The End of the Story

I have a question for all of you.

How many of you like to go to the back of the book and read the last chapter to know how it ends?

You don't have to raise your hands.

I'm not going to out you.

But I know there are some of you.

Usually, I prefer to let the story unfold, allowing the author and the storyteller to unfurl the movement of the drama.

To see where, to feel the tension points as it unfolds.

Looking forward, always, to the end.

To see how it will resolve or not resolve, depending on how dystopian your novel is.

But the one Bible that I like to read, or the one book that I like to read the end of, is the Bible, however.

Because it answers all the questions like, where is this all going?

And what will the end of the world be like?

And where do I fit into all of that?

When you look at the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, this was a book written, now 2,000 years ago, written to the church in Rome, suffering, persecution, and trial.

Going through a hard time when Christianity was not accepted and where people believed false things about them.

And where they suffered cruelly and terribly.

They were asking the questions, whose kingdom will really reign?

God's or Caesar's?

Who really has the greater power?

The gospel or Rome?

God's or Caesar's?

And what will become of us?

Because it sure feels like we're losing and dying.

Those may be feelings that connect with your life as well.

You may be facing trials in your own life that make you feel like you're losing and dying and wondering.

Is there a God who can help me?

Is his power great enough to actually rescue me from my current circumstances?

Some of you may be walking through trials like that right now.

Some of them, some of you are not.

You're in a good place.

And yet to know these truths is to prepare you for inevitably the time that will come when you will walk through hard times.

And hard trials.

Personally, as I've thought through, as I've prepared this sermon, I've been encouraged to think through the last eight years of my own life.

As I've walked through my late wife's, Brandy's diagnosis of cancer, treatment, her going home to be with the Lord a few years ago.

There certainly have been times when I couldn't see whose power was greater.

I couldn't see the goodness in the moment.

There certainly are times when I thought, I don't know how I can make it through.

And yet, it's the truths of the book of Revelation that kept me going.

To know the end has carried me through to this point.

And continues to carry me through today.

And I hope that this will be true for you as well.

So we're going to turn today to the book of Revelation.

We're going to turn to chapter 21.

That's page, I brought my bulletin this time so I remember.

977.

Turn to page 977 in your pew Bible.

And if you have your own Bible, that's great.

If you didn't bring one, pick up that pew Bible today.

Because we're going to be flipping around a little bit.

We're going to read a passage.

But we're going to be reading a few passages in the near vicinity of that as well.

And I'd love to have you be able to read along with me.

And you may be wondering, why are we doing this?

Why are we talking about Revelation and the end of the Bible?

Because we've been preaching for this fall on the book of Genesis and the book of beginnings.

And how God began the world and his purposes in creating it.

And what we want to do is to show you how the book of Genesis sets up this long storyline.

And we're going to skip to the end and read in Revelation 21.

About how God ties up some major themes that he's raised in the series this fall.

We're going to learn about what's the end of creation.

Where is this all going?

We're going to learn about the reality of sin and judgment.

And where is that going to end?

And we're going to learn about the fate of humanity.

And this is what we're going to see as we look at Revelation.

Revelation as the capstone of our series on the book of Genesis.

So that's where we're going.

And that's what we're doing this morning.

So let's go ahead and read together Revelation chapter 21 verses 1 through 8.

Revelation 21:1–8

Revelation chapter 21 verses 1 through 8.

Revelation 21:1–8

The dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them and they will be his people.

And God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

And death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore.

For the former things have passed away.

And he who is seated on the throne said,

Behold, I am making all things new.

Also he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true.

And he said to me, it is done.

I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

The one who conquers will have this heritage.

And I will be his God and he will be my son.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable.

As for the murderers, the sexually immoral.

Sorcerers, idolaters and all liars.

Their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

Which is the second death.

Will you pray with me?

Lord, I praise you this morning for your word.

Lord, for how you inspired writers throughout decades and centuries to reveal yourself.

Lord, how these voices from different times and places testify about you.

And what kind of God you are.

Lord, I pray this morning that you would help us to see the beauty of you in all that you are.

And Lord, the wonderful gift that it is to have the Bible to know you.

