I am Pastor Nathan and today we are gathered here to continue our look at heaven.
One of the most beautiful promises of Scripture for those who know Jesus Christ.
The eternity that is to come for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.
The eternity to come after all things found in Revelation chapter 21.
Now some of you may have heard this story before but I think it just illustrates the point here really good.
There was a story about a missionary, a long time missionary that was returning to the United States once
after 25 some odd years of service on another continent.
And on the boat that this missionary was on on his way back to the United States
was President Theodore Roosevelt who was returning from a three week hunting trip in Africa.
And so when the ship arrived in New York Harbor there were crowds and bands and banners and hoopla and parade right.
There was so much celebration all there to welcome the president home.
And so the missionary ends up getting off the boat unnoticed by anybody jostled around as people were trying to push past him to see the president.
And this missionary got a little upset and prays and says God I've been serving you for 25 years in really difficult circumstances.
I mean I know that's the president but that guy all he did was spend three weeks killing animals in Africa.
You know but nobody so much as even said thank you to me getting off this boat.
Nobody even noticed that I'm home.
And then he heard the still small voice of the Lord speak into his mind and said my son you're not home yet.
You know when you think of the word or the concept of home what do you think of a lot of people have different thoughts.
You know some the first thing that might come to mind is the practical definition of home right.
They might think of their house right. They might think of that place they live their residence.
One person said it's where your stuff's at right.
That's home. Others might think of the abstract definition where they think of home in the concepts of it's the place of comfort.
It's a place of safety.
It's the place where you are welcomed the place where you are loved right.
A couple definitions that people had I found online is where you can laugh without shyness.
Another person said it's where you can both be both the champion and be insecure and you're still cherished either way.
For others unfortunately the concept of home brings to mind trauma and pain and fear due to you know abuses and other hurts and harms done in home.
And that is really a corruption of what home is supposed to be.
It's a corruption born of sin.
But regardless of your experience your ideas of home here in this life scripture presents our ultimate home as a place of perfection
and beauty and peace and contentment.
It is just the most wonderful possible perception of what home is and scripture calls it heaven.
It's a place without any of the negative that is the result of sin.
Instead like I said it's a place of perpetual perfect good and right.
Ultimate peace and joy and safety forever.
A place that is defined as being in and with God's glorious presence for all time which is a weird way to put it because it's forever it's eternity.
And it's a place the Bible tells us without any tears without any grief without any sorrow without any pain of any kind.
It's a place called heaven.
But for the Christian here now on this earth for the believer the biggest truth about home is that we aren't home yet.
We're not home yet and Revelation 21 allows us a glimpse into our home into this place this this place called heaven into eternity.
In our previous message we looked at really what heaven is in the context of what Revelation 21 teaches us and we looked at the new heaven and the new earth.
Today we're going to take a closer look at how heaven is described as our home not so much in the practical definition of what it is a new heaven a new earth.
We talked about our glorious bodies and what existence there might be like but rather we're going to look at it in what Revelation gives us as the abstract definition not what it is but what being there will be like.
And then we'll also talk about how to get there in the word. But before we get to that this morning we're going to spend time in worship to praise God.
Really this is what we're going to be doing forever.
So if you don't like it here but God is worthy of all praise.
You know for those of us that know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior he saved you from sin.
He saved you from death.
He saved you from hell and the Bible has been very clear as we've studied through Revelation of what's to come for those who don't trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
But for those of us that do wow what a glorious future we have to look forward to and that glorious future deserves all the praise now that we could give him.
And so let's pray and let's worship God.
Father we love you so much.
We're so excited Lord for what's to come in heaven.
Lord and you've given us a glimpse Lord. I'm sure it's not a total picture.
I don't even know if we could comprehend the total picture Lord but God your word gives us these glimpses that we would be encouraged and excited and motivated to see what it is that we are so looking forward to God.
This place of perfect joy and beauty.
And yet Lord we know that we're not there yet.
We're still on this journey through this life Lord.
And yet God you are with us here as you're going to be with us there.
