The End of the Year Outlook from the Mission of Jesus

Well, friends, welcome to our service this evening. A special welcome to those who might be visiting with us.

! We look to God to bless His Word to us as we worship Him together.

! It's my privilege to be here on this final Sunday service of 2024, and we have accumulated much benefit from the gospel during this past year,

and we've also accumulated a lot of responsibility. And we trust as we worship God together this evening that He will remind us of that,

and we'll be able to respond to the claims of the gospel upon us.

I don't think I mentioned anything about the intimation. You'll remember the New Year's Day service on Wednesday. That will be at 12 noon.

So we begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm number 61 in the Scottish Psalter. It's on page 293.

I was saying at the beginning of the psalm, Psalm 61, that verse 1, the tune is Salzburg.

O God, give ear unto my cry, and to my prayer attend. From the utmost corner of the land, my cry to Thee I'll send.

We're singing from verse 1 to the verse Mark 6 to God's praise.

O God, give ear unto my prayer, and to my prayer attend.

From the utmost corner of the land, my cry to Thee I'll send.

What time my heart is overwhelmed, and in perplexity.

Do thou be with me, and to the roar, that I am is the night.

For thou who hast for my refuge been, a shelter by thy power,

And for defense against my foes, thou must be not strong, child.

Within thy tower, not will I, forever will abide,

And under cover all thy ways, with confidence behind.

For thou the man's that I did make, O Lord, my God is near.

Thou hast given me, the heritage of those thy name that will.

Thou hast given me, the heritage of the land, my heart is near.

Thou hast given me, the heritage of the land, my heart is near.

Let's join together in prayer. Let's bow our heads to pray.

Almighty and most gracious God,

who rejoice in you as the only true and living God,

who calls us into the worship of your name,

who is ready to impart your word and your blessing to us,

the God who sits enthroned in heaven,

who calls us all to bow down before you,

with humble hearts, with sincere hearts,

that you may hear what you have to say to us.

As we approach you in worship, we recognize the great need that we have for you to draw near to us,

so that we can draw near to you,

for you to place your hand upon our minds and our hearts,

and to give us to be sensitive to your word and to your spirit as we do worship you.

And so that we might come to that place,

where we do indeed hear the voice of the living God,

where we do sense the claims of the gospel upon us,

where we do sense our lostness without the salvation you have prepared in Christ Jesus, your Son,

and where we come to realize the importance and the urgency of having peace with you through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We give thanks to you that you have sent your Son into the world.

We have remembered much of his coming in these past days.

Help us, O Lord, that we would not be forgetful.

Help us to remember that his birth is but the beginning.

Help us to remember his life.

Help us to remember his death.

Help us to remember his resurrection.

Help us to remember that he is in glory at your right hand,

that he is seated,

and that all power is given to him in heaven and on earth.

Help us to know tonight the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Help us to know what it is to bow down at his feet.

Help us to know what it is to worship him.

And help us to know what it is to love him,

to love him with all of our hearts.

To know truly the words of your servant Paul,

that Jesus Christ loved me and gave himself for me.

May you grant to us in our hearts

that intimate, personal relationship with your Son

that will bring to us the joy of forgiveness of sin,

that will give to us the assurance of

your ongoing care and shepherding of us,

that will give us the certainty of the paradise

and the glory you have prepared for your people,

and that will give to us the assurance of

your strength along life's way.

We do give thanks to you this evening as our God

who has been with us in the year that is drawing to a close.

We bless and praise your name

for every way in which you have been your help.

You are the God who takes us on paths and on journeys

that we do not expect.

But we bless and praise your name

that your purpose is good

and that you work everything for good for your people.

And we pray that you will bless

all I've gathered before you this evening

that they may be able to reflect on life

and reflect on your presence with them

and be able to give thanks to you

for every way in which you have shepherded,

for every way in which you have cared,

for every way in which you have given strength,

and for every way in which your eye has been upon them.

And give especially those tonight

who know what it is to have pain in their hearts,

to have sorrow, to have grief,

to reflect upon a year

where they have lost much

and lost those who are precious to them.

We do remember the mourning and the grieving

and we ask you to draw near to them.

Your comfort is beyond description,

but your comfort transforms.

It gives peace.

It gives consolation.

It gives even rest

in the midst of the turmoil of grief.

