SEVEN LETTERS | Week 2 | Sermon · Rewind

SEVEN LETTERS | Week 2 | Sermon · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · Nov 20, 2023

Big Idea

Quoting the message: When winning feels like losing, choose winning, end quote. — stay faithful to Jesus even when following Him costs you everything this world calls success.

Jesus writes to the suffering church in Smyrna with no correction at all, only encouragement, because they are staying faithful even as they lose everything. He reminds them He is the first and the last who died and rose again, so anyone who trusts Him and overcomes will never truly be harmed by death — even when faithfulness feels like defeat, it is actually victory.

Key points

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1We can't have two rings — Jesus or the world's precious
Using the illustration of the ring of power from Lord of the Rings, Pastor Bill explains that as the bride of Christ we already wear one ring, and many Christians secretly want to keep both — Jesus and the thing the world offers. The challenge is deciding what our own 'precious' is, because we can't live in both worlds.
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2Jesus writes to Smyrna with no condemnation, because they are suffering well for the cause of Christ
Pastor Bill reads Revelation 2:8-11 and notes this is one of only two churches Jesus does not rebuke. He distinguishes three kinds of suffering — common suffering from living in a broken world, suffering from our own carnality, and suffering for the cause of Christ — and says Smyrna's suffering is the third kind, which God calls good even though it feels like losing.
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3Look to Jesus, not your suffering
Pastor Bill points out that Jesus introduces Himself as the first and the last, who died and came back to life — bigger than Smyrna's wealth and power, and proof He understands death and has already beaten it. He compares fixating on suffering to staring at an obstacle while driving or biking — you drift toward whatever you're looking at, so we must fix our eyes on Jesus instead.
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4Listen to Jesus, not your fears
Working through 'I know your suffering and your poverty,' Pastor Bill unpacks the Greek word for suffering as being crushed under a burden and the word for poverty as absolute destitution — Smyrna's Christians were losing homes, businesses, and legal protection because of their faith. He says testing, like training to failure at the gym, is meant to make us stronger, and ties this to tithing as one concrete way God tests and strengthens trust.
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5Remaining faithful means actually living out what God asked, not just believing correct things
Pastor Bill explains that faithfulness looks like knowing God, growing in community, and going out to serve and give — using our time, talent, testimony, and treasure as stewards, not owners. He warns that professing belief while consistently refusing to trust God with your life is a sign someone may not truly be saved.
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6Overcoming means avoiding the second death, and that is worth any earthly loss
Pastor Bill defines the second death as eternal separation from God and describes hell as being left to yourself without the restraining presence of the Holy Spirit. He says every true Christian will overcome, and walks through his own 'what's the worst that could happen' exercise from planting the church to show how facing even death removes the grip of fear.
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7Smyrna's name itself — myrrh — explains why crushing produces a sweet aroma
Pastor Bill closes by explaining that Smyrna means myrrh, a substance that only releases its sweet smell when crushed, just as Jesus was crushed for us and rose again. He says God allows us to be crushed too, not to harm us, so that the aroma of Jesus' love can come through us and push back darkness in the world.

Application

Pastor Bill frames the charge as deciding what your own 'precious' is and letting it go so you can choose winning.

Name your ring of power
Identify whatever you are secretly holding onto instead of fully trusting Jesus — money, comfort, control — and admit you can't wear two rings.
Look to Jesus instead of your suffering
When circumstances feel like losing, fix your attention on who Jesus is rather than staring at the problem, the way you'd avoid drifting toward whatever you keep looking at while driving or biking.
Start tithing and trusting God with your finances
Give first and give consistently as a concrete way to loosen money's grip on you, even if it doesn't immediately fix your circumstances.
Commit to a specific local body, not just attendance
Join and commit to a church family rather than staying disconnected or just consuming content online, because spiritual maturity isn't a solo pursuit.
Face your fears by facing the worst-case outcome
Walk your fear all the way out to its worst possible end, as Pastor Bill did when planting the church, and recognize that even death isn't final loss for someone who trusts Jesus.

Take it into your week

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Day 1

Jesus doesn't open His letter to Smyrna with a strategy or a pep talk. He opens it with Himself. 'I am the First and the Last. I died, and I came back to life.' Before He says a single word about what the church is facing, He anchors them in who He is. That sequence is not accidental. When suffering is the loudest thing in the room, it tends to become the thing we organize everything else around. We start asking why, calculating how long, wondering what we did wrong. Jesus interrupts that spiral not with answers but with His identity. He is before all things and after all things. He has already passed through death itself — and came out the other side. Pastor Bill drew our attention to this introduction because the foundation matters before the application does. You can't reframe your suffering through a Jesus you don't actually know. But a Jesus who is eternal and who has personally conquered death? That is a foundation worth building on. Today, before you think about what you're carrying, spend a moment simply sitting with who Jesus is. The First and the Last. The one who was dead and is now alive. That is the ground beneath your feet — not your circumstances, not your fears, not your track record. Him.

For reflection

When you think about what you're walking through right now, are you starting with your circumstances or with who Jesus is? What would it look like to start with Him today?

Pray

Pray for a fresh, personal sense of who Jesus is — not just what He can do, but who He is as the First and the Last.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

The city of Smyrna took its name from myrrh — a fragrance that only rises when the plant is crushed. That image is at the heart of what Pastor Bill unpacked from Jesus' letter to the church there.

Discussion questions

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In Revelation 2:8, Jesus opens His letter by identifying Himself as 'the First and the Last, who died and came back to life.' Why do you think Jesus leads with that description — and what difference might it make to someone reading it in the middle of real suffering?
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Jesus tells the church at Smyrna, 'I know your suffering and your poverty — but you are rich' (Revelation 2:9). What do you think He means by calling them rich, and how does that reframe what it looks like to be winning or losing?
3
Pastor Bill described two postures: looking to Jesus versus fixating on our pain, and listening to Jesus versus listening to our fears. What does it look like in practice for a community of people to do those two things together — not just individually?
4
In Revelation 2:10, Jesus tells the church their suffering will last 'ten days' — a limited, purposeful window — and frames it as testing rather than punishment. How does knowing that a trial is formative rather than punitive change the way people move through it?
5
Pastor Bill used the image of myrrh — a fragrance released only when crushed — to describe what faithful endurance can look like for a church on mission. Where do we see that pattern show up in how communities of believers have carried the gospel forward through difficulty?
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Pastor Bill challenged us to ask honestly what our 'precious' is — the thing we keep reaching for instead of trusting Jesus — and then to move into faithful action in community, generosity, and service. What would it look like for a group like ours to take one of those steps together in the coming weeks?

Pray together

Faithfulness under pressure — that we would fix our eyes on Jesus, the First and the Last, and trust Him with whatever is crushing us right now

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Topics

Endurance Persecution Suffering and Faith Trust in Jesus Victory Through Christ

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