speaking,” we are going to be studying seven letters that the Apostle John wrote to seven churches in Asia. They are found in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. Now, John was not actually the author of the letters; he just wrote them. These were given to him by the risen Lord Jesus. The letters are a result of an on-site inspection Jesus himself conducted. We’re going to learn a lot throughout this series about how we can learn from Jesus’ evaluation of the seven churches in Revelation. So fasten your seatbelts as we take off on this journey together.

Bible Reference

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
“ ‘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.
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’