1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,240
This morning, I'd like to talk to you about a subject that I think is so exciting.

2
00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:15,440
I'll start with a little background on me.

3
00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,640
I met my lovely wife in West Tennessee.

4
00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,400
That's where I grew up.

5
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:30,240
It was on my first visit to the Jackson Seventh-day Adventist Church.

6
00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:31,240
Hadn't joined the church.

7
00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:36,600
Didn't know all that much about it, but I wanted to visit.

8
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,140
We were visiting.

9
00:00:38,140 --> 00:00:42,880
It wasn't very long after that that we began dating.

10
00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,440
Judy was a nurse at the time.

11
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,040
She was teaching nursing.

12
00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,040
She was on her way to her career.

13
00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:57,960
On the other hand, was working at a pretty low-paying job, I might say.

14
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,960
Really didn't offer much potential for any advancement at all.

15
00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,080
I was, what did you want to say, quote, poor.

16
00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:06,960
I was a poor guy.

17
00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,360
I lived in this little one-room efficiency.

18
00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,600
I could put everything I owned back then in the back of the car.

19
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:21,120
Can't do that anymore, but back in those days I could do that.

20
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,840
You might say, well, how poor were you?

21
00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,480
You've heard that saying poor is the church mouse.

22
00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:33,360
Well, I was so poor that the church mouse, when he came to visit me, he stayed in the

23
00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,160
neighbor's house because I didn't have room.

24
00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:45,240
I was working back then at a wholesale florist doing warehouse work and making deliveries

25
00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,440
to retail shops.

26
00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:57,080
When a florist bought flowers from us, they wanted the freshest flowers possible.

27
00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:58,960
They wanted roses, for example.

28
00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,920
They wanted them to be tight.

29
00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,100
They wanted them to last a long time.

30
00:02:06,100 --> 00:02:11,780
When the roses were opened and they looked beautiful, the florist really did not want

31
00:02:11,780 --> 00:02:16,200
to buy them then because they wouldn't last as long.

32
00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:21,800
They're already on their way out, really.

33
00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,720
Sometimes if they had an immediate order and they were in a bind, they would buy those

34
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:30,880
flowers, but for the most part they wanted fresher flowers.

35
00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,520
At our wholesale house, Thursday was clean out day.

36
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:41,040
After day we got rid of all the old stuff and brought in the new stuff.

37
00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,960
We threw away all the oldest flowers.

38
00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:45,720
Many of them were not good.

39
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:51,800
They were going bad, but some of them, often we threw away a lot of perfectly good, beautiful

40
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,440
roses because you couldn't sell them.

41
00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,520
We had this big dumpster right outside where we threw all the flowers.

42
00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:06,880
Our boss would allow us to take some of those flowers for personal use.

43
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:08,920
I would often take some to my mom.

44
00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:12,640
I'd take her flowers often because I could.

45
00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:21,680
When I met Judy and we started dating, I was able to take her flowers all the time, every

46
00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:22,680
chance I could.

47
00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:29,200
This poor church mouse guy who could hardly afford to take her out to eat could always

48
00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,240
show up at the front door with flowers.

49
00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:41,520
I remember two or three times that I brought her 50 roses at a time.

50
00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:42,520
She stuck with me.

51
00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:43,520
That's good.

52
00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:44,520
We got married.

53
00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:45,520
That all moved.

54
00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:52,680
We came up to Southern for me to go to school here.

55
00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,280
The flowers had to stop.

56
00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:00,960
All I could do now up here was get little Debbie cakes for her.

57
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,680
I didn't do that that often.

58
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:09,440
I could no longer afford to buy flowers as I did.

59
00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,360
She would not want me to as much because it costs a lot of money.

60
00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,920
Valentine's Day is coming up, isn't it?

61
00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:20,000
You know the prices they have out there.

62
00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:27,720
Every once in a while I did splurge and unbuy some flowers, but nothing like I did in those

63
00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:28,720
days.

64
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:41,120
I'm looking forward that someday, someday we're going to go to that Earth made new.

65
00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:47,480
I hope that we can have right outside of our home a field of beautiful flowers of every

66
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:53,280
type and color, flowers that will never fade, flowers that will never die.

67
00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,520
Isn't that a good thought?

68
00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:06,000
On this Earth, the most beautiful flowers you can get, they'd still fade and they die.

69
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,400
I don't believe that's the way it's going to be in Heaven because there's no death in

70
00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:10,400
Heaven.

71
00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,040
I think that includes the flowers.

72
00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,040
I hope it does.