God, I pray for your help this morning that you might give me clarity of thought and of speech.

And Lord, for all of us that our hearts would be soft and receptive.

That as your spirit, Lord, works in us today.

That we would hear, Lord, and apply your word.

Jesus, we ask these things in your name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So as we look at these eight verses as representative of a bit of there's actually about three chapters here where there's a lot going on.

And we spared you a long reading of apocalyptic literature.

Which has lots of really interesting and fascinating and sometimes distracting imagery.

We're going to try to focus on these three grand themes of Genesis and how they work themselves out in Revelation.

And the first thing that we see is what happens with creation.

Creation will be healed.

Remember what we saw in Genesis.

That God began with a watery chaos.

And he took this watery chaos and he brought it into a form.

He separated out.

Remember night and day.

Land and sea.

Sky and earth.

He separated these things out to give form.

And then he filled that form with life.

Life in the sun and the moon and the sky.

And life with plants and animals on the land and in the air and on the sea.

And finally the pinnacle of life being humanity created in God's image.

And yet then we see that this creation was cursed by the fall of man and the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the garden.

And so we wonder what happens.

Because we've known nothing less than this our whole lives.

We have known nothing less than a cursed creation.

Where work is hard.

And where the world we live in is full of sickness and death.

Of decay and disease.

Of the second law of thermodynamics for heaven's sakes.

That we tend towards chaos.

Will it ever be good again?

Is the question that we ask about creation.

And Revelation steps in.

And in Revelation 21.1 it says.

This is the Apostle John receiving these visions from the Lord and writing them down.

He says,

What we see is that God rebuilds the forms anew.

And the forms are different.

Isn't it interesting?

There is no sea.

There is no watery chaos to be conquered anymore.

In the eternal state there will be a world that will have this perfect form.

That could never go back.

And not only will there be no sea.

As you see in verse 2.

But also as we look further.

If you want to look down chapter 21 verses 23 and following.

It talks about the fact there will be no sun.

And there will be no moon.

And it says that there will be no more night.

In chapter 22 verse 5.

And part of what we need to see is that the normal rhythms of life.

That God had created in the original form.

Are not only going to be made new.

They're going to be made new in a greater way.

Because now instead of those things.

Instead of a watery chaos or a sea.

There will be a river of life.

Flowing through the place where God's people will live.

And instead of there being a sun and a moon in the sky.

There will be God himself.

And he will be the light.

That will light them in their lives.

And this is the eternal state that we see.

That God is renewing and making even greater these forms.

So there will be no more days.

But eternity.

But these aren't just forms for their own sake.

But they're forms for the flourishing of life.

And so you see in verse 6 of the passage we read in 21.6.

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

The invitation for all to come and to drink from God who is the source of all life.

And who in this new creation has created a river that will never stop flowing.

And a river that will always have life abundantly there.

And as you look ahead.

Look with me at the beginning of chapter 22 really quickly.

Verses 1 and 2.

There's a river of the water of life bright as crystal flowing from the throne of God.

And the lamb.

And through the middle of the...

It's flowing through the middle of the street of the city.

And also on either side of the river.

The tree of life with its 12 kinds of fruit yielding each...

Yielding its fruit each month.

And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Do you remember the tree of life that God had to guard, block off from sinful humanity?

Because of their rebellion against him?

The tree of life that they might have eaten in the garden and enjoyed life forever but didn't?

Because of their rebellion?

In the new heavens and the new earth.

God creates a place where the tree of life lines the river of life.

And it bears fruit in every season.

This is where the apocalyptic imagery...

We need to be a little careful to not overdo it.

Because I just said there are no seasons.

And now there are seasons.

Because there are 12 months, right?

Well, let's go with it.

The apocalyptic literature, it's images.

So what's the image trying to say?

There will always be abundant fruit.

There will always be a fruit that will feed the people who are there forever.

And it will be a life-giving fruit.

What had been barred off because of sin now is available for all who are in the people of God.

And not only do we have life, but we see...

Go back to chapter 21, verse 7.

The second half of this.

The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son.

And sonship here...

