Revelation Chapter 21-22 - The New Heaven and New Earth

Hi. Why am I here, you might ask? Um,

well, Kevin doesn't like the cold. Just

kidding. Kevin has a cold.

Kevin has a cold. Um, and all week long

he was thinking it's going to snow, so

we're probably not going to have church

anyways. And then he was like, I'm going

to feel better and so it'll be fine. And

then like Friday night he was like,

there's it's not going to snow and I'm

not going to be fine.

So if I send you my notes, here I am a

substitute teacher on the last day of

class. Can you even imagine the

pressure?

So um just listen, I have been since

Friday when he asked me to do this. Um

going back through and I I listen to

those sermons every week when he posts

them on the podcast. Um but since Friday

it was like crunch time. So I have

literally in my AirPods had Kevin

streaming. What a nightmare. Um Just

kidding. It was lovely. If you're

watching at home, Kevin, it was great.

Um, but seriously, in listening,

relistening through, I I just I learned

so much in taking it all in one big

chunk, albeit a like eight hour chunk.

Um, it was a lot, but I so many new

things stood out to me and I just

thought this would be a good time to

review what we've learned so far, class.

Um,

so I'll tell you while you're um your

hands start sweating and you're thinking

about what you're going to say because

somebody's got to say something. Um, for

me it was the hot, cold, lukewarm verse

when he talked about that. I'd never

heard it presented in the way of like

when it says I would rather you be hot

or cold. Like I always thought that

meant what you thought it meant. And um

when he pointed out that it meant like

either restorative or refreshing like

that, it was just a totally different

revelation

um for me what that meant. Um and so

that God God would never say he wishes

for us to be cold. That's wild. So why

did I ever think that? Probably because

people told me that. Um so that was

amazing for me. So who wants to tell me

check. We're going to use this mic. And

I know it's the one that Chaz had. Okay.

Um, who wants to tell me something that

they've learned from the book of

Revelation? We're wrapping it up today.

So,

eight hours worth of information.

Somebody go back. Get give me something.

>> I like that one too, Ashley. I'm on my

way. Say it in here because

>> that everything in Revelation can be

found somewhere else.

>> Yeah, I love that. I'm gonna mention

that again today. Thanks, Ashley, for

participating in class today. Everybody

else, you're losing participation

points. Okay, Lynn's got something.

>> Well, I think if you're studying

Revelation, it's important that he point

it out. You have to remember it's not in

chronological order. And so that's, you

know, once you understand that, then it

makes more sense. And like she said, you

can verify somewhere else in the Bible.

>> Yeah, I love that.

One thing that he said I thought it was

really interesting is that the war

between God and the devil is just like

as as as unimportant or as uneventful as

it could be. It's just like okay you're

going to jail essentially. And

>> directly to jail

>> not like the movies that we watch.

[laughter]

>> Uh what really fascinated me was that

I've always thought that all this was

like in the future like way in the

future. and kind of learn it's actually

happening now. Like it's not something

that happens in the future. It's

something that's happening now.

>> Yeah. God's timeline. It's wild.

>> I knew Larry would have something.

>> Yes. Um been reading it for three years

or listening to it for three years.

>> Last few days

>> just about. But anyway, Kevin has taught

me more

than I than I heard.

>> Wow.

And the last two verses or I think last

22 chapter

22 chapter I mean verse 12 through it's

the end.

>> No pressure. That's what I'm talking

about today. I hope I don't screw it up.

>> I'll turn it over to you if I get if I

start struggling.

>> Yeah. in Revelation. No matter what has

happened or what is going to happen,

Jesus has already won the victory.

>> Yeah, it's great.

>> John's writing in Revelation is such

that we are to have a visceral reaction,

not only spiritual, but we feel it in

our gut. And that's part of the the

cryptic and pictorial nature of

revelation. It's really impactful.

>> Yeah. Anybody else?

Last chance.

>> You volunteer someone else. You're

volunteering yourself, Aubrey. That's

what I always say. All right. That's

what I thought. Hand went down. Okay.

Thanks, Joe. Sorry.

Well, hi. Here we are. Like I said, no

pressure preaching. Listen, um, you guys

know this guy. These are Kevin's notes.

These are my notes.

So, I'm going to do my best. We are

obviously in the book of Revelation. And

this is the culminating sermon of three

months worth of preaching that Kevin has

done. And I told Lynn this morning, I

feel like Solomon building the temple.

