Dr. Michael Youssef with a timely observation to begin this episode of Leading the Way Audio.
The very people who call Christians bigots. Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading the Way, sharing the gospel of truth for more than 30 years. And recently, Dr. Youssef guided his church through the seven letters in Revelation. Today, listen in and hear what Jesus said to the believers in Smyrna and to you. This is an encouraging letter to believers who were persecuted for their faithfulness to the gospel. And it's also a challenge to be faithful as you face the changing tides of culture, knowing that Jesus stands before, behind, and with you when you uphold the truth. Leading the Way is listener supported, meaning that Dr. Youssef's team relies on God's provision through those blessed by the ministry's teaching and worldwide impact.
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866-626-4356. Now though, listen in as Dr. Michael Youssef takes you to the words of Jesus to the church in Smyrna. We saw in the last message the letter of our glorified Lord Jesus to the believers in Ephesus. It was a church that was biblically sound, but they've lost their first love for Jesus. They were doing things and even believing the truth, but all of what they were doing is not coming out of their love for Jesus. And Jesus was warning them that he removed the lampstand. Now here, the believers in Smyrna, they kept their love for Jesus, which caused them persecution. Now beloved, listen to me. It is most often the case when your love for Jesus is real. Let me repeat this. When your love for Jesus is real, it will cause you suffering.
It will cause you suffering. The city of Smyrna is now modern Izmir in Turkey. About 35 miles north of Ephesus, Smyrna was a great trading city.
Smyrna still, even those many years later, is still a beautiful city. In fact, it was called the ornament of Asia. It was called the crown of Asia.
It was called the flower of Asia. And it was founded in the year 1000 BC as a Greek colony. But, about 600 BC, it was totally demolished. It was totally destroyed by the Lydians. And it remained desolate for 400 years until the Romans rebuilt it in the year 195 BC.
Just remember that date. And because Rome rebuilt it, the citizens of Smyrna were so beholding to Rome, felt so indebted to Rome, felt so thankful to Rome, so the first temple they built was to the goddess Roma. You know how Rome was named after the goddess Roma? And that is why it was the first city in Asia Minor to build the temple to the goddess Roma. In fact, it was a joke at that time. People would say, these Smyrna folks, there are more Romans than the Romans.
But that's not all. They built temples for every god they heard about, whether it be Zeus or Cybele or Apollo or Nemesis or Aphrodites. They built a temple for them. Please all the gods, to mention just a few.
These people who bow down to every miserable god that they heard about, these miserable people who worshiped so many gods, and every time they hear of a new god they built a temple for him, the same people who had the temerity, the goal to call those who trusted in the one true living god, creator god, to call them atheists. Think about that. Let that sink in, okay?
Is it sinking in? It will really help you understand that the devil has not changed one bit. That the devil has not changed his tactics in 2,000 years, in fact, ever. Today, the very people who preach the gospel of tolerance, tolerance, tolerance, the very people who tolerate every miserable religion and every miserable belief system, the very people who wanted our kids to learn immorality in schools and perversions, and the virtues of other religions, they are the very people who call Christians bigots. Satan never changes tactics out of the mainstream. Just think with me.
The most loving people on the face of the earth, the most caring people on the face of the earth are called haters. Can you see this? I just want to show you how the devil's strategy and tactics is the same, and we are facing the same tactics of the devil today as they did in the church of Smyrna 2,000 years ago. Nothing is new. Nothing is new. He did it in the city of Smyrna 2,000 years ago, and he is doing it today in every western city in the 21st century.
Hear me right, please. Satan is not only the god of confusion, but he's the father of lies. Can I get an amen? He loves to create confusion in the minds of the masses, particularly the young people. Why does he want to create confusion?
So that they cannot distinguish between falsehood and truth. But here's the good news. Jesus said to the faithful believers in Smyrna, and he says to the faithful believers in the 21st century, two comforting words, I know. Say that with me. I know.
Those two words fill me with joy and confidence and comfort and peace. I know your reflections. I know you're being falsely accused.
I know you've been misunderstood deliberately. I know the price that you are paying for your faithfulness. He knows what the devil is up to.