We know it's different in many ways but God it doesn't change the fact that you are with us here in this life and we could praise you for that and we worship you for that and we do praise you and we do worship you for that.
Because Lord you are here teaching us and molding us and shaping us and really God just doing this wonderful work in our lives that we would be people who walk in holiness.
But Lord the holiness we walk in now is just a glimpse of the holiness we will live in perpetually and God wow we look forward to that.
Lord bless us today as we study your word speak to us today.
Be blessed Lord as we worship your holy name.
We love you so much.
It's in Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
All right.
We are in Revelation chapter 21.
As I mentioned in the intro in our previous message we looked at what heaven is as we took a look at verses one through four of Revelation 21 and really spent the bulk of our time defining what is meant by the new heaven and the new earth and what our practical existence may look like there in our glorified bodies.
But with the question of what is heaven also comes the question of what will being there be like.
And if you want a quick answer to that question God was kind enough to answer it in verse five of Revelation 21 and it says this there then the one seated on the throne said look I am making everything new.
There's your answer.
Okay.
What's heaven going to be?
What's it going to be like new.
Everything will be new.
And so whatever it's going to be like right we get glimpses here and we try and draw conclusions through the study of word but ultimately whatever it's going to be like it's going to be different than now.
It's going to be very different than now.
You know when it says that word new in the original language that word new means previously unknown.
That indicates that that heaven is going to be in existence that that we can't really connect to now like it's it's a experience nobody's had yet.
And so we do our best at trying to describe it but that word new also means superior or better in every way to the old.
That's what heaven's going to be in the millennial kingdom.
We studied that the earth is renovated but it's still the first earth right.
We talked about that after tribulation ends and the second coming of Jesus Christ arrives that this earth this first earth a part of this first creation will be renovated in a sense.
I believe it's going to be restored to pre fall like conditions that we read about in Genesis and then we're going to dwell those of us that are there that return with Christ and our glorified bodies.
We're going to dwell there with Christ ruling and reigning for a thousand years.
And then at the end of that thousand years we read about a final rebellion by Satan and then the great great white throne judgment which is the final judgment of those who rejected Christ.
And then you get to eternity and in eternity it's all different.
It's all new and that's what was meant by a new heaven and a new earth.
It's a new creation.
It's a new universe.
It's a brand new earth different than the one we that we have here.
We're going to get into next time where he starts talking about the new Jerusalem which there's a Jerusalem today but there's going to be a new Jerusalem that's going to be the capital of the redeemed if you will where Jesus Christ rules from forever.
It's just going to be God's presence.
But heaven isn't just about the practical physical differences of a new universe and a new earth.
It's also about the abstract or the emotional differences or psychological differences for those of you that that might want to use that word.
Heaven will be new different superior to this existence in every way.
It will be unlike anything that anybody has ever known.
And so let's look at that.
Let's look at what Revelation 21 tells us reading from Revelation chapter 21 starting in verse 4.
It says he will wipe away 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 right 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.
But the cowards faithless detestable murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars.
Their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death.
So in addition to what heaven is verses 1 through 3 verse 4 gets into what being in heaven will be like.
Now we touched on verse 4 very briefly last week but I wanted to drill down a bit more into it today and see what it talks about.
One of the things you will notice here as he is describing heaven for us in these verses is that the experience of being in heaven is described primarily in the negative.
And I don't mean as negative right but it is described in the negative right.
It is interesting to me that instead of saying here is what the experience of being in heaven will be like.
He tells us what it is not.
He describes heaven or the experience of being in heaven by what it is not.
And you might ask the question well why?
Why does he have to do that?
Well it is because heaven will be so unlike anything we can experience now.
Anything that we have ever experienced here in this life.
It will be so completely different.
It will be new it says.
And so one of if not the greatest way to help people understand something beyond the experience of life here and now
is to frame the incomprehensible according to what we can comprehend.
Does that make sense?
Like we can't understand heaven but we do understand this life and so he has to frame it in terms of our experiences here.
If you remember Paul when he was caught up to the third heaven he was speaking of people having visions and revelations and stuff.