73
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,440
In the Heaven and the new Earth, it's going to be different than it is here.

74
00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:20,280
I'm looking for Jesus to come.

75
00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:26,000
I'm longing for Jesus to come because every time I think about Heaven and what's going

76
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:35,640
on there, I think about all he has in store for us up there that we can't see here.

77
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:41,680
I've often tried, and I know you have too, often tried to sit down and imagine what Heaven

78
00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:43,660
will be like.

79
00:05:43,660 --> 00:05:46,480
What can Heaven be like?

80
00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:52,400
But I know that we can never imagine how wonderful it's actually going to be.

81
00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:58,560
In fact, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 9, he says, I have not seen nor

82
00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:04,600
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for

83
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,920
those who love him.

84
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:12,640
You can think about it all day long, but you can't comprehend it, how wonderful it is.

85
00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,960
So I hope that you're looking forward to Heaven as much as I am.

86
00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,320
I think it's not going to be long.

87
00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:26,200
Today I would just like to read a few words from the Bible that talk about Heaven and

88
00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:27,200
the new Earth.

89
00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:36,160
My sermon is pretty simple, but as we look at the scriptures, I want us to keep in mind

90
00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:43,000
what I just said, that the best imagination of anything we can think of about how wonderful

91
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:50,360
Heaven is, we're told that it's only a dim reflection of the reality of Heaven and what

92
00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,480
the new Earth and Heaven will be like.

93
00:06:53,480 --> 00:07:00,120
In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31, at the end of the creation week, the Bible says,

94
00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:08,240
God saw everything he had made and behold, it was very good.

95
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:13,320
And so God placed Adam and Eve there in this beautiful garden, this perfect garden, the

96
00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:20,320
Garden of Eden, but then sin came in and you know the story.

97
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:26,200
And God banished Adam and Eve from the garden and this world began a deterioration that

98
00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:34,880
has gone down, down, down to the extent of the deterioration of today.

99
00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:39,320
So even though we can't really grasp what Heaven and the new Earth is like, we can know

100
00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:46,960
as the world becomes more evil, it becomes more degraded, that the contrast between how

101
00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:52,960
it is now and how it will be after Jesus comes will be beyond our wildest thoughts.

102
00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,960
And you know, I thought about, you know, the world's getting worse and we're going through

103
00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:03,720
a time of trouble, everything is going to happen, but all of that just widens the contrast

104
00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:08,200
between what it is here and what it will be.

105
00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:15,120
So this morning let's just take our Bibles and read a few things about what we are told.

106
00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:24,160
In Revelation 21 and 22 we have a description of what John the Revelator saw in a vision

107
00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,120
about Heaven.

108
00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:32,200
And I imagine that John was never the same again after that vision.

109
00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,080
He got to see things that we can only imagine.

110
00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:39,800
And let's start with Revelation chapter 21.

111
00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:43,320
You have your Bibles and I have the King James today.

112
00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:52,960
I use many Bibles, but I love the poetic way it's written here.

113
00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,520
Revelation 21, I'll read verses 1 to 3.

114
00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:02,600
And it says, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first

115
00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,640
earth were passed away and there was no more sea.

116
00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:13,520
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared

117
00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,960
as a bride adorned for her husband.

118
00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:24,200
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men,

119
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:30,080
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with

120
00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,600
them and be their God.

121
00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,520
Beautiful words, beautiful words.

122
00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:42,760
And the most wonderful part of heaven, not going to be the beauty of everything around

123
00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:48,400
us, it's going to be that we will be in the physical presence of God.

124
00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,360
The physical presence of God.

125
00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:57,240
Now we can talk to God and he talks to us and we can feel him near, but it's going to

126
00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:02,280
be different to be right there in his physical presence.

127
00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:07,120
God the Father, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

128
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:12,120
In fact, being with God is what's going to make it heaven.

129
00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,560
It's not going to be everything else.

130
00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:20,200
What's going to make it heaven is that we will be with God.

131
00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:26,400
Every other wonderful thing we see or experience is just gravy compared to that.

132
00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:39,320
Now if I skip down to verses 23 to 27, if you want to just follow me along, page here

133
00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:48,920
will cooperate.

134
00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:58,000
And the city had no need of the sun, and neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory

135
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:03,440
of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof.

136
00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:09,040
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of

137
00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,680
the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.

138
00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:21,080
The gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there, and

139
00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,760
they shall bring the honor and glory of the nations into it.

140
00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:34,120
And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defile us, neither whatsoever worketh

141
00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:43,480
abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the Lamb's book of life.

