Querida Esmirna: La Iglesia Sufriente // LAS 7 IGLESIAS DE APOCALIPSI

Three... Two... One... Answer! Let's go! One, one, one... Two, two, two... kleiner, or the book! Three... Two... One... Answer! ¿Cómo se encuentran el día de hoy? ¿Muy bien? Dile a la persona a tu lado, dile, te ves mejor que la semana pasada, ¿te ves mejor? ¿Eso? Si eres nuevo, es un gusto conocerte, soy Virgilio, pastor aquí en Iglesia Vertical, y estoy muy emocionado de continuar hoy con nuestra serie, Querida Iglesia, las siete iglesias de Apocalipsis. Como pregunto cada domingo, ¿alguien trajo su Biblia a la iglesia hoy? ¿Trajo su Biblia a la Palabra de Dios? ¡Qué bueno! Pueden abrir conmigo a Apocalipsis capítulo 1. Si eres como yo, me gusta saber para dónde vamos, puedes poner un marcador en Santiago 1 también, y en Juan 16, todos los versículos los tendremos también en las pantallas, pero principalmente estaremos en Apocalipsis. Estamos en esta serie donde estamos estudiando, en estas siete semanas, específicamente capítulos 2 y 3 de Apocalipsis, las siete cartas escritas a siete iglesias, dictadas por Jesucristo personalmente por la pluma de Juan, el apóstol, y cada una de estas cartas contiene algo muy práctico, muy poderoso, y muy personal de parte de Jesús para con nosotros, algo que

Él quiere comunicarnos, y aunque fueron cartas a iglesias específicas en esos tiempos, siendo un libro profético, es un libro que sigue hablando y ministrando nuestras vidas, la Iglesia de Cristo hoy en día. ¿Alguien puede decir amén? Ahora, antes de continuar, les quiero mostrar un video, aproximadamente de un minuto, de cómo me siento yo hoy, con esta responsabilidad complicada, con el mensaje quizás no tan fácil que les tengo que dar, así que en este video, yo soy el doctor, ustedes son la otra persona, miren el video. Okay, okay. No les voy a cantar, pero siento que hay algo que tengo que transmitirles, que quizás es algo que no quisieron recibir, pero es necesario e importante recibir. ¿Alguien puede decir amén? Quiero decirles que he luchado un poquito esta semana espiritualmente con el Señor, dame sabiduría, entendimiento, para compartir este mensaje. El título del mensaje de hoy es, querida Esmirna, la iglesia es sufriente. Querida Esmirna, la iglesia es sufriente. Oremos. Señor, gracias por tu presencia en este lugar. Te pedimos ayuda en nuestras vidas y guianza de tu Espíritu Santo para siempre alinearnos contigo y con tu palabra. Espíritu Santo, habla nuestras vidas y nuestros corazones, permítenos escuchar tu palabra, comprender tu palabra y aplicar sus principios en nuestras vidas, en el nombre precioso de Jesús. Amén. Estudiamos hoy la carta a la iglesia de Esmirna, conocida como la iglesia sufriente, realmente fueron una iglesia sufriente, ¿por qué? Porque se aferraron firmemente a su primer amor y nunca lo soltaron con el Señor. Y es muy irónico ya que algunas de las otras iglesias fueron desafiadas por Jesús porque precisamente abandonaron su primer amor. Ahora, quiero iniciar como la semana pasada, Apocalipsis 1, versículo 3, Apocalipsis 1,