Yes, it's a gendered term, but it has a positional force to it.

You will be the precious, honored, firstborn in my family.

That would have been understood in a traditional context.

And we need to see that we're gathering it up.

And we're saying that in God's son, Jesus, all of us, men and women, become his precious children.

His precious sons and daughters.

And his name will be written on our foreheads.

That's what chapter 22, verse 4 tells us.

That we will actually have God's name.

He will...

Again, imagery, right?

He's not branding us.

Imagery.

That we...

He will say, you are mine and I am yours forever.

And we will finally have a family that we will not lose.

And we will finally have a place to belong that we never had.

We will be restored fully in the image of God, male and female, to be his people forever.

This new creation is characterized by a remaking where life flourishes eternally, without failure, without end, and with greater glory.

So what are we to make of this?

How do we apply this to our life today?

There are so many applications to these principles.

But, you know, one of the ones that struck me was, sometimes I think we're afraid that heaven will be boring.

That harps and clouds and people wearing long white robes just looks really bland and really vanilla.

But what I want you to see is that what God is doing in recreating, making new the forms of his creation and the life-giving impulse is that we are going to experience life like we've never done it before.

Think even of just the way we experience creation.

Have you been in Teton National Park?

Have you been in Teton National Park?

And the warmth of the rays of the sun catch the tips of the snow-capped peaks in the morning?

It's thrilling.

Have you been in Teton National Park?

Have you been in a place where you've been able to see, whether it's Florida or California or Hawaii or some other part of the world,

where you've been able to watch the sun set over the ocean,

and the sky light up with a brilliant chromatic hues,

to be captivated by it?

And maybe even closer to Earth, have you just walked Hamanasset Beach and looked out at the greatness of the ocean?

Or hiked the hills in Chatsworth Hollow in the spring as the snow melt fills the streams?

These are the little tastes of our creation now that thrill our hearts.

Friends, we will only have this unending and with greater glory in heaven.

The Grand Canyon is not boring, nor will heaven be boring for us.

We've only tasted what is in store for us,

only sensed the greater beauty that awaits.

And it's not only us.

Not just the natural world, but human creation.

Have you ever thought of the interesting thing?

God began his creation in a garden.

But at the end, there's a city.

And I think that part of that is to recognize that

what God is doing is he's bringing his people together.

It is from God for sure, but it is, there's a humanity.

There's a beauty in what God is doing through human beings.

In our capacity to be creative, to make beautiful things,

and to have culture, and to have music,

and to have all the different ways in which we taste eternity,

even now in this fallen world.

And so what we will experience,

and the scripture isn't really detailed on this,

so I'm going out a little bit on a limb here,

but I think it's there that God is going to bring us into a place

where we're going to, all the things that we taste now,

we will get an overwhelming abundance of,

and it will never grow old,

and we will never grow tired of it,

and its beauty will be satisfying,

because it will be seen to be reflecting God

in all of his beauty and glory,

in all that we do.

And all that reflects God in part now,

we will see in full then.

And so we're reminded of the words in 1 Corinthians 2,

what no eye has seen, no ear has heard,

nor has the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him.

Friends, the renewal of creation is going to be awesome,

and we ought to be excited about it,

and look forward to it.

But it's not just that.

It's not just a utopia to look forward to,

because it also,

Revelation also helps us understand

what happens to sin,

and judgment,

and the fall.

What we see is that judgment is complete,

and sin is eradicated.

Remember what we saw in Genesis 3,

and following all the way through.

Genesis 3 was the beginning.

Sin entered the world

through the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

It entered the world,

and it corrupted and broke everything.

It broke God's relationship to man.

It broke humanity's relationship to one another,

male and female.

It broke our relationship to creation,

and all those ways.

And so the stain and the curse of sin

went everywhere.

And when we saw from that,

remember,

with Cain and Abel,

and then with Lamech,

and then every purpose of man's heart

was always only evil.

Always.

I think I added one in there,

but that's the idea,

right?

In chapter 6,

it got so bad

that God judged the world

with a flood

that destroyed everybody

so that he might remake humanity

in hopes of starting over.