After David did all the work, he didn't

get to build the temple. And so for him

to not be able to be here today um is a

bummer, but I'm excited to be here. You

might say, well, he could have asked

David or John or Matt or Larry um to

preach this morning, but I am the one

who vowed in sickness and in health. And

so

they did not. So here we are. Um

today's sermon is the end. It is the

end, as Larry pointed out, of Revelation

chapter 21:22.

And um Kevin's intro of here. It starts

with a lot of Godzilla King Kong stuff

that would be very inauthentic coming

from me because I don't know what any of

it means. So, I will just um sum all of

that up to say that um today we're going

to talk about the fact that heaven is

not our forever home. I was listening

when I got tired of listening to Kevin,

I would put some worship music in my

ears. And not that I ever get tired of

listening to Kevin, um I would put some

worship music in my ears and just kind

of listen to that as I was reading and

writing. And one song that came on was

Homesick by Phil Wickham. And um in that

song, he's talking about being homesick

for heaven. And Lord help him.

Geek Squad. Geek Squad. Larry's got a

malfunction on the second row. We got

[laughter] it. Sorry. It's okay. It

Listen, we like to keep it exciting in

here, Larry.

It's still going. We're still rocking

and rolling. That's fine.

It's Listen, I will see you after class.

It's why we That's You're not going to

be allowed to have your phone anymore in

class if you can't keep it under

control. That is state law now in North

Carolina. No phones. Okay. All right.

Anyway, like I was saying in that song,

Phil Wilin was talking about being

homesick for heaven. And this whole

sermon is about heaven is not our

forever home. So, not not heaven up

there sitting on a cloud playing a harp.

Like that does sound lame. Um and so

that's not it. That's not what we're

doing. And um that's not what the Bible

teaches. It doesn't say that. And so a

lot of people think that we have this

picture of like we we are to be absent

in body is to be present with the Lord

in heaven. But at the end of times

that's not how the story ends. So let's

look at um take a look behind door

number nine. Okay, we've been doing

these doors um behind door number nine

where heaven comes down. And Matt

Chandler says this, our future is a

literal place as a physical people in

the presence of creator God. And that's

so important for us to understand as we

read through this. So let's look at

Revelation 21:es 1-7. It says, "Then I

saw heaven and a new earth. For the

first heaven and the first earth had

passed away, and the sea was no more. I

saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared like a bride adorned for her

husband. Then I heard a loud voice from

the throne." And look, God's dwelling

place is with humanity, and he will live

with them. They will be his people, and

God himself will be with them and will

be their God. He will wipe every tear

from their eyes. Death will be no more.

Grief, crying, and pain will be no more

because the previous things have passed

away.

Then the one seated on the throne said,

"Look, I am making everything new." He

also said, "Write, because these words

are faithful and true." Then he said to

me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the

Omega, the beginning and the end. I will

freely give to the thirsty from the

spring of the water of life. The one who

conquers will inherit these things and I

will be his God and he will be my son."

So, we're looking at um this picture of

everything being made new. And um I

don't know if you know this about me and

Kevin or not, but we we like old things.

Like we like yard sales and flea markets

and thrift shops and we like to find old

things. They have this nostalgic feel.

And um anytime my mom goes with us, she

just stands there and laugh and just

like and we'll be I'll be like, "Mom,

look at this dish. I remember you had

this dish when I was five." And she's

like, "Yeah, that's an old dish."

She's like, "I've had old stuff my whole

life. I want new stuff. So, I feel like

she would really appreciate the thoughts

and the sermon and the idea of

everything being made new. Throughout

this series, Kevin has talked about

these convergent spaces, these spaces

where we see glimpses of heaven come

down to earth. these moments where um

maybe it's in worship or in prayer or at

a baptism. Just these opportunities

where we just kind of get this peak

through to the other side, these

converging places where heaven and earth

are kind of like you just get a little

taste of what it's going to be like. And

we see that again behind this door like

we did behind door number one. We're

going to see again the throne room of

God. Um, up until this point, all of

these times, these convergent spaces

have just been temporary. It's just been

a glimpse. It's just a moment. You know,

it might just be that moment in worship

when you feel like like it just feels

you just feel the presence of God. It

feels holy. And um but but it's here and

then it's gone. It's fleeting, right?

And the thing that's really cool about

this passage is that it tells us in the

end time, it's not fleeting anymore.