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 4 he says I was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words which a human being is not allowed to speak.
The idea there was that his experience of being caught up into heaven meaning the abode the spiritual transcendent realm where God lives
it was something too holy to express.
That's what that word inexpressible means.
I heard inexpressible words.
It means that what he saw what he heard what he experienced was so holy that there was no way to relate it to you in words.
There was something that there was no way to understand it without having experienced it is what Paul is saying.
And we should understand that like how do you describe a beautiful sunset to someone who has been blind their whole life.
How do you do that?
How do you describe the beauty of music to someone who's never been able to hear?
How would you describe a great meal to someone who can't taste or can't smell?
Well how do you describe the eternal state eternal life that word zoe we've talked about so much.
How do you describe that to someone whose only experience is being bound temporally to this existence in this earth.
Well how do you do that by juxtaposing heaven with what we do understand.
And that's what he's doing here in these verses because I mean I don't think any of you would disagree with me.
We understand grief pretty good here don't we.
We understand crying and pain and death.
We understand tears.
We understand all of that.
You know some of us cry more than others.
Some of us cry easier than others.
Right.
Physically God created us in these bodies with these little glands and ducts in the corner of our eyes.
We call them tear ducts.
Right.
And then the physiology of that the biology of it is these these tear ducts.
They secrete tears to lubricate our eyes and to wash out foreign contaminants that might get in our eyes.
But they have another function don't they.
These tears that are that are shed from our eyes are really a part of us expressing emotion expressing feeling.
You know we express feeling through this washing process of tears coming out of our eyes.
And so these words he uses here he says grief crying pain will be no more.
What does he mean by grief.
That word grief in the original language means sorrow.
It means being sad.
Right.
But it's but it's sorrow often expressed as a result of losing a loved one.
That's the example.
Many of us have lost loved ones in our lives and we've experienced that grief that that sorrow that comes with that.
You know when I when my dad died he died about 15 some odd years ago.
And I remember at the funeral I had I had wrote up some notes and it was just I was just bullet points.
This is going to be easy peasy.
Right.
You know I'm a strong man.
Right.
I could talk at the funeral.
And then in the moment I just like melted like butter in the hot sun.
I just fell apart.
Part of it was because I was so ashamed that I was a bad kid.
So I was like in the moment I was like I'm never going to be able to apologize to my dad for being a bad kid.
Right.
And the recognition of the loss and the separation was I mean I was blubbering it was snot.
It was gross.
Right.
It was like the whole deal and I couldn't even read my notes.
Right.
So I just had to read the bullet points which sounded all weird.
I had bullet point one bullet point two because I just I couldn't hold it together but it was tears.
It was grief.
It was sorrow.
Many of us have experienced that this word grief also includes the ideas of emotional lows and depression.
And many of us deal with that all the time.
We all experience being depressed from time to time.
But some of us struggle with it in a different way.
Me just to be a little bit transparent here.
I suffer from seasonal depression.
And for years and years and years of my life it was every September I would just feel the you know hello darkness my old friend.
I'd feel it come along and I'd be like oh here it is.
And then a couple years ago I guess it was just like hey I want more of the calendar.
And so it started popping up multiple times throughout the year.
You know it's just something I deal with.
Right.
And I've prayed and you know and all that.
But we get depression.
Right.
We get those emotional lows that that hit us where where we're struggling.
But then he uses this word crying.
Right.
That word in the original language means a loud emotional utterance.
The modern slang is ugly crying.
We get it.
We get what that is right.
The tears and the snot and all this stuff.
It's it's when the sorrow is too much.
We just we just have to cry out from the difficulty.
The word pain there.
Original language it means great distress due to anxiety.
It's speaking of emotional pain without excluding physical pain.
Does that make sense.
So it is talking about like broke broken legs and you know physical pain.
But but it's here it's primarily referring to emotional pain.
I mean how many of us have scars on the inside that nobody can see.