And yet,

three chapters later,

they're building the Tower of Babel

and thinking,

that's a great idea.

Why don't we exalt ourselves

up to God

in rebellion against him?

And so we have this problem.

Sin has persisted.

And the stain of sin

seems to be

one that you can't get out.

What will God do with that?

Well,

we see a couple of very hopeful things here.

First,

is that in chapter 21,

verse 4,

these beautiful words,

we see that the curse

and the stain of sin

and the result of sin

is reversed.

Look with me at it.

He will wipe away

every tear from their eyes

and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning

nor crying

nor pain of any more,

nor pain anymore

for the former things

have passed away.

Friends,

the older I get,

the worse death seems.

And yet,

the older I get,

the harder life seems.

It's a really terrible thing

to put those things together.

Because you realize

that sin and death

is not the way

it was supposed to be.

Humanity was not made for this.

And yet,

they are such a constant presence

in our lives.

Some of you are 22

and really have tasted

little of this.

Praise God for that.

Enjoy it.

And be prepared

for the fact

that that will end.

I wish I could tell you

something better.

I can't.

Sorry.

Sorry.

Begin to put these truths

into,

and these hopes

into your heart now.

for when the reality

of sin

and the reality

of death

hits you,

you will be prepared

for them.

The curse is reversed.

There will be

no more sickness.

There will be

no more disease.

There will be

no agonizing death.

There will be

no tragic accidents.

There will be

no more death.

And there will be

no more mourning.

There will be

no more weeping

and crying.

There will be

no more hurt

or pain.

Because all

of those things

that are so

much a part

of our lives today

are the fruit

of sin.

And when God

makes the world new,

those things

will have passed

away.

in chapters 22

verse 3

it says,

no longer

will there be

anything

accursed.

So all

the ways

that the fallenness

has worked

its way out

into our world

with broken

societal systems

and broken

relationships

and broken

bodies

and broken

ecology

and all

the broken

things

of the world,

no longer

will they be

there.

and even

more than that,

even in the

spiritual realm,

the liar

and the deceiver

who wormed

his way

into the

hearts of

Adam and Eve

in the garden,

the great serpent

who if you go

back and you look

in chapter 12

is identified

as Satan

very clearly

there.

We see in the

book of Revelation,

I just didn't have

time to give you

this whole storyline,

but we see in the

book of Revelation

that this enemy

will be defeated.

In chapter 20

verse 10,

Satan is finally

defeated.

He is pictured

as a dragon

and he is thrown

into a lake

of fire

which is a picture

of eternal

judgment

where there is

no escape.

And not only

is Satan thrown

in there,

but in chapter 20

verse 14,

death and hell

itself

are also thrown

into that lake

of fire.

What we know

from this

is that the

enemies,

the spiritual

enemies of

God's people

who have sought

to attack

from the outside

to turn

God's people

away,

they are judged,

they are condemned,

and they are

defeated.

And they will

no longer

be a part

of our world.

God will

remove

the things

that cause

us harm.

Now one of

the sobering

things about

this,

you probably

noticed it

because it's

striking,

verse 8,

and this is

repeated again

later in

chapter 22,

verse,

I didn't

write this

down,

verse 15,

twice in

these two

chapters with

this grand

vision,

it says,

but not all

will be there

because those

who reject

God,

those who

choose their

sin and

refuse

to turn

towards God,

those who

continue and

make their

life characterized

by rebellion

against God,

they will

not be in

this place.

They will

not enjoy

this new

heaven and

new earth

and new

Jerusalem.

They will

not drink

from the

river of

life,

nor taste

the fruit

from the

tree of

life.

There is

a judgment

that is

coming on

all the

earth,

and it

will be

final.

this is

why the

lake of

fire and

sulfur and

the second

death,

this apocalyptic

imagery is

pointing ahead

to this

reality,

that one

day when

God redeems

the world,

it will

involve this

judgment.

It will

involve

ending sin,

and for

those who

have made

sin their

marker,

the thing

that they

embrace,

they will

be caught

up in

this judgment,

and they

will suffer

that judgment,

and it

will be

terrible.

