The Garden Recreated

Well, we've come to the end of this communion weekend, and for those of you who have been able to be here over the course of these days, you'll know that we've been following a theme, a theme that I've called in the garden.

What we've been trying to do is explore, first of all, Genesis 2. We tried to explore some of the features of Genesis 2, and then on Saturday, we went into Genesis 3 and tried to extrapolate some of the teaching in Genesis 3 that helped us to understand how the perfect world that God created was spoiled

by the disobedience of Adam and Eve. And of course, as Paul tells us, it was at that moment that sin came into the world and spread throughout the human race and gave rise to all kinds of evil and violence and mistrust and fear and darkness and shame and everything that we know to be bad.

That was not the world that God created. That's the world that was spoiled because we, in Adam and Eve, we chose to disobey. We saw some of the features of Genesis 3, but we saw at the end of that chapter that while God could have destroyed the world, he chose not to.

Rather, there is a note of hope, a glimmer of light at the end of that chapter. And we saw that that pointed forward to the coming of Jesus and his death on the cross, by which he would crush the head of the serpent.

And even though the serpent got to crush his heel, which we believe to be a reference to the cross, nevertheless, the cross was the decisive victory over what the serpent had done.

That's why the cross is everything to a Christian. It's why what lies at the very heart of what I am tonight, and you are if you're a follower of Jesus, it's the cross.

It's not what we do to try to win God's favor. That's of no use whatsoever.

But a person who comes to see what Jesus has done on the cross and to receive his punishment as done on our behalf and to come to faith in Jesus, that's what a person who follows Jesus is all about.

That's what lies at the very heart of what we are.

And then we saw this morning at our communion service how the temptation, the Matthew 4 passage on the temptation of Jesus Christ, a passage we know so well, it refers to, it is a reenactment, if you like, or a reversal of Adam's disobedience.

And then again, it points towards the cross because the temptation had reference to Jesus in his ministry in preparation for his death on the cross at Calvary.

Now what we're going to do this evening is, if I was going to give a title to this service, it might be fast forward.

And I'm not even sure how fast or how far forward we have to go because I don't know when chapter 21 of Revelation is going to take place.

And you don't know either. We don't know when the world will come to an end.

The fact is that the Bible is not a collection of books.

It's the story of the world from the beginning to the end.

It has a sequence that winds its way from the first human beings to the final outcome.

If you take God out of the picture and try to make sense of the world without God,

then there are two vast unknowns.

One is the unknown of how and why humanity began.

And then there is the unknown of how it will all end.

You take God out of the picture, you have a massive question mark, or I should say you have two massive question marks.

Why are we here?

And when is it going to end or how it's all going to end?

And so while much of the content of Revelation, I'm sure you've tried to read it and have been as puzzled as I have about much of the content,

the symbolism and the visions that John saw,

while it is hard to figure out, there are certain features of it that are clear.

And one of them is that God will bring this present world to an end.

And then he will usher in what is described as the new heaven and the new earth.

And so the last two chapters of Revelation are the grand finale in which the whole of the Bible is summed up,

in which the story comes to an end, in which the plan of God comes to fruition.

And there is a plan of God.

And we're either we're faced with one of two options this evening.

You take God out of the picture and the whole of life is a series of random unrelated events that have no meaning whatsoever.

Or you put God in the picture and you come to God's word and you see that God is responsible for the beginning of the universe.

And he's responsible for the salvation of human beings in Jesus.

And he has promised that a day will come when the world will come to an end.

As we know it, he's also promised a recreation.

And so it is not without significance that the Bible begins with,

Genesis 1 is the answer to the first question.

Revelation 21 and 22 are the answer to the second question.

The world will come to an end, but only when and how God determines.

God is in control.

I want you to know that this evening in a world that otherwise is totally confused.

And if you try to find the answer outside God,

it will only lead to more and more confusion in your mind.

The answer is not out there.

The answer is here in what God has told us in the Bible and supremely in Jesus Christ, his son.

And so therefore, I hope that if you're asking the question,

what's it all about?

And so you should be.

What's the world all about?

What's humanity all about?

And what am I about?

Then please look in the right place.

It's not far away.

It's right here.

