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Guest (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. God may allow suffering, God may allow trials, God may put you in the furnace of affliction in order to prepare you for eternity, to deepen your faith, and to give you great reward. Endure it. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can endure your trials and even find joy through them. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, "The Truth About Trials."

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles, please, and turn with me to the book of Revelation, Chapter 2. There is a price to pay for following Christ. There is a cost in becoming and being a Christian. It will cost you to live for Jesus. It will cost you far more if you don't follow Christ, but be sure to know that it is costly to follow Jesus Christ.

He said if you want to follow me, take up your cross daily and come after me. We're to be living sacrifices, a life filled with sacrifice, devotion, and consecration to Christ. And as the world is becoming more and more secular in our own generation, the world will become more and more hostile to those of us who name the name of Christ.

Now, this shouldn't surprise us because through the generations, the true church has been persecuted through various kinds of trials and tribulations. And in the second chapter of the book of Revelation, Jesus himself is delivering messages to his churches, seven specific churches in Asia Minor.

And as John the Revelator, exiled on the Isle of Patmos, himself a subject of persecution and suffering, he becomes the delivery boy, the postman of Patmos, as these words of Christ come ringing through the generations. And what was true for the church in that day is increasingly true and will be increasingly true in the church of the last days.

And so God gave a message to a suffering church, to Christians being crushed by persecution in Revelation Chapter 2 and beginning at Verse 8: "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things says the first and the last, who was dead and came to life: I know your works, tribulation, and poverty, but you are rich; and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan."

"Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto 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 shall not be hurt by the second death."

As we think about trials, truth concerning trials, we need to realize today that suffering, trials, these are required and therefore we should expect them. These trials are revealing and therefore we should endure them. And these trials are rewarding and therefore we should enjoy them.

First of all, suffering, trials, tribulations are required, expected to come. The same world that crucified Jesus seeks to silence and crucify his church. The same world that crucified Jesus would do it again if they had the opportunity. And the Scripture says in 2 Timothy Chapter 3 and Verse 12: "All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."

Now, of course, we don't want to suffer. We want to enjoy life. We want to be comfortable in life. We certainly don't want persecution. And there are even some who tell us today at times in pulpits that if you live for Christ, if you're in the will of God, then you're going to be happy, you're going to be healthy, you're going to be prosperous.

You're never going to have a problem. You're going to live on Easy Street and God's just going to keep pouring out blessings. Well, God indeed will bless you immeasurably in life. God is a good God who wants the best for his children. The Lord our God is a sun and a shield. He gives grace and glory and no good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly.

God keeps pouring on his blessing after blessing, but did you know that one of the blessings for the Christian is the blessing of buffeting, the blessing of suffering? That's what Jesus said in the longest of the beatitudes in Matthew Chapter 5. He said, "Blessed are you, happy are you, if men revile you, persecute you for righteousness' sake, say all kinds of evil against you."

You see, there's different kinds of persecutions. There's verbal persecution, physical persecution. But he said, "If this happens to you, rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven." God may allow suffering. God may allow trials. God may put you in the furnace of affliction in order to prepare you for eternity, to deepen your faith, and to give you great reward.

But I'm simply saying that these trials, these kinds of tribulations, they are raw, they are real, and they are required. The church at Smyrna knew this quite well. One hundred years before the church of our Lord was established there in Smyrna, this city in Asia Minor was named. It's still a functioning city today.

But it was named Smyrna from the root word, myrrh. Smyrna. And it was because myrrh was produced in this particular region from trees. And they were balsam-type trees and they would take the flower, the fruit of this tree, even the sap of this tree, and they would crush it and they would make myrrh and this fragrance was produced.

In fact, the sailors used to call the port of Smyrna the Port of Fragrance because apparently this myrrh, its fragrance just wafted over the waves. And the myrrh was produced, which by the way, became also an embalming agent in the ancient world and was a part of the funeral and the burial process where these spices and elements were placed in the grave and the bodies.

And so this myrrh was a perfume, it was an ointment, and the fragrance was produced when the flower was crushed. And the more you crushed and ground into powder this process, the more the fragrance came. Well, this fits the church at Smyrna and Christians who have suffered in all ages because there are times we are crushed.

Jesus said, "I know your works, and I know your tribulation." And the word tribulation that Jesus uses, *thlipsis* in the language of the New Testament, is a word which means deep anguish, crushing crisis and pain. He said, "I know all about that."

And indeed, in the time of our Lord and the first generation or two of the church, six to eight million Christians suffered torture and death at the hands of Rome under the cruel dictators of Rome like Nero and Domitian. There was governmental persecution, there was religious persecution.

Believers were fed to beasts, they were burned, they were crucified. They were torn apart, they were pitched with tar, placed on poles and lit like human candles. These believers understood quite well the crushing pain and agony of persecution. Yet the church was strengthened in its suffering.

The church persecuted became the church pure and you could say that the church during its days of persecution was stronger than at any other time in its history. And that the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. Contrast today, you look at the church, particularly in the Western world, in America, and we're not so strong.