142
00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,640
The Lamb is the light.

143
00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:48,200
The Lamb is the light.

144
00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:49,200
I love that thought.

145
00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:56,040
And I also like what it says in verse 25, the gates of heaven shall not be shut at all

146
00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,000
by day, for there will be no night there.

147
00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,520
So that means the gates are open all the time.

148
00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:11,960
Obviously if there's no night, 24-7 the gates are open.

149
00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:13,720
You know in our house I have my routine.

150
00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:15,280
I know some of you do.

151
00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:16,640
The guys get certain jobs.

152
00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:17,640
I get the job.

153
00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:22,040
I take out the trash.

154
00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,720
My routine at night is I go around and I turn up all the lights.

155
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:31,400
I go check all the doors to make sure all the doors are locked.

156
00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:38,760
And we actually purchased a security system with our motion sensor lights on it because

157
00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,720
several cars in our neighborhood have been broken into.

158
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,640
And we just live right down the road here.

159
00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:52,600
And you know we have those cameras and we can see what's going on outside or we can

160
00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,640
look back and see what happened.

161
00:12:54,640 --> 00:13:00,360
You know you can't always catch anybody, but at least you know what happened.

162
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:06,760
I've always heard people talk about back in the old days about how it used to be when

163
00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:08,320
they didn't lock their doors.

164
00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:13,000
You heard that back in the, we never locked our doors back in those days.

165
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:22,760
Well in the 40s, and this is some things that I read, back in the 40s, 1940s, America and

166
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:27,760
America many people began earnestly locking their doors.

167
00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,880
Something began to change in the 40s.

168
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:35,600
And I don't know all the reasons for that, but I read that and I thought about that for

169
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:42,840
a little while and I thought you know that's not exactly true that it began then because

170
00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:48,320
people have pretty much always locked up their valuables and locked up their doors or at

171
00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,840
least locked up you know the things that were important to them.

172
00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:59,160
And before that many people buried their valuables even in the ground.

173
00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:05,580
The Romans in Jesus' time, they locked their valuables in metal boxes and they carried

174
00:14:05,580 --> 00:14:11,040
the keys around with them all the time.

175
00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:16,560
The ancient Egyptians had pin locks on their wooden doors.

176
00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:23,040
Even in ancient Assyria way back there during the days of Jonah in Nineveh a lock and key

177
00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:27,120
box has been unearthed by archaeologists.

178
00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,880
So way back then they were locking up their stuff.

179
00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:35,520
And all throughout history people have locked up their homes even if they didn't have a

180
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:36,520
lock.

181
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:44,440
People before that put wooden bars on the inside of their doors you know to keep anything

182
00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,260
that shouldn't be coming in out.

183
00:14:48,260 --> 00:14:51,600
But in heaven, like I said, there will be no locks.

184
00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,080
No locks on the doors.

185
00:14:54,080 --> 00:15:02,360
There will neither on our homes where we live in the new earth and when we get to heaven

186
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:04,000
there will be no locks.

187
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:09,440
There will be no need there because heaven is the place of perfect safety.

188
00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,280
Can you imagine that?

189
00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:13,280
Perfect safety.

190
00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,400
You never have to walk down the street and wonder who may be following you or what may

191
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,760
be happening because it's the perfect place.

192
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:26,480
And let's back up now to verse four if you will.

193
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:31,960
Verse four in Revelation 21.

194
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:37,760
It says here, and God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes and there shall

195
00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:45,120
be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the

196
00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,440
former things are passed away.

197
00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:59,080
The former things are passed away.

198
00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,600
The curse will have been lifted.

199
00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:08,560
The curse will have been lifted and all the former evil things of earth that we see now

200
00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,000
will no longer be.

201
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:19,880
After Jesus comes back the second time we'll spend a thousand years in heaven with him.

202
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:26,240
And then the New Jerusalem, heaven as we call it, will come down to earth.

203
00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:32,480
It'll rest on the Mount of Olives and the earth will be totally recreated back to its

204
00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:37,080
original state when it was created.

205
00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:43,560
It'll be like the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve were cast out of and each of us will

206
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,800
have a home in the New Earth.

207
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,360
Not too early to start thinking about what you want in your home.

208
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,120
We talk about it all the time.

209
00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,600
And what are we going to have when we get up there?

210
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:56,600
What are we going to build?

211
00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,840
Because it says we're going to build it ourselves.

212
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:13,560
In Isaiah chapter 65 verses 21 to 25, you'll turn there.

213
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:24,080
Isaiah chapter 65, I'd like to share with you a little bit about that time.