It's not convergent. It's not it's not

heaven and earth coming together. It's

essentially heaven taking over earth and

earth being made completely new in that

image of heaven. Um in Revelation 22, we

we also see um that that will be our

forever home. We don't have to live in a

broken world on a broken earth because

earth gets to be made new. In Revelation

21 9-27, we read about all of these

tangible things, right? This is where

the streets of gold and the pearly gates

and all of that stuff comes from. It

describes all of these new things that

will exist. Um the spiritual presence of

God is there. The physical presence of

God is there and the physical presence

of other people is there. Okay. So that

that's important I think for us to

understand. Sometimes people think like

that it's no one's going to know anyone

or everything's going to be different

and I don't I don't necessarily think

that's the case. We don't just um get

everything wiped, but it's made new. And

in that idea of being made new, it's

made perfect, right? It's that's the

reason my mom doesn't want old Carell

dishes, right? She wants new ones. She

doesn't want old ones that has someone

else scuff marks on it or chips in the

lids. Like, we don't have that anymore.

We have this brand new thing. And our

earth is not instead of being destroyed

like sometimes we think of it when we

think of Godzilla and King Kong, at

least I do anyways because I don't know

what I'm talking about. We think of it

being destroyed. That's not it. It's not

destroyed by fire, but like Kevin said

in your notes, it's refined by fire. And

so that refining fire where it burns off

all of the impurities, the King of Kings

takes back his original creation and

once again restores it to what he

intended it to be. Um, we are

temporarily removed. Obviously, we go to

heaven if we die before all of this

stuff happens. But then after time, we

will be returned to this renewed earth.

And Kevin's notes say, "An earth where

mountain tops will produce sweet wine.

Deserts, deserts, deserts, desserts,

deserts will produce beautiful roses,

where the lion and the lamb lie down

together, and the beasts like lions will

chew straw like an oxen." And that made

me wonder if I'm going to be a vegan um

on the new earth, but that's not in his

notes. That's just in my brain. Um but

the really cool thing when it's talking

about all these the new earth and

everything being made new. It talks

about the all of the beauty and I love

this quote. I think it's in your notes

by St. Augustine and looking out at the

Mediterranean Sea as the sun was

setting. He said, "If these are the

beauties afforded to sinful men, what

does God have in store for those who

love him?" Right? So, I think about um

like Megan O'Neal and Christine Ambrose.

They're like two of my favorite sunset

posters. They post pictures all the

time. Anytime there's a beautiful sunset

in Camden, just go look at their

Facebook page. They're going to have a

picture of it. Um, but I think about the

beauty of those things. I think about,

you know, I I love the mountains and and

when I go hike and I just stop and, you

know, we did a a waterfall hike when we

were out in the western part of the

state dropping Eli off this past year

and we were hiking at Kataba Falls and

we just kept stopping and looking and I

just kept thinking like, how is this

even real? Like, it's so beautiful. And

then to think

that that is not even as God intended.

God has so much more. That's a corrupted

earth, right? That's a corrupted earth.

And it to me takes my breath away. I

just stop and I stare and I can't even

believe that I'm looking at what I'm

looking at. And then I think when God

makes it all new, what kind of splendor

will that be? Will we even be able to

put words to what we're seeing? And that

just gets me excited every time I think

about that. It's not just the earth

that's made new.

People are made new. And that's that's

so exciting to me. God is going to renew

our flesh. He's going to give us new

bodies. And Kevin's notes say, "I

believe we'll all be 33 like Jesus in

our physical prime."

Um, I don't know about you guys, but at

33 I was pregnant with Emory and uh,

Ashley physical prime. You think 33? No,

not so much. Anyways,

maybe not exactly. Um, but we will we'll

be renewed people created perfectly as

God intended us to be. um the nations.

It says in 21:24 the And I don't know,

Joe, I'm sorry. I don't even know what's

going to be up on the screens or where

it's supposed to go. You are a rock

star. I'm just gonna keep talking and I

don't You guys listen, hope for the

best. All right. Um 21:24 it says, "The

nations will walk by its light, and the

kings of the earth will bring their

glory into it." Kevin has said

throughout this series to keep the plain

thing the main thing. And listen, ain't

nobody better to be plain but me, okay?

Because I don't even understand the

things that aren't plain. So, we're

going to keep the plain thing the main

thing. And in this passage, when it

talks about the kings, it's talking

about the cultures, the whole cultures.

