Life Capsule for Today Date:3rd July, 2023
Theme: To what Church do you belong (2)?
Memory Verse: Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Topic: The Church at Smyrna (The Persecuted and Suffering Church)
Text: Rev 2:8 -11
8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Words of the Ministry
One of the great truths which this generation tries hard to cover, reject, avoid and misunderstand is Christian persecution. The bible without mincing words emphasizes this, 2 Tim 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”. The Church in Smyrna was one the Churches in Asia minor that the Lord sent a letter to. The Church is referred to as the persecuted and suffering Church and their live experiences is of much benefit to individual believers and today’s church in general.
The Lord said he knew their experiences, their poverty and persecution. It may come as a supervise to many that the Lord knew all of this yet permitted the sufferings. He said he knew those that claimed were Jews but were rather blasphemers, a synagogue of Satan. One may imagine such persons in the synagogue of Satan even mocking and blaspheming the genuine lovers of the lord. While they saw themselves as poor, the Lord said they were rich. The Lord further notified them that they were to face a tougher trial in the coming days but warned them to go through it for his name sake and they would be rewarded with a crown of life.
This may conflict with your theology as many have believed a “bread and butter” gospel that teaches that once saved we would never suffer any form of persecution; some even say Christ has suffered for them. I like to tell you that the call to Christ involves carrying the cross and suffering persecution (Luke 9.23-24, Mat 5.11-12). The reason it seems rare in our days for believers to suffer persecution, prison sentence and even death is because many have lost their first love and there is so much compromise. Preachers and followers alike don’t preach and stand for the truth, we have joined the wagon that says if you can’t beat them join them.
Don’t be deceived whatever a man sows he would reap. We see a progression from our last study, while the Lord wants us to love him with our best love, we should know that even as we love the lord, the devil would come to discourage us, false brethren would attempt to blaspheme us and many may even die for their faith but just like the Church in Smyrna, the Lord knows what you are going through and while the world may say you are poor, you are the one with the true riches, an enduring inheritance, the crown of life awaits you. Don’t be dragged into the bandwagon of worldliness and materialism like Demas (2 Thim 4.10). The test of our faithfulness is not how much money we have but how much God has saturated our being, amen.
Bible In One Year: Psalm 46-51
For further fellowship send us an email on godmanvideos@gmail.comor visit our youtube channel: @godmanmedia. You can also interact with us by dropping your comments on our facebook page. Our physical meeting (PENIEL) comes up once a month, every last Sunday of the month from 4pm to 6.30pm at Embraze Event Center, Opposite Tipper Garage, Before the Train Station, Byazhin Kubwa Abuja.