In your life, and in your family life, and in your business life, and in your church life, and in your campus life, Jesus knows. And to make things worse for the faithful believers, Christian believers in Smyrna, the religious Jews who had exemptions from worshipping Lord Caesar, they had official exemption. They turned on the Christians, and they were turning them in to the authorities. What Satan's ultimate aim is to zip the mouth and silence the believers. There's nothing the devil loves more than to close the mouth of the believers. The devil does not want you to witness to your faith. The devil does not want you to testify to the power of Jesus that saved you.
The devil does not want you to testify to the power of Jesus that is working in you. So question, how does he silence the believers? How does he silence you? By intimidating you into fear.
That's what he does. He intimidates you into fear. Fear of rejection, fear of alienation, fear of false accusation, fear of being cancelled. And the list goes on and on and on. But it doesn't matter.
It all goes back to fear. And that is why they glorified Jesus' message to the believers in Smyrna. He said, I know.
I know. And then immediately he goes on to tell us who he is, as if they really need to know who he is, as if they really need to be reminded who, as if we need to be reminded who he is. And the answer is yes, we do. We need to be reminded every day, not just every day, but every moment of every day.
We need to be reminded. And so he goes on to remind them, I'm the first and the last. I'm the alpha and the omega. I'm the one who was dead, but rose from the dead, and I'm now glorified in heaven. Because there is nothing that frightens away fear like who Jesus is. There is nothing that banishes fear like the power of the resurrected Jesus. There is nothing that exchange fear with faith than experiencing the power of the resurrected Jesus. There is nothing that will give you confidence in the midst of trouble than fully trusting in the resurrected Jesus.
I get an amen. The pagan population and the compromising religious Jews were saying to the Christians, burn a little incense to Caesar. Why are you just burning that little incense? That's not going to cause you any harm.
What will it do? What harm can just a little nod? You don't have to bow all the way down.
Just nod to Caesar. What harm? A little bit of compromise. Just a little bit.
Not too much, just a little bit. You can bow to Jesus on Sundays, but then during the week, you need to live and let live. Come on now. Just bow a little bit. Give in a little bit. To all that, the believers in Smyrna politely said, no thank you.
No thank you. Then the heat was on. The pagans and the compromising religious people began to say to the faithful believers in Smyrna, you're going to lose your jobs. You're going to become poor. You're going to become destitute. You're going to become alienated from your neighbors. You're going to become a pariah in your family.
You could even lose your life. You know what they said? Here's a Yusuf translation. Bring it on.
Bring it on. And Jesus is saying to every one of his faithful children, I am the Alpha and the Omega. That's the first Greek alphabet and the last in the Greek alphabet, just in case you don't know this. As he was saying, I am the A and the Z and everything in between those letters. I am the beginning and the end. I am the one who had risen from the dead never to die again. I am the only one who defeated death and the grave. I am the only one who has power over death. I am the only one who has power to overcome death. So bring it on.
Bring it on. Even the religious Jews who believed in Yahweh in order to save their own skin and to get on the good side of the pagans, they turned the Christians in, handed them over to authority. And that is why verse 9, look at it with me.
I'm going to explain it to you because it's very important. In verse 9, Revelation 2, Jesus called them the synagogue of Satan. That does not mean they're worshipping Satan.
I want to explain this, very important. He called it the synagogue of Satan. It's in the same way that Jesus called Peter, his chief apostle, Satan.
You got that? He called to get behind me Satan. Wait a minute, you're calling Peter? Your great chief apostle Satan? Yes, and that's in the same sense, in the same vein, when he calls this the synagogue of Satan.
Why? Because they're doing Satan's bidding. They're doing Satan's bidding. When Peter tried to stop Jesus from going to the cross and fulfill the plan of God the Father, he said this is what Satan has been trying to get me to do. And that's why he called him Satan.
It doesn't mean that Peter was Satan any more than the synagogue worshipping Satan. Have you ever asked yourself the question, why is the natural man, this is man or woman when I talk mankind, why is the natural man hates the gospel of Jesus Christ so much? Because the gospel of Jesus Christ exposes man's sin and guilt and the natural man doesn't like that. The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the judgment and the wrath of God that is coming upon those who refuse to accept God's only remedy for guilt and they hate that. The gospel of Jesus Christ announces that man, no matter how brilliant he or she may be, cannot save themselves and all the natural man says, I'm the captain of my ship and the master of my life. And they hate that. The gospel of Jesus Christ announces that it is only, only, only through the cross of Christ that anyone can be forgiven and receive eternal life and the natural man refuses to accept that.