versículo 3. Speaking of the book of Revelation, it says, Blessed is he who read, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophetic message, and obey what is written here, for the time of their fulfillment is near. There are three parts of this blessing. Those who read it will be blessed, those who hear it will be blessed, and those who obey it will be blessed. And today we will focus on those who listen and obey this message that God directed to the Church of Smyrna. Now, does anyone remember where John was on which island when he wrote Revelation? Let's go to John 1, 9 to remember that. John 1, verse 9. Sorry, Revelation 1. Revelation 1, verse 9. I'm going to read it to you. I, John, your brother and companion in suffering, in the kingdom and in the perseverance that we have in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos, where? Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Now, was John on a tropical vacation in Patmos? He was exiled, he was in a prison. Why? There it says, for two reasons, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. He could say, for many reasons, because I did not renounce the word of God, and because I did not deny the testimony of Jesus, I am suffering here on this island in exile. Now, I want us to see together what Jesus says to the Church of Smyrna through the writings of the apostle John. Revelation 2, verse 8. From 8 to 11, it is a shorter letter, and it says to the Church of Smyrna, he writes to the angel of the Church, which means the messenger. Theologians agree that this is the pastor or the leader of the Church of Smyrna. This says, the first and last, the one who died and came back to live. I know your sufferings and your poverty. However, you are rich. I know how those who call themselves Jews slander you, and they are not, because they are only a synagogue of Satan.

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I warn you that the devil will put some of you in jail to test you and you will suffer afflictions for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Whoever has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever comes out victorious will not suffer any harm from the second death. Okay. Wow. A lot of content and strength in this letter. I want to take it in pieces. Apocrypha 2, verse 8, where it starts and says, write to the angel of the Church of Smyrna. This says who? The first and last, the one who died and came back to live. We are talking about Jesus. Jesus says, I know your afflictions, I know your sufferings, but remember who I am. I am the first and the last, I am the one who died, but now I am alive. Here I give you a point for today. When you suffer, do not forget the resurrection. When you suffer, do not forget the resurrection. There is life after pain. To Smyrna, Jesus says, I know your suffering. And it is a statement of empathy and understanding. I know what you've been through and I want to encourage you. Hold on tight, Smyrna. Hold on tight, Smyrna. I know it is difficult in the midst of your suffering, but do not forget that I am with you. Do not forget that I am for you. I am in the midst of that suffering. And Jesus says lovingly to this church, I know, I've been through that too.

I see you and I am with you. And then he says something interesting. Revelation 2.9, the first part of 9 says, I know your suffering and your poverty, yet you are rich. Which sounds like a contradiction. But he is talking about an external poverty, materially, and at the same time an internal spiritual wealth. Is someone following me? This reminds me of something that happened to me in one of my missionary trips when I was young. I was a little over 20 years old. In fact, I want to recommend how tremendous it is when you are young to go on missionary trips. Because it opens up a perspective and gives you an understanding. of how the world is, and I remember that on this missionary trip, we were in several neighborhoods and towns of extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic, and in many cases we would meet with some pastors of those churches in those poor neighborhoods, with many people, and I remember that in one of those we met several pastors. There was a veteran pastor, many, many years old, and I introduced myself, hello, I'm Virgilio, I gave him my hand, and he gave me his hand, he told me, I'm a pastor, I don't know what, he gave me his hand, and then he looked at my hand and said, you're rich. Which took me by surprise, why? Because an innocent mind of a 20-year-old young man living here in the United States, I say, rich? No, I'm not rich. Rich are those who have yachts and live in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale and Intercoastal, who have apartments worth millions of dollars, those are the rich people, apparently, of a 20-year-old young man who didn't know much about the world. But at that moment, I told him, no, no, no, I'm not rich, and he said, no, no, let me explain, son. He told me, it's just that you don't have keys in your hand. And here, where we live, those who don't have keys in their hands at your age don't work