And so we pray for your blessing

to be upon those

who know grief and sorrow tonight.

And I do reflect on the pain

of losing loved ones

in this past year.

We pray for your blessing

to be upon all of the homes

of our congregation,

that the blessing of God

would filter from the public worship

of your name

through the witness of your people

to touch hearts and lives

and homes and families,

reaching out to those

who are far from you,

causing your kingdom to come

and praying your blessing

upon every effort that is made

to make contact with those

who live in the town,

around it and beyond,

and for every effort that is made

to raise the awareness

of the preciousness of Jesus Christ

in the gospel

and seeking prayerfully

that others would come

into your kingdom

and that your kingdom would grow

and that you would add

to the number of your people

such as it is your purpose to save.

So bless, we ask,

and bless us together

and bless your word to us

this evening

and bless all that has been done

in your name in this past year.

We ask you to bless your word

and we are thankful to you

that you have promised

that your word will not return

unto you void or empty,

that it will accomplish

what pleases you.

and we are thankful

that you are the God

who brings about fruit

and blessing

in ways that we don't expect

and in ways that we never see.

And we are thankful to you

that you are the God

who is working.

We pray for your blessing

upon our wider community,

our island community

stream these days.

We pray a blessing

to be upon the gospel today,

a blessing to be upon the gospel

across the nation and land

to which we belong.

and pray, O Lord,

that we may know something

of what it means

to see the old life

and the old things

of departing from God

replaced by a new life

and of a people

and of a nation

turning to seek you

as the fountain of living water

and as the only true

and living God.

Bless those who rule over us,

bless those in authority,

bless all those

who have influenced you to pray,

and may their hearts

be in your hands

to bring about good

and to bring us back

to yourself.

Bless the nations of the world,

we remember the places

where there is grief and sorrow,

where there is conflict

and strife.

Pray that you will bring an end

to all of these

and pray that peace would reign,

O Lord, our God.

We pray for the parts

of the world

where your people

are persecuted for their faith,

we pray your protection

of them.

And we pray for the parts

of the world

that are still in darkness

and that do not know

the light of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

May we know something

of your mission in our hearts

and a sense of the great need

of the world in which we live

to hear the good news.

And may you lay it

upon all of our hearts,

not only to pray,

but to be actively engaged

in the service of your kingdom

for the good of those

who are outside of it,

even to the far corner

of the earth.

And we acknowledge,

O Lord, our God,

that at times

we will need to be

uprooted by you

and loosened from

our comfort zone

and be sent to serve you

at home and beyond.

And we pray, O Lord,

that you will work

in people's hearts

and lives

for their great purpose,

for the honour

and the privilege

of serving you,

for going out

with the good news

of the gospel

and for doing so

in the fear of your name

and regardless of

what that may mean

as far as their lives

and as far as their faith

and as far as their

suffering is concerned,

may you call those

who will be strengthened

and persuaded

and equipped by you

to serve you

in the gospel.

Be merciful,

we pray,

to the dark corners

of this world

and cause your light

to shine in it.

We pray for your blessing

to be upon our worship

now as we continue

before you this evening.

as we pray your blessing

to be upon the reading

of your word

and the singing of it.

We ask that you will

draw close to us

and give to us

a sense of your word

truly being the breath of God

and may it breathe upon our hearts

and breathe upon our minds

and may we know

a rich blessing coming from you

and a sense of your hand

being upon us

as your word is read

and proclaimed.

Draw near to us,

we pray and be merciful to us

and go before us

into this evening

and go before us

into this week

we do pray

as we commit ourselves

to you.

May you be your guide

as we draw to the close

of this year

and may you be merciful

to us in our needs

and whatever may arise

in life

in the remaining days

of this year.

May you continue

to be with us

and to be gracious to us

and to be compassionate

and to be merciful

and to watch over ourselves,

all our friends

and all of our families

and our wider community.

Protect, we do pray

and spare life, we do ask

as we commit ourselves to you.

So hear our prayer

and watch over us now

and go before us.

Have your mercy, we ask.

We ask all these things

for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Amen.

Now we're going to turn

to praise God

from Psalm number 42

and sing Psalms.

Psalm 42 and verse 1.

It's on page 53

and the tune is Rockingham.

Psalm 42 and verse 1.