We're flabby and lazy and comfortable. Churches are filled with people who claim to be Christians but know nothing of standing for Christ and much less suffering for Christ. And I'm afraid when real persecution hits the church of our generation that many of us will melt like butter.

We will melt down spiritually because we're not strong. We live in a generation that takes and takes and takes rather than gives. Persecution, you see, separates us from the world and strengthens us in Christ. Now, the pastor of the church at Smyrna was a man by the name of Polycarp.

Polycarp was a faithful pastor and leader of this congregation and on Saturday, February the 23rd, 155 AD, Polycarp gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life to Christ. It was the time of the public games in that area and this city was also known for its public games.

And the crowd was in a frenzy already and therefore excited. And they began to shout, "Away with the atheists!" They called anyone who did not worship the Caesars or worship these pagan deities, certainly people who worshiped some invisible God, they called them atheists. They said, "Away with the atheists! Let Polycarp be searched for!"

They cried out for the blood of this godly man. Polycarp could have easily escaped his fate that day, but interestingly enough, he had already had a dream the night before and in his dream his pillow was burning with fire. And he concluded as he told several of his friends that "I must be burnt alive."

And so his whereabouts were given away by a detractor. And yet not even the police captain wanted Polycarp to die. He said, "Sir, just say Caesar is Lord, what harm is it? If you simply said to spare your own life, Caesar is Lord. It doesn't suggest that you really mean it, just say it."

But Polycarp was adamant in saying only Jesus is Lord. And when he entered the arena, the proconsul gave him the opportunity to curse the name of Christ, to deny the name of Christ, and to say Caesar is Lord, or else to die. And here's what Polycarp said: "Eighty and six years have I served him and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?"

The proconsul threatened him with burning and Polycarp replied, "You threaten me with the fire that burns for a time and is quickly quenched for you do not know the fire that awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in everlasting punishment. Why are you waiting? Come, do what you will."

In other words, Polycarp, that brave heart, he said, "Bring it on, but I'm not going to deny my Savior and my Lord. He died for me and I will live and die for him."

Guest (Male): July 4, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. Two hundred and fifty years of celebrating the freedoms, liberties, and rights we enjoy as Americans. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land.

That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word "cry" to 59789. Again, text "cry" to 59789. As we close today's program, remember that your support of PowerPoint Ministries helps people encounter Jesus through clear biblical teaching.

Through the support of friends like you, lives are being strengthened, faith is being renewed, and seekers are discovering the hope only found in Christ. Your partnership is so vital that when you give this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, *Life According to Jesus*, as our thanks.

It's a powerful journey through the Gospel of John that shares wisdom from the life of Christ to help you respond to real-world struggles. To give your gift, text "April" to 59789. Again, text "April" to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, "The Truth About Trials."

Jack Graham: Suffering, trials, these are required and therefore we should expect them. But then suffering, trials, these are revealing, so endure them. Jesus said Satan is going to and often trials come from Satan himself.

He mentions the synagogue of Satan, a religious group claiming to be one thing when they really were just instruments and tools of Satan. It's interesting that through the generations, so much persecution has often come at the hands of religious people. It was a religious crowd that crucified Christ.

And so this synagogue of Satan was a problem and he said, but really they weren't the problem. Satan was the source of this problem. He said, "Satan is about to throw you into prison so that you may be tried, so that you may be tested." You see, suffering is revealing. It reveals certain things about us.

This is a test when you go through suffering for Christ and how you pass the test is vital to your spiritual well-being. And when you go through trials and you ask why and you are suffering for Christ's sake, number one, it is a confirmation that you're a child of God.

If you're suffering for Jesus Christ, that's a confirmation, that's an affirmation. 1 Peter 4:14 says: "Be happy when you're reviled or ridiculed for serving Christ because the Spirit of God will come upon you." The Spirit of God will move in your life in ways previously unknown.

And so if you're not being persecuted for Christ's sake in some way, then you need to ask yourself, am I a Christian? Am I truly a believer? Can anybody tell? It's that old thing, if you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

You see, suffering separates the men from the boys spiritually. Suffering for Christ's sake separates the wheat from the chaff, the real from the unreal, the phony from the authentic. So endure it as a hardened soldier of Jesus Christ. Endure it as a true believer in Christ, whatever you're going through.

Because you see, these trials, when we endure, we just run to Christ. We just run to him. When we go through something in our lives, it just brings us to him if we're believers. And we can endure it, we can get stronger. So often we're soft, we're flabby, we're lazy, and these trials, they strengthen us.

And trials, you see, are only temporary. That's why Jesus said you're going to be thrown into prison for ten days. There's discussion among Bible scholars: what is that ten days? Does it mean the ten persecutions of the Christian church? Well, you know what I think it means? Ten days. I think it means ten days.

The point is, he said, for ten days you're going to be in prison. There is a beginning to a trial, there is a middle to a trial, and there is an end to a trial. Have you ever noticed that? It's brilliant, isn't it? A beginning, a middle, and an end.

The only problem in trials, we don't know where we are most of the time. "Lord, is this the start? Is this the middle? Is this the end?" But God has promised that there are seasons of suffering. One fellow said, "You know, my favorite verse in the Bible is it came to pass."