with their hands, which means they're rich. Because most of us have to work with our hands. And he taught me a lesson that day that I wasn't looking to learn, but I learned. The reality is that, compared to 90-something percent of the world, I'm rich. And you and I, if we live here and we have a roof over our heads and food on the table, we're rich. We're rich. However, what touched me the most is how humiliating it is to see these brothers and sisters in the Christian faith in these places of so much poverty, praising the Lord with passion, praising the Lord again, and with desire, without complaining, and, I mean, God doesn't allow us to break air here, which sometimes happens. And we complain and say, I'm not going today, if the air doesn't work, I'm not going to church. There's no roof there, and the sun is burning, there are no walls, and there's barely a fan in the corner, maybe blowing a little, and people are sweating and enjoying themselves passionately for Jesus. What I want to say is that there is a perspective, and there is a wealth that can be had internally that does not compare with material wealth. This church, Smyrna, was going through suffering and, nevertheless, lived with passion for Jesus. Of the seven churches that received letters from Jesus in the Apocalypse, only two received no correction on their part, and this is one of those. If you notice, Jesus does not correct Smyrna in any way. He tells them, stay firm, do not fear, be faithful until death, I know that you are suffering. Now, there are many reasons why we can suffer in this life. Sometimes we experience suffering because of our own sin, our own bad decisions. Has anyone been there? Everyone, right? Sometimes we suffer, we experience suffering because of the sins of others, those who sin against us, bad decisions that they make, and they hurt us, or they affect us, or they

hurt us. Sometimes we experience suffering because of difficult circumstances that may be out of our control. I do not know if anyone has suffered from a medical situation, or suddenly we suffer an unexpected situation of financial adversity, and suddenly we do not know how to get out and we suffer. Sometimes we suffer from a broken relationship, or a relationship with a loved one, with a friend, and suddenly something happens, there is a break, and there is suffering. Sometimes we experience suffering because of the society and culture in which we live, external situations to us, but they affect us who live here, or situations with the government, rumors of war, things that in some way can have an effect and cause suffering, in the economy, in the situation. Sometimes we experience suffering, and we cannot ignore this, because of the spiritual attacks of the enemy, of our souls. There is an enemy called Satan, and truly he wants to cause suffering, spiritual attacks, spiritual oppression, temptations that can cause us to bite the bait, can cause us pain, guilt, shame and suffering. And sometimes we can even suffer because of doing the right thing. Sometimes there are moments where we suffer for following the word of God, for following the will of God, or for living for Jesus, of course, for the grace and mercy of God here in this country where we live a lot. And perhaps in many of our countries in Latin America, by the grace of God, we still have the freedom to believe in what we want to believe, and to believe in Jesus. But there are countries and places in the world where it is not legal to have a Bible, where it is against the law to profess or preach about Jesus Christ. And there are also moments in life where we are challenged to keep our mouths shut. Here I give you a line. Smyrna was suffering because they were not committed to their faith and were firmly attached to their first love.

They did not do what the others did. They were focused on Jesus. Now, Smyrna was an influential port city, the city itself, located in what is now Turkey. It was demanded that all, listen to this, all the inhabitants of Smyrna were demanded to worship Rome, Caesar, and to declare every year that Caesar is the Lord. That was the expectation. They had to burn incense, offer a sacrifice to Caesar, and declare out loud, Caesar is my Lord. Imagine that. Now, that is a problem for us who are Christians, okay? Because we have only one Lord, who is called Jesus Christ. For this reason, the church of Smyrna was persecuted, because they refused to do it. Now, if one fulfilled the requirement that the government wanted at that time, he received a certificate that allowed him to buy, sell, and live in freedom. But if he did not, he risked his life. And of course, Smyrna was a persecuted church at that time. It is incredible how in these times, there are countries where this is the reality. It is incredible that even a few years ago, we have experienced situations where the government says, you have to do this. And it is not always necessarily God's will, it is not always necessarily what one has to do or needs to do. However, there will be consequences if you don't do it. And it is very interesting how it is proven through history, how much it can demand. How important it is to be clear about our faith in Jesus Christ. I learned something interesting while I was studying about this church of Smyrna.

