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Smyrna
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Jesus is the beginning and the end of the story. He is the One who triumphed over death through death.
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"And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:" - Revelation 2:8
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The First...
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"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead...” - Colossians 1:15-18a
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The Creator of all things – Jesus is identified as the One through whom all things have been made. Philosophically speaking, He is the Logos (or Reason) out of which the physical world manifests.
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"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." - John 1:1-5
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Word – Logos – word, explanation, or reason.
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In the Greek philosophical context, Logos was the ultimate explanation and reason for everything and the gods of the world were subject to Reason.
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In verse 14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” which is how John introduces Jesus and, simultaneously, detonates fifty sticks of dynamite in the mind of every Platonic philosopher who is paying attention.
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The early church consistently referred to Jesus and the Holy Spirit as the “Wisdom and the Word” of God... I digress.
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""The LORD possessed Me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. "From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. ... Then I was beside Him, as a Master Craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having My delight in the sons of men.” - Proverbs 8:22-23,30-31
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Here Lady Wisdom reveals herself to be everlasting with God, the Master Craftsman of creation, and the One whose heart bubbles over with love for the sons of men... I digress.
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… and the Last
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“...so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven." - Colossians 1:18b-20
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Jesus is not only the initiator of the story, but it's completion as well. By the end of this part of the story, everything that is will exist and function according to it's particular relationship with Him.
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"A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, "Rule in the midst of Your enemies." Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew." - Psalm 110:1-3
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Only two camps in this day
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Your enemies – there will be those who oppose the rule of Jesus and the Kingdom He brings.
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Your people – those who have freely volunteered to serve and administrate the Kingdom Jesus brings. They are dressed in holiness and are a vast and sparkling multitude that covers the world like drops of dew cover the hills.
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"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all." - 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
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Paul here gives a clear and specific process of how this all works out. He stipulates that the Resurrection of Jesus is the turning point of history that begins the subjugation of all things to Christ to either be made alive or to be destroyed in their opposition to Him.
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Jesus identifies Himself to Smyrna with His most powerful and substantive moniker throughout history, He identifies Himself as the One Above All, the One who sustains existence, and the One with the power of life and death.
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The Church in Smyrna is oppressed and deprived, but persistent and rich in the Kingdom of Christ.
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"'I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." - Revelation 2:9
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Smyrna the beautiful panderer – the city itself consistently shifted allegiances in anticipation of military shifts in the region (stayed alive by worshiping the new gods). As a result, they were a very wealthy and affluent port city that was one of the most beautiful cities in the empire and full of temples from all different cultures.
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Those who followed Jesus in this city were persecuted and shut out of daily life because of their strict devotion to Jesus. The Jews who did not follow Jesus in the city joined in on this persecution and ostracizing to distance themselves from the Way.
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Communion → they are cannibals!
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Brothers and Sisters in Christ → they are anti-family!
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Love Feasts/House Church → they have weird orgies!
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This ostracizing and opposition was only increasing in violence.
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“but you are rich”
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"And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. "Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." - Luke 6:20-28
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They are living in the Kingdom lifestyle that Jesus was preaching from day one. They embody what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Jesus has no contention with them, just a warning about what is to come.
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"'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Revelation 2:10
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Ten days is another way of saying, “a brief and measured amount of time”. The time will be intense, but it has a definitive end in sight. The disciples of Jesus are to take comfort and remember that this life is brief and passing and leverage the short time they have for things that are meaningful.
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"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:7-18
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Paul talks about his weakness and his tribulation as things not to be ashamed of, but things that He knows are going to happen so that Christ may be glorified. While others point to wealth or power or prestige as signs that they are loved by the gods, Paul points to the glory revealed in him in spite of his weakness, inadequacy, and suffering as the proof that God is faithfully working.
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Paul sees this suffering as something that even produces a “weight of glory beyond all comparison” as he gives up the momentary comforts for a testimony o f glory with Jesus.
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Basic economics, would you like one marshmallow now or would you like to become love and live in joy?
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"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." - 1 John 2:15-17
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John describes narcissism and materialism and then describes them as you would a sinking ship or a fading dream, they are passing away and their lovers with them, but there is a different kind of life, one that doesn't pass away, but that is rising like the dawn.
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The intention of Jesus is not to save His people from the world, but to save the world through them.