And so, when you think of all of these

new people, we're all going to be so

different and so diverse with none of

none of the bad stuff. Listen, there's

no hatred. There's no pride. There's no

jealousy in all of this new creation and

all of these new people. You think about

all of the things that the envy and the

injustice that lead us to stumble or

lead us to sin. None of that exists in

these renewed people. Okay? We the the

kings symbolize all of the values of

that kingdom and all of the things that

are beautiful about our creation, our

cultures, all of that good stuff. and

none of the bad. The biodiversity of the

animal kingdom will exist. The lions and

and the and the sheeps and sea lions. It

says lions, but listen, Eli and I have

been down a real rabbit hole of sea

lions and they are pretty great. Um, but

that'll all still be there. We'll still

get to enjoy all of that biodiversity,

um, all of the art and the architecture

and the culture, renewed people. We will

have a future. Listen, we're going to

work. We're going to work um on this new

earth, I think. But the really cool

thing about our work is if you go back

to first Corinthians, because everything

that's in Revelation, Ashley, is

somewhere else. And so, if we go back to

1 Corinthians 15:58, it talks about our

1 Corinthians 15:58

renew our renewed bodies and our renewed

jobs. And it says that we will work

without toil. And Kevin said, like fun

and rewarding work. And I said, in

heaven, everyone's a PE teacher.

because that's fun and rewarding work.

Like you get to go to work and play

every day and that's in the but children

will listen in heaven in the new new

earth. Children will listen and that'll

be cool. That'll be super cool. Um

but it's all of our work. We will work

without toil. And it says that our work

will be rewarding because it will all be

done for the Lord. Think about the work

that you do. So many of you do so many

amazing, wonderful, and you're good

things and you're so gifted in so many

areas, but a lot of that effort is put

into just your job, right? Like I mean,

honestly, after a full day of work and

coaching, um, and I get home at nine

o'clock at night, I don't have time to

do anything else. Imagine if all of that

were unto God and and for him. And we

try our best to use our gifts in the

secular world, but imagine on this new

earth as new people without all of the

extra stuff that we have to do. There

will be no principles in heaven. Um I

think it's No, I'm just kidding. I like

Yeah, principles are going to heaven.

I'm sorry, Linda. I didn't mean to say

that. Administration will be in heaven.

Um but think about Adam and Eve. Adam

and Eve worked, right? When God created

the earth, Adam and Eve worked and they

loved it. Their work was wonderful and

rewarding until sin. And in this new

earth, as new people, we won't have that

sin that corrupts our work and makes our

work feel like sometimes it is so in

vain. And and imagine, I was thinking

about this um you know, we'll all have

these these meaningful things that we're

doing. And I was thinking about imagine

the inventions and the creations and the

beauty that will be built when there is

no sin. Like think about if all of the

greatest minds of our time came together

and actually worked on something with no

pride and no backbiting. You know, right

now it's like it's always a race to the

top, right? It's always yurt turtle

trying to trying to get up on top so you

can be the highest. And when all of that

is eliminated, think of the things as

people that we can do and the amazing

things that will exist when that is our

reality. And that's what the Bible tells

us our reality is. And so that's

something that we have to look forward

to more than sitting on a cloud and

playing a harp and singing Amazing

Grace. We are going to have this

opportunity to collaborate and to work

together and to see new things and to

explore new things. Um

Jesus is showing us

our renewed future

on a renewed earth is based in reality

in this book of revelation. And that's

so exciting. Um will live physically on

earth in uncorruptible bodies in a

culturally diverse landscape that shares

the values of King Jesus. And that is

something that we should all be able um

to get excited about. Our spiritual

future

um is real and it's tangible. Like

sometimes when we think about spirit, we

think like spirits just like floating

whatever. But that's not it. We're real

have physical bodies on this physical

earth doing real things. And in in 22

1-2, it talks about chaos being

replaced. Think of all the chaotic

things you've experienced this week.

Okay, it's a 100% of my week, I think,

has been chaos. So, think about all the

chaotic things. In Revelation 22:1 and2,

Revelation 22:1

it says, "Then he showed me the river of

water of life, clear as crystal, flowing

from the throne of God and of the Lamb

down the middle of the city's main

street. The tree of life was on each

side of the river, bearing 12 kinds of

fruit. producing its fruit every month.