Smyrna is the Greek word equivalent to the Hebrew word for Myrrh. Perhaps, at some point, someone has heard of Myrrh, right? The birth of Jesus, when the wise men of the East arrived, who brought gifts to Jesus, which were gold, incense, and Myrrh. And Myrrh was often used as an oil to embalm corpses, which makes it a rather curious gift for a child, perhaps predicting that Jesus was born with the mission of one day dying for us. So this city is named after an embalming oil, and Myrrh comes from a thorny plant that, when that plant is ground, it smells until it becomes dust, and finally, in liquid, it gives off a particular aroma, strong enough to hide the smell and smell of death. And this city, this city, was called Smyrna, Myrrh, which, in essence, has this meaning. It seems, here I give you something, that the more they loved the Lord, the more they were crushed, and the more they were crushed, the more fragrant their aroma became for Jesus. Perhaps this name was not a coincidence or a coincidence, because the more they loved Jesus, the more they were crushed, and the more they were crushed, the more beautiful the aroma was for the Lord. Now, throughout the Bible, the Bible presents us with an honest image of what it means to suffer for Jesus. I love that about the Bible, it does not hide anything from us, it does not try to deceive us in any way. It cannot be hidden, if you read the Bible, that if you choose to follow Jesus, there will be suffering, there will be persecution. If someone tells you, receive Jesus, and everything will be butterflies and rainbows, and you will never have a problem, because that person has not studied, has not read, and has not understood the Bible. The question we should ask ourselves is, do we have God's perspective on suffering?

And I wonder sometimes if we, as Christians, forget this. I wonder if we are really willing to face suffering in the name of Christ. The leaders of the primitive church experienced suffering for Jesus, and many of them wrote to us to prepare us for the same. Let me give you an example, Saint James 1. Saint James 1, verse 2. Look at what Saint James says. My brethren, consider yourselves very blessed when you have to face various difficulties. test. Zero amens. Did you see the wall there? Amens? Question mark. No, no, because I understand it. I didn't amen either. My brothers, consider yourselves very happy, joyful, when you have to face various tests. Well, you already know that the test of your faith produces perseverance, and perseverance must lead the work to a happy end so that they are perfect and whole without missing anything. That is, it is difficult to manage this verse if we are honest. Amen. In fact, it seems that the Lord is telling us here that, here I give the line, the path to spiritual maturity begins with tests and difficulties. The recommendation of Jesus in the word is, do not fear, be faithful, I will be your joy in the midst of the tests. And here is an important truth about suffering. Here I give them to you. Suffering challenges my comfort, but it shapes my character. That is a truth. Suffering challenges my comfort. I want to be comfortable, but it shapes my character. Our hope is in Jesus and it is only possible through the Holy Spirit. Suffering is part of the process if we are going to live pious lives, if we are going to achieve maturity, integrity, like Jesus. So I ask you, how are you doing with this concept in your life? Do you see suffering as a path that leads to spiritual maturity, to perseverance, and a closer relationship with Jesus? Or is it that suffering is, no, well, if there is going to be suffering, then why Jesus? Why Jesus? If I'm going to be suffering, well, it doesn't matter. Today we are talking about faith, true faith. Do you truly have faith in Jesus, or is it when things are going well, then yes, amen, or if things are complicated, then I don't know. Amen? Question mark? While Jesus was preparing his followers for their own suffering on the cross, and for their suffering in their absence, look at what Jesus said to them, John 16, verse 19.

John 16, verse 19. Jesus realized that they wanted to ask him questions about this, so he said to them, are you wondering what I meant when I said, soon you will not see me, and a little later you will see me again? I assure you that you will weep with pain, while the world rejoices. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy. The woman, listen to this, the woman who is about to give birth feels pain because her time has come, but as soon as the child is born, she forgets her anguish for the joy of having brought into the world a new being. The same thing happens to you. Now you are sad, but when you see him again, you will rejoice, and no one will take away that joy from you. No one, no one, no one. Jesus here is alluding to the coming crucifixion, to the crucifixion, the suffering that is coming, but he is also referring to the resurrection that comes after the crucifixion, the life that comes after death. What great promise for those who suffer. Yes, yes, there is crucifixion, but a greater yes, there is resurrection. Yes, there is death, but after that there will be life, and we will rejoice, and we will enjoy, and no one will be able to take away that joy from those of us who are in Christ Jesus. Here is a good line, Jesus calls us to raise our heads in the midst of our suffering. To look up and to look forward, Jesus says, I know that suffering is difficult, and I also suffered for you. And the Bible says that when he was suffering on the cross, he raised his gaze for the joy that awaited him in order to be able to bear the cross for you and for me, to offer us one day that crown of life. So I motivate you today, if you are going through some kind of suffering, hey, look up in the midst of your problems, look forward, even in difficult times. And I like the example he gives, I like the example that the Bible gives here, right? How many mothers here remember those birth pains? Does any mother remember? But how interesting it is that after having the child in your hand, you are no longer complaining about the pain, you are rejoicing for the baby. Does any mother say, amen? You will have forgotten so much that you had another one. Is this our perspective of suffering? Or do we still need some spiritual maturity in our lives? Look at John 16, chapter 33, continuing in that chapter.

