1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 I don't like that guy very much. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:08,000 If you want to know the PJ thing, then you got to go to the pod, I guess. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,000 So, but welcome. It's good to see you guys this morning. How are we? 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,000 Okay, not bad. Like half of you are here. That's good. 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Half of you are still trying to figure out. 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Wait a minute. This is service and we're starting and lights have already dimmed 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 and whatever that is online. Welcome to you. We're so glad you're with us. 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:31,000 I'm going to say hi to somebody. Elky, you're a Cleveland fan. 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:36,000 We'll still say hi to you today. So hi, Elky. How are you in Ohio? 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,000 And then Jeannie down in Phoenix. Welcome to you. 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:43,000 Baghdad, welcome to you. Paulden, I got to chat with Sue last night. 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,000 They are having new people showing up that God's just bringing in and that's amazing. 13 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 We're excited for you guys. Enjoy breakfast today. We're all jealous still, 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,000 but someday we will have breakfast and you won't. So there you go. 15 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:00,000 But welcome. If you're new to this space, welcome to you. We're glad you're with us. 16 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:06,000 We call ourselves family a lot. And this that we're doing right now, 17 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,000 you may be like, what's happening? Like I came to church. 18 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:14,000 Normally there's music first and we'll get there. We'll get there. 19 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000 It's a journey today. And the hope is that we get to walk it together, 20 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,000 that we get to wherever that conclusion is that God leads us there 21 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000 and that it's impactful to your life and helps transform. 22 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,000 I don't know. I don't know about you, but so we're at the end of the collection, 23 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,000 which means there's something new coming next week, which is a collection on Advent. 24 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 And so if you've been around, you know, our church calendar is we four weeks before Christmas, 25 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:45,000 we hit a collection about Advent and kind of gets us ready for the Christmas celebration. 26 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,000 So we start that next week. So what that means is this, 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,000 that between this week and next week, there's this thing called Thanksgiving. 28 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,000 Anyone excited for Thanksgiving? 29 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Much better than the first service. First service was like golf clap for Thanksgiving. 30 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 I'm like, man, Thanksgiving's got to work on its promo. I'm just saying. 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:09,000 But okay, Thanksgiving, obviously food's a big deal. Right. So any, what kind of food? 32 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:14,000 What kind of food? Turkey. Turkey. You know, out of three services, 33 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,000 that's the first time I've heard Turkey. So there you go. 34 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:24,000 So Turkey, what else? Pie. What kind of pie? Pumpkin pie. 35 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:29,000 Okay. Any pumpkin pan? Pumpkin pan? 36 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,000 Pumpkin pie fans. Man, words are hard today. So, oh, mixed review. 37 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,000 I saw that mixed review. Okay. Another mixed. Wow. 38 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:41,000 We'll move on from pumpkin pie then I guess. What else? What other kind of food? Cheesecake. 39 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,000 Cheesecake. Okay. This is all just to make you hungry by the end of service. 40 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,000 This is what this is. We're just helping our community. Hopefully you stop and pick up food. 41 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:56,000 I'm just kidding. So also Thanksgiving, you got football. 42 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:01,000 Okay. Cowboys fans. Anybody? Wow. You're still admitting it, huh? 43 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Well done. Well done. Still admitting. That's a true fan right there. 44 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,000 I mean, we got the Giants. Like who? The Giants don't, true story, 45 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Giants fans don't even care about the Giants. And yet they're, they're things. 46 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,000 Don't look at me like that. Nobody cares about the Giants. 47 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:24,000 Then you got what? The Lions? Any Lions fans? 48 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,000 Okay. Hang on. Hang on. You're getting ahead. Chiefs are on Black Friday, people. 49 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:33,000 We're on Thanksgiving still. Right? Okay. So you got the Lions. They're great. 50 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,000 So here's the thing. If that's not your thing, then maybe, or maybe family, right? 51 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,000 And that whole dilemma that you have of like where you're going, who's coming, 52 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,000 who we're excluding, you know, that whole thing. You're trying to figure out what family 53 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,000 you actually want to be around, you know, or is it just that one, one time a year 54 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,000 we'll get in and get out, you know, and hopefully the food's okay. 55 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,000 And so you got family and then you got Black Friday and Black Friday's changed a ton. 56 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,000 Right? Like Black Friday used to be, man, you were out, you were still full from Thanksgiving 57 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,000 running out the door to hit sales. And you want to know that the curse is real. 58 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,000 You should have been at Black Friday back in the day. You know why? 59 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:14,000 Because you got people punching old ladies for a TV. That's what you got. 60 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 And so Black Friday's changed a ton. It's moved a lot. 61 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000 But and then, yeah, you got football on Black Friday. They got the Chiefs. Right? 