You don't have to go out there.

It's here in your hand, in the pages of the Bible,

in which God has made himself known to you

and in Jesus Christ who has come into the world to rescue us

and to bring us home to where we should be in God himself.

So Genesis 1 and Revelation 21 are the bookends,

the Bible's bookends, if you like,

with Revelation 21 promising that whatever has happened to spoil this world,

God has remedied it

and will never allow the same thing to happen again.

One thing that is different,

well, there are many things different about the recreation to the original creation,

but one thing is absolutely sure that there will be no chance of any further fall

or any more separation.

God has won the final victory

and he is going to bring all of his plans to fruition.

But you will have noticed as we read these two passages,

the striking similarity between the terminology that's used here

and what we've read before in Genesis 2 and 3.

This is God's new creation.

Now, I'm not going to go through this in detail.

We don't have time tonight.

What I want to do is very simply to pick out

some of the features of what we have read

and to try and make this as simple as possible.

I'm going to do this by whittling it down to two things.

The passage we've read amounts to a future promise in the first place.

The promise of the new heaven and the new earth.

That's the future promise.

But then, secondly,

you'll notice that passage contains

meanwhile commands.

Meanwhile commands.

And that's because

while it's all very well to look forward to what the Bible tells us

about what God's going to do one day,

it hasn't happened yet.

That's the not yet of the Bible.

We, meanwhile, are living in this life.

We've got work to do tomorrow.

We've got our duties to fulfill

in our families and wherever we live

and whatever our routines are.

We live in the here and now.

And so, whilst we do want to know

as much as we possibly can

about the future that God has promised,

we can maybe talk about some of the things

that are in this passage.

Nevertheless, we, at the same time,

we have to get on with life

as God's people here in this world.

And lo and behold,

this passage gives us guidance.

It gives us certain principles.

And if we follow them,

we will be blessed.

That's what we all want, isn't it?

We want to be blessed.

You know what that word means in the Bible?

I know we use it very glibly and casually sometimes,

but I'm talking about the way the Bible uses it.

The blessing of God is the happiness

that God brings,

the peace that only God brings.

And it's a peace that can only be found

in Jesus Christ.

That's what Paul discovered

when he came to faith in Jesus

on the road to Damascus.

He said, therefore,

having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's the blessing that God promises

in the gospel.

And tonight,

Revelation 22

gives us

the way to peace.

There is only one way,

and that's in Jesus.

So, first of all then,

what does God promise

in this chapter

about the not yet?

Well, he promises

in chapter 21,

one,

a new heaven

and a new earth.

A new heaven.

And I'm sure

that whenever we've imagined this,

we've tried to imagine

what a new heaven

and a new earth

might be like.

And you take some of the imagery

in Revelation

and you try to close your eyes

and you try to picture

what heaven might be like

and you come up with

streets of gold

and trees

and gates

and gold

and this

and emeralds

and all kinds of precious stones

and all that.

Please remember

that Revelation

is symbolic.

And the descriptions

that we have

in Revelation

are symbolic.

The best way

to understand Revelation,

by the way,

is to understand

the Old Testament.

So if you know

your Old Testament,

you will be able

to grasp Revelation

a lot better

but only when you realize

that there's very little

in Revelation

of literal description.

It's symbolic.

So anytime you pick up

your Bible

and you read Revelation,

remember,

symbol,

symbol,

symbol.

Old Testament imagery

and that applies

to streets of gold

and gates

and all that kind of thing.

It applies to

what we read there

about the new Jerusalem

coming down.

No, we didn't read it.

It goes on.

It's further on

in chapter 21,

the new Jerusalem

with a high wall

and the jasper

and the clearest crystal

and all the rest of it.

All of these

are symbolic

but what they describe

is something

utterly,

utterly,

indescribably

magnificent.

and I believe,

I personally believe,

that the reason

heaven isn't described

in the Bible

is because

there is no

capacity

in language

for God

to tell us

what it's going to be like.

It's just impossible

because we're so restricted

by length

and breadth

and height

and time

and all of these things.

We're so restricted

but we're talking here now

about a different order

altogether,

a different dimension

and as soon as I say that,

I don't even understand

what I'm saying

but God does.