All of us emotional scars pains traumas hurts that unless you share them with somebody nobody even knows are there because they're emotional often those scars carry the greatest weight in our lives the greatest hindrances to our peace and our
joy.
And what does he say here in heaven.
Will be a total absence of all of that.
Right.
Just just think of the difficulties of this life the the results of sin and the hurts and the try.
Okay.
Just just imagine that not existing.
That's how he's describing the existence of being in heaven.
He says he will wipe away every tear.
The tears of loneliness the tears of remorse the tears of poverty of misfortune of disappointment of loss every every tear.
Now I don't know if it means per se that that he's going to like you know come at us with a rag and you know wipe it away every time we cry.
I think when he says wipe away there the idea is that there are going to be no more tears in heaven.
Because there will be nothing to cry about.
There will be nothing to cry about you know now.
Yeah you could go of course physically right.
I mean maybe in our new glorified bodies we don't have tear ducts because crying is just an impossibility.
But I think this can even include or apply to perhaps tears of joy.
Because I tears of joy in at least in my experience tears of joy often come from a sense of an overwhelming.
How can this be right.
Something happens somebody blesses you something takes place in your life and it's such a wonderfully overwhelming good and positive thing.
But it feels impossible.
It feels out of place how right.
And then tears of joy we removed emotionally because of the impossibility of that that moment.
But in heaven it's a forever of never ending good right and wonderful.
Not that we won't be in awe.
But the glorious presence of God won't won't won't seem impossible.
It won't seem out of place to the point of overwhelming us or tears.
It'll just be yes it is what it is it's perfect.
Then he says death will be no more right.
I mean death is the greatest of all mortal curses.
You know first Corinthians 15 26 Paul says the last enemy to be abolished is death.
I think for most of us it's hard to imagine life without death because death is a part of this life right.
But but in eternity there's no more death.
Now yes it's it's speaking of physical death right.
We're told that in first Corinthians 15 our glorified bodies will be immortal right.
So we're going to put off this dying body and we're going to be be putting on a new body that is immortal.
It doesn't get sick.
It doesn't have hurts and pains right.
It doesn't die.
So yeah he's talking about physical death.
But as I mentioned in a previous study death biblically is more about separation than it is about expiration.
The idea of death is about separation right.
We we talked about like when you die when this physical body dies your soul is separated.
And so that's a physical death.
But you go and live on your soul lives on.
And then we talked about those at the very end of all things that that have rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
It says they are then cast into the lake of fire while they were where they will suffer eternally.
And it calls it the second death because you're eternally separated from God.
But but death isn't a ceasing of existence.
It's an existence with God or without God.
But I'd add to that idea of separation is that death is also the the separation from joy and peace and contentment.
It's a separation from from all that is good in our emotional context which ultimately is what being separated from God is right.
There is no joy and peace outside of God.
And how many of us have ever said things like I want to be happy.
I want to have joy but but I feel like I'm separated from it.
I feel like it's far from me right.
That was one of my phrases that I've dealt with a lot in my life where people you know and in you know God bless you.
But not everybody understands depression right.
And if you've been depressed and you've had someone tell you can't you just be happy.
You're like I want to punch you in the face right now right.
But but but you know I get it.
I get it. If you've never experienced depression you just don't you don't understand right.
But sometimes there's like you know can you just can you just be different.
Can you just be happy.
And the phrase I've often used is I want to be happy or sometimes when the depression gets so bad it's I want to want to be.
Happy but I don't.
And many of us have dealt with that type of struggle.
And I think that's part of the separation that he's talking about here when he says death will be no more separation will be no more.
There'll be no physical separation because we're going to be living in a mortal bodies for those of us that trusted in Jesus Christ.
There's going to be no spiritual eternal separation that sense because you're in heaven with him.
And there's also going to be a separation from all that being apart from God is and represents which is grief and sorrow and pain and crying.
First Corinthians 15 54 Paul said and he's talking about when we're in eternity he says death has been swallowed up in victory.
Then Isaiah 25 8 says when he speaking of God has swallowed up death once and for all the Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face.
How wonderful.
So death grief crying pain verse 4 tells us that all of these things will be previous things right.
