Home

The other day I was reading a book with our two-year-old, Emmy, and that was a neat little

book.

It had pictures of places and pictures of animals and creatures, and what you had to

do with the book was to take each picture of an animal, and you had to match the animal

with the correct picture of the animal's home.

The idea being that each kind of animal has a specific home that is designed just for

that animal to meet all of its needs where it will be completely comfortable.

And as I was reading this book with her, I found myself thinking, what if this book had

a picture of a human being in it?

What would the picture of home look like?

Revelation chapters 21 and 22.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

We've been in a long study of this masterful, amazing, sometimes baffling work of the Apostle

John through the inspiration of the Spirit, and at last we come to Revelation 21 and 22.

As Ellen so beautifully read, this gives us a description of a vast city.

But it's a city unlike anything we've ever seen.

It goes beyond anything we can really imagine.

It's almost the size of Australia.

It has jewel-encrusted walls that stand 1,500 miles high.

By comparison, Mount Everest is 5.5 miles high.

We can barely survive being on the summit of that mountain.

These walls stand 1,500 miles high.

It's a city far greater than anything human beings have ever produced, anything we will

ever produce.

It's beyond all imagining.

It makes New York City look like a Lego set.

But the most amazing thing about this city is that it shows us in highly symbolic language,

and if we were first century Christians steeped in Old Testament imagery, the descriptions would

make a lot more sense.

But it shows us through highly symbolic language what our true home really looks like.

In other words, this world is not our true home.

It sometimes looks like it.

It sometimes feels like it.

But it's not our true home.

The picture that we are meant to be matched with is the New Jerusalem.

And so what we're going to do is we're going to spend some time this morning looking at this

home, this true home, and trying to understand why it's so perfectly suited for us as human

beings.

Let's pray, and then we'll dive in.

Lord, we thank You for Your Word.

And every week, it's so tempting to put Your Word down on the table, on the dissecting table,

and to begin to take it apart piece by piece, to analyze it, to scrutinize it.

But Lord, we know that what we most need this morning is to be the ones on the table.

We need to sit under Your Word.

We need Your Word to analyze us, to scrutinize us, to open up our hearts, to reveal to us

those deep places where we most need light and truth and love and grace.

And as we open Your written Word, Lord, we pray that by the power of Your Spirit, we would

come face to face with Your living Word, Jesus Christ.

It's in His name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So, the first thing we see about this home as we look at some of the great themes of these

chapters is this.

Home is a place where creation is renewed.

All creation is renewed.

In chapter 21, verse 5, it says,

He who is seated on the throne said,

Behold, I am making all things new.

And notice He says,

Not, I am making all new things.

Right?

Which has been a very prevalent belief, especially in the evangelical church over the last century

or so.

The idea that God's going to scrap this world.

It's going to all burn up in fire.

And that God's going to make all new things.

That's not what it says.

It says, I make all things new.

Right?

In this world, all things break down.

All things decay.

It's the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy, which says that everything

from the most distant galaxies spiraling through space to your body as it sits here in these

pews, that everything is winding down.

Everything is breaking down.

Across the universe, order is slowly returning to chaos.

And as we wrestle with this reality that everything is slowly breaking down,

it occurs to me that if this is all there is,

if we are an accident of atoms,

and we come into existence as a conscious, sentient being for a few decades,

but we are doomed to break down and to return to dust,

if that's all there is, it seems like after all this time of being human beings on the earth,

we would have gotten used to the idea.

That we would have come to terms with our fate and our destiny.

If there's no God and no world beyond this one, we should have accepted that by now.

And you know, the atheist Richard Dawkins tries to dress this whole idea up a bit.

He tries to infuse it with some sense of beauty.

He offers a eulogy to his mentor,

and in that eulogy he describes the man's body decaying and being consumed,

and then living on as a swarm of insects buzzing through the forest.

And with this imagery, he's trying to take this old pagan myth

that you find in all the old ancient religions,

this idea of the cycle of life.

He's trying to imbue that with some sense of wonder and beauty,

trying to make it somehow comforting.

But I somehow doubt that idea would comfort a mother who's just buried her baby.

You know, I think there's something deep in the human heart

that screams defiantly in the face of death.

You know, like the poet Dylan Thomas,

you know, half drunk and full of fire,

crying out,

do not go gently into that gentle night,

but rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I think in our hearts,

we know what we should believe based on what science tells us,

and yet there's something deep down that says,

no, there has to be more,

because this is wrong.

And our true home is the place where all things are made new.

Our true home is a place where entropy is reversed.