As pants the deer

for flowing streams,

so long's my soul,

O God, for you.

I thirst for God,

the living God.

When can I meet

with God anew?

We stand to sing

from verse 1

to the verse Mark 5

to God's praise.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

singing voy voy voy

with no other news.

My tears have been

my constant good

both in the night

and in the day.

While all day long

insistent be

where is this God

of the earth chasing?

As I go around

my soul in me

these things I do

remember still.

How with the multitude

to thy rent

up to God's house

on Zion Hill

in their possession

I would lead

as we approached

with cheerful song

and shouts of joy

and thankfulness

rejoice in the

the festive throne

Why are you downcast

O my soul?

Why are you so

disturbed in me?

Trust God for I

will praise him yet

My Saviour

and my God

is he

I'll turn to read

the word of God together

and we do so in the

New Testament

in the book of Revelation

and in chapter 22

the book of Revelation

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22

I'm reading at the

beginning of the chapter

Let us hear the word

of God

Then the angel

showed me

the river of the

water of life

bright as crystal

flowing from the

throne of God

and of the Lamb

through the middle

of the street

of the city

also on either side

of the river

the tree of life

with its twelve

kinds of fruit

healing its fruit

each month

the leaves of the

tree were for

the healing of

the nations

No longer will

there be anything

accursed

but the throne

of God

and of the Lamb

will be in it

and the servants

will worship him

they will see his

face

and his name

will be on their

foreheads

and night will be

no more

they will need

no light

of lamp

or sun

for the Lord

God will be

their light

and they will reign

forever

and ever

and he said

to me

these words

are trustworthy

and true

and the Lord

the God

of the spirits

of the prophets

has sent his

angel to show

servants what

must soon

take place

and behold

I am coming

soon

blessed as the

one who keeps

the words of

the prophecy

of this book

I John

am the one

who heard

and who saw

these things

and when I

heard and saw

them

I fell down

to worship

at the feet

of the angel

who showed

them to me

but he said

to me

you must

not do

that

I am a

fellow servant

with you

and your

brothers

the prophets

and with those

who keep

the words

of this

book

worship

God

and he said

to me

do not

seal up

the words

of the

prophecy

of this

book

for the

time is

near

that the

evildoers

still do

evil

and the

filthy

still be

filthy

and the

righteous

still be

right

and the

holy

still be

holy

behold I

am coming

soon

bringing

my

recompense

with me

to repay

everyone

for what

he has

done

I am

the

alpha

and the

omega

the

first

and the

last

the

beginning

and the

end

blessed

are those

who wash

their robes

so that they

may have the

right to the

tree of life

that they may

enter the city

by the gates

outside are the

dogs and

sorcerers

and the

sexually

immoral

and murderers

and idolaters

and everyone

who loves

and practices

falsehood

I

Jesus

I

sent

my

angel

to

testify

to you

about

these

things

for the

churches

I

am the

root

and the

descendant

of David

the bright

morning

star

the spirit

and the

bride

say come

and let

the one

who

hears

say come

and let

the one

who is

thirsty

come

let the

one

who

desires

take

of the

water

of life

without

price

I

warn

everyone

who

hears

the

words

of the

prophets

of this

book

if anyone

adds to

them

God

will add

to him

the

plagues

described

in this

book

and if

anyone

takes

away

from the

words

of the

book

of this

prophecy

God

will

take

away

his

share

in the

tree

of life

and to

the

holy

city

which

are

described

in this

book

he

testifies

to

these

things

says

surely

I'm

coming

soon

I

mean

come

Lord

Jesus

the

grace

of the

Lord

Jesus

be

with

you

all

Amen

this is

God's

word

and we

bless

to us

our

reading

from

it

we

turn

to

praise

God

now

in

Psalm

number

84

in

the

Sing

Psalms

page

112

Psalm

number

84

page

112

and

we're

singing

at

verse

number

5

blessed

are

those

whose

strength

is

in

you

those

who

have

a

pilgrim's

mind

pools

from

autumn

rains

refresh

them

springs

and

break

as

veil

they

find

strength

increasing

signward

they go

on

their

way

to

God

and we

sing

from

verse

5

to

the

verse

Mark

10

to

God's

praise

!

praise

God

for

those

who

have

is

in

you

those

who

have

a

!

and

love

shine

!