Jesus says, I have told you everything before so that you may have peace in me. Here, in this world, you will have many proofs, some versions, afflictions, problems, and sorrows. But be encouraged, because I have overcome the world. I love that Jesus is real. He doesn't say, follow me and everything will be fine. No, no, no. He is clear. He is clear and it is important to understand Him for all of us. In this world, we are going to have many problems and sorrows. We should not be surprised. He Himself, Jesus Himself, told us. He experienced it. Now listen to what Paul says, writing from prison. Philippians 1, verse 29. Paul writes, You have been given, listen to this, not only the privilege to trust in Christ. How many have had the privilege to trust in Christ? But that is not the only privilege you have. But also the privilege to suffer for Him. Amen? No, no, you don't have to amen. It is difficult. I want to amen the first part. The privilege to trust in Christ. Amen. The privilege to suffer for Christ. Amen. We are together in this struggle, says Paul. You have seen my struggle in the past and you know that it is not over yet. Wow, what a concept. It is a privilege to suffer for Jesus. What level is that of Christianity? And how does that reach us?

Jesus writes to the church in Smyrna and says, Do not be afraid. Suffering is coming, but be firm and faithful, even to death. This makes me think of a story. There is a story of John, the apostle John and the apostle Peter. John and Peter in Acts chapter 4, 5. I don't have time to read it all, but in Acts 4 and 5. I think Peter and John are a good example of this. Peter and John heal a man who had not walked. Everyone knew the man who could not walk. Everyone knew him. And John and Peter heal him. This man gets up and starts rejoicing. And everyone is talking about the man who could not walk. Talking about this great miracle. The religious leaders grab John and Peter and ask, In what name did you do this? And at that moment, John and Peter say, Leaders, we did this in the name of Jesus Christ, in fact, the one you crucified, who on the third day rose from the dead. We did it in the name of Jesus. And the religious leaders gave strict orders under death penalty and said, Don't talk about Jesus anymore. Don't mention that name. Don't preach it. Don't teach it to anyone. Otherwise, there will be death penalty. And it is interesting the effect of the name of Jesus.

Even today. Look, look, work, school, university, in the neighborhood. Try with friends out there. Mention Buddha. Not a fly gets up. Mention Mahoma. Nothing happens. Mention the virgins, the saints, any other religious figure. Nothing happens. Mention Jesus. Mention Jesus. So you can see how people and spirits rise up out there too. Mention the name of Jesus so you can see. People, hey, you can't talk about that here. Ask me why, ask me why. There is power in the name of Jesus. No other name, no other name has that power. Therefore, no one bothers it. It is a name that has power. That causes people to get upset. And causes demons to get upset too. Because they know. That can hurt us. The name of Jesus. I love Juan and Pedro's response. Juan and Pedro say, you,