Our true home is a place where death itself is undone,

where God passes judgment on death.

It doesn't belong here anymore.

It's a place where there's no crying or mourning or pain

for the former things have passed away.

So the first question I have for you is this,

why would we rage against the dying of the light

unless we were made for a home

where the light never dies,

where life never ends,

and we have some primal memory,

deeply buried,

that that's where we belong.

So home is a place where all creation is renewed.

Another thing we see about our true home is this,

home is the place where longings are satisfied.

Longings are satisfied.

You know, I think we all have a kind of gnawing,

thirst,

a kind of restlessness,

an angst that can't be satisfied in this life.

Now if you look inside and you say,

well, I don't feel any sense of that longing or that angst,

I would suggest that that's probably because most of us,

including me,

spend most of our time anesthetized.

And we're so numb that we have no idea that longing is there.

You know, food and drink and sex and ambition

and smartphones and social media and news feeds

and shopping and vacations and busy work,

anesthesia,

all of it,

all meant to keep us comfortably numb.

But there are moments in life where you come fully awake.

Right?

There's that moment after you've finally gotten your dream job

where you begin to see behind the curtain

and you begin to realize that it's not nearly as ideal

as you thought it was going to be.

In fact,

you kind of wish you were back in your old job.

And you don't know what to do with those feelings.

You know,

and you think,

maybe I wasn't looking for a new job.

Maybe there was something deeper

that I was actually trying to satisfy.

Maybe it wasn't the job.

Maybe it wasn't the geographic cure.

Maybe it wasn't moving to a new home or a new state.

Maybe there's something deeper.

You know,

there's that,

the times that,

you know,

you've fallen for somebody

and you've given yourself to them

and you've slept with them

and then they stop returning your calls.

They stop returning your texts.

You know,

and you say,

that feeling that I had,

that this was everything.

What do I do with the fact

that I've now been abandoned?

What do I do with the fact

that I've given myself to somebody

who is gone?

And you begin to realize,

well,

maybe I wasn't,

maybe I wasn't really looking for that person.

Maybe there was something under that

that was driving me.

Maybe there was a deeper need

and I was confusing it

with my romantic desire.

There are these moments

where we begin to get,

the dimmest sense

that there is something

down deep in our hearts,

a longing

that can't be satisfied.

And you know,

some people simply refuse

to accept that.

Some people insist

on finding

all of their satisfaction

here in this world.

They insist on making this world home.

And you know,

verse 8 talks about

the cowardly

and the faithless

and the detestable

and the murderers

and we sort of wince

at this list.

It sounds somehow pejorative.

But here's what we need

to understand about this list.

These are people

who have become

nothing more

than their appetites.

Right?

The person who craved

safety above all else

and chose self-preservation

above all else,

eventually that person

has become cowardice,

incarnate.

They don't know

how to stand for anything.

They only know

how to close up

and wait out the storm.

Right?

The person who craved

revenge above all else

has eventually become

murder incarnate.

They can't escape

that deep resentment

and scorn

and anger

and it has consumed them.

And you know,

God does honor

human choice.

If we spend

our entire lives

saying,

I am nothing

without this thing

I desire.

I am nothing

without this thing

that I long for.

God will one day

say to us,

have it your way.

Spend eternity

as nothing

but that desire.

I think it helps

the image

of an unquenchable

lake of fire

make a little more sense.

The unquenchable fire

of unmet desires,

longings

that were never satisfied,

thirst

that will never be quenched.

But then there are

the people

who realize the truth

as C.S. Lewis put it,

if I find in myself

a desire

which no experience

in this world

can satisfy,

the most probable

explanation

is that I was made

for another world.

People who realize

that if we trust Jesus

with our unmet desires,

if we bring them to Him

and say,

I don't know what to do

with this,

but you do

and I trust you,

that He will one day

bring us home.

And that is the place

where all of our longings

will finally be satisfied.

You know,

we see a river

where we can come

and drink freely.

We see an image

of a great wedding celebration

where all of humanity

is united with God

like a bride to a groom.

And we're meant

to draw from this

not only with our physical

longings be satisfied,

like hunger and thirst,

but our deeper desires,

maybe even our more

painful desires,

our emotional,

psychological,

spiritual longings.

No more hunger

and thirst,

no more loneliness,

no more rejection,

no more isolation,

no more alienation.

Only the joy

of knowing

and being known,

loving and being loved

by the one who made us.

A river and a wedding,

right?

Drinking from the water of life

and drinking

from the limitless intimacy

that we were made

to experience with God

and one another.