For

!

God

has

to

praise

!

voy

Almighty, and receive the free I may.

Listen to me, God of Jacob, hear me for your mercy's sake.

Look upon our shield and ring, favor to your chosen King.

One day in your courts is better than a thousand days elsewhere.

Let me stay in my house temple, let me be a dormant there.

Brother, can find happiness in the tents of wickedness.

Turn back now to the book of Revelation and chapter number 22, and we can read at verse 12.

Revelation 22 and at verse number 12.

Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

And so on down to the following verses.

Now we know we have thought much of the birth of Jesus Christ as he came into the world, the Son of God, as he was born in Bethlehem.

And we have celebrated his birth in various ways.

And in many ways, that is the most significant event that has ever taken place in the history of this world.

But alongside of that, and on a par with that, as far as importance is concerned, is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

We are liable and we do tend to remember and celebrate his birth and then fold up our arms and our lives and forget about his significance,

forget about his work, and forget about the fact that he is returning to this world.

And bearing that in mind, I want us to look at these verses that we have before us this evening.

As we do read this book, obviously it is the last book in the Bible.

It's a revelation given to John.

It was given to John to encourage those who were being persecuted for their faith,

those who were being pressurized into worshipping the Roman Emperor as Lord,

and those who were in danger of losing their faith.

And so the revelation was given to John to encourage them.

And one of the principles of the way in which this revelation is used is that the people are to be encouraged

with information about what is going to happen afterwards.

And that's an important lesson for ourselves, that we live in this moment.

But this moment is not an island, not connected to what comes.

Where we are is connected to the future.

And to understand what the future holds is the means not only of our encouragement,

but the means of helping us to adjust our lives so that we walk along the paths that God has set for us.

And when we come to these last words, obviously they are the last words that Jesus spoke in the Bible.

And they are the last words which are reminding us that he is indeed coming back to be here.

And so for encouragement this evening, and perhaps as a reminder to us,

we want to look at these words and to think of an end-of-the-year outlook from the mission of Jesus.

I want to see first of all that we have a headline.

And for the headline we have a herald.

And who is the herald?

And the herald we have in verse number 13,

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

And as soon as we read in our Bibles,

Jesus at any time saying, I am,

then we pause and we consider and we think of what he's trying to communicate to us.

And he is reminding us that he is the Lord who appeared to Moses in Exodus chapter 3,

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

the I am who appeared to Moses in the burning bush.

So he connects himself with that great truth and the revelation of God

who came to save Israel and who came to make himself known to Moses and to the people of God.

But here he moves on to remind us something else about himself

and about his passion and about his being.

He is the Alpha and the Omega.

The Alpha being the first letter of the Greek alphabet

and the Omega being the last letter of the Greek alphabet.

And by giving himself that name, he is reminding us of his own supremacy.

He is reminding us that he is the first in a series and he's also the last.

He is reminding us of his own importance.

And because he is the Alpha and the Omega,

that he is in control of everything that takes place in this world.

And for a people who are suffering because of their faith,

that was great news.

That no matter what the Roman Emperor did,

no matter what happened in their everyday lives,

Jesus, the Son of God, he was reigning supremely

over the whole of the course of the universe,

including the detail of their lives.

I am the Alpha and the Omega.

I am the first and the last.

The one who precedes everyone else

and the one who comes after everyone else.

He is the eternal Son of God

who has no beginning and who has no end.

And he wants to communicate that as the one who is supreme

over the whole of the earth,

that he is also the eternal God.

God, that he is the beginning and the end,

that he was there in the work of creation

and that he is also there at the end or in the terminus,

the telos of the whole course of the world,

that there he is at the very end of it,

waiting to see the conclusion of life in this world

and waiting to welcome his people into his own presence.

He is the Alpha, the Omega,

the first and the last,

the beginning and the end.

And he is using a title

that we see in the beginning of this book,

which reflects the way in which this title belongs

in verse 8,

to Almighty God.

So the herald is Jesus,

the Son of God,

who is the Almighty God,

who was the agent of creation

and was there before creation,

and everything is running through this world

in accordance with his purposes

to bring them to a conclusion

and to bring an end to his plans.

Their encouragement that this is the herald.

And from time to time in our own lives,

we need to hear that encouragement.