Lord Jesus has told us that we should preach and we should share his message with the whole world. You, religious leaders, say no, that we should not and cannot preach about Jesus. Jesus, God, for us, says that we should do it. Who are we going to obey? You, men? Or God, Jesus? So the religious leaders threatened them once more and threw them out of there. And right away, where did Juan and Pedro go? To the temple, to preach. To the temple, to declare the gospel, to preach about Jesus. They understood what the consequences were, but they were ready and willing to face them in their firmness, in their faith, and in their fidelity, despite the consequences. So what happened? They were arrested again immediately by the religious leaders and taken to the Sanhedrin, to the Sanhedrin Council. They were told there, we had warned them not to speak about Jesus again. And the religious leaders were so furious,

the Jews at that time, so angry that they wanted to kill them at that moment. And it was there, at that moment, where a respected pharisee from among them, called Gamaliel, stood up and said, brothers and friends, pause. And I recommend to all the Sanhedrin, I recommend that you let these boys go. Because if their purpose is human origin, they will fail. But if it is God's, they will not be able to stop them, and they will be able to find themselves fighting against God. Wise advice from Gamaliel. And from that point, we read Acts 5.40. Acts 5.40. So, after Gamaliel's advice, they called the apostles, and after beating them, they didn't kill them, but they beat them.

What is beating? What is that? They gave them sticks, they beat them, who knows how? They beat them hard. Question, do you want to be beaten? No? Ok, ok. Now you will know why I ask. After beating them, they were told not to speak in the name of Jesus. After that, they were released. So, the apostles left the council full of joy. How is that? Full of joy for having been considered worthy of suffering affronts because of the name. How do you get to that level? How? I started to think this morning, how do you get to that level?

I say, if the authorities come and say, hey, look, I suddenly go home and stay quiet for a couple of days, right? Could it be that you and I would have responded like Juan and Pedro? Could it be that you and I have the capacity, the spiritual maturity to consider enjoying ourselves for the privilege of suffering in the name of Jesus? We are talking about Christian, Christian. This is not Christian Mickey Mouse. I don't know if there will be Christian Mickey Mouse, you will tell me. Verse 42. And day after day, in the temple, and from house to house, in the church and in the groups, they did not stop teaching and announcing the good news that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the Messiah. What an example!

Do we really have a correct perspective about suffering? I don't know about you, but if I am honest, this is very challenging. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 10, verse 22. Listen to this. Jesus said, Because of my name, everyone will hate you, but whoever remains firm until the end will be saved. Do you want to follow Jesus? Amen! When do you want to follow Jesus? Jesus tells you, Because of my name, everyone will hate you, but whoever remains firm until the end will be saved. Timothy 2, Timothy 3, verse 2, says, It is true that everyone who wants to live a life of submission to God in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted. How many want to live a life of submission to God in Christ Jesus? Amen! They will be persecuted. Amen! Wow! Apparently, A life of submission to God in Christ Jesus can bring persecution and suffering. Look at what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16. He says, therefore, let us not be discouraged. On the contrary, although we are wearing ourselves out on the outside, we are renewing ourselves day after day. For the light and ephemeral sufferings that we now suffer produce an eternal glory that is worth much more than all suffering here on earth. So let us not focus on the visible, but on the invisible, for what is seen is fleeting, while what is not seen is eternal. So let us raise our heads, let us raise our eyes, let us focus on Jesus because He is with us. We have to understand that every day the world is more and more against God, more and more against the Bible, more and more against Christ, more and more against Christians. Every day we see Him more and more. 1 Peter 5, verse 10 says, After you have suffered a little while, God Himself, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will restore you and will make you strong, firm, and stable. Now, it is understandable that you and I, if we are given the option to choose to suffer or not to suffer, we choose not to suffer. It is understandable. But, but, but, at the same time, we have to understand that there is something that happens in the midst of suffering, which is strengthening.

