Revelation
Week 2
“Choose Hope”
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We are in week 2 of a series called “Revelation”
In the first 3 chapters Jesus is speaking to 7 churches & I believe what He said to them can really help us. So through this series we are drawing out practical principles so we can be all that Jesus wants us to be!
Connect:
I was recently wrestling with my son Maddox. Now I out weigh him by about 200 pounds so it’s really no contest. But he just laughs & laughs when we wrestle which makes me laugh too.
So we were going at it and I pinned him & he stopped laughing and gave me this very maniacal look, so I paused and cocked my head with a grin & said “what?” And then it happened…
I have him on his side & his back is to me, I am putting pressure on him and holding his arms against him…and he let the loudest fart rip…and then started laughing harder then ever as I choked & gagged at the nasty stench he just unleashed on me.
After I recovered from the gassing, I started thinking. That’s like a lot of people. When the pressure is on them, what comes out of them REALLY STINKS!
Tension:
When life happens & difficulties come, they just become foul. When the pressure is on the resort to a stinky attitude. Their faces look all twisted up like the have been smelling farts.
Can anyone relate to what I’m talking about. Sadly difficult circumstances & situations can bring the worst things out of people.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, As we are going to see as we look at the next church Jesus speaks to in Revelation 2.
Truth:
In Revelation 2:9-10 Jesus speaks to the church in Smyrna.
The name of the city “Smyrna” actually means “bitter” and that’s what it was like for the church in that city. They had it rough! But interestingly the root word for Smyrna is “myrrh”
And “myrrh” is an essential oil, it’s very fragrant. But it comes from a very thorny bush & the only way to extract the oil is the crush the plant.
So keep that picture in mind. A thorny, difficult bush contains something very fragrant. But to get the fragrance out, you need to deal with the thorns, & then it has to be crushed.
Jesus says… “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you… Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer…But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:9-10
Jesus says “I KNOW”
It’s kinda funny, but we seem to think that, there are things that Jesus doesn’t know or doesn’t see.
Jesus knows!!! He knew everything they were going through, He was well aware of their struggles, of their challenges, of their hardships.
So whatever you are facing right now, as hard as it may be, JESUS KNOWS! He is in the loop!
Jesus knew their suffering & their poverty. They were in abject poverty because they were followers of Jesus. The people of Smyrna made the Christians outcasts, wouldn’t allow them to work, made life horrible for them. But yet they remained faithful & loyal followers of Jesus. Even though it cost them everything, they were ALL IN with Jesus!
It’s easy to follow Jesus when things are going great, but when difficult times come, that’s when the rubber meets the road & we find out what we are really made of.
Jesus said He knew the “Blasphemy of those who opposing” these believers. Not only where they facing hard times, they had people actively talking trash about them.
But He encourages them to “REMAIN FAITHFUL” He tells them to hang in there.
Now it’s easy for someone on the outside of a situation to tell you to “Be Strong” “Hang In There” “Don’t Give Up” Because they aren’t the ones facing it.
But when Jesus says it, it is VERY different, because HE GETS IT, HE’S BEEN THERE!!!
Jesus “…understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” Hebrews 4:15
Jesus has been there & done that!
Lied about? Yup!
Betrayed by a friends? Yup!
Beaten? Yup
Put to death? That Too!
He tells them to stay strong, to hold on, to keep doing what they have been so faithfully doing!! And He has the moral authority to say it BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN THERE & DONE THAT & HAS THE SCARS TO PROVE IT!!
Jesus told His disciples in John 16:33…
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
He said, YES! Difficult times will come, but hold your head up, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!!!
You know what that means for us?
The same thing it meant for the church in Smyrna, WE HAVE HOPE!
When can CHOOSE to be miserable or we can CHOOSE HOPE!!
It’s up to you, Choose Hope or Choose to Miserable
Application:
1-Will you be a Sweet Fragrance or a Smelly Fart?
Remember the wrestling story, when the pressure was on, out came the smelly fart. And when the pressure of life is on, that’s how some people CHOOSE TO BE
WELL when the pressure is on, we can be like Myrrh, when the pressure is on, the SWEET FRAGRANCE comes out.
Instead of being miserable, we can hold our head high. We can CHOOSE HOPE!
No matter what comes our way, we can CHOOSE HOPE
If God brought us TO IT, God will bring us THROUGH IT!!!
We get to CHOOSE how we will go through it.
“We have sufferings now, but these are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us.”Romans 8:18
Whatever you are facing, no matter how bad it is, it’s only temporary, if we know Jesus we have a HOPE, we have a future.
Do you care more about getting pity or making progress?
When we choose pity we are looking for attention, we are looking for someone to feel bad for us.
Listen when a baby makes a mess all they can do is cry about it. But if an adult makes a mess they have a choice, sit in it or make a change.
It’s a CHOICE!
Victims NEVER walk in VICTORY!
If you want to play the victim & complain about how hard it is been, that’s your choice, but nothing is going to improve or change.
WE CAN CHOOSE TO WALK IN VICTORY! So CHOOSE HOPE!
Are you gonna be a SWEET FRAGRANCE or a SMELLY FART, it’s your choice!
2-Temporary Pain Leads To Long Term Gains
No one likes pain. Some of us have a higher threshold for pain than others do. But no healthy person likes pain. We do our best to avoid it!
But sometimes the only way to receive the reward is to endure the pain.
Child Birth-you can’t birth a baby without it, to my knowledge there is always some level of pain.
Exercise-If you want the muscles, you need to lift the weights, to get them involves tearing muscle & it healing, it hurts
Tattoo-you can’t get the ink without the needle
But the temporary pain gives you a long term gain.
The pain is the pathway to the BLESSING! It’s the pain that gives us the opportunity to GROW & CHANGE!
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1 Peter 1:6-7
Our faith will be tested! There will be seasons in our lives & in our journey where what we say we believe will be put to the test. In those moments we can wimp out or we can endure the test & come out the other side of it STRONGER & with a much DEPPER FAITH!
“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” James 1:3 *******(BAND CUE)
Difficulties are part of the growth process. But when we face them, with HOPE we grow!
So CHOOSE HOPE!!!!
Temporary Pain Leads To Long Term Gains!
Landing:
Listen, we CANNOT control what happens to us, but we can AWAYS control our reaction to it!
That’s up to us, we get to CHOOSE how we will react to what comes our way!
“And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” Romans 8:28
What will you do? It’s up to you…. CHOOSE HOPE!