In so many ways,

our faith is threatened,

our faith is assaulted by life around us.

In so many ways,

our faith is perhaps forced to the periphery

and forced to be invisible.

And we face these challenges day by day.

And we are encouraged tonight

to remember that whatever challenges we face,

as in being the children of God,

that the Son of God

in his supremacy has control over everything

and nothing is done outside of his work,

his influence,

and the direction of our lives.

We have a headline

and we have a herald

and he is no one and nothing less

than the Son of God.

So what is the headline then?

If this is the herald,

what is the headline?

Behold,

listen to this,

he's saying,

take note of this,

I am coming

soon.

And when we read the story of Jesus

in the Gospel,

we recognize that

the mission of Jesus

and the mission of God

is all about the coming of Jesus.

He has come to do

the Father's will,

he says in John 10.

He has come in the Father's name

in John 5.

His coming into the world

was through the womb of the Virgin Mary,

but that coming was all about

the mission of God.

And he justifies

and testifies

to everything that he is doing

that he has come

in the mission of God

to do the will of God

and to secure salvation

for those who put their trust in him.

But now he's adding another element

to the whole mission of God

to remind us

that he is coming.

He is returning.

His mission is not yet complete.

He is going to return

to this world.

And that's a great truth

for those

who are the people of God

who are struggling

in the hearing of this lecture.

It's a great encouragement

for ourselves

that the Son of God,

our Savior,

as part of the mission of God,

that he is coming

and that he is coming soon.

it is an encouragement

and we can also say

that it is a threat.

It's an encouragement

because he is coming

and his recompense

is with him.

He is coming with his reward,

rewarding his people

for their work.

It's paying the laborer

for the work that he has done.

And every laborer

is worthy of his hire.

It is the reward of God

in recognition of people

doing the will of God.

It's an encouragement.

Don't be discouraged

because of the Roman Empire.

Be encouraged that

as you continue to live

in faithfulness to God,

doing the will of God,

that when I come

in the mission of God,

I come to give you

your reward,

that your work

is not in vain,

and that even through

your suffering,

that your reward

becomes greater and greater.

It is a word

of encouragement.

And for yourself tonight,

if your trust is in God,

if your delight

is in doing the will of God,

and if you're struggling

through life

and in your faith

because you don't think

that you can cope

with the challenges

of your faith,

with the testings

that you face,

you're encouraged

to continue

to persevere

in your faith

because the Son of God

will reward you

for your perseverance.

He will reward you

for remaining loyal

to Him.

And no matter

how great the pressure

to be disloyal,

that you continue

in your devotion

to your Master,

you will have

your reward,

the encouragement

of the reward.

But there is also

the threat.

He will repay everyone

for what He has done.

It's the threat

of the Bible

that brings us back

to the heart of God,

to the purposes of God,

to the claims of God

upon our lives,

that what you and I do,

that God is obligated

because of who He is

and because of His relationship

with us,

that He is obligated

to give to you

according to what you have done.

And regularly

through the New Testament,

that sense of

repaying everyone

is with regard

to judging people

for their sin

and judging people

for the rejection

of the Lord Jesus Christ

as their Savior.

And in these words,

the Herald,

the Son of God,

He is saying

to all those tonight

who have no faith

in the Son of God,

I'm going to come

and when I do come,

I'm going to repay you

because you failed

to put your trust in me.

You failed to believe in me.

You loved the darkness

rather than the light.

You rejected me.

No matter how much

I claimed your life

and claimed your heart

and claimed your mind,

you rejected me

and I'm coming

to judge you,

to give you in accordance

with what you have done.

I am coming.

I am coming soon.

And perhaps the headline

is in particular tonight

for anyone who is here

who continues to reject

the claims of the gospel

and the outstretched arms

of Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

hear what is going

to happen to you.

If you continue

to reject,

He will reject you

at the end.

He will welcome

those whom He wants

to reward

because of their

perseverance

and their loyalty

to Him.

But He will reject you.

Depart from me.

How do you get in here,

says Jesus in the parable,

without a wedding garment?

Who is that person here

without a wedding garment?

Take Him out

and cast Him away.

The headline,

I am coming soon.

Let's take that to heart

as we close this year,

as we think

in the providence of God

of going into a new year.

If God leaves us

to see that,

let's remember the headline.