When you suffer or suffer, there is something that can be strengthened in the midst of that suffering. And that is why it does not surprise me that right now in the world, do you want to know where there is the highest percentage of growth of people arriving to faith in Jesus Christ? In countries in the Middle East, where it is illegal. Why? Because there is persecution and suffering. However, that causes a strengthening that is not explainable. I was sitting a couple of months ago, two and a half months ago, Gisela and I were sitting with a couple who are missionaries. They live in Malaga, Spain. They are a Colombian couple. They received Jesus here in the United States. They left missions, called by God, to live in Malaga to be on that side of the world. And their mission is specifically to train house pastors or group leaders for clandestine churches hidden in the Middle East. In these countries. That is their mission. They tell us, Pastor Virgilio, Pastor Ghislaine, thank you for your prayers and thank you for your contribution. Because we, when you give here in Vertical, we give to initiatives like this. They are investing their lives and their time in making trips to instruct people to pastor these houses. These hidden churches. Everything has to be communication hidden. They can't say Jesus, they can't say Bible. They have to use another terminology, which are the codes they use so that no one in the government discovers what they are doing. Why? Because there is persecution and there is suffering. And they tell me, Pastor Virgilio, Pastor Ghislaine, there are so many people coming to Jesus in the Middle East

who are trying and realizing that the answer is not Allah, it is Jesus. Many have dreams and the Lord is reaching them. And it is incredible that many who are leading these churches at home are women. What would we tell the Christian denominations that say that women can't lead? Imagine. It would be a problem in the Middle East. That is another topic for another day. But glory to God. That even in the midst of suffering, there is strength. I give you this line. Suffering does not destroy the church or people. It actually strengthens them. It is tremendous. I was also talking with another missionary that we support. His name is Rian. He is South African. And he does many missions to Africa, the Middle East and Europe. And he told me, Virgilio, you would be surprised to know how the Gospel is growing in the places where there is the most persecution and suffering. And we support these initiatives because we believe that it is important that more people know about Jesus. There is a famous story, I don't know if you have ever heard it, of a clandestine church in the Soviet Union during the time of the communist persecution. A small group of Christian believers had gathered in secret in a dark barn to pray and to talk about Jesus. Suddenly, the doors opened suddenly and three soldiers entered at full speed with automatic rifles. The commander of those soldiers shouted, If you are willing to renounce your faith in Jesus and leave right now, go. But if you decide to stay, there will be consequences and we will shoot you. The fear took over the room.

Slowly some people lowered their heads and quietly left through the back door. Then a few others did the same, and then a few others did the same. Once the room was calm, the commander walked towards the door, closed it, put a key on it, lowered his rifle, turned to the remaining believers, smiled and said, We are also Christians in secret, but we could not risk worshiping people who were not willing to die for Jesus. Now that we are true Christians, let us pray and begin the service. I often wonder if I had been at that meeting. What would I have done? Would I have stayed? Or would I have found a good justification to leave? I think that's what this message is about. Jesus writes to the believers of Esmirna. He does not offer them an escape route. He does not say to them, keep a low profile and I will take the test soon. He says, be faithful to death and I will give you the crown of life. We have to learn this. If we study this well, there are three reasons why Esmirna suffered. First, they did not align with the government because they refused to worship Rome or Caesar. Second, they did not align with culture or society because they did not worship other gods or celebrate lifestyles contrary to God. And third, they did not align with the impious Jews, who professed to follow God but rejected the testimony of Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. And I wonder how it would be if Jesus came to us as a church and said, Vertical Church, I know your works. I see that you remain firm in loving Jesus, in preaching to Jesus and in loving people. You resist the proposals of the government contrary to God. You resist the immoral and distant customs of God, of culture and society. And I am using you to generate a great impact in the environment where you are. I want you to keep doing it, to remain firm and strong. But the situation is going to get difficult. There will be a price to pay. You will face a lot of suffering.