God is the God

who is not limited

by any dimensions

or restrictions

and so what God

promises us,

a new heaven

and a new earth

in which there will be

perfect bliss

and unbroken

happiness

for all

his people.

But it does appear

that there will be

a connection

between

the earth

but not as we know it,

the earth that has been

cleansed

and glorified

and stripped away

of all the evil influences

and the impacts

that have been

on the earth.

There will be

this unification.

It's interesting,

isn't it,

that it tells us

that there'll be

a new heaven

and a new earth.

There seems to be

a promise

of a unification

of what now is heaven

and what now is earth

in perfection

when God has brought

this world

as we know it

to an end.

Right now,

heaven is separated

from the earth

but a time will come

when that separation

will disappear.

It's also clear

that heaven

will consist

of angels.

Angels.

Lots of angels

in Revelations.

There's angels

all the way

through the Bible.

There are angels

at the very beginning.

There are angels

all the way there.

Angels at the birth

of Jesus.

Angels at the resurrection.

Angels in the book

of Acts.

We know that they exist.

We don't want to spend

too much time on them

because we don't want

to obsess over it

but we do know

that God has created

other rational beings

and they have a purpose.

They serve him.

We don't see them.

At least I've never

seen one

but we know

that they are there

and we know

that they populate

God's presence.

But more immediately

to us

heaven will also

consist of

saints

and by that

I don't mean

super Christians

Christians who have

earned a certain

level

in their lives

by that

I mean

men and women

boys and girls

who have trusted

and followed

Jesus Christ

and they have

lived in this world

and they have

struggled

and they have

fallen sometimes

and they have

sinned often

and yet

they have

followed Jesus.

They have lived

and died

as followers

of their Savior

and God

has taken them

from this world

and he has

transferred them

into his

presence.

They're there now

right now.

When I leave

this world

I expect

that I will not

experience death.

I expect

that I will be

taken immediately

to the presence

of God

and that's

what you should

expect as well

if you are a

believer

in Jesus.

It's the only

way to get there

by believing

trusting

in Jesus.

We'll talk about

that a little bit

later on.

What is the

catechism says

the souls of

believers are at

their death

made perfect

in holiness

and they do

immediately

pass into

glory

and their bodies

being still

united to Christ

rest in the grave

until the

resurrection.

So God's

promise is

that the new

heaven and the

new earth

will be populated

by people

his people.

It's also clear

that this

heavenly earth

or this

earthly heaven

or whatever you

want to call it

the new heaven

and the new

earth is

indestructible

or imperishable.

The first earth

was subject

to failure.

And then

we also have

to avoid

trying to

picture

heaven

according to

time.

We think of

eternity

and we think

of well

it's going

to be so

long isn't

it?

I mean

even a year

and hour

experience is

just so long

or ten years

or whatever

and I can't

imagine.

Well that's

because we

only think of

things in

terms of

our life.

But remember

what I said

before that

we're talking

about different

dimension here.

And so

let's try

and avoid

thinking about

heaven

in terms

of our

measurements.

So whatever

image you've

had or

formulated in

your mind

is probably

wrong.

And not

only is it

wrong but

what God

has planned

is a million

times more

magnificent than

we can ever

imagine.

what we do

know about

the promise

is that the

dwelling of

God will be

amongst men.

The glory

of God

will take

the centre

place in

this new

existence

and God's

people will

forever in

some kind

of magnificent

way

unspoiled by

sin or

distraction

we will be

able to

worship him

in perfection.

There'll be no

more sea.

We read that

in chapter

20.

Again

symbolic

there'll be

no more

sea.

What does

that mean?

The sea

was a

symbol of

all the

changeableness

of life.

Remember

that this

vision was

given to

John.

He was

on the

island of

Patmos.

He was

surrounded

by sea.

Anybody

who's on

an island

as you

well know

knows about

the sea.

And so

the sea

would have

meant

something

very

meaningful

to

John.

And he

would have

got up

every day

and he

would have

seen how

changeable

things were

and it

was a

reflection

of how

changeable

life was.

But there'll

be no more

changeableness.

There'll be no

more disappointment.

No more

unpredictability.