You know, it didn't come to stay. It came to pass. And Jesus was saying, these trials, they toughen you up. These trials are temporary and what's going to last will be your faith and your future with Christ. The Scripture says the world is passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Now, the fact is you're going to die. I hate to break the news to you, but if Christ tarries, you're going to die. You might as well die for something spectacular and glorious. If you're going to die, die serving Jesus. Die sacrificing and giving your life to Christ.

One final thing: suffering is real, it's raw, it's required—expect it. Suffering is revealing—it reveals whether or not we belong to Christ and how strong we are in Christ. And then suffering is rewarding—enjoy it. Don't cry, celebrate it. Because what does Jesus say?

Look down in Verse 10 again. He says at the close of that verse: "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." The *Stephanos* crown. *Stephanos*, the victor's crown. Jesus said, "Great is your reward in heaven." He said, "Lay up treasures in heaven."

These Christians at Smyrna, they didn't have anything, but they did have treasures in heaven. They were laying them up and he promised a great reward. The Scripture says in Romans 8:17, if we suffer with him, we will share in his glory. There's going to be a huge celebration and that's why we're to remain fearless in the face of trials and struggles and sufferings.

We're to be faithful. I like the way *The Message* puts it: "Don't quit even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a life crown sized and ready for you." Be fearless, be faithful. 1 Peter 4:19: "So if you're suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to God who made you and he will never fail you."

Be fearless, be faithful. Nothing can stop a child of God. Say, what does it take to stop you? A look? A laugh? A disappointment, discouragement? Somebody making fun of you? What does it take to stop you? What is it costing you to be a Christian?

And at what cost will you be faithful to Christ no matter what? I mean, how many know, how many truly know that you are a Christian? I didn't say how many people know that you go to church. The number one reason that people don't speak up and speak out for Christ and share their faith is fear.

What would people think? What would people say? And we're more interested in people liking us than we are in sharing our faith and yet nearly 200,000 people in this world die every single day. Every second, three people die on this planet. One after another, every second, three people step out into eternity and the consequences are severe.

That's why Jesus spoke of the second death. He said you will overcome the second death. The first death is physical, everybody dies the first death, but the second death is eternal. And millions of people need Christ.

Why would we allow someone to sit us down or to shut us up or to keep us quiet or to tell us we can't talk about Jesus at our school, in our jobs? We won't be in heaven five minutes before we'll be saying: why didn't I share him more? Why didn't I serve him more? Why didn't I love him more? Why didn't I give him more?

Suffering, trials, tribulations—they will be rewarded. So experience them, enjoy them. The *Stephanos*. There was a man by the name of *Stephanos* in the Bible, his name was Stephen. He was a godly man, a deacon. He stood one day and proclaimed Christ and Christ alone is Lord.

And as a result, he felt the bitter hatred of those who despise Christ and ultimately he was stoned for his faith. And this godly man, *Stephanos*, Stephen, as he was dying, looked up into heaven and his face was shining like the glory of an angel.

And the Scripture says as he looked into heaven, there was Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Now, every time in the Bible you see Jesus at the right hand of the Father, described as being at the right hand of the Father, he's seated.

But here he's standing as though he is welcoming his faithful warrior home. He stands up for Stephen, says: "Welcome home, my child. Well done, good and faithful servant." Be faithful, be fervent, be fearless as you serve Jesus Christ because one of these days you're going to stand before God and what you've done with your life in Christ, that's all that's going to matter. He died for you. Will you live for him?

Guest (Male): Let me remind you that your support helps bring the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ to people across the world through PowerPoint Ministries. And this month, we'd love to send you a powerful resource as our way of saying thanks for your gift. It's Dr. Jack Graham's book, *Life According to Jesus*.

And we'll be excited to send you this resource because your generosity helps place this kind of biblical teaching into the hands of seekers and believers alike, equipping them to live according to Jesus' example every day. To give your gift, just text "April" to 59789. Again, that's "April" to 59789.

July 4, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. Two hundred and fifty years of celebrating the freedoms, liberties, and rights we enjoy as Americans. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land.

That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word "cry" to 59789. Again, text "cry" to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: Each of us must face the fact as believers that we will suffer, and at times because of our faith, not just in spite of our faith, but because of our faith. As John 16:33 says, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

And if you've never faced the fire or been abused for your faith, then chances are you're not living a distinctively Christian life. You must be willing to stand up for Christ at all costs, but when you do, you will inevitably face opposition and maybe even suffer hardships.

It's important to remember that in the midst of trials, God continues to pour blessings out on those who believe and trust him. Here's what 1 Peter 4:19 says: "Therefore let us who suffer according to the will of God commit our souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator."

Nothing, and I mean nothing, can harm you as a child of God if you are fearless and faithful to him. Things may hurt you, but they can never harm you. So today I want to challenge you. The next time you face a trial in your life, remember that Christ went through trials just like you and came out victorious. As a follower of Jesus, you can have that same victory in Christ today.

Guest (Female): And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about what it really means to be a Christian. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.