It says for the previous things have passed away.
They will be things from an old existence not the new existence.
And then in eternity when he says they have passed away that's that same phrase when it says there's a new heaven and a new earth because the first earth and first heaven have passed away.
You remember that phrase passed away means ceased to exist.
So grief crying pain will cease to exist.
No grief no sorrow no depression no ugly crying no pain no physical or emotional pain of any kind no hospitals right no funerals no broken homes or families.
No abuse no broken hearts no rehab centers no cancer no Alzheimer's no wheelchair.
It has ceased to exist.
How wonderful that's going to be.
Heaven will be glorious beyond our comprehension.
Which is why I think he's using the opposite the negative to try and give us a picture of what it's going to be like.
You know Charles Spurgeon the great preacher right when he was training young ministers and he would encourage them to talk about heaven he said this he goes whenever you talk about heaven let your face light up in glory.
He goes when you speak about hell your normal face will do.
Right because we're all greatly acquainted with what heaven isn't.
But what heaven is is glorious.
And so look at verse five.
So then the one seated on the throne said look I'm making everything new.
I want to point out the phrase there am making.
It's not I'm going to it's not I already did he is in the process.
And so in the context of eternity what he's saying here is not only will everything be new physically and emotionally and spiritually.
Not all everything be new in every way but it will stay new perpetually.
Right this is that part where where the experience of time is either going to be non-existent or different because we don't get that right.
Things don't stay new perpetually.
All right this is why I've been learning you know like buying a new car is like super foolish because we all know right the second you drive it off the lot what happens.
Its value goes in the toilet why you looked at it.
It's not new anymore right.
Is that everything D values D grades D K's but in eternity it's going to stay new perpetually.
What does that even mean.
I don't fully comprehend.
But there's no entropy which is a law of everything goes from order to chaos and everything decays and winds down that's going to be gone.
It means there's no wearing out of anything.
Everything will be new perpetually everything will be fresh.
Everything will be that that that moment.
I mean the only way I could you know try and understand it is when something is new that moment of excitement and wow this is great and wonderful that'll never end.
Everything new and would just forever fresh vibrant.
But what does this mean never boring.
Some people go isn't heaven going to get boring.
We're just worshipping God all the time.
No it's going to be new perpetually.
It's going to be the wow that new song was so great forever.
I mean again I understand it's like we don't connect to that necessarily but it's the truth.
It's never going to become routine.
It's never going to become rote.
It's never going to be the oh been there done that.
It's going to be new perpetually.
Wow and then in verse five again he said he also said right because these words are faithful and true.
Now a lot of different commentators like to mention this this verse as they're interpreting it because I tend to agree with a lot of them say but the idea is that why is he telling him right.
Isn't John writing right.
That what he's that's what he's doing.
He's writing down this vision but it's almost like John is so overwhelmed in the moment.
He's so overwhelmed by the concept of the new heaven and a new earth and the new Jerusalem and the permanent full just unveiled presence of God with his people.
He's stunned by all the glory.
It almost seems like he drops his quill.
If you like he's just frozen in amazement and God's like bro pick up the quill.
Keep writing.
We're not done yet.
It's only chapter 21 verse five like we got a whole nother chapter dude.
All right.
Right. Keep writing.
So apparently John does and then we get a glimpse in verse six of who's able to obtain this wonderful existence.
We've been talking about.
Then he said to me verse six 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.
Now he says it is done.
What's he referring to.
I believe in the context of this whole revelation that's been given to John at this point in the revelation.
He's saying at this point this picture of eternity when we've entered into eternity God's eternal purpose in Jesus God's eternal purpose and point in Jesus from start to finish the whole plan the whole deal.
It's done.
It's finished.
The salvation is finished the culmination of the salvation is finished finished the sanctification is finished the justification is it's all it's done.
We've arrived at the at the conclusion of the matter.
And then he says I am the Alpha and the Omega Alpha and Omega were this idea of it's the first letter and the last letter of the Greek alphabet.
Right.
