Oakwood Church
Be Faithful - Revelation 2:8-11
Locations & Times
Oakwood Community Church
11209 Casey Rd, Tampa, FL 33618, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
“Three days before he was arrested, while he was praying, he had a vision of the pillow under his head in flames. He said prophetically to those who were with him, ‘I will be burnt alive.’”
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
“Swear,” urged the Proconsul, “reproach Christ, and I will set you free.” “86 years have I have served him,” Polycarp declared, “and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
“You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and is then extinguished, but you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why are you waiting? Bring on whatever you want.”
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
“Then the fire was lit, and the flame blazed furiously. We who were privileged to witness it saw a great miracle… The fire shaped itself into the form of an arch, like the sail of a ship when filled with the wind, and formed a circle around the body of the martyr…”
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
∼ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
Exhortations from Jesus:
1. Assess your true Condition
“And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’”
Revelation 2:8
1. Assess your true Condition
“And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’”
Revelation 2:8
Exhortations from Jesus:
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you rich or poor in God’s Kingdom?
“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich).”
Revelation 2:9
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you rich or poor in God’s Kingdom?
“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich).”
Revelation 2:9
“And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’”
Luke 12:19-20
Luke 12:19-20
“So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:21
Luke 12:21
Exhortations from Jesus:
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you a true Israelite?
“And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
Revelation 2:9
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you a true Israelite?
“And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
Revelation 2:9
Exhortations from Jesus:
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you a true Israelite?
“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Romans 2:28-29
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you a true Israelite?
“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
Romans 2:28-29
Exhortations from Jesus:
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you a true Israelite?
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Matthew 7:22-23
1. Assess your true Condition
o Are you a true Israelite?
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Matthew 7:22-23
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison…”
Revelation 2:10
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison…”
Revelation 2:10
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
“Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison… and for ten days you will have tribulation.”
Revelation 2:10
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
“Behold the devil is about to throw some of you into prison… and for ten days you will have tribulation.”
Revelation 2:10
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”
Luke 12:4
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”
Luke 12:4
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
Luke 12:5
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
Luke 12:5
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o Tribulation tests and develops your Character
“Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested.”
Revelation 2:10
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o Tribulation tests and develops your Character
“Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested.”
Revelation 2:10
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o Tribulation tests and develops your Character
“You have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 1:6-7
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o Tribulation tests and develops your Character
“You have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 1:6-7
Exhortations from Jesus:
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o Tribulation tests and develops your Character
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
o Tribulation tests and develops your Character
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4
Exhortations from Jesus:
3. Be faithful to the End
o Trust in Jesus, who conquered Death
“The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”
Revelation 2:8
3. Be faithful to the End
o Trust in Jesus, who conquered Death
“The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”
Revelation 2:8
Exhortations from Jesus:
3. Be faithful to the End
o Trust in Jesus, who conquered Death
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:10
3. Be faithful to the End
o Trust in Jesus, who conquered Death
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:10
Exhortations from Jesus:
3. Be faithful to the End
o Rejoice in His promise of everlasting Life
“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”
Revelation 2:11
3. Be faithful to the End
o Rejoice in His promise of everlasting Life
“The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”
Revelation 2:11
Exhortations from Jesus:
1. Assess Your true Condition
o Are you rich or poor in God’s Kingdom?
o Are you a true Israelite?
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
○ God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
○ Tribulation tests and develops your Character
3. Be faithful to the End
○ Trust in Jesus, who conquered Death
○ Rejoice in His promise of everlasting Life
1. Assess Your true Condition
o Are you rich or poor in God’s Kingdom?
o Are you a true Israelite?
2. Do not fear Physical suffering
○ God Restricts and redeems the attacks of the enemy
○ Tribulation tests and develops your Character
3. Be faithful to the End
○ Trust in Jesus, who conquered Death
○ Rejoice in His promise of everlasting Life