So we

need to

know that

evil will

not continue,

and this

is a good

thing,

friends.

Though it

is a

sobering

thing,

it is a

good thing,

and many

of you

sitting here

this morning

know this.

You know

it's good

when you

watch your

family members

suffer from

chronic pain,

or addiction,

or tragic

accidents,

when you

watch life

unravel in

those you

love,

and you

want the

evil,

and the

sin,

and the

pain to

end.

some of

you have

endured

injustice

tragically

in your

own lives.

You have

been abused,

and there's

never been a

recompense.

There's never

been a

reckoning.

Some of

you look

out in the

world,

and you

look at the

great

suffering.

You look

at the

persecution

of the

powerless,

and the

oppressed,

and those

that society

counts is

not worth

it.

And your

heart cries

out,

how could

this be?

God,

why won't

you end

this?

And part

of what

Revelation

tells us

is that

he will,

and that

he does.

He will

not allow

the guilty

to go

unpunished,

and he

will end

sin by

justly

judging

all.

the

book of

Revelation

was written,

it was

written to

people who

were wondering

these things

too.

As the

corrupt nation

of Rome

got more

flagrant in

some of its

corruption,

and the

church wondered,

God,

how long,

how long

will this

last,

how long

will we

suffer,

the

righteous,

those who

seek you

and want

to know

you,

while the

world

enjoys the

pleasures of

its sin.

And Revelation

reminds us,

God will

win.

God will

win in the

end,

and he

will end

the evil,

and he

will end

the sin,

and he

will end

all of

the things

that we

rightly hate

in this

world because

they are

evil.

And in

his judgment,

he will

make it

right.

now we

have to

stop and

think,

how will

he do

this?

How will

he do

this?

Many of

you know

this story,

but just,

it's only

hinted at

here,

it's not

explained in

Revelation

21 and

22,

except that

with God

there is

this one

who is

called

the Lamb.

And you

go back

to Revelation

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

and you

see people

worshiping

this Lamb,

worthy is

the Lamb

who was

slain,

for by

your blood

you ransomed

people for

God.

We know

that the

Lamb is

Jesus,

and that

his death

is his

death on

the cross,

and we

know that

this Lamb

is God

come to

us.

So Hebrews

2,

14 says

this about

him,

therefore

since the

children,

that is us,

children of

humanity,

share in

flesh and

blood,

he himself

likewise

partook the

same things

so that

through death,

that is

through his

death,

he might

destroy the

one who has

the power

of death,

that is

Satan,

that is

the devil,

and to

deliver all

those who

through the

fear of

death were

subject to

a lifelong

slavery.

Jesus

entered into

the curse

of humanity

and the

judgment of

God upon

the evil

that our

sin wreaks

in this

world.

He entered

in and

took that

for us

so that

all who

are in

him

might be

redeemed

and ransomed

out of

this broken

fallen world

and into

this ark,

this savior,

this,

the promised

one,

so that

all who

are in

Christ,

as Daniel

said earlier,

there is

no condemnation,

but instead

there is

life.

And this

is the

great divide,

and on

the last

day,

this will

be the

great and

tragic

divide.

For those

who are

in Christ,

they will

go into

eternity

with God

and enjoy

life with

God forever

and all

this beauty.

but for

those who

are outside

of Christ,

it will

be a

terrible

day,

for the

hope of

redemption

will finally

extinguish

and be

no more.

Which is

why the

Bible

encourages

us,

today,

if you

hear his

voice,

turn to

him.

Today,

if you

have not

put your

faith in

Christ,

turn to

him today

while you

still can,

turn to

him and

find that

he is the

savior that

you've always

wanted,

that he is

the one who

can deal

with your

sin.

Give your

life to

him and

let him

free you.

For as

Revelations

1.18 says,

he was given

the keys of

death in

Haiti under

his control

so that he

may defeat

his enemies

and give

freedom to

those who

are in

him.

So,

friends,

when you

face your

struggle,

when you

struggle to

see the

pain and

the evil

in the

world,

know that

God has

triumphed

over it.

Look to

the cross

and to

the empty

tomb.

You may

not understand

why your

particular shape

of evil has

come into

your life.