214
00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,280
I'll begin with verse 21.

215
00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:33,360
And they shall build houses and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and eat the

216
00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:35,060
fruit of them.

217
00:17:35,060 --> 00:17:37,600
They shall not build and another inhabit.

218
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,880
In other words, nobody's going to come in and take your home away from you.

219
00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:43,840
They shall not plant and another eat.

220
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,720
Now I don't think that necessarily means you can't invite somebody for dinner.

221
00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:52,720
I think that means that somebody's not going to come in and steal your food.

222
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:58,320
For as the days of a tree are, the days of my people and mine elect shall long enjoy

223
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,640
the work of their hands.

224
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:06,960
They shall not labor in vain and shall not nor bring forth for trouble for they are the

225
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:13,680
seed of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring within.

226
00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,880
And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer and while they are yet

227
00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,440
speaking I will hear.

228
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:26,520
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock

229
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,160
and dust shall be the serpent's meat.

230
00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:36,440
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

231
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,960
I particularly like that last sentence.

232
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:47,920
They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

233
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,840
What a great promise that is.

234
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:54,840
I have to read to you now just a couple more verses.

235
00:18:54,840 --> 00:19:05,920
What it says in chapter 26, 66 in verses 22 and 23.

236
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:11,600
For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, saith

237
00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,160
the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.

238
00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:21,240
And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and one Sabbath to another

239
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:27,880
shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

240
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,760
Sabbath in heaven is going to be unimaginable.

241
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:32,760
Unimaginable.

242
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,360
I can't wait for that.

243
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,320
I'm looking forward to heaven.

244
00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:43,000
Imagine being with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with all our loved ones

245
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:49,480
who have passed on, now raised from death to life, with all of us now, with all of us

246
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:56,000
who are now alive, who have trusted in Jesus, along with the redeemed of all the ages.

247
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,840
We're going to all come together on Sabbath.

248
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:08,920
And as we come together we are going to worship God in a peaceful, perfect environment.

249
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:13,960
I can't even imagine what a joyful experience that will be.

250
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:22,000
And to think we have that to look forward to every Sabbath, every Sabbath in heaven,

251
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,080
if we'll just remain faithful until Jesus comes.

252
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:32,240
And you know, just remaining faithful to God for a few years means that you're going to

253
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,800
enjoy heaven for eternity.

254
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,720
So there's nothing more important than being faithful to Jesus now for this short time

255
00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:52,640
of life, because we have so much that will be repaid to us if we are.

256
00:20:52,640 --> 00:21:02,000
Ruth and Bob were the parents of an only child, a little boy, and his name was David.

257
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:08,520
But they always called him their Davey boy.

258
00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:14,800
Davey was a tender-hearted, thoughtful little boy, and he loved both of his parents very

259
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,360
much.

260
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:20,760
But I guess you could say that Davey was especially close to his mother.

261
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,160
He was what we call a mama's boy.

262
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,040
And I know all about that.

263
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:28,520
I mean that in a very positive way.

264
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:30,280
That's a good thing.

265
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:37,720
My son and my grandson are both mama's boys, and that's just the way it is sometimes.

266
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,480
And of course, Dad gets his share too.

267
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,360
But you can tell when they're a mama's boy.

268
00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:50,360
And from just a toddler, Davey would go out into the yard, and he'll pick the little

269
00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:54,640
wildflowers that popped up, you know, the dandelions and such.

270
00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:00,520
And sometimes he would pick a lot of weeds along with those dandelions, and he would

271
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:07,200
bring them in and show them to his mother, but that didn't bother her at all.

272
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:08,600
She was happy to have the weeds.

273
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:14,440
It just melted her heart every time Davey boy came through that door with a big smile

274
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,280
and a handful of dandelions and weeds.

275
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,800
And Ruth always pretended that these were the most beautiful flowers that she had ever

276
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,120
seen in her life.

277
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:31,720
And she'd find a glass or a little cup, and she'd put them on display in the living room

278
00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:33,320
for everybody to see.

279
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:38,360
And people will come over and they say, oh, and you know, most people are intuitive.

280
00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:43,040
They'll come over and they know you got a little boy and they see that on the table,

281
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:44,920
and they say, ah, I know what that is.

282
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:52,280
You know, the children have helped out and have given to Mommy.

283
00:22:52,280 --> 00:23:00,120
And as he would raise her, excuse me, as he would hand her the flowers, Davey would always

284
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:03,200
say, I love you, Mommy.

285
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:04,280
I love you, Mommy.