There'll be

complete healing

in verse 2.

There'll be no

more curse.

Here,

those of you

who read that,

you'll remember

that.

That's a

reversal of

Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

when God

cursed the earth

because of

Adam and Eve's

disobedience.

Now there's

no more

curse and

the throne

of God

and of the

Lamb will

be there.

They will

see his

face and

his name

will be on

their forehead.

Symbolism

once again.

I'm not

quite sure

how that

relates to

the reality

of heaven,

but we

will see

his face

and his

name will

be on

our foreheads.

There'll be no

more night.

It'll be a

different order

of things

altogether.

God and

sinners are

reconciled

forever.

The dwelling

of God is

with man.

We have a

new creation.

God has

made all

things new.

His word

is trustworthy.

His city

gleams with

perfect,

unimaginable

grandeur

and spectacular

beauty.

So I'm

out of words,

I'm afraid.

I don't have

any words

because I

don't even

know what

words that

I could

possibly bring

together to

do justice

to what God

has promised.

And I can't

go beyond

what is

in the

Bible.

So,

so much

for the

new heaven

and the

new earth.

Now,

let me just,

before we go

into this,

the reason

I believe

that there

will be a

new heaven

and a new

earth

is because

I believe

in the

present

earth

where I

live

and I

believe

in a

present

heaven.

And the

reason I

believe that

is because

God has

created it.

The ground

that I

stand on

is ground

that has

come into

being because

God has

created it.

My reality

owes its

existence

to God.

Now,

if you

believe that,

then it

shouldn't be

difficult for you

to believe

that God

one day

will create

another reality,

a new reality,

a renewed

existence.

It shouldn't

be difficult

because we're

talking about

the same God

who is capable

of anything.

And so,

the same faith

that believes

that I owe

my existence

to God

is the same

faith that

believes that

one day

he will

renew

this world

and he will

bring about

the new

heaven

and the

new

earth.

So much

for the

future promises.

What do

these passages

have to

tell us

about the

life that

I live

now?

Well,

it tells

us in

verse 6

in chapter

22,

the first

thing is

that my

words are

true.

And so,

God is

saying to

us,

believe

my

words.

Believe

my

words.

Verse 6

says this,

these words

are trustworthy

and true,

and the

Lord,

the God

of the

spirits

of the

prophets

has sent

his angel

to show

his servants

what must

soon take

place.

Now,

I can't

help connecting

this to

Genesis 3

that we

had last

night.

And particularly,

remember,

the conversation

that the serpent

had with the

woman,

with Eve,

and how he

attempted,

successfully,

sadly,

to undermine

the truthfulness

of God's

word,

and therefore

the trustworthiness

of God

himself.

And so,

these very

first attempts

to chip

away,

remember what

we were

seeing last

night,

to chip

away at

the

trustworthiness

of God.

Here is God

at the end

of the Bible,

and he's

saying to

us,

I assure

you,

I give

you my

word,

that my

word,

my promise,

is trustworthy

and true.

Now,

I know that's

all we've

got to go

on,

but the

Holy Spirit

has the

power to

implant these

words and

to assure

us of

their

truthfulness.

There's

something about

the word

of God,

there's

something about

the Bible

that resonates

with us,

isn't there?

There's

something about

it,

and in the

hands of the

Holy Spirit,

and I believe

that God is,

as we worship

him tonight,

we're coming

to meet with

him,

he's present

in this

building,

which means

that he

is working

in your

hearts,

and speaking

to you,

and bringing

this very

word,

and implanting

it in your

consciousness.

My word

is,

these words

are trustworthy

and true,

and so I

hope tonight,

and I would

ask you

tonight,

that instead

of doing

what Eve

did,

and doubting

God's word,

that you'll

just lay

hold upon

them and

trust them,

because they

are the

words of

God.

He tells

us,

in verse

13,

I am the

alpha and

the omega,

the beginning

and the

end.

I'm the

root and

the descendant

of David,

the bright

and morning

star.

Now,

he tells

us two

things

that we

are to

do.

One is

what we

should do

with God's

word,

and the

other one

is what

we shouldn't

do.

First of

all,

we must

not keep

quiet about

it.