And so it was a it was a euphemistic way to refer to everything.
I am the everything right.
I am the totality.
I'm the beginning and the end he says it's this idea that I am the point and the purpose and the reason of everything.
And this idea of him being the beginning in the end and the first of the last it's it's it's it's really identifying Jesus with God Almighty in the Old Testament.
There's many places in the Old Testament where God refers to himself as the first and the last the beginning and the end.
So what we see here at the end is Jesus Christ the one that's that's and we're going to see that later that this is Jesus is again saying I'm God I'm God.
I'm not a God.
I'm not an angel who became a God that I'm God.
God Almighty Jesus Christ.
And so he goes I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
The occupants of heaven here are described in two ways.
They're described as thirsty and they're described as conquerors.
All right.
That's the description of the occupants of heaven.
Now that word thirsty in the dictionary means to be deficient in moisture right.
It means to be wanting a drink or design a drink.
It also refers to an unquenched desire for something right thirsty.
Now in our modern slang in our modern culture right that word thirsty is has been used by people to refer to inappropriate things.
But the idea here in the Greek is to have a strong desire to attain some goal.
That's what this word thirsty means in the Greek.
So in this sense the idea here is obviously a metaphor right.
He's not saying that the way you get to heaven is by being dehydrated right.
It's not a literal thing.
When he's talking about the thirsty it's obviously metaphorical.
And so the idea is to get into heaven to get to heaven.
You have to have a strong desire to be satisfied by God alone.
Remember when Jesus talked to the woman at the well.
We read in John chapter 4 verse 13 as he was sharing with her.
He said everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again.
Metaphorically he was referring to that water from the well that that is it's the world.
What this world has to give you you will get thirsty again.
It doesn't ultimately satisfy but he said whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again.
In fact the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.
And he was talking about desiring God desiring a relationship with God to know God to desire all that God has over everything else.
And when you desire that and you desire to be satisfied by God alone you're going to find true satisfaction.
He said in John chapter 7 verse 37 again if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink.
So who's going to heaven?
Those who aren't satisfied with their present life apart from Jesus Christ.
Those who are thirsty, parched, spiritually dehydrated enough to find themselves wanting to get living water.
Finding themselves parched by what this world has to offer such that they turn to the true source of satisfaction Jesus Christ and him alone.
It's Jesus alone that satisfies.
It's those that come to Jesus the source of life to drink deep of all that he provides.
And you'll see here he goes I will freely give to the thirsty.
That implies that it's a voluntary thing.
He didn't say I will make everybody drink.
But those who come to him and ask he says I will freely give without restriction.
There's no restriction on the life that Jesus wants to give you.
He doesn't say clean up your act he doesn't say if you're from this people group or that ethnicity.
He doesn't say if you're of this political party or not.
He doesn't say he says look put all that stuff aside.
Yes there's implications in all of those things right.
There's implications with how we live based on the fact that whether we know Jesus or not.
But he says we'll get to that stuff start with do you know me.
Am I the sole source of your satisfaction?
Not your ideology.
Not your point of view but me.
And he says if you come to me voluntarily I will give it to you.
If you want living water I will provide it.
If you're seeking it I will give it to you.
Promise.
So they're thirsty the second description we read in verse 7 he says the one who conquers will inherit these things and I will be his God.
And he will be my son.
This is not excluding ladies.
Okay.
He's just using the the he the male the masculine form in the sense of mankind is the idea.
But he says the one who conquers so they're thirsty and they conquer.
What does he mean by conquer the word means to win a battle or a contest in the face of obstacles.
Right.
It's the same word incidentally that John used in every single one of the seven letters to the churches as he said hey here's a letter from Jesus.
You've been doing these wonderful things.
Here's what I got to rebuke you from.
And then he says look to the one who conquers and he gives a promise and he does it to every single one of the seven churches.
Same exact word conquer.
So what does it mean to conquer conquer what what battle or contest is being won.
Well I think John the apostle already wrote about this in one of his previous letters in first John chapter five starting in verse four.
This is what it says everyone who has been born of God conquers same word the world.