62 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,000 And we're anybody, anybody who's not a Chiefs fan, just so you know, is hoping the Chiefs lose. 63 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,000 I'm just saying anybody in the entire NFL is like, let them keep losing. 64 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,000 We're happy when they lose. So here's the thing with football. Right? 65 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:42,000 It's been an emotional week, you guys. As a Steelers fan, we prayed for the Raven game. 66 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:54,000 We won that. But in between, when I saw you last, we also went to Thursday and lost to the Browns. 67 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,000 Like I'm still emotionally in trouble. That's why we're doing this right now. 68 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:03,000 I'm just trying to recover. The Browns, really? Like, and God made it snow. 69 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:09,000 Like, come on. So I blame God for the loss personally. So something happened. 70 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,000 Anyways, speaking of football, something happened to me that's never happened before. 71 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Is on Thursday for the Steeler game, this little guy showed up. 72 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:27,000 It's coming. I promise. 73 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Train up a child is all I'm going to say. And they will not depart from it. Right? 74 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:40,000 What's fun about this picture is we have a picture of my daughter, my oldest daughter, same age, in a Steelers onesie. 75 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:45,000 So there you go. But my daughter came over and so I got to experience my first Steeler game with my grandson. 76 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:52,000 How amazing is that? And here's the best part. His dad's a Cowboys fan, but I know he's not. 77 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:58,000 Look at the next picture. 78 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000 He's happy to be a Steeler fan. I'm just saying, just going to put that out into the into the universe. 79 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,000 So here's the thing. So get to watch the game with him. It's amazing. 80 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:14,000 And another time this week, before this happened, I texted my daughter and I'm like, I just I just need cuddles. 81 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:19,000 Right. Like, and so she's like, OK, well, why don't you guys come over Monday? 82 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,000 And so we watched football Monday and ate some food and I got to hold it. 83 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:28,000 And this is this is the image that was captured Monday. 84 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:34,000 I mean, come on. You talk about filling your heart and doing you good. 85 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:40,000 I get to hold him and he's asleep and then his mom is holding him and he's just at rest. 86 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000 He's at peace. 87 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,000 You know what's amazing about that picture? 88 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:52,000 He doesn't know anything about inflation. 89 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000 He doesn't know anything about that day. 90 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:02,000 There were rockets fired into another country and people lost their lives. 91 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:09,000 He doesn't know about election and people being chosen to run a country. 92 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,000 He doesn't know about pain. 93 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:20,000 He doesn't know about death. He's completely with all that going on. 94 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:25,000 He's completely at peace. 95 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 Here's what's amazing. 96 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:39,000 The book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ, is supposed to let you be at peace when the world is crazy. 97 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:44,000 It's a gift. We have been given a gift. 98 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:48,000 It was written to a church that was in persecution. 99 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:54,000 It was written to a church that they didn't know if they were going to walk out of the gathering and be alive. 100 00:07:54,000 --> 00:08:00,000 Their businesses were being closed down by the outside culture because they didn't agree with them. 101 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,000 There was a cost to following Jesus. They were under immense oppression. 102 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:14,000 What happens? God gives them a gift, the book of Revelation, and he says, don't lose your purpose, but also know your future. 103 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,000 Here's what's amazing about endurance. 104 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:23,000 This idea of holding on to your faith when it's easier to give up. 105 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:29,000 Endurance is an interesting thing. It reminds me of being on a stationary bike. 106 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,000 When I work out, I've got this stationary bike at my house. 107 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:37,000 I've got this TV in front of me and there's this app I found that is from a German company. 108 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:44,000 What it does is anyone can go and take a real ride outside, video it, and then upload it. 109 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:52,000 Then what happens is I can jump on my stationary bike and the numbers from my bike will affect the app. 110 00:08:52,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Now the video that might have taken the person two hours to ride, I can do it in whatever time I can crank out on the bike. 111 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:05,000 Some of the rides are really long. Some of them are over 30 miles. 