You may

not understand

why you've

had to

suffer these

certain things,

but know that

they will not

have the

last word

in your

life.

And when

you look

to the

cross and

when you

look to

the empty

tomb,

there is

hope.

The victory

is future,

but it is

certain for

God's people.

Which leads us

into the last

question,

what about the

fate of

humanity?

As we've

seen in

Genesis 1

through 12,

starting in

verse 3,

humanity has

been unerringly

lurching towards

sin and

deserving of

judgment.

Though there

have been

multiple times

or opportunities

to turn back

to God,

only a few

have done

so.

And invariably,

all of humanity

has moved

away.

So what is

going to

happen?

At the

end of

chapter 11,

remember the

Tower of

Babel?

God has

scattered the

people and

given them

different

languages to

confuse them so

they can't

unite in

their sin

against God

and in

rebellion.

So now the

people,

humanity,

are scattered,

confused,

at odds with

God and with

one another.

What will

God do

here?

Well,

what we will

see is that

God's people

will be

gathered again.

Look with

me in

Revelation 21,

Revelation 21:2

verses 2 and

3.

I saw the

holy city in

New Jerusalem

coming down

out of

heaven from

God,

prepared as

a bride

adorned for

her husband.

And I

heard a loud

voice from

the throne

saying,

behold,

the dwelling

place,

which is the

same word as

tabernacle in

case you

want to

know.

The dwelling

place of

God is

with

humanity.

And he

will dwell

with them

and they

will be

his people.

And God

himself will

be with

them as

their God.

again,

God is

creating a

form for

humanity to

flourish and

it is a

city,

the holy

city,

Jerusalem,

remade

new and

not built

up from

the bottom

to try to

reach God

but coming

down from

heaven.

God provides

for us the

city that we

longed for but

couldn't make

on our own.

And in

this city,

God restores

the intimacy

of humanity

in the garden

where they

walked with

God in

the cool

of the

shade.

And where

the great

gift of

marriage,

the union

of male

and female

in this

picture of

intimacy

is now

to be seen

to be this,

the fulfillment

of that is

the great

intimacy,

the union

of God

and his

people

forever.

And we

will be

known

fully

and we

will be

loved

completely

and we

will love

God

and it

will bring

us

great

joy.

The

garden

city

of this

new

Jerusalem

will be

the place

where we

as humanity

as God's

people,

those in

Christ,

will enjoy

an intimacy

with God

greater than

we can

imagine.

And it's

striking in

verse 22

of chapter 21

it says,

there is no

more temple,

right?

For the

Jews in

the Old

Testament,

the temple

was the

one place

where they

could go

and say

God was

here.

And in

the new

place,

New Jerusalem,

there will

be no

temple

because they

don't have

to go to

a building

to find

God

because God

himself

will be

among

them.

The

greater

glory of

this city

garden

temple.

Draw all

those lines

together

throughout all

of scripture

to say

this is

what it's

heading

for.

This

incredible

place

where God's

people will

be gathered

to be

with God.

And it

will have

this incredible

diversity.

One of the

remarkable

things about

what God

did at the

Tower of

Babel

is as he

scattered

people,

he created

diversity.

He created

diversity of

nations and

tribes and

tongues.

tongues.

And then

he let

them grow

into the

richness.

Look around

this room,

look around

this city,

look around

the world

that we

live in.

God has

created a

humanity,

even in

its fallenness,

it has this

incredible

richness and

diversity.

And what

God is doing

at the end

of days is

gathering those

people back

together.

This is what

Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

looks to.

And then I

saw people

from every

tribe and

tongue and

nation gathered

around the

throne,

worshiping God

forever.

And the

glory of Adam

and Eve,

intimate with

God in the

garden in the

beginning,

is now

multiplied and

magnified by

us who

will get to

gather with

him.

in all the

different

backgrounds that

we have,

all the

different

languages,

all the

richness of

the culture

that we

bring,

and we

bring them

and we

lay them

at the

feet of

our king

and our

God at

his throne

and we

honor and

worship him.

And we

will see him

face to

face.