286
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:05,920
And that made it even more special.

287
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,160
She looked for that every time.

288
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,000
And this was going on for a long time.

289
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:18,840
And finally, Dad decided, and that's Bob in the story, decided to help out Davey and also

290
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,320
to slow down all the weeds coming in.

291
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:31,360
And so he took Davey boy to the flower shop and he told Davey, he said, now, son, I will

292
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:36,320
help you buy a pretty rose every week.

293
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,600
And that way it won't be necessary to bring them in from the yard.

294
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:42,600
And so Davey thought that was a great idea.

295
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:47,640
So that began what was the routine of a rose a week.

296
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,480
And Davey never forgot and Dad stuck to his promise.

297
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:59,400
And so every week there was never a time when there was not a fresh rose in the house in

298
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:04,040
a vase sitting on the table in the living room.

299
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:09,480
And every week Davey would hand that flower to his mom and he would say, I love you, Mommy.

300
00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:10,480
Every week.

301
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:16,640
Well, it was Mother's Day and Davey boy was eight years old.

302
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,040
And the young boy came in the front door with flowers in his hand.

303
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:24,360
But on this very special day, it was not a single rose.

304
00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:30,640
Davey was carrying a beautiful vase, a rose bouquet in a vase.

305
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:36,240
And it was made into an arrangement and it was beautiful.

306
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:43,400
And Dad came in the door about that time following the boy and he looked at his wife and he said,

307
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:44,960
this was all his idea.

308
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:46,880
I had nothing to do with it.

309
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:53,280
He saved up his allowance for a long, long time because he really wanted to do this.

310
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,960
And he said, I even offered to pay for it, but he wouldn't have it.

311
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,140
He wanted to get them all by himself.

312
00:25:02,140 --> 00:25:07,320
And so as Davey sat that arrangement down on the table, he pointed something out to

313
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:08,320
Mom.

314
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:13,940
He says, look, Mommy, they are silk, but they look like real flowers.

315
00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:16,680
They will last forever.

316
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,240
They will last forever.

317
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,560
That's how much I love you, Mommy.

318
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,320
And so it was a gift of love.

319
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:28,720
And of course, you know, it got to Mom, tears fell.

320
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,840
And she said, oh, honey, they're beautiful and so are you.

321
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:36,800
And it was a very special moment that would never be forgotten.

322
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:43,640
Then years went by, years later, Davey had moved out, established his own home.

323
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:44,640
Things going on.

324
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,560
And his dad had died a few years before.

325
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:52,800
And now his mother was up in years.

326
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,720
And Davey got word that his mother was very sick.

327
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,280
And so she was in the hospital.

328
00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:00,960
And Davey went to be with her.

329
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,880
And a few days later, Ruth passed away with her Davey boy right beside her holding on

330
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,840
to her hand.

331
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:15,440
And just moments before she passed, Davey leaned over, still holding her hand, and he

332
00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:20,680
whispered in her ear, I love you, Mommy.

333
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:25,960
A few days later, Davey decided it was time to go over to the house that he'd grown up

334
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,600
in and to just kind of check on things in his parents' house.

335
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:37,320
And he walked into their bedroom and he noticed on her dresser an old arrangement of flowers.

336
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:43,160
And he realized that those were the flowers that he had given her so long ago.

337
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,080
And they had faded a lot.

338
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,140
They looked their age, but they were clean.

339
00:26:48,140 --> 00:26:54,160
They were in order as though they had been dusted off and as though they had been taken

340
00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,880
well care of.

341
00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:00,640
And so Davey looked at that, thought back.

342
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,880
Then he noticed a little card underneath the vase.

343
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:09,520
And as he pulled it out, he recognized his mother's handwriting.

344
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:14,120
And even though the ink had long begun to fade, he was able to read it.

345
00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,300
And the card showed these words.

346
00:27:17,300 --> 00:27:20,720
These flowers are a gift from my son.

347
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:25,840
They remind me every day that I will always be loved.

348
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:34,840
You know, for in some day, when we get to heaven and we are in the presence of God,

349
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:41,960
where there's no sin and sorrow and death, none of that will be there where the flowers

350
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:45,320
will never fade or die.

351
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:52,560
But even now, we can know that in God's eyes, that when we get to heaven, we will be the

352
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,560
most precious flowers in his garden.

353
00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,880
You and I.

354
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,600
That's because that's how much he loves us.

355
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:07,080
How much he loves us.

356
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:13,520
Think about that today as we sing this beautiful song about heaven.

357
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:23,040
When we all get to heaven, number 633, our closing song.