Would we be able to understand and accept this? Because the truth is that the world and society are currently getting further and further away from God every day. They are getting further and further away from His Word and His ways. Therefore, we should not be surprised to see more attacks against our faith. When we see so many immoral ideologies and lifestyles, impious and contrary to God and His Word, we must understand that even now difficulties await us. The Bible is very clear. If you commit to follow Jesus and grow and mature in your faith, If you commit to follow Jesus and grow and mature in your faith, difficulties will await you and me. The level of practice of our faith must match the level of opposition and competition of our faith. And let me tell you something, not to scare you, but to warn you. Satan not only has us in his sights. He comes after us, yes. But clearly Satan has our children and the next generation in his sights. That is why we must teach our children the Word of God. We must teach the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and make them see that we are different. We are not from the world. We are in the world, but we are not from the world. Our children have to learn and have to listen to us. That Jesus is the Lord. That the Word of God, the Bible, is the truth. We are not from the world. We do not look like the world. We do not speak like the world. We do not walk like the world. Because we belong to a different king. The goal is not to resemble the culture. Do everything the world does. No, no. The goal is to stand out because we are different. Something in us says, we are different. And we will not prostrate to false gods or false kings.

What a problem there is today with things that are so clear and so simple. We should not have confusion with our identity or with our gender. There are two. Look at the plumber. Male or female. A child from kindergarten can tell you the difference between a man and a woman. But we live in a society today that does not have that. It's that we don't know how to define it. How do I feel? Well, I feel like a raccoon. Well, then... Come, Paz Sobarte. How has the world and society taken things so clearly, easily, simply and naturally created by God and they have confused it because it is getting further and further away from the Word and the Truth. Creating a generation that is getting further and further away from God and more confused. I don't know about you, but I don't want that when my children leave our nest, they face a world and in two weeks the faith is over. We have to be ready and we have to prepare them for what they are going to face because the enemy is behind them. We finish with Revelation 2, verse 10. We already read it, but it is important to listen to it once more. Jesus says, don't be afraid of what you are going to suffer, what is coming. I warn you that the devil will put some of you in jail to put you to the test and you will suffer afflictions for ten days. Be faithful to death and I will give you the crown of life. The one who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who comes out victorious will not suffer harm to any of the second death because we will not die for the second time, we will live. When Jesus says, don't be afraid of suffering, He is not saying, don't feel anything. It is not about that. He is saying, trust in me, no matter the consequences or the suffering you face. I know what you are going through and I am with you. I know we understand it, but we all have one last day that we will face someday. One last day of life on this earth where life here on this earth will come to an end. But there is something beyond death and that is why it is important to be in Christ Jesus.

We will all have one last day on earth, but the last day here will take us to the first day there. And yes, there will be crucifixion, but remember there is resurrection. Yes, there will be death, but in Christ there will be life after death. And the image that Jesus presents to us is, be faithful to death and I will give you the crown of life and you will live forever. Here I give you the point, it is very important to understand that Jesus Christ is our greatest treasure. Without Jesus we have nothing. With Jesus we have everything. Even if the whole world is against us, He is totally in our favor. His passion for us has no end. His favor towards us has no limits. His suffering for us has brought us freedom, forgiveness and promises. And the promise of the crown of life is something that we have, those of us who are in Christ. Jesus is our greatest treasure. I want to say two prayers and in this first one I want to pray that we can all embrace this message and understand it. And I also want to pray for the Church persecuted throughout the world. Lord, we come before you with open and willing hearts. Lord, thank you for speaking to us through your word. Even though it is a message that is not easy to digest, however, it is so important to listen, process and as your word says, that we will be blessed and blessed those who listen, read and put into practice what your word says. Forgive us, Lord, for the moments when our faith has not been firm or strong. Forgive us for the moments when our faith has fallen. We will never be ashamed of you. Help us to stand firm, always sure in you and your word. Lord, we pray for the persecuted Church, the persecuted Christian Church throughout the world. For those countries where it is illegal to have a Bible, where they do not allow to speak freely of Jesus. We pray that you strengthen in the midst of suffering to those mini churches, to the clandestine churches at home, Lord. That more and more people come to the knowledge of the truth in Jesus Christ. We pray that you protect them, that you cover them, that you use those missionaries who are in that great mission, that great work, investing their lives with great danger, but with great passion and love for you. We pray for that persecuted church throughout the world. For your mercy, your grace and your help for them.

And help us to be sensitive to this reality and understand that if we follow you, there will be suffering to persevere. We pray all this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.