That's the bottom line. And because of their rejection, what many a preacher today is doing is they took it upon themselves to water down the gospel so it can be acceptable to the natural man. You see, they took it upon themselves to modify the truth of the gospel.
They will make whatever changes that are needed to be made in order to make the gospel palatable to sinners who refuse to repent. And so they want the pagan culture to at least be indifferent and not hostile because they don't want hostility. Ooh, we don't want to be liked by the culture. Really?
If you want to be liked by the culture, be very careful. There is a God in heaven who's watching. What are they doing? What are they doing? They are trying to escape rejection by the pagan culture. They are trying to escape persecution and discrimination. They are trying to avoid cancel culture. They are trying to be loved by the pagans and they are desperately wanting to be accepted by our pagan media.
They do. Have you heard the term celebrity preacher? Have you heard that? Oh, preacher to the celebrities. Oh, yes, be very careful. Don't miss this. Don't miss this.
Don't miss this, please. Here, the resurrected, glorified Jesus wants all of his faithful believers, all his faithful children who are facing trouble. He wants them to know that Jesus wants all of his frightened children to know that Jesus wants all his timid children to know that he and he alone has all the power. Secondly, that he and he alone knows all things.
And thirdly, that he and he alone has a purpose in everything. First of all, that he has all the power. First of all, that he has all the power. Don't you ever think that power is in Washington, D.C.?
They're daydreaming. They have no power. All the power is in Jesus. Don't ever think that the politicians have power. They are powerless.
They're all a mouth and once as dead as dead. All the power is in Jesus. And Jesus wants to remind them of his power and he's saying, I was there before the creation and I'm going to be there when it's all destroyed. No one comes before me and no one comes after me. I created it all.
I control it all. I died and they thought it was all finished. But on the third day I rose again. I have defeated the most powerful enemy of all. And you need to know that I've defeated death and the grave and all you need to do is trust me. Trust me with all of your heart. Trust me with all of your life.
Trust me with all of your intellect. And I'm going to bring you through whatever suffering you may experience. I will bring you through whatever affliction you might go through. I'll bring you through whatever temptation you might be battling.
I'll bring you through whatever false accusation level that you. I have all the power Jesus says. He has all the power.
Who has all the power? Secondly, he knows all things. He knows all things. He doesn't only know what troubles you. He doesn't only know what afflicts you. But he's holding your hand in the midst of your affliction.
You may not be feeling his grip. But he's holding your hand in all of your troubles. And Jesus is saying that whatever confusion and affliction you might be going through. I have been there.
I have been there and I've been through worse. People might call you poor, but I call you rich. People might call you ignorant, but I call you knowledgeable.
People might call you bigot, but I call you loving. Do not listen to their false accusation. Because I know. I know the truth. I know the truth. Not only that he has all of the what?
Power. Not only that he knows all things. But thirdly, he has a purpose for everything. He has a purpose for everything, for every step.
He has a purpose. When the devil tempts you, he tempts you so that he might try to destroy you. But your sovereign Lord, your sovereign Lord Jesus, the resurrected, magnified, glorified, soon coming to reign and rule Jesus, he turns your temptation into test so that he may give you victory. Look at verse 10. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.
The devil will put some of you in prison to test you and you will suffer persecution. Watch this. Watch this.
Watch what's coming. For 10 days! For 10 days! What does that mean?
It means that it is only a limited time. It cannot go on forever and ever. I may allow the evil to prosper for a little while, but only so that the judgment will be greater. What Satan means for evil, I'm going to turn it for the good. Whatever Satan tries to destroy you, I will turn it around to bless you. Whenever Satan designs to work against you, I will make it work for you.
Why? I think Jesus would answer. Don't put words in Jesus' mouth, but I know because he said that in John chapter 10 verses 28 and 29. Those whom the Father has given me, I will lose none. That's why. That is why.
That's why he holds you in the palms of your hands and nothing, nothing is going to happen to you unless he says so. All of their persecution, all of their false accusations, all of their harassment, all of their discriminations, all of their lies will amount to nothing. And they are doomed to failure when you put your whole trust in who? The Alpha and the Omega. Dr. Michael Yusef looking at words directed to the first century Christians in Smyrna and appropriate for faith living today on this episode of Leading the Way Audio. Dig into more of Dr. Yusef's biblical messages on many topics at ltw.org.
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