Verse 10

it tells us,

and he

said to me,

do not

seal up the

words of the

prophecy of

this book,

for the

time is

near.

Now,

that's a

word to

the church.

Do not

seal up the

prophecy of

this book.

Let's just

spend a

moment thinking

about what

does he

mean by

this book.

He's just

been told to

sit down and

to write

what he's

seen,

so it

could mean

the book

of Revelation.

Then there's

another book

in Revelation

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

the scroll

that was

in the

hand of

the one

who sat

on the

throne.

And if

you read

chapter 5,

it becomes

very obvious

that that

is the

will of

God,

the purpose

of God.

But if

it is,

whatever it

is,

it is

God's

message,

and I

take it

to mean

the Bible,

because the

Bible is

God's

complete,

perfect,

infallible

word.

And what

he's saying

to the

church is,

make sure

that you

do not

seal it

up,

don't

keep

quiet

about

it.

There

is

nothing

to be

ashamed

of.

And I

think if

ever there

was a

time when

we needed

to be

encouraged

not to

be ashamed

of that

we believe

in the

words of

the Bible,

it's

today.

Because

the whole

atmosphere

of the

world

outside

will tell

us,

well,

if you

want to

be a

Christian,

that's

fine,

just

keep it

to

yourself.

God

tells us

not to

keep it

to

ourselves.

God

tells us

there's a

whole world

out there

that needs

to hear

about

Jesus,

and a

world full

of darkness

and confusion

in which

his word

is the

only source

of light

there is.

So there's

no reason

to be

ashamed.

Like Paul

said once,

I am

not ashamed

of the

gospel of

Christ.

And we

might be

very tempted

to assume

that the

world is

hostile,

and to a

large extent

it is

hostile.

But remember

that the

world outside

contains all

kinds of

people.

It contains

some who

are deeply

hostile to

the gospel,

but it also

contains people

who are

asking questions.

And how

do you know

as God

leads you

and guides

you through

this world

that you

will not

come across

people who

are asking

those questions.

And you

might be the

means of

their coming

to know

Jesus.

We are his

witnesses.

We are his

ambassadors.

We are living

epistles.

He's told us

to let our

light shine.

Now I don't

mean that we

preach a sermon

to everyone

that we meet

and that we

use every

single,

every time

we sit

beside someone

and make a

pester of ourselves.

No, you're

asking God

to give you

the opportunity

by your

life and

by your

witness to

make known

what you

believe.

What was it

Jesus said

to the man

out of whom

he had cast

the demons?

Go and tell

the people

what God

has done

for you.

Go and give

them your

testimony.

So when people

ask you what

were you doing

at the weekend,

don't be ashamed

of saying I

went to church

at the weekend.

I go to church

every day.

Who knows,

they might close

up, it might be

end of conversation,

but you go to

church.

Well, which

church do you

go to?

Well, when

do you start

going to church?

And then as

an open door,

as a green

light, you

can tell

them what

God has

done for

you.

Do not

seal the

prophecy of

this book.

And of

course it's

a challenge

to the

church

collectively as

well.

That's why

we exist,

to make

Jesus known

in Stornoway.

And I'm

sure that

you're using

every means

to continue

that witness.

Then it

tells us

something else

in verse 18.

It says,

do not

add to,

if anyone

adds to

the words

of the

prophecy of

this book,

or if they

take away

from them,

God will

take away

his share

in the tree

of life,

in the holy

city,

which are

described in

this book.

And what

God is

saying to

John is

this,

that whatever

you do,

don't distort

or pervert

what I have

written and

said.

Don't

twist

my truth.

Again,

there is a

reference to

Genesis 3.

That's exactly

what the

serpent tried

to do with

Eve.

He tried to

distort what

God had

said.

And by so

doing,

he provided

the opportunity

for her to

take the

forbidden fruit.

And we are

being commanded

here that we're

not to make of

the Bible what

we want.

We're not to

interpret the

Bible according

to ourselves or

to suit ourselves.

We're to take

God at his

word.

And there's a

very important

reason why he

says that.

And the reason

is this,

because God

wants people to

come to faith

in him.

He doesn't

want people to

believe a false

gospel.

And there are

many false

gospels out

there.