112 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:12,000 That's a long way on a stationary bike. I'm just going to say it's too easy. It's too easy, people. It's too easy. 113 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:21,000 This idea that as you're going, 30 miles is a long way, and the idea of endurance kicks in. 114 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:32,000 But you know what helps endure in that moment? On the top of the TV, on the top of this app, there's a progress, a little dot that shows you how far you've gone. 115 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:38,000 It shows you elevation changes. It shows you how hard the ride is going to get in this part and how easy it's going to get over here. 116 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:43,000 It shows you where the end is. Endurance is built when you know the end. 117 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:48,000 What is Revelation, chapter 21? What is the whole thing of Revelation? 118 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:53,000 It's a gift to the church to go endure. You know the end. You know the outcome. 119 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,000 This isn't up for somebody to ride it differently. 120 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000 God gives us a gift to go, this is where this whole thing is heading, and you can count on it. 121 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,000 And in Revelation 21, there's a specific context that comes from 20. In 20, there's this battle, right? 122 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:16,000 And everybody talks about, if you're around everybody, everybody in Christian circles talks about the battle of Gog and Magog, right? 123 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Like, it's this big, like, all the people that are against God come and they're going to have a fight with God. 124 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:29,000 God gives one verse to the outcome. Fire fell from heaven. They're done. 125 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Like, it's literally, that's what it says. And then it says that the one who'd rallied them, Satan himself, God's enemy, right? 126 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:45,000 And Satan gets so much press, right? That he's the one that is in control, you should be afraid of, all this press for Satan, right? 127 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:51,000 And one verse again, you know what God does? God takes Satan and throws him into the lake of fire. 128 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:58,000 And that's it. And then you get these books that are opened. It's judgment. It's this throne room. 129 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:05,000 And in the throne room, God, who is the judge, who is also surrounded by mercy from last week, God then goes, 130 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:12,000 you know what? I'm going to open these books and look at everything that has been done, good and bad, and I'm going to reward accordingly. 131 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:20,000 And then it says that there's another book, the book of life. And the book of life has names in it. 132 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:30,000 And it says anyone who is not in the book of life, they are removed and put in the same place, the lake of fire. 133 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:36,000 What is God doing in chapter 20? He is getting the hell out of earth, right? 134 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:44,000 He's getting everything that is the opposite of God, everything that is not of him, everything that is sinful, that is cursed. 135 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Everybody who stands against him, shaking their fists, he removes all of that. Why? So that 21 then can happen. 136 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:59,000 I don't want to miss a moment though, because you may be here going, John, you just talked about a book of life. 137 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:07,000 How do I get in the book of life? Jesus is the center of the book of life. 138 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,000 You want to get in the book of life and the book of life becomes a big deal as we walk through this, right? 139 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,000 Like the book of life, the book of life, how do you know your eternal security? 140 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:21,000 How do you know where you're going future, where you will be? What have you done with Jesus? 141 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:26,000 Is Jesus the center of your trust? Is Jesus your savior? 142 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:31,000 Have I put my trust in his unfailing work to rescue me from sin? 143 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Have I put my trust in him as my savior and Lord? 144 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,000 And that's where this book of life comes. What have you done with Jesus? 145 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,000 Those that have said yes to Jesus, their names are in the book of life. And then 21 starts. 146 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:47,000 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 147 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:52,000 For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. 148 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:59,000 So John now has this vision, right? And in his vision, he goes, I see a new heaven and a new earth. 149 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:04,000 Now, depending on your church background, depending on how you come into this conversation, 150 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:10,000 when you hear the word new, you might have been told that there is annihilation that happens, right? 151 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:15,000 That this whole earth is just going to burn, right? Like God's just going to do away with it. 152 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,000 But here's the thing. This is why the narrative is so important. 153 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:23,000 Because if you follow the narrative, what you find in scripture is the word new. 154 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:29,000 It doesn't always mean completely replaced, annihilated, done away with. 155 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,000 And now this new shiny thing is here. How do I know that? 156 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:38,000 The Bible says that you, as followers of Jesus, are a new creation, yet you still look the same. 157 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Why? Because God is transforming you. He is what? He has made you new where? 158 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,000 On the inside of you, and that flows to everything outward. 159 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:55,000 So the word new doesn't necessarily mean destroyed, gone away, completely annihilated, and now this is here. 160 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000 Another example would be this, that Peter talks about in the flood. 161 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:03,000 So back to the story. We spent a week talking about Noah, the flood, the ark, right? 