The leaves of the tree are for the

healing of the nations. And the

interesting thing about this in getting

a little bit not so plain, we're talking

about this river. The river, it says in

in 211, it says the sea was no more.

Okay, what do we know about oceans? What

do we know about seas? They are chaos.

They toss and they turn and you never

know. the wind blows and and it can be

placid one minute and then it can be six

foot swells the next minute. Okay, the

sea represents chaos and we have so much

chaos in our life. And it says the sea

is no more. The sea is replaced with

what? A river. And what do we what do we

know about rivers? Rivers, we know where

they start. We know where they end. We

know where they're going. like rivers

are predictable, rivers are

understandable. And so the symbology

there is just really exciting to picture

a world where we're not being thrown

about, tossed about by the sea, but

where there's consistency and

onedirectional movement, where we can

count on that. No more mourning, no more

regrets, no more guilts, no more

viruses, no more cancer, no more worry,

no more anxiety, no more trepidation.

That stuff in our new earth, in our new

bodies, that chaos does not exist

anymore. In 21:25, it says its gates

will never close by day. It will never

be night there

on that new earth. Listen, the gates are

open. Why? Because no one's coming to

attack. No one's coming to steal. No

one's coming to take our things. None of

that. That doesn't exist anymore. It

will never be night there. That night

represents the darkness. Listen, in in

the darkest times, Jesus has been there

with me. But on this new heaven, this

new earth, this new body, there are no

more darkest times. It's like Kevin

said, the Andy Griffith show. Um, There

are no more bad guys. We just all get to

leave our doors unlocked and live in

harmony and it's lovely. Um the river of

life produces more and more spiritual

fruit. It talks about the fruit 12

months. Um and all of those fruits,

those are all of our spiritual fruits,

joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, gentleness, self-control, all

those spiritual fruits there exist on

the on the tree of life. and they're all

a part of our new life in that new

place. The next thing that's made new is

our relationship with God is made new.

Okay? And that's so exciting. So

exciting. Um that our relationship with

God is made new. It says in 21:22,

"I did not see a temple in it because

the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb

are its temple." Listen, on the new

earth in our new bodies with no chaos,

we don't need a temple. We don't need a

church. We don't need a place to go and

to meet God or to go and to worship God

because God's presence is everywhere

that we are. We are surrounded by his

presence. There will be no need for a

building. If you think about back in the

Old Testament, God resided in the temple

in Jerusalem in one specific place

called the Holy of Holies. And that's

where God chose to meet his people and

only certain people could go in and only

certain people could be in the presence

of God. And then when Jesus died on the

cross, that veil was torn between us and

between God and Holy Spirit came to

dwell within us. And now on this new

earth, there will be no more separation

from us and God because there is no sin.

The whole world at that point becomes

the holy of holies. Right? Everywhere we

go, God is there and God is with us. And

we feel, you think about those

convergent times, those times in worship

or in prayer or in scripture reading or

in Bible study or in baptism where you

just feel like the presence of God is

there. That one moment, that snippet,

that tiny little piece of time

here, that is our eternity. To eternally

dwell in the presence of God, to not

have to go to a physical place and wait

for someone to say, "Everybody stand as

we worship." That will be happening all

the time. Not that we all just walk

around singing, but that feeling of

worship will exist eternally within us.

And that's so exciting that God is

actually with us. To take it one step

further, Kevin said, I want to I'm

really trying to make sure that I'm

covering his notes because I feel so bad

that he doesn't get to to do this. Um,

he said, "We will live inside this real

place." So, we're now residing at the

heart of the place where the Trinity

exists. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Imagine that. Have you ever tried to

understand the Holy Spirit? Have you

ever tried to understand the Trinity?

Like listen, I know me, Ashley, Christy,

we have tried to teach the trinity to

small children, okay? And that is

difficult. It is difficult to I mean it

because it's so hard to understand. It's

so hard to grasp. But in this new earth,

as new people, it'll all be clear. It'll

all make sense. And they will dwell with

us in that place. And that is just

perfect love and perfect power existing

perfectly. Like that is something that

we should all be excited about. We're

living for eternity in a place where

there's no more chaos. The river flows

freely. There's no need for gates. We

have no enemies.

Things never get old and boring. Okay,

it's exciting times. Jesus keeps trying

to knock my notes off my podium here.