So my second question

is this,

why would we have

unquenchable longings

that can't be satisfied

in this world

unless we were made

for another world?

Unless this is not our home,

unless there is

some other world

where we will truly

be at home.

The third thing

that we see

about our true home

is this.

Our true home

is the place

where all of our work

is fulfilled

or where all of our work

finds its fulfillment.

You know,

the Bible tells us

that all human beings

were made to work.

We were made to work.

You know,

we need to be productive

in our lives.

We need to be generative.

We need to be creating.

We need to be cultivating.

We need to be

making things happen.

And what we know

psychologically

is that if we don't do that,

that we stagnate.

And eventually,

we not only stagnate,

we die.

You have to get up

out of bed

and go do

in the world.

It's how you were made.

And yet,

our work

is also filled

with frustration

and futility.

And I don't have

to convince you of that.

You know that.

The Bible says

this is because

our world

is under a curse.

You know,

human beings

rebelled against God

and one of the

ramifications of that

is that when we go

to work,

we have to contend

with thorns

and thistles

and hard soil.

Now,

what's that all about?

What does that look like

since most of us

are not in

agricultural trades?

What does that look like?

Well,

it looks like a few things.

It looks like this.

No matter what we build,

it will always fall apart.

Right?

The greatest

ancient

architectural wonders

from past centuries

are now either

dust

or tourist traps.

And somebody else

has come along

and built something

on top.

Names of buildings

change.

Everything crumbles.

Futility also means

that we will always

be able to envision

more than we can

ever actually accomplish.

Now,

what a cruel joke

that is.

Oh,

so painful.

You know,

you think of

the Habsburg court

composer

Antonio Salieri,

painfully insecure,

knowing deep down

that his work

is only mediocre.

And then you think

of him

hearing the music

of this

no-name,

impoverished guy

named Mozart.

And in that moment,

realizing that

he will never

be able to match that.

it also means

that our work

is going to be

subject to forces

outside of our control.

You know,

you deal with a

frustrating,

impossible boss.

You have a

meaningful collaboration

with somebody

and then they

stab you in the back.

You're doing

the best you can,

your team is doing

the best they can,

your boss is doing

the best they can,

but you work

within a broken

bureaucracy.

You're a dented,

bent cog

in a gigantic,

creaky machine.

Laying it on thick.

And you realize

it's outside of your

control.

Thorns and thistles

and hard soil

mean that you will

never achieve

perfection.

You'll never

achieve perfection.

perfection.

I'm told a story

from Kaylee

on our team

in Brussels.

In the town square

there is the town hall

and the town hall

is this masterpiece

of Gothic architecture.

But as the story goes,

the architect,

upon completion

of this massive,

beautiful structure,

realized when looking

at it that the front door

was off center

of his life's work.

So he climbed

to the top

of the tower

and threw himself

off to his death.

Life was no longer

worth living.

Now, whether or not

that story is true,

apparently there's a star

on the spot

where he landed.

I don't know,

you can go check it out.

But regardless

of whether the story

is true,

the point still stands.

Our work will always

be off center.

We'll always have

to contend with that.

Perfection is not possible

in this world.

And in the face

of such futility,

I think people go

one of two directions.

People either double down

and they become workaholics.

If I try harder,

if I work longer hours,

maybe I can overcome

the futility.

I think other people

eventually check out.

They get so cynical

and so burned out

from butting up

against things

that they have

no control over

that they just

sort of check out.

And they slide

into some job

that they can do

with half their brain

turned off.

And they anesthetize

themselves and they

sort of go through life

from pleasure to pleasure,

escape to escape,

but their job

no longer has

any real meaning.

In the face

of such futility,

it's hard to imagine

continuing in a life

of work.

That is,

unless we realize

that our work

was actually made

for another world.

Right?

Verse 26,

it's this amazing reference.

A great processional

brings all of the glory

and the honor

of the nations

through the gates

of the New Jerusalem

to become a part

of the architecture

of the New Jerusalem.

This is an amazing image.

The work of human hands

and the work of God's hands

joined together as one.

All of the things

that we strive for,

all of the effort

that we put into it,

joined with God

who can overcome obstacles,

who can achieve perfection.

It's the completion

of all human endeavor.

Because in the New Jerusalem,

the curse has finally

been lifted.

We'll no longer

be able to envision

more than we can imagine.

In fact,

every day we will see

more than we ever

dreamed possible.

There's that wonderful

little story

from J.R.R. Tolkien,

Leaf by Niggle,

that I think parallels

his own life

in many ways.

Niggle is an artist

in a society

that does not

appreciate art.