162 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:08,000 And he talks about how Peter references the flood waters, that they destroyed the earth. 163 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Did the flood really destroy the earth? 164 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Or did the flood through the water purify the earth, transform the earth? 165 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,000 And so you have all the way through scripture, you have this word new 166 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,000 that doesn't mean that it was completely done away with. 167 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Why is this important? Because for a lot of us, what we got… 168 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,000 How many of you were here last week for the throne room? 169 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,000 Okay, some of you. Some of you need to go back and listen. Here's why. 170 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:40,000 Because the throne room, the throne room is majestic. It's who God is. 171 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,000 It's what he's about. But here's the problem. 172 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,000 Most people's version of heaven is the throne room. 173 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,000 Most people's version of heaven is, wait a minute, God's going to be on a throne, 174 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 and I'm going to be there, and we're going to be singing worship songs, 175 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:59,000 and then we're all going to fall down, and that's just what eternity is forever and ever and ever. 176 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:04,000 And most people go, is there another option? 177 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:09,000 Why? Because that's so foreign to us, because you weren't created for that. 178 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,000 You were created to exist where? On the earth. 179 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:17,000 And when you go back to the original intent of God, it was to dwell with God where? 180 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,000 On the earth without the curse of sin. 181 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:25,000 And so what you get at the end is you get God creating a new heavens and a new earth. 182 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:32,000 So when you think of heaven, when you think of forever, ever, this is forever, ever. 183 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,000 And he says, there's a new heavens and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. 184 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 And there was no longer any sea. Verse two, I saw the holy city. 185 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000 So there's a city, the New Jerusalem. 186 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,000 So there's that word new again, right? But if you think about it, we know what? 187 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000 We know Jerusalem. That's familiar to us, right? 188 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000 God's giving us reference points. 189 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:57,000 So we know Jerusalem is a literal city that we can wrap our minds around. 190 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:02,000 Now, Jerusalem also is connected to this whole story in a very vital way. 191 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,000 It says, I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 192 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000 prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. 193 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,000 Here's what's fascinating to me over and over and over. 194 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:21,000 When you hear God talk about forever, ever for our eternal home, guess what language is used? 195 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,000 A bride and her husband. 196 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,000 What is the most intimate relationship on the planet? A marriage. 197 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:35,000 What is the purpose of God comparing and connecting the connection of our forever home to what? 198 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,000 To this city, but then compares it to a bride. Why? 199 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:43,000 Because your eternal home has to do with an intimate relationship with God. 200 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:48,000 Your eternal home is about being with God. It's not about a place. 201 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,000 It's not about the specifics of a place. 202 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,000 It's the idea that you and God would know separation forever. 203 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,000 And so he compares it to this intimate relationship. 204 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,000 Verse three, and I heard a loud voice from the throne. 205 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,000 So we know from last week, the throne, this is God's voice saying what? 206 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000 Look, God's dwelling place, you could take the word dwelling and put home. 207 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:12,000 So God's home is now among the people and he will dwell his home. 208 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:19,000 He will be at home with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. 209 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,000 Okay. So, so what is declared by God? 210 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,000 That this is home. Where is home? Home is with the people. 211 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:30,000 Now, what we have to be careful of is that we don't go, okay, the word people means us. 212 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:34,000 No, the word is people's right. It's, it's a global gospel. 213 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,000 We've been talking about this. It is not an American gospel. 214 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:42,000 Jesus is not American. He's not for Americans. He's for what? 215 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,000 English people and Chinese and African, like all the way out. 216 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000 Why? Because it's a global gospel. He is for all of humanity. 217 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,000 And what is represented here is all of humanity. 218 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,000 That God will be at home with who? His people. 219 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Those that have said, I want to be with God for eternity. 220 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000 How does that happen? Jesus at the center. 