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""I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one." - John 17:11-15 NASB
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The prayer of Jesus is not to take his people out of the world, but that they would be kept in His word and that they would be spared from the evil one.
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This is the prayer that resulted in Paul's “struck down, but not destroyed...” attitude. We don't avoid the evil in the world or avoid experiencing the pain and hurting with it, but we are not overcome by these things, nor do we lose our hope or our joy or our confidence in what awaits the other side of it's redemption.
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""Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the nations. "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
... "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." - Matthew 10:16-22, 37-39-
The disciples are the test to the world. In a classic demonstration of divine Aikido, when the world judges and tests the disciples of Jesus, the judgment and the testing turn around on them. At the very moment they break the followers of Christ, Christ bursts out of their mouths.
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It's important to recognize here that wise does not mean prepared, avoidant, or protective. Wise would mean to be connected with Jesus and apparently involves willingly accepting the means of your own execution (take up your cross).
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The Church in Smyrna is given a very simple calling, but a difficult one: be faithful unto death.
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"'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." - Revelation 2:10
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A symbolic reality becomes a physical reality.
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Throughout our lives we are invited by the Holy Spirit to die to ourselves that we might experience new life. This is the symbolism involved in ritual immersion (baptizing) that happened in the Temple complex.
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Jesus, once again, isn't asking them to do something He hasn't already done.
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"And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. "He who loves his life [psyche] loses it, and he who hates his life [psyche] in this world will keep it to life [zoe] eternal. "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."" - John 12:23-32
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Jesus is demonstrating to the fullest extent what most of us will only experience figuratively.
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Jesus is promising that when we serve Him we will experience the same kinds of things that He experiences.
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Guts and Glory
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Jesus demonstrates what we do when we don't feel like doing what we want to do... we do it anyway.
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Jesus doesn't feel like dying.
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Jesus sets his intention to go through it anyway.
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For the glory of the Father.
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This is what the Church of Jesus will become famous for.
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"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." - Revelation 12:10-11
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This is the way that the victorious Body of Christ (Church) in Revelation is described.
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Blood of the Lamb – their security is in the self-sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrates to them.
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Word of their testimony – they have a story with God and a shared history of interaction.
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Did not love their life even when faced with death – exactly what it sounds like, but to be more general: they had their priorities in order.
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Jesus is more valuable to me than my life(style).
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The original definition of the word “martyr” only meant someone who was a witness. It has come to mean “someone who dies for their faith” because of how many Christians in the first three centuries of Christianity died for their faith so that they might remain a faithful witness to the One they love.
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Consequences for inaction are implied: they will be faithful and overcome, or they will lose everything.
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“Eighty and six years I have served Him and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?” - Polycarp
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If they will be faithful unto death, they need not be afraid of the judgment day. They will be His trusted stewards in the age to come.
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"'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'" - Revelation 2:10-11
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Crown – Stephanos – primarily referring to a wreathe or garland placed upon the victorious in the public games or worn by a king in a victory parade.
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These weak victims of libel, oppression, and death, the lambs who were led to slaughter, will be honored as those who were victorious in the battle that really mattered. The triumphant.
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Crowns are also often used to represent authority, and probably indicate the service these servants will be performing in the age to come: they will rule.
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After all, who is more trustworthy than the one who has given everything to be with you?
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Second death – the consistent theme throughout the Hebraic scriptures that there will be a resurrection and judgment of all souls unto whatever end they have made for themselves.
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The Sons of Korah wrote a song:
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"Why should I fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me,
Even those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
No man can by any means redeem his brother
Or give to God a ransom for him--
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever--
That he should live on eternally,
That he should not undergo decay.
For he sees that even wise men die;
The stupid and the senseless alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.
Their inner thought is that their houses are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have called their lands after their own names.
But man in his pomp will not endure;
He is like the beasts that perish.
This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who approve their words. Selah.
As sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for Sheol to consume
So that they have no habitation.
But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah." - Psalm 49:5-15
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Jesus pointed to this day of judgment and it's connection to what we do with today.
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""But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His righ t, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."" - Matthew 25:31-46
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Jesus shifts the focus to what we do today to people, not a club membership or ideology.
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If you love God, you will love people.
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Both groups are surprised to hear they were acting towards Jesus
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genuine love vs. genuine indifference
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Everyone goes through the flames.
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"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." - 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
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