I mean,

that's pretty tragic.

And he's an artist

who has this vision

of a tree

in his mind.

He's possessed

by this vision

and he's obsessed

with trying

to bring it about.

And so he spends

his whole life

trying to paint

this tree perfectly,

but distractions

take him away

and futility

thwarts him

at every turn.

And so he spends

his whole life

trying to paint

the tree

in his mind

only to die

and to have

his unfinished

painting

abandoned,

largely forgotten,

even at one point

used to patch

a leaky roof.

And then after

his death,

Niggle finds himself

in a beautiful

countryside.

And he begins

to realize

with amazement

that this

is the land

of his vision.

And then he looks

and he sees

the tree.

But this isn't

just a painting.

It's the real thing.

The question

is this,

why would we

be able to dream

such fantastic dreams

unless they

might be realized

in another world?

Maybe we're not

dreaming about

this world.

Maybe we're dreaming

about the world

that we are meant

for.

By the way,

this is the great

gift that artists

give us.

Because they,

more than anyone

else,

they,

more than anyone

else,

are able to help

us imagine

what is possible.

And you name it,

it is possible

in the New Jerusalem.

So our true home

is a place

where creation

is renewed.

It's a place

where longings

are satisfied.

It's a place

where our work

finally finds

its fulfillment,

its completion.

The glory

that we may

have desired here

is actually

meant for Him.

The fourth

and final thing

we see about

this true home

is that this

is the place

where humanity

is restored.

Our humanity.

Everyone I know

wants world peace.

Everyone I know

wants world peace.

But in spite

of the myth

of progress,

we seem no closer

to peace today

than we were

a thousand years ago.

I think our own

country feels

more politically

and racially divided

than ever.

The problem is

I think people

have said that

in every generation.

Revelation 22

Revelation 22:2

verse 2

shows us

the tree of life

which sits

in the heart

of the city.

And it says

that the leaves

of this tree

are for the healing

of the nations

which is a beautiful image.

And earlier

in Revelation

we're told

that the new Jerusalem

will be a place

where people

from every tribe

and tongue

and nation

are joined together

in the worship

of Christ.

Right?

So the leaves

aren't just for the healing

of our nation

or our nation

and the nations

that we happen to like.

It's for the healing

of all of the nations

because the purpose

of the gospel

was always

to go out

to every tribe

tongue

and nation

to gather people

from every corner

of the earth

together as one.

And so the new Jerusalem

like any city

is multi-ethnic

it's multicultural

it's multilingual

but unlike any other city

all humanity

is unified.

So you have perfect unity

and perfect diversity

together.

Remember at Pentecost

that miracle

we read about

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

the birth of the church

when God pours

His Holy Spirit

out on His people

in fulfillment

of ancient promises.

And remember

what happens

when the Spirit

is poured out.

It does not say

and everyone began

speaking the same language.

Everyone became

of the same culture.

The true miracle

of Pentecost

is that everybody

hears the gospel

in their own language.

In fact

there was never a time

in the history of the church

when it was not multilingual.

There was never a time

in the history of the church

when it was not multicultural

multi-ethnic.

This has always been

the reality of God's church

and we see why.

Because God's desire

is that the greatest

most glorious

most beautiful artifacts

from all the cultures

and ethnicities

and languages

around the world

that all of that

would adorn

the new Jerusalem.

That it would all

become a part

of the glory

of our true home.

It's intentional.

The new Jerusalem

is a place

where all people

will live together

in peace.

I love Zechariah's

description of it.

He says

this will be a place

where the streets

of the city

shall be filled

with the sounds

of children playing.

If you look

at the larger reference

he says

old men and women

will sit in the streets.

You can imagine

them sitting

in benches

and talking

and you'll hear

the sounds

of children playing.

In other words

it's a great place

to grow old in.

It's a great place

to grow up in.

It's the kind of city

we all wish

we could live in.

It's our true home.

And you have

all of humanity

gathered around

the light

and the warmth

of God himself

who by the death

and resurrection

of Jesus Christ

has finally made peace

not only between humans

and himself

but also between humans

and one another.

He's made reconciliation

possible

so that he can finally

be the God

who dwells

in the midst

of his people

all of his people.

So the fourth question

is this

why would we long

for peace

unless we were made

for a world

where all humanity

lives together as one?

Right so this is

what our true home

is like.

This is a place

where creation

is renewed.

This is a place

where longings

are satisfied.

It's a place

where work

is fulfilled.

It's a place

where humanity

is restored.

