Later in the letter we read such is the story of blessed Polycarp, although he, together with those from Philadelphia, was the 12th person martyred in Smyrna, he alone is especially remembered by everyone so that he is spoken of everywhere, even by pagans. You couldnt see their god, so they said they were atheists. Theres nothing that says we cant pray for it to be removed. Free Sermons and Sermon Outlines for Preaching : Three Important Looks Or Paul's Last Testimony. But as long as I listen and bow before self, my life is shriveled and small. Give it up. John 15:12-13: This is My commandment, That you love one another . Baptist. [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. I dont look forward to it. In the fifteenth chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy is one of the most unusual parabolic instances of devotion that you could ever think for or find in all literature. We Christians must be faithful. Thats the cry in each one of these churches. 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. It is in riches. This comes in chapter 21, the final chapter in some of the manuscripts of The Martyrdom of Polycarp. Come do what you wish. Polycarp was then found guilty of confessing to being a Christian. will tell you one of the driving forces in human life is to be accepted, Listen to what it says: Now the blessed Polycarp was martyred on the second day of the first part of the month Xanthicus, seven days before the Kalends of March, on a great Sabbath, about 2 oclock in the afternoon. John 1:10-11: Jesus was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. Many of us would say that murder is worthy of the death penalty; and if any of us had a child that were raped, we would probably believe the person who 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. Especially and particularly is that true with our young people. 2014.04.20 HE AROSE and you can too! The clouds are boiling and the face of the heaven is angry. Knowing that we are not facing these exact circumstances, and we can be thankful for it, what does this mean for us? The second death is. 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. Most of us fear death, but as a Christian were called to hope. There are many benefits to remaining faithful. Now the next verse: And God counted his faith for righteousness, because he believed in the Lord [Genesis 16:6]. As we remember the words of Scripture, we will be able to fight off temptation and thus remain faithful. While we stand and while we pray. That is a big number. WebIts a very tender and touching sceneone of the most moving and heartwarming farewell speeches thats ever been recorded in literature. Remember Jesus says those who utter all kinds of false things about you, who slander you, that, too, is a kind of persecution and we ought to pray that we will not grow spiritually flabby as a church should we be called upon to face persecution. That number of about 0.8% of Christians throughout history, in fact, has been constant over many centuries. Faith, trust, commitment brings God into our lives and into our scene; and faith knows absolutely nothing about defeat. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. And that is our invitation to you: a family gathering the children coming to be with us in our pilgrimage to heaven, a couple you, or a one somebody you, Pastor, today we have decided for God, and here we stand. As the Spirit shall press the appeal to your heart, that decision you make, if it is for God, will be the sweetest and most meaningful you will ever know in your life. He comes with comfort, and notice He comes with commands. To Smyrna, the challenge is one of keep on keeping on or continue to do what you are already doing. That may sound daunting. Our resurrection is dependent on his resurrection- Paul said You got, theres two deaths, and unless Jesus comes back in our lifetime, we all face the first death, but not all have to have the second death. You dont get angry with God. 22:37). But here in the second half of the first century, several things had happened to make this situation untenable. Amen. deep, never sated thirst for the Word(Romans 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.. ( Rev. And a youngster wants to belong to the group. 23127). Files Audio Faithful Unto Death (Video) Notes Transcript 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. How can we leave these dear people? And John her husband replied, Wife, I dont see how we can. And he turned the team around and the wagon around and went back to the parsonage and put back in the house all of the things that he had stacked on that wagon. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel (Gal. 2:10 states, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. There are too many professing Christians which the Lord cannot depend upon. 3:14). Some put it much lower than that, if its actually killing you because you confess Christ, the higher number is if in some way the state has starvation or death or opposition to religious groups, including Christians. read more, Scripture: Listening to a man expound the unsearchable riches of the Word of God. Holiness. The word staphanos, Stephen, means crown. And when the Lord says, be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life, it could be a diadem, a royal crown. THREE IMPORTANT LOOKS OR PAUL'S LAST TESTIMONY He was called to be pastor of a little church in a little town in Yorkshire called Wainsgate. Genesis 50:1-26, Denomination: They are all doing it. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Revelation 2:10, Do not fear what you are about to suffer. May angels attend you in the way as you come. Hebrews says since the children have flesh and blood, He, too, shared likewise in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy the one who holds the power of death, that is the devil, and set free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.. Father in heaven, our prayer is simple. 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. This letter reported this man was certainly one of the elect. Now, before I speak of another, may I pause to avow; there is never, ever, a defeat, never in our commitment to our Lord. 1 John 5: 13-21 If they refuse to swear by Caesar, if they refuse to worship our gods, then we must punish them., Polycarp replied, For 86 years I have been His servant and He has done me no wrong. Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You (Ps. But from salvation to glory there are three vitally important To us, we use the word cross to refer to some handicap or some suffering or some disappointment, I have an incorrigible child, an obstreperous child, and it is a cross for me to bear. Or, I have some physical ailment, I have a cross to bear. Or, I have a frustration or a disappointment in my life; it is my cross. There is no such idea of that in the Bible; in the Scriptures a cross is something to die on. We can remember the love that God has for us. Where, O death, is your victory? WebFEATURE SERMON TEXT-FEATURE Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands FAITHFUL EVEN UNTO DEATH II Kings 2:1-12 For the child of God, heaven is our ultimate destination. Heres part of the story. Some of you perhaps pray for it every day, that would be wonderful. Will God reward you? 16:3), B. Every Christian wants to be able to say with the apostle Paul, as he thought about his own death ( 2 Tim. FAITHFUL EVEN UNTO DEATH Two commands. It is an instrument of execution, and when I am invited to take up my cross, I am invited to die to myself that I might live to the Lord. The third thing that had happened is by the end of the first century, some Jews had compromised with Rome. 15, 16), VI. It has never happened in the history of the world. 2:4). The one who overcomes, who conquers, will not be hurt by the second death, that is, the eternal punishment in the lake of fire. And dont be afraid about what you would do and what you would be like should you face, the church at Smyrna, what they faced. Psychologist Title: The Face of Faithfulness: John living faith, consumed with one desire to please Him(John 12:42-43), 1. Genesis 49 Moule]. by take up his cross, and follow Me. The cross is an instrument of death. But when that acclamation and acceptance violates our commitment to Christ, it is to be repudiated by the disciple of our Lord. Because if were reading Scripture, well have the power to overcome temptation. 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. Evil influences prevent people from being faithful. Our Lord, before it comes to pass, we praise Thy wonderful, keeping, saving, endearing name for all You have done for us; died to save us [1 Corinthians 15:3], poured out Thy blood to wash us clean and white [Revelation 1:5, 5:9], that we might stand in the presence of God forgiven [Jude 1:24]. It is a great vast city, today called Izmir. Text: Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mothers sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 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. To Him be the glory, honor, majesty, and eternal throne, from generation to generation. We will suffer. The fourth characteristic, the fourth mark of a true disciple of our Lordone who continues unswervingly in the Word of God. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris. It was a difficult situation. Which leads to a second point of application. Losing focus of whats important in life prevents people from being faithful. In fact, we do. 1 John 5:13-17. He said, Now if you want to learn the doctrine of Christianity, name a day and give me a hearing. The proconsul told Polycarp, No, persuade the people of your Christianity. Polycarp replied that he had been taught to respect the rulers and authorities and he would be happy to meet with the proconsul, but this was a lawless mob and he wasnt going to waste his time., So the proconsul said, I have wild beasts if you dont change your mind. Polycarp said, Call for them. The proconsul said, You will be consumed by the fire. Polycarp said, You threaten with a fire that burns only briefly and after just a little while is extinguished, for you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. Amen.. And unbelief will ask, How can such a thing be? It is a sermon in the series on the Great Doctrines of the Bible. And in this section, composed of about five sermons, the messages are addressed to us who are Christians. We come to see that the thing of value is not speed but endurance. 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. The Importance of Christs Resurrection Why Jesus, in His letter to the church at Smyrna, instruct those Christians to Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.. Our You dont doubt His goodness. Oh, what a beautiful thing, a precious thing, a wonderful thing: to love our Lord and to follow humbly in the way of Jesus! We dont want to exaggerate it, we dont want to claim that were facing what other people are facing. It is one of the marks and the characteristics of a good disciple of Jesus; our love for one another. One, starting with Nero, Christians were blamed for things in Rome and were being persecuted, at least intermittently. Hes telling us from Gods Holy Scriptures about our Lord. And in Jerusalem, they nailed Him to a cross [Matthew 27:32-50]. 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