Let's remember

what it means

for those who love

the Lord Jesus Christ.

And let's remember

what it means

for those who don't

love Him at all,

for those who

know about Him so much

and yet don't yet know Him

and haven't yet

put their trust in Him.

The headline.

Secondly,

we want to think of

the heritage.

there is a particular

heritage

for those

who are described here

by Jesus,

the Son of God

in verse number 14.

Blessed

are those.

There are those

who are special

in this world.

And we can think

of blessed

in the sense of

the blessing of God

descending upon us

and God empowering us

with His blessing

and giving us

that sense of newness

and of well-being

because of His blessing.

But the other meaning

that we have of blessing

in the Old Testament

is that we

look at a person

and we

envy that person

with desire

because they are

something that we

should have

and would have

ourselves.

and it's not

envy in any

kind of

wrong or

evil way.

It's that

holy envy

that the Old Testament

speaks of.

Here is somebody

and I want to be

more like them

more than anyone else.

And we hear

David in Psalm

number 32

saying,

Blessed is the one

whose sins

is forgiven.

What does he mean

by that?

To be envied

with desire.

That's the person

I want to be.

The person

whose sins

are forgiven.

And carrying that

meaning into these

words here,

here are our people

and we want to be

like them

more than we

want to be like

anyone else,

even ourselves.

These are the people

we want to be like.

Blessed are those

who wash

their robes.

There's a sense

of being unclean

and because of

the uncleanness

there's a need

for washing.

And there's a sense

of the need

for washing

in order to be

acceptable.

In the Old Testament

the unclean person

doesn't have the right

to have access

into the presence

of God.

In Exodus chapter 19

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

the children of Israel

were asked to

wash themselves

and to prepare

themselves

because God

was coming down

to meet them.

And so Moses

commanded them

to prepare

for the entrance

of God

on Mount Sinai

and for him

to speak

to the people.

There is that sense

of the need

of cleansing

in order

to be

acceptable

in the presence

of God.

And the cleansing

here is quite

specific.

The detergent,

the agent

that we're going

to use

for the cleansing

is quite specific.

Blessed are those

who wash their robes

so that they may

have a right

to the tree of life

and that they may

enter the city

by the gates.

When we go back

to Revelation chapter 7

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

we read of those

who wash their robes

and have made them

white in the blood

of the Lamb.

It's in their

relationship with Jesus

that they are cleansed.

It's in their

relationship with Jesus

that their sins

are forgiven

so that they do

have access

into the presence

of God.

But also

and especially

in Revelation 7

and in this passage

here

there is the sense

of which

washing their robes

reflects

their loyalty

to Jesus.

And we

can read

in chapter 19

at verse number 8

that the

fine linen

and the white robes

they are the righteous

deeds of the saints.

Who are the

blessed ones?

Who are the ones

that we want to be

like more than

anyone else?

It is those

who put their

trust in the Lord

Jesus

and to remain

loyal to him

throughout the

whole of their

lives.

And no matter

the difficulty

no matter

the persecution

no matter

the challenge

no matter

the test

or the temptation

they continue

to put their

trust

in the Lord

Jesus.

And in that

sense

kept their

garments

from being

soiled

by becoming

like the

world

or taking

up the

habits

and the

behaviors

of the

world

they remained

loyal

to the

passion

of the

Lord Jesus.

These are the

ones

that we

need to be

like.

Those who

are holy

because God

is holy.

Those who

have a

lifestyle

conformant

to the

word of

God.

Those who

have a

lifestyle

that speaks

loudly

of their

devotion

to the

Lord

Jesus.

They are

the ones

that we

want to

be like.

And we

need to

ask ourselves

this evening

are we

the kind

of people

that others

would say

about us

we want

to be

like that

Christian

more than

any other

person in

the world

because we

see there

a Christian

devoted to

the Lord

Jesus.

That's what

God requires

of us.

That's what

Jesus our

Savior requires

of us.

And tonight

if we are

not the

children of

God and

if we do

not have

the faith

in the

Lord Jesus

then we

need to

look around

in the

light of

what the

Bible says

and to

find for

ourselves

the most

Christ-like

person in

the world

and to

see what

makes them

Christ-like

and to

say to

yourself

in your

heart

that's

the

person

that shows

me

that the

Bible is

true

that the

salvation of

Jesus is

real

and that's

the person

that persuades

me that I

must know

this Jesus

for myself.