That's enough from you, sir. Um,

things never get old and boring.

Everything made of all of the finest

gems. And remember, everything in

Revelation is an echo from somewhere

else in the Bible. And in 1 Corinthians

2 and in Isaiah 52, we see no eye has

seen, no ear has heard, no human heart

has conceived what God has prepared for

those who love him. Right? And that's

just something that we have to we have

to dig in on that. Like that's keeping

that's that's the main thing right

there. Keep it plain. That's it. No eye

has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has

ever conceived what God has prepared for

those who love him. The treasure is

real. The the streets are gold. The the

gates are made of huge pearls. So there

is real treasure, but the real treasure

is God with us in that time. Like that's

we're really going to begin to

understand that real treasure. Kevin has

a quote in here by Daryl Johnson from

Disciplehip on the Edge that says, "We

will finally live consciously so within

the circle of the inner trinitarian

relations of God." Like we're the inner

circle, y'all, in this place. In this

place, there are no outcasts. There's no

cool kids club. Nobody is kicked to the

side. We are all a part of that

experience. And God has invited us to be

a part of that. 22:4 says, "They will

see his face and his name will be on

their foreheads." Okay? Does that mean

we're going to have like God written

across our foreheads? No. Um Kevin's

notes say, I did no independent research

on this. Um so you're just gonna have to

trust that guy or talk to him next week.

um say that the forehead symbolizes our

ideology. Okay, it symbolizes kind of

just that the the being at the front of

everything that we do that everything

will be fully shaped. All of our

thoughts, all of our actions will be

fully shaped by Jesus because we're in

his presence. And so it's his name, his

presence that everything kind of filters

through, if that makes sense.

We'll see his face and there will be no

disappointment. Matt Chandler said, "You

will not catch an eye roll from Jesus on

that day." And that makes me um know

that Jesus is definitely not one of my

nephews because they roll their eyes

really well. Also my kids. Um, like

listen, when Jesus looks at us in our

new bodies, when we've been made new,

Jesus will look at us with nothing but

love in his eyes. Okay? No eye rolls, no

get out of my ways, but nothing but time

for us and love in his presence.

225 says, "Night will be no more. People

will not need the light of a lamp or the

light of the sun because the Lord God

will give them light and they will rain

forever and ever.

Okay? God in this new earth when we are

made new, we don't need a source of

light because God is the light. When you

think about back in Mo when Moses

couldn't even look on the face of God,

he caught a glimpse of God and the shina

glory caused him to glow for days

afterwards like that's the light that

God will light this new earth with with

his his presence will just exude that

light. And listen, some of you are

looking at me like this and I I feel

that way MYSELF LIKE MAKE THAT MAKE

SENSE. make it make sense that there

will be no there will be light but no

light source other than God. I don't

know. I can't explain it to you. All I

know is that God said it. God said he is

the light and he will be the light. And

when you get there, you're going to be

like, "Oh, now I get it." And I'm gonna

be the same way. We're gonna we're gonna

make eye contact across the way and be

like, "Now it know it makes sense."

Right? It's just one of those things

that it'll make sense. The next point

that we need to understand is that God

wants you there.

Are you kidding me right now? Like God

is going to create this perfect place.

All these treasures, the light comes

directly from him and he

wants me there. Like that's beyond

baffling to me. Like why? I don't know.

I'm just stuck with that hardly. I'm

stuck with why why why would God? I

don't understand it. But listen, it says

Revelation 22:17,

Revelation 22:17

both the spirit and the bride say,

"Come." Let anyone who hears say come.

Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the

one who desires to take the water of

life freely.

The Holy Spirit is inviting us to come.

The bride of Christ, that's the church,

that's you guys. We're inviting people

to come to be a part of this, to be a

part of this family. Jesus is inviting

constantly those who are outside of his

kingdom to come inside of his kingdom.

Listen. And right now, he is inviting

people to come. And full disclosure,

Kevin hasn't hear a gospel presentation

right now. And and that's okay. I we

could do that that gospel presentation

right now and all heads are bowed and

all eyes are closed. And I know that's

not necessarily what he does. But

listen, I want I I want to do something

different.

Okay,

I hope you guys are brave this morning.

I know a lot of you are. But here here

there are some people in here who are

feeling like, man, that sounds good. I

want that. I've never received that. I

don't really fully understand what we're

talking about here. And there are some

of you here who totally get it. And here

here's what I want to know.