He wants

people to

discover the

truth of

Jesus Christ

and that

truth that we

have in his

word.

The second

thing, and I'm

watching the time

and we're going

to bring things

to a close

very quickly,

this book

promises the

imminent return

of Jesus.

And so we're

to live in

that promise.

We're to live

in the promise

of the imminent

return of

Jesus.

Verse 12,

verse 7,

verse 20,

three times in

this chapter we're

told, I am

coming soon.

Behold, I am

coming soon,

bringing my

recompense with

me to repay

everyone for

what he has

done.

Now this was a

promise that goes

all the way back

to when Jesus

left the world in

the first place,

when he ascended

to heaven 40

days after rising

from the dead,

and the angel

promised the

disciples that he

would return,

in the same way

as he left the

world.

So you can

picture this one,

you can imagine

Jesus appearing

in the sky one

day.

I know, I know

how strange

that appears in

an unbelieving

world, and yet

that is the

promise that

Jesus gives,

in the same way

as he left the

world.

Well, what do

we know about

his coming?

It will be at a

time when we do

not know.

Don't believe

anyone that tells

you that they've

worked out.

Don't believe,

no matter how

plausible it

seems, don't

believe anyone

that tells you

that they've

worked out when

Jesus is going

to come again.

I think I read

somewhere even

recently that

somebody has,

the internet is

full of the

greatest nonsense.

Please don't

believe.

Anyone that

tells you that

they've worked

out.

You'll get

people who say,

I've studied

the Bible, I've

done the maths,

and I've got it

right this time,

and this is when

Jesus is going

to come.

Prophecies like

that, by the way,

go all the way

back hundreds of

years.

We even got it

wrong in the

17th century.

The Puritans

got it wrong even.

Some of the

Puritans that we

hold up in such

high esteem,

some of them

believed that

this year is the

year of the

millennium and

all that kind

of thing, and

they were wrong.

They were

completely wrong.

So don't

believe it.

Don't believe it

because the

Bible says that

the Son of Man

will come at a

time when you

do not expect,

like a thief in

the night.

It'll be a

surprise to

everyone and a

shock to many

people.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, he

says,

He'll come in

glory.

There was

nothing very

visibly manifest

about his first

coming, but there

will be in the

second coming.

He was born in

obscurity, but he

will come again in

splendor and

majesty, and every

eye will see him.

I am coming soon.

We're to live in the

light of that

coming.

You know, you get

people saying,

well, we're to live

each day as if it

was our last.

And I think that's

good advice.

I think we were

always to live in the

consciousness.

But I'm not sure

how possible it is to

do that on a

practical level.

We have to make

some plans for the

future, but we

must always, always

live in the light of

that promise that I

am coming soon.

We do not know when

he will come.

Lastly, this book,

says Revelation, says

God in Revelation, is

a message that

demands a response.

And I'm going to, I

want to think about

three things as we

bring things to a

close.

Three things that are

in, three responses,

three kinds of people

that God addresses his

words to in this last

chapter.

First of all, in verse

11, he says, let the

evildoer still do evil.

Let the evildoer still

do evil.

Now, at first sight, you

think, whoa, that's a

bit unexpected.

Because surely, surely,

surely, if this is a

message of good news,

surely the message would

be, well, turn from your

evildoer doing and

repent and come to

faith.

But that's not what it

says.

It says, let the evildoer

still do evil.

And the filthy still be

filthy.

And the right, but we'll

come on to that in a

moment.

Let the evildoer still

do evil.

What does that mean?

What is God saying in

these words?

Well, here's what I

believe he's saying.

He's saying this.

This is the end of the

Bible.

This is the end of my

message.

I've said everything that

I have to say.

I cannot, there is

nothing more to be said.

I've sent my son into

the world.

He has died on the

cross to secure your

forgiveness, your

salvation.

He's risen again as a

proof of who he is.

He has offered to you

eternal life by believing

in him.

If at the end of all of

that, I promise that you

will have eternal life,

you'll rise from the dead,

you'll come to heaven,

you will, that there

will be a new heaven and

a new earth if you

believe in Jesus.

And if at the end of all

of that, your answer is

no.

It's your call.