221 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,000 And so verse four says, he being God will wipe wipe every tear from their eyes. 222 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:21,000 There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away. 223 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,000 Okay, I know you're in church, but that at least deserves a smile. 224 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:36,000 I mean, come on, no more death, no more pain, no more mourning, no more sorrow, no more sickness. 225 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:43,000 Hey, think about it. If you're a doctor, we'll get better. 226 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,000 The longer we go, we'll get better. The longer we go. 227 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,000 But think about it. If you're a doctor, there is no hospital. You don't have a job. 228 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:57,000 You're out of a job in heaven. It's okay. So am I. You won't need a pastor in heaven. 229 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:04,000 I mean, that's the amazing part, right? Like all the things that we connect. Cancer wards, not in heaven. 230 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,000 You're eternal forever, ever. It's not there. 231 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:12,000 Surgery centers, diagnosis that is not good. It's not there. 232 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:18,000 There is no pain. There is no suffering. It's gone. Right. And so it carries on. 233 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,000 He who is seated on the throne says, I am making everything new. 234 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:27,000 Then he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. 235 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,000 This is where it's so important for us because we live in a world of fake news. 236 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:35,000 We live in a world where you don't know what headline is actually real. 237 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:40,000 We live in a world where we don't know what we're being fed and by whom. 238 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:46,000 And what happens here is from the very throne of God who is trustworthy and true. 239 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,000 He says, he say, you can take these words and you can count on them. 240 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:55,000 Who was he writing to? A whole bunch of churches that did not know their future 241 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,000 and did not know who to believe and wasn't sure what was happening. 242 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:05,000 And he says, wait a minute, these are trustworthy and true that there will be no more pain, no more suffering to come. 243 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,000 Verse six, he says, he said to me, it is done. It is done. It is finished. 244 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:15,000 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 245 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:19,000 This is why it's so important to understand the grand narrative of the Bible. 246 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:23,000 Go all the way back to the beginning. 247 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:28,000 Very first verse of the Bible that we started with all those weeks ago in February. 248 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:33,000 What did it say? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 249 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:39,000 In the what? In the beginning. Wait a minute. What does Jesus, what does God tell us he is? 250 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000 He is the beginning and the end. 251 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:48,000 So you could take that verse and go in the Jesus, because Jesus is the center of it all, in the Jesus, God created the heavens and the earth. 252 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:54,000 What do you get all the way at the end? A beginning. 253 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,000 And in that beginning, what is God doing? What God has always done? 254 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:03,000 He is creating and what is he creating for? For his people to have a home with him. 255 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:10,000 And so in the beginning, in Jesus, who is the center, it says, in that space to the thirsty, 256 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,000 I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 257 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:19,000 That sounds pretty good. He's going to provide without cost. 258 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,000 You're not going to have to worry about inflation. Just saying. 259 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,000 Those who are victorious will inherit all of this. Keyword. 260 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Those who are victorious will inherit all of this and I will be their God and they will be my children. 261 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000 Remember, he's writing to a group of people that want to give up. 262 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:42,000 He's writing to a group of people and the word that's used in Revelation over and over is to be an overcomer, right? 263 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:48,000 To be victorious. And what he's saying is to those who have stayed and clung on to Jesus, 264 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:55,000 those who have stayed anchored to Jesus at the center, those who still profess and go, Jesus is my Lord and Savior. 265 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:00,000 He goes to those people, to those people. They will be my children. 266 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,000 Verse eight, but the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, 267 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:11,000 those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 268 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,000 This is the second death. He goes to all those. Remember the context? 269 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:23,000 Within one of the letters to the churches in Revelation that God talks about these apostles, 270 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:29,000 these people that showed up going, I'm an apostle. I have this new teaching. They were liars. 271 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:35,000 And so all these things that are represented here were part of the early church. 272 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:43,000 And what God is doing is going, hey, you need to be victorious clinging to Jesus and not let these other things be victorious. 273 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:50,000 Don't follow these things. Don't claim an allegiance to these things, but claim an allegiance to Jesus. 