And the reason

that we're saying

all this

to kind of

bring all this

home

is that the aim

of all human life

is to find

our way home.

The aim

of all human life

is to find

our way

to this city.

You know

it reminds me

of Bob Goff

who tells

this story

of himself

and a few friends

participating

in a trans-Pacific

sailing race

which is a pretty

big deal.

I'm not a sailor

but I can imagine

this would be

quite challenging.

And Goff

says that he

and his friends

were woefully

underprepared

for this undertaking

but they set out

anyway

on this trans-Pacific

race

and he says

they get lost

numerous times

they take all kinds

of twists and turns

they have to do

course correction

after course correction

he says

it's at times

brutal

and exhausting

and then they

finally make it

to port

they finally make it

home in the early

hours of the morning

and Goff

talks about

his boat

finally pulling

into the marina

they're all exhausted

and he says

that the silence

is broken

by a booming voice

over a loud speaker

it's a tradition

in this race

that whenever a boat

makes it home

no matter if it's

two or three o'clock

in the morning

that this old announcer

same guy who's been

doing it for decades

announces the boat

and announces

all of the crew members

and so they're sailing in

and this announcer

voice booms out

and it says

then he started

announcing the names

of our ragtag crew

like he was introducing

heads of state

he didn't tell everyone

we didn't know

which way was north

or about all the other

mess ups

instead he just

welcomed us in

from the adventure

like a proud father would

when he was done

there was a pause

and then in a sincere voice

his last words

to the entire crew

were these

friends

it's been a long trip

welcome home

the point is

I think that one day

for those of us

who have put our faith

in Jesus Christ

I think we're going to

have such words

spoken over us

as we enter the gates

of the new Jerusalem

and the reason I'm telling

you all of this

is so that I can ask you

this question

what is the aim

of your life

what's the aim

of your life

what is your life

aiming at

are you aiming

only at the things

of this world

are you aiming

only at this present reality

or are you aiming

beyond this world

to our true home

and I would say

that this is maybe

the most important

question of your life

are you off course

in your aim

have you lost

a sense of true north

if that's true

then now is the time

for a course correction

now is the time

to come to Jesus

and to ask

his forgiveness

and to give your life

to him

and to ask him

to set you back

on course

if you aim

only at this world

if you live like

there's nothing

beyond this world

your life is never

going to make sense

you're going to rage

against death

you're going to have

longings that you

can't satisfy

you're going to

dream dreams

that can't be fulfilled

and it's never

going to make sense

but more than that

if you aim

only at this world

and this is

counterintuitive

if you are aiming

only at this world

then you will actually

be of very little

use to this world

you won't be

very useful

the reason is simple

this world

needs people

of hope

this world

needs people

of undying

unquenchable hope

you know people

who can face

suffering

and death

with hope

people who can

bear the weight

of unmet longings

with hope

people who can work

in long

difficult

often thankless

jobs

with hope

people who can do

the hard

grueling

long term

work

of peacemaking

and bridge

building

and reconciliation

and never

lose hope

that's what

the world

needs

and it's the

promise of a

home in the

future

that gives us

hope

for this

home

in the

present

and this is

why we are

here by the way

as Church of the

Advent

this is why

we exist

because we want

to be people

of hope

in Washington

D.C.

for Washington

D.C.

we want to seek

the flourishing

of the city

we want to push

back the chaos

and the darkness

until Jesus

comes again

because we know

that when Jesus

comes again

he is the one

who will make

all things new

and then he will

wipe away

every tear

he will wipe away

every tear

and he will say

to each of us

friends

it's been a long

trip

welcome home

let's pray

Lord we desire

to be people

of hope

but not just

an earthly hope

we long

we long for

a supernatural

hope

an inexplicable

hope

we long

to drink

from the deep

well

of your gospel

that it might

fill us with

joy and hope

and faith

despite our

circumstances

promises

and we pray

that this

hope

sourced in

you

would not

just be for

us

but that it

would be a

blessing to

the city

that it would

be a blessing

to our

neighbors

that it would

be a blessing

to our

families

that it would

be a blessing

to the places

where we work

that it would

be a blessing

to all of those

we come in

contact with

that this would

be a place

that is a

wellspring

of hope

because we

have our eyes

fixed on our

true home

we pray this

not only for

our good

or the good

of this city

but because

it will glorify

you

because one

day the

greatest

accomplishments

in Washington

D.C.

will pale

in comparison

to the walls

of that city

and all of the

glory that we

might try to

grab up here

will all be

given to you

and it's in that

desire in the

name of your

son Jesus

Christ that we

pray amen

God bless you