That's what I believe it

means.

It's a dramatic way of

saying it.

But if God can get

through to you in a

dramatic way, then so

be it.

He's using extreme

language to express and

to impress upon you the

seriousness of what you're

doing.

If your answer is still

no, he says, let the

evildoer still do evil.

That's a massively

serious thought, isn't

it?

I'll leave it with you.

But then he talks to

another group of people

and he says, they're

righteous.

They're righteous.

Now, there's nobody

righteous by themselves.

So don't get the

impression that there are

some people who have

somehow lived such a

great life that God

calls them righteous.

There's only one way in

which God will call you

righteous and that is by

faith in Jesus Christ.

Christ.

When a person comes to

faith in Jesus, then God

calls us righteous.

That's the way to be.

That's what the gospel is

all about.

That's what God promises

us in the death of

Jesus.

His righteousness.

Our standing before him.

And he says, let the

righteous still do right.

In other words, keep

going.

Keep going.

Keep persevering.

life can be so difficult

as believers, for

believers, in a world in

which so many things are

thrown at us and there's

so much sin in us still to

be warred with.

But just keep going.

Keep looking to Jesus.

Keep putting into practice

his word.

And then lastly, the very

last words of revelation

are these.

The one who is thirsty.

Verse 17.

Let the one who is thirsty

come.

Let the one who desires take

the water of life without

price.

I cannot think of any

simpler words in which

to explain the gospel,

the invitation of the

God.

Here is God.

These are not my words.

These are God's words.

And they're saying this.

Are you thirsty?

I'm not going to go into

the biology of what it

means to be thirsty.

We all know what it means

to be thirsty.

Are you thirsty?

God says if you are,

come and drink.

There are no more simple

words in the Bible.

The gospel, you cannot,

and this is why God is

saying don't complicate the

gospel.

Don't twist the gospel to

make it complicated.

Make sure that you keep the

words that I've, in which

I've explained the gospel.

Are you thirsty?

Then come and take and

drink.

It's God's gift.

You can't do anything to

earn it.

So don't try.

Just come and take it.

Without money and without

price.

Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven, we

pray that you will

that your word will dwell

in our hearts.

And we pray that your

word in the hands of your

Holy Spirit will have

an impact as we go away

from this place and

as we think more about

what we've, about what

your plan is.

This world is not a

random series of events,

but you will bring it to a

close and you will

bring about the new

heaven and the new

earth.

And Lord, our prayer is

that all of us, all of us

here tonight, all of us,

everyone without exception

will be there.

But nobody will be left

out.

Nobody will be on the

outside.

But that all of us will

take the water of life

that Jesus offers us in the

gospel.

In his name.

Amen.

Well, we're going to sing in

the traditional version of

Psalm 100.

It's on page 362 and it's

Heron Gate.

The reason this psalm came to

my mind is when I was

thinking of Revelation 21 and

22, that I thought of the

great company of people and

that consists of people in

the world from all nations

and tribes and languages who

have come to know Jesus.

And this is our prayer.

All people that on earth do

dwell, sing to the Lord with

cheerful voice and him serve

with mirth as praise force

tell.

Come ye before him and rejoice.

Psalm 100 and we'll stand to

sing.

Amen.

O people that on earth do

dwell, sing to the Lord with

cheerful voice.

And set with birth and space

forth tell.

Come ye before him and rejoice.

Know that the Lord is God indeed.

We are his flock he doth us feed.

And for his sheep he doth us take.

O enter then his gates with praise

approach with joy his course unto

praise God and bless his name always

praise.

For it is simply so to do.

For why the Lord our God is true.

His mercy is forever true.

His truth that all times firmly stood

and shall from age to age endure.

Our Father in heaven we thank you

for all your goodness and all the

privilege that belongs to us.

And we do pray that we may have the

grace and the strength to apply your

word into our lives as we let our

light so shine.

We thank you for the provision that

you make for us every day and for the

provision that has been made for us

next door in our fellowship.

Make us thankful for it all.

And we bless you for the hands that

prepared it and for all the goodness

that you have given to your church.

And now may grace and mercy and peace

from both from Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit.

Rest on and abide with each one of

us both now and always.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.