Your knees are probably starting to feel

a little bit like this, okay? But I'm

going to ask some people to stand up,

okay? So, just go ahead and put on your

big boy britches and know that I'm about

to ask some of y'all to stand up. If you

would feel comfortable and confident if

someone came to you today and said, "I

want to know how I can have that. I feel

invited, but I've never stepped inside

the door. I hear Jesus knocking, but

I've never opened the door. If you would

feel comfortable,

if someone came up to you today and

said, "Can you show me? Can you tell

me?" I want you to stand up. One, two,

three. If someone came up to you today

and said, "Can you show me? Can you tell

me? Can you help me meet Jesus?" I want

you to stand up. Okay? Now, it doesn't

have to be everybody. That's okay. But

listen church, there are some of you

right now who are thinking, "I need to

know how to do this. I need to know how

to step into the presence of God." Look

around this room. There are people

everywhere

who would love to show you the way to

Jesus. There are people everywhere.

Okay? So, so if that's you and you're

feeling your heart like, I'm supposed to

talk to somebody about this. If Kevin

were here and he asked me to come

forward, I might would. He's not. I

didn't. Okay. So, around this room.

Talk to one of these people. If you're

standing up, I'm going to challenge you.

Stick around a little bit after church

today. Just kind of linger because

someone might notice you. They might

say, "Oh, it was the guy in the

checkered shirt. It was the guy in the

Mickey Mouse tat. It was the lady in the

red shirt." Okay, they I know you're all

looking now like, "Was that me? Is she

going? It was the guy in the quarter

zip, David." Um, so look around and

listen after church. If you feel that,

if you feel that stirring and you're

like, I really need to talk to someone

about how I can make this decision and

how I can change my life. I want I want

you to be as brave as these people were

and find one of them and just see if

they'll step out into the hallway and

talk to you. Step into Kevin's office,

step back to the music room, step

somewhere and have a conversation with

them because that conversation could be

one that changes your life forever

because it says the bride is saying,

"Come, you're the bride. We're the bride

and we should be saying to other people,

come, come be a part of this. Come with

us. You can all sit down, but I want

everybody to note them, mark them in

your brain. Go ahead and decide who it

is that you want to talk to, okay?

Because it is lifechanging

and they can guide you and they can

shepherd you and they can help you and

that's a calling that we all have once

we have been made new.

Last thing I want to talk about are

couple of judgments 20

chapter 20 verses 11-15. Okay, there are

two judgments. Okay, that we learn about

in the book of revelation echoed in

other places like Corinthians. Okay, the

first judgment is the white throne

judgment. That's the one that most

people know, right? Most people um know

about depart from me, I never knew you.

Okay, that's the white throne judgment.

20 11-15 says, "Then I saw a great white

throne, and one seated on it, earth and

heaven, fled from his presence, and no

place was found for them. I also saw the

dead, the great and the small, standing

before the throne, and books were

opened. Another book was opened, which

was the book of life, and the dead were

judged according to their works

by what was written in the books. Then

the sea gave up the dead and those that

were in it. And death and Hades gave up

the dead that were in them. Each one was

judged according to their works. Death

and Hades were thrown into a lake of

fire. This is the second death, the lake

of fire. And anyone whose name was not

found in that book was thrown into the

lake of fire. That's the white throne

judgment. And that's the one that that

we hear about a lot. Um, and

I don't want to spend a whole lot of

time on that because I think it's

something that that we get. I'm on the

last page of Kevin's notes here in case

you were keeping score. But in 2

2 Corinthians 5:10

Corinthians 5:10, it talks also about

the Beimma judgment and it says, "For we

all must appear before the judgment seat

of Christ, so that each may be repaid

for what he has done embody whether good

or evil. What we do with the gift that

we have been given will be judged

someday." Okay? Okay. And so the white

throne is heaven, no heaven, right? We

all get that. The white throne is

heaven, no heaven. Heaven people come to

heaven. No heaven people, lake of fire.

Okay. The beam of judgment is different.

And this is where we go before the

throne of God and we look at our life

and we see what we've done with the gift

that God has given us. And in Acts 19:15

Acts 19:15

um when the sons of ofKkeva were trying

to cast out demons. Okay, this is a

really interesting story. But these

seven sons ofKeva, they were they were

going around and they were casting out

demons. And they this particular

situation, they were casting out trying

to cast out this demon. And the demon

says to these seven sons, he says, "I

know Jesus and I recognize Paul, but who

are you?"