Remember

Moses up on

the mountain?

He couldn't

see God

face to

face.

And live

because of

his sin.

But when

sin is gone,

we can see

God face

to face.

And what

joy that

will be.

Maybe you

know what

it's like to

be far away

from a

loved one

for a while.

And yeah,

it's nice you

can now

WhatsApp them

or FaceTime

them.

but to

actually see

them face

to face.

What joy

it is to

be in

the presence

of the

one that

you love.

The

intimacy,

the union,

the connection

that we

have with

those.

This is what

we get with

God.

And when

you're

reunited with

that loved

one,

at least for a

while,

you think,

this is the

best ever.

And then in

our fallenness,

we get bored

and we go on

with other

stuff.

But in

heaven,

we won't

get bored

because we

will be

face to

face with

the infinite

God.

And we

will worship

him.

And we

will bask

in his

glory and

we will

enjoy his

creation.

And we

will live

this rich

life

forever.

So God

will gather

his people

and he

will dwell

with them

and they

will be

his people

and he

will be

their God.

When we

feel like

we're losing

and when we

feel like

we're dying,

this is a

great promise.

Because even

if we die

in this life

and in this

world,

we know

that that

is where

we are

going in

Christ.

That God

will gather

his people

together.

And what a

glorious day

that will

be.

Almost broke

out in a

song there.

When we

all get to

heaven,

the day of

rejoicing it

will be.

When we all

see Jesus,

we'll dance

and shout

the victory.

Sing and

shout?

I don't know.

It's close

enough.

So friends,

how do we

finish this?

How do we

wrap up this

sermon?

How do we

live now?

First,

we need to

cling to

Jesus because

all these

hopes and

all these

promises are

tied to

being in

him.

And with

great joy,

we know that

he will

cling to us.

But he

calls us

over and

over again.

Turn to

him.

Choose this

day whom you

will serve.

believe in

me.

Follow me.

Pick up

your cross.

Cling to

Jesus.

Hold on to

him through

the hardest

things of

life.

When you

feel like

it's not

worth living,

when you

feel like

all you're

doing is

losing and

dying,

turn to

him.

You will

only know

him in

part in

this life,

but seek

to know

him more

and more.

read his

word so

that you

might know

him more.

But also

gather as

his people.

Because

recognize,

friends,

that this is

the down

payment of

heaven right

here.

What we're

doing right

now, this

is why people

have said this

is the most

important thing

that happens

in all of

the earth.

Not what

happens in

Washington,

D.C.

or what

happens in

New York

City or in

Beijing or in

London or

wherever.

forever.

But this,

the gathering

of God's

people is

the most

important thing

because this

is the down

payment of

what will

be eternal.

When we

gather together,

as imperfect

as it is,

and it is

really imperfect,

you guys may

feel that,

it is not,

but this is

the place where

we get to

taste the

gathering of

God's people.

as we look

around,

recognize that

these will be

the people that

you will worship

God with for

all eternity.

And you will

look at one

another and say

brother and

sister and

know that in a

much deeper

way than you

do right now.

So value it,

treasure it,

anticipate it,

risk investing

in it.

It's worthwhile.

And hold on

to hope,

friends.

In this world

you will have

tribulation,

but I have

overcome the

world,

said Jesus.

There is a

greater glory

awaiting those

who are in

Christ.

The one who

came and said,

behold, I am

making all

things new.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank

you for this

word.

Lord, thank

you for the

vision that

you have given

John, a

glimpse even,

for there are

no words to

describe the

fullness of the

beauty and the

richness and the

glory that we

will have with

you in eternity.

Lord, I pray

this morning that

you would wean

our hearts from

our hope being

in this life

only, but

Lord, that

because you

are a risen

savior, that

we would set

our hope on

heaven, set

our hope on

these eternal

realities that

are yet to

come.

And Lord, that

by doing that

you might give

us hope to

persevere in the

present, to

cling to you

and to wait

for you and

trust ourselves

to you.

Lord, thank

you for this.

thank you that

you are the

overcoming one,

that you are

the conquering

king, that

you will be,

Lord, our

God, and we

will be your

people.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.