The Fragrance of Fortitude

The goal of Dear Church: become a threat to darkness.

As we journey alongside our past brothers and sisters in Christ; we will see the Lord calling all of His people to listen, reflect, and then respond to what the spirit says to the churches.

For Ephesus: Jesus commended them for their discipline but confronted their distancing. They abandoned their raw, authentic, costly affection for Jesus. They had the ‘structure’ of devotion without the substance of affection.

The American church is said to be most similar to the church in Ephesus andr Laodicea (lukewarm). I think we’ll see the antidote for that lukewarmness and apathetic love here.

As we shift to Smyrna, we move from a church struggling with spiritual apathy to a church enduring intense persecution.

As a city Smyrna was:

In line with Ephesus in its wealth & commercial greatness. 

Because it commanded the trade rich Hermus Valley. 

They were called the Jewel of Asia. 

Had “Golden Street” which housed temples to multiple gods/goddesses including apollos, aphrodite, & zeus. 

Smyrna was fiercely loyal to emperor worship being the home to the temple of Roman emperor Tiberius Ceaser and the Dea Roma or the goddess of Rome also known as the “Spirit of Rome.” 

So like many modern places today, Smyrna wasn’t just economically rich, it was spiritually dark. This is where Jesus’ message hits hardest.

As we stated last week all of these churches were attacked by the anti-christ in three specific ways.

For Smyrna:

Moral - deeply committed to idolatry. Caesar is Lord!! 

Intellectual - considered intellectually inferior. 

Persecution - Impoverished, robbed, fired from jobs… Harsh

In Jesus’ letter to the Church in Smyrna we see nothing spoken against them (1 of 2) and they were the only church that stood the test of time. 

So what made them so strong? What gave them this kind of commitment? That’s what we need to unpack next.

The very name Smyrna comes from myrrh, a symbol of what they were becoming. 

Myrrh is a sweet smelling aroma that is created through the pressing & crushing of plant leaves. When this happens the leaves release an aroma used for perfume and an embalming agent. The smell was so fragrant that it would cover the decay of the corpse. 

What the Christians of Smyrna are going through is the same process of being persecuted, pressed down & crushed for their faith in Christ. 

This isn’t mild discomfort. They’re not being teased, they’re being led to death, imprisoned, cut off from jobs and food… all for proclaiming Jesus as Lord.

Through this, they develop an aroma in their heart we should emulate and a fortitude we should aspire to.

Fortitude: is having mental/physical courage despite rampant pain or adversity.

And that’s the heart of this message, this “fragrance of fortitude” is what makes the church in Smyrna spiritually rich.