Listen, the beam of judgment is where

God looks at the things that we have

done and and and then we're rewarded

for that. Okay? So

listen, when someday when when every

morning when I wake up, I don't want the

demons to look at me and say, "Who are

you? I know Jesus. I know Paul. I know

Kevin. Who are you?" Okay? I want

Listen, this morning I'm gonna tell you

I'm gonna tell you right now. This

morning I woke up and you know the first

thing I thought when I woke up I woke up

this morning and I'm the swim coach at

Kuruck County High School and our

regional entries were due at midnight

last night and I did them on Friday

afternoon and I clicked submit and I

know I did but our system has changed a

little bit this year and I woke up at

six o'clock this morning. I sat b

upright in my bed and I said I didn't

get a confirmation email and I usually

do. Did I submit my entries right? Did I

do something wrong? And it was on it was

in the front of my brain all morning. I

couldn't get past it. I emailed Eddie

Row, the guy who's in charge, and I I

sent like five emails and I was like,

"Please tell me my entries went through.

Please tell me I didn't screw this up."

And listen, I know for a fact why was

that happening? Because I'm supposed to

get up here in front of you guys and

talk about this today. And the devil

said, "Hey, why don't you just think

about swimming all morning? Don't worry

about this. Why don't you just think

about swimming all morning?" And he

almost got me. And then I started

thinking about this and I was like,

listen, I want to be the person that

wakes up every morning and and demons

say, "Uhoh, look out." That's that lady

who who gives intellectually disabled

people an opportunity. That's that lady

who goes to a high school and has

conversations about Christ with kids.

That's that lady who is doing children's

church every Sunday making kids memorize

Psalm 100. That's that lady like that's

I want demons to see that. I don't want

the demons to look at me and say, "Who

are you?" I want them to be worried

about me. And you should want them to be

worried about you, too. You should. You

should make them shudder every day with

the stuff that you're doing, with the

conversations that you're having. And

that's what this beam of judgment is

about. I've never had any. What are we

going to do with all those crowns? What

are we going to do with all those

rewards? If you go back to the beginning

of Revelation, it says there were, I

think it's 24, could be 12, who knows?

I'm not a scholar. Bunch of elders and

they were all casting their crowns.

Where? At the feet of Jesus. That's our

reward that we take those crowns and

those crowns. Listen, in my life, my

tithe from my dagum North Carolina

teacher salary is never going to be

enough to make a hill of beans in God's

kingdom. But the one thing that I will

have, the one thing someday that I can

offer at the feet of Jesus in this

worship are those crowns, those things

that I've done here that make a

difference in his kingdom. And it's my

prayer for you guys that someday when

when you stand before that throne that

that you're the person that stayed after

or have that conversation with someone,

you're the one who noticed that person

walking out of church like this because

they didn't want anyone to say anything

to them because they knew that I said

they needed to talk to someone. Be that

person that makes the demon shutter

every morning when you wake up because

that's what this book has called us to

do. We are new. We're going to be new

people on a new earth with a new

relationship with God. But we can start

that work right now. We don't wait until

that moment for that work to start. That

moment, it's happening. Just like Jonah

said, that timeline, it's all happening

right now. So, I'm going to close us in

prayer. And I just want you to think

about if God if God is calling you. If

God is on your heart saying you need to

have a conversation with someone today,

whether that conversation is about

salvation or about rededication or about

baptism, have a conversation. Don't

leave this building today because

listen, the presence of God isn't

everywhere. We're not on that new earth

yet. Take a moment in this place to have

that conversation. Whether it's just a

conversation between you and God or a

conversation with someone else in this

building, have that conversation. Don't

leave here today with unanswered

questions. Let's pray. Holy God, I thank

you so much for this message. God, I

thank you for an opportunity to speak

it. God, I I know that nothing is

outside of your will or outside of your

plans. And so, I'm just grateful for an

opportunity to stand here today and to

talk about your word. I pray Lord that

>> as we sing this song that you would just

continue to stir in our hearts God that

we would just be those people that make

the demons shutter God. That we would be

the church that Satan fears God. That we

would be the people who are preparing

for that new heaven to be be in that

that new relationship with you. God pray

Lord now as we worship God that you

would just continue to move in our

midst. It's in your name that we pray.

Amen.