274 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,000 Why? Because you're playing for keeps in this life. 275 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:59,000 Verse nine says one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to him, 276 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:07,000 come, I will show you the bride. There's that intimate relational language again, the wife of the lamb. 277 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:16,000 And he carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great and high and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. 278 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:23,000 OK, so now, so now this holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. OK, where is it coming down to? 279 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:30,000 Earth. What is happening? What is the picture that you're being given? Heaven and earth are becoming what? 280 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:38,000 One, the way God always intended it to be, that God's dwelling place, that God would be with us. 281 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:44,000 And so you have this this melding, if you like, of heaven and earth. 282 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:52,000 And we're told we're told that in this space, it's earth. Why? Because you were made for what? 283 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,000 Earth, you were made to be disembodied. You were made to be flying around. 284 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:03,000 We can't even wrap our brains around that. What you were made for was what? Earth. 285 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:11,000 God designed you for this life. 286 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:20,000 Verse 11, it's Sean. So the city, Sean, with the glory of God and its brilliance was like that, a very precious jewel. 287 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:25,000 And it says, it's like a jasper, it's as clear as crystal. 288 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:31,000 If you were here last week, what was the what was the imagery given of God? He was like what? 289 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,000 Jasper, he goes, he was like Jasper. 290 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:39,000 And it says of the city that it's shining because of his glory, right, because of who God is. 291 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,000 It's shining as clear as crystal. 292 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:51,000 And so what we're given now is a description of this city, and we're told that there are 12 gates, three on each side. 293 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:57,000 And what we're told about these gates is above the gate is written the name of one of the tribes of Israel. 294 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:03,000 So you go around and now the 12 tribes are represented over the gates of this city. 295 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:09,000 And then it says that there's foundation. And on the foundation are the names of the 12 apostles, right? 296 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:14,000 So back to last week, what do we know about the 24 elders that represented all of God's people? 297 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:19,000 What do you have in the very city on the walls and on the foundation? 298 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:27,000 It's a declaration of who this city is for. Who is the city for? For all of God's people through the whole narrative. 299 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:37,000 Did this those that claim to follow God, those that claim allegiance to Jesus as a sinner, what what were we told that this city is designed for them? 300 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:46,000 That they belong. You want to know where you belong for all of eternity in the city of God with God. 301 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:57,000 And so the city comes down and then we're told that the angel in verse 15, the angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold. 302 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,000 I mean, what are tape measures made out in heaven? 303 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:07,000 It's not bad gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 304 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:13,000 The city was laid out like a square. 305 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:19,000 So he doesn't say it is a square. He goes, it's like a square. So the shape he wants you to have in mind is what? 306 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:26,000 A square. OK, so the city was like a square as long as it was wide. 307 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:36,000 He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length and as wide and high as it is long. 308 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:41,000 What just happened to our square? It just became a cube. 309 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:53,000 Well, that's fascinating. Why would the city, the New Jerusalem that's coming down that we're told the size of, by the way, maybe to put it in language we can understand. 310 00:26:53,000 --> 00:27:00,000 This city stretches from New York to Houston. One city. 311 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,000 I don't know about you, that's pretty impressive to me. 312 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:11,000 Three point two five million square feet. Roughly is what you get. 313 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:17,000 This city that is a cube. Again, why is the story so important? 314 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:23,000 Because you go back in the story and you go, where have we seen a cube before? 315 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:30,000 Well, you guys remember the nation of Israel and you remember how God told them to build a temple and God told them inside of that temple, 316 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:37,000 there would be a back room that was called the Holy of Holies where God's presence would dwell. 317 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:43,000 You know what shape the Holy of Holies was where God's presence dwell? It's a cube. 318 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:49,000 All the way back in the story, what was God doing? Giving us a glimpse of what was to come. 319 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:54,000 That his presence would dwell. Now, what do we know about this moment with the temple? 320 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:59,000 That only one time a year one person could go into the presence of God. 321 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:06,000 So only one time once a year could somebody go into the cube where God's presence existed. 322 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:12,000 That was also covered with gold. And what do you get over here? You get a city. 323 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:20,000 And what is the city? It's a cube. Why? Because God is going to what? Be with his people. 