There is

that description

of a people

who are

special

who are

special because

God has

made them

special

and to

continue to

be special

because by

the grace

of God

they are

kept and

remain loyal

day by

day.

But what

is the

heritage?

They are

special

because of

who they

are in

the first

place.

But they

are special

because they

have a

right to

the tree

of life

that they

may enter

the city

by the

gates.

They have

a right

to close

fellowship

with God.

And tonight

when we

think of

the tree

of life

I simply

want us

to think

of three

images.

And the

first image

is in

the garden

of Eden

where we

have the

flaming sword

guarding the

way to the

tree of

life.

Image number

one.

The second

image is in

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 47 · chapter mention

chapter 47

where all

kinds of

trees are

growing by

the riverside

and they

are for

food for

the people.

Image number

two.

The way

is barred

in image

number one.

That's the

promise of

the openness

to all the

nations of

the world

in image

number two.

And here

in this

chapter we

have the

third image

that the

promise of

this new

way being

opened

that does

away with

the sword

that blocks

the way

into the

fellowship of

God in the

paradise of

the garden

of Eden

that here

now that

promise has

been fulfilled.

And those

who remained

loyal to

the Lord

Jesus

who put

their trust

in him

who is the

way, who

is the

truth and

who is the

life, through

their faithfulness

to him they

have their

reward and

they have

access to

the tree

of life,

to the

renewed

paradise of

the garden

of Eden

that whatever

sin brought

into life

has been

removed by

the saving

work of the

son of

God and

at last

there is

that

inheritance

of walking

into the

bliss of

the presence

of God

without fear

but comfortable

with our

deep sense

of new

health and

well-being

that we

never experienced

before but

perhaps in

small glimpses

but now to

be sitting

in the

kingdom of

heaven and

satisfied by

the fruit of

the tree of

life that

is satisfied

with our

fellowship

with God

they have

access to

the tree of

life and

they may

enter the

city by

the gates

what does

the city

mean to the

readers

what does

it mean to

the people

of God

that John

was writing

to

what does

it mean to

John

himself

again we

have the

image of

the city

of Jerusalem

where Solomon

built his

temple

we have

image number

two where

the temple

was destroyed

because God's

people were

rebellious

we have image

number three

in Ezekiel

47 where

the temple

is restored

restored

and there

is the

waiting for

the return

of the

presence of

God

and here

we have

all of that

now fulfilled

there is

the

entrance

to the

city by

the gates

and we'll

read down

at the

beginning of

this chapter

and at

chapter 21

the beauty

of the

city of

God

and the

beauty of

the gates

of the

city of

God

but it

is having

that right

of access

into the

new heavens

and the

new earth

and into

the renewed

Jerusalem

it is

the right

to enter

in to

the new

creation

of God

it's a

place of

close fellowship

with God

and a place

of separation

from all

appearances of

evil that

we read of

in the

following

verse

outside

the city

on the

other

side

of the

gate

are

dogs

and

socialers

the

sexually

immoral

and

murderers

and

idolaters

and

everyone

who

loves

and

who

practices

false

suit

every

other

person

in the

world

whatever

their

sins

are

however

they may

look like

Christians

and are

not

all of

them are

on the

outside

and

because

of that

the pain

is on

the

outside

the

testing

is on

the

outside

everything

that brings

sorrow is

on the

outside

it's

entering

into

the

final

paradise

of God

where all

that sin

has brought

into the

experience

of the

world

is

undone

and is

reversed

by the

grace

of God

so that

we

the

blessed

ones

who

remain

loyal to

the

Lord

Jesus

so that

we may

enter

in

to

everlasting

bliss

that

inheritance

that Peter

describes

that is

incorruptible

and

undefiled

reserved

in heaven

for us

the

herald

has

great

news

he is

coming

the

herald

has

great

news

because

there

is

a

heritage

there

is

an

inheritance

that

we're

going

to

enjoy

at

the

time

of

his

return

and

tonight

again

as we

come to

the

close

of

this

year

we're

asked

to

reflect

upon

that

who

is

blessed

who

must

we

be

like

and

where

do

we

want

to

be

when

the

Son

of

God