324 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:29,000 And he will be their God. And then he begins to break out even further. He says, there's all kinds of precious stones that are put on it, right? 325 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:35,000 Verse 21, the 12 gates were made of 12 pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. 326 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:44,000 The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass. I'm not a big gold connoisseur, 327 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:51,000 but I'm pretty sure if the planet could find gold as pure as glass, we would lose our minds. 328 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:57,000 How do I know? Because the impure version we have of gold, people lose their minds for it. They give their whole lives for it. 329 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:03,000 And we're told in heaven that what's going to happen with gold? Oh, that'll be the road. 330 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:12,000 Oh, that'll be the stucco on the walls. That God is going to make walls out of glass or walls out of gold. 331 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:17,000 That's like glass. There's going to be gems everywhere. 332 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:24,000 These precious stones that people fight and grind and keep in little boxes that we call safes. 333 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,000 That in heaven, they're just abundant. Why? 334 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:36,000 Because what the stones do is they enhance light. What do we know about God? God is light. 335 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:42,000 And so now in the city, everything that is made in the city is designed to enhance the light of what? 336 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,000 The very presence and nature of God. 337 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:52,000 That you cannot go anywhere on the new earth and be outside of what? God's very presence. 338 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:59,000 And you will be able to not only feel it, but see it. 339 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:05,000 I did not see verse 22. I did not see a temple in the city because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its temple. 340 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:15,000 I got good news for you. You won't be going to a place of worship. You will be in a place of worship forever. 341 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:22,000 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and the lamb is its lamp. 342 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,000 He keeps bringing the lamb back into it. The lamb that was slain from last week, Jesus, right, who is still the center of it all. 343 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:36,000 He goes, hey, he's the lamp of the city. The nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 344 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:42,000 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no more night. 345 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:48,000 Why is it important that the gates aren't shut? Why do you close gates on a city? To protect it. 346 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:55,000 To keep out what's there. Often, often in this context and culture, guess what happened? Nighttime would come. 347 00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:00,000 Nighttime was seen as evil when people did bad things. And so nighttime would come. And what would happen? 348 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:06,000 You close the gates to the city. Why? To keep the night out. There is no night. There is no threat. 349 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:13,000 Your future is not waiting for the next enemy to show up or the next war or whatever. It's God going, hey, I've got this. 350 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:20,000 And there is no threat forever, ever. 351 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:24,000 Verse 26, the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 352 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:32,000 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. 353 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:37,000 It's another opportunity. John's repeating, right? He's going, don't miss, don't miss who this is for. 354 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:43,000 It's for those that have said yes to Jesus. This is the future. 355 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:49,000 And I just wonder today, because you're playing for keeps in this life, some people think this life is a holding spot for eternity, right? 356 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:55,000 It's a holding spot for heaven. This life is not a holding spot for heaven. 357 00:31:55,000 --> 00:32:08,000 What you do here matters for all of eternity. What you do with Jesus, who is the center of forever, matters for all of eternity. 358 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:15,000 And I just wonder for you today, where are you at with Jesus? 359 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:22,000 Verse 22 carries on. Then the angel showed me the river of water of life. 360 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:34,000 So this river that is the water of life, as clear as crystal flowing from really important from the throne of God and the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. 361 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:42,000 On each side of the river stood the tree of life bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. 362 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:48,000 And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. So now you've got this river. What is this river? It's a river of life. 363 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:57,000 Why is this important? Because what's being signified is coming from God is everything you will ever need for life, for all of eternity. 364 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:05,000 That he will provide that there is provision that he doesn't come up short. The tree of life, back to the narrative, all the way back to Genesis, we saw the tree of life. 365 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:10,000 What happened with that tree of life? People who'd made a sinful choice got put out of the garden. Why? 366 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:16,000 Because in our sinful state, if we would have reached out and taken the tree of life and eaten it, we'd be trapped like this forever. 367 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:22,000 And I don't know about you, but I don't want to be trapped like this forever because this is hell. 368 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:29,000 And what do you get all the way down in the end of the story? What are we told that the tree of life is where on either side of this river? 369 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:38,000 And what happens with the tree of life? It produces fruit every month for 12 months. That's weird because there's no sun and moon. So there is no calendar. 370 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:46,000 I don't know how you feel. That gives me life. Those of you that are planners, you might not like it too much. Right? 371 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:53,000 What's significant about the 12 months is this, that in our time, that covers all of our life. 372 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:58,000 It's 12 month cycles. And what are we being told that for all of eternity, God will provide? 373 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:07,000 How much? Abundantly that will cover every moment that you need. 374 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:14,000 Verse three, no longer, no longer will there be any curse. 375 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:23,000 The throne of God and the lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him. No longer will there be any curse. 376 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:33,000 All right. We're going to read it again. No longer will there be any curse. 377 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:38,000 I mean, you, you get it right. You get why this is such a big deal. 378 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:44,000 Because everything you have ever struggled with in your life is from the curse. 379 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:52,000 Every single thing that sin that you keep doing that you don't want to do. Guess where that came from? The curse. 380 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:57,000 Right? The broken relationships. You're just like, I just can't get it right. 381 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:04,000 Because it always ends up being me selfish. That came from the curse. 382 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:12,000 All the things that you look at, like mental illness, all the brokenness, all the things we struggle with, all the things of torment. 383 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:19,000 They all came from the curse. And what we are told is in the forever, ever that God has for us, that he's intended for us. 384 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:26,000 What? There will be no more curse forever. You will not deal with it anymore. 385 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:32,000 This is why the good news is good news. This is why Jesus is worth it. 386 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:40,000 This is why Jesus at the center matters, because this is what God has always wanted for humans. 387 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:46,000 He says, there'll be no more curse. Verse four. 388 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:52,000 They will see his face. 389 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:57,000 They will see his face and his name will be on their forehead. 390 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:01,000 You know why this is such a big deal? This is bigger than the curse. 391 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:10,000 They will see his face. You know what a signal in scripture of God's face being towards you was? 392 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:20,000 Blessing. What's being declared here is that God's people for all of eternity will be blessed by God. 393 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000 But it's greater than that because you remember Moses is great as Moses was. 394 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:28,000 Moses has a moment with God and God goes, no one can see my face or else I'll die. 395 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:32,000 And so he hides Moses in a cleft. He goes, Moses, I'll show you. 396 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:38,000 But then he passes by and only shows him his backside because you can't see the face of God. 397 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:51,000 But in forever, ever in our eternal home, we will see the very face of God for all of eternity. 398 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:56,000 There will be no more night. There will be no the need of a lamp, nor the light of the sun for the Lord. 399 00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:02,000 God will give them light and they and they God's people will reign forever and ever. 400 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:10,000 How long? Forever, ever, forever, ever, forever, ever, ever, forever. 401 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:17,000 The angel said to me, these words are here it is again, trustworthy and true. 402 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,000 What does it mean for you today? You can bank on this for eternity. 403 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:26,000 It's already written and it's written by the only person that can write it. God himself. 404 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:30,000 And what does he say? These are trustworthy and true. 405 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:37,000 The Lord, the God who inspired the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. 406 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:45,000 Next verse is in red. If you have an old school Bible, words of Jesus, look, Jesus declares, I am coming soon. 407 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,000 Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in the scroll. 408 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:54,000 Verse 20, he who testifies to these things says, and then you have red words again, the words of Jesus. 409 00:37:54,000 --> 00:38:02,000 Jesus declares, yes, I am coming soon. What is the response of Jesus coming soon? 410 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:06,000 John sees this whole revelation. He sees how great the future is. 411 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:12,000 And Jesus declares, I'm coming soon, John. And what does John say to him? Amen. 412 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:18,000 He goes, I'm with you. Amen. I agree. 413 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:31,000 And then catch what he says next. Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Lord, Lord. 414 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:38,000 He sees a glimpse of who God really is and what's on his lips. Honor and praise and worship. 415 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:44,000 You are Lord. That's what he's got. 416 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:58,000 This Jesus who is at the center forever. John goes, come, Lord Jesus. We can't wait. 417 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:05,000 We can't wait. Remember that baby sleeping at rest when everything else around? 418 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:13,000 That's how you should be. That whatever you brought in, God got it. 419 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:20,000 Whatever you wound up about, your future is not wound up. Your future is secure. 420 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:25,000 So endure. And while you endure, let's worship him for who he is. 421 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:44,000 Lord Jesus, who is the center of forever. Would you stand? We're going to worship together.