This is the victory that has conquered the world our faith who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God.
You guys get it.
So when you were born again when by faith you believe that Jesus is the son of God when you believe that Jesus is who he says he is that he is he is the second person of the Godhead the Trinity he is God the son if you want to put it that way come to this earth.
God himself the creator clothed himself in flesh lived a perfect life.
Died a gruesome death to pay the price to be the atonement for the sin of all mankind rose again on the third day conquering death.
And then said he who believes in me put their faith in me I will grant them eternal life when you believe that.
You conquer.
And what do you conquer the world.
So it said there everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world our faith.
You believe in Jesus Christ who he is as he reveals himself in his word not some twisted version not a version that lines up with your politics not a version that lines up with the ideology ideologies you want to support not a version that says lifestyles that his word says are wrong or okay.
No no no the version of him revealed in his word when you believe in that you put your faith in that you say God.
Please save my soul.
You were born again and you conquer the world.
Now you might mean what does he mean by world there that word world that John is using is referring to the system of human existence and all that belongs to it that is hostile to God.
It's everything about this life this living this existence that is contrary to God it's every ideology that is contrary to God.
It's every belief that stands opposed to him in his work. It's everything that is opposite God.
And he says you conquer that.
What is the system of the world that sin its selfish pride its self-indulgence.
It's all promulgated by Satan with the goal to destroy your life with a goal to bring death both physical and ultimately spiritual eternal separation from God in hell.
That's what Satan wants.
You win the battle against that you conquer Satan sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ.
And then when you've done that.
You inherit these things it says in Revelation 21.
The one who conquers inherit these things what what what things we've been discussing them.
The new heaven the new earth in New Jerusalem the permanent presence of God the complete absence of of grief and tears and death and crying and pain a full complete perpetual forever state of absolute satisfaction refreshment peace joy.
How.
Do recognizing that nothing this world has will satisfy from saying God alone is what is going to satisfy my life that I will seek him first.
The point and purpose and plan and reason for my existence will be him and him alone nothing else.
Everything that falls underneath that will be a part of the process of me living in this world the way he wants me to live in this world.
So yeah that means get a job and pay your bills and pay them on time right because you want to be a good witness.
That means treat your co-workers well because you want to be a good witness.
That means be faithful and be an obedient to God because you want to be a good witness right.
You see how it's all about Jesus Christ.
But in verse 80 says it's very difficult thing here but the cowards.
The faithless the detestable the murderers the sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all liars their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death.
And so here again we get we get one more glimpse at what eternal life without God is going to be like right.
We've been talking about what is it going to be like to be in heaven.
Well those that go into eternal life without God it's an eternity in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur and it's called the second death.
But again it's not the ceasing to exist.
It's an eternal separation from God which in contrast to what we've already studied in the previous verses is an eternal existence of tears and crying and grief and pain and unsatisfied thirst forever.
That's what you're choosing by choosing the world over God.
And you'll notice the character of those who aren't in heaven so that there's no mistake of who they are right.
He uses the word cowards that word simply means to lack confidence.
It's referring to those who always run or always run away from nothing right cowards.
I believe it's likely referring to in the context of things those who are unwilling to make a stand for Christ in this life.
Those who say I won't trust in Jesus I won't commit to his ways primarily because what are my friends going to think.
What are other people going to think I can't become one of those born again.
I can't become one of those Bible thumpers.
I can't be I can't do that.
What are my friends going to think.
It's also translated in other ways the word here is those who won't endure.
Those who won't endure so it carries that idea of enduring against persecution right standing up against the persecution saying look persecute me all you want.
But Jesus is my all in all.
There are many who go I believe in Jesus and as soon as the world goes oh yeah they go never mind.
Right Jesus talked about this in the parable of the soils you remember the different soils.
Jesus described one of the groups as as as like seed being sown into rocky ground.
And in that parable we learned that that the rocky ground and the seed being thrown in it springs up really quick.
But as soon as the heat comes it burns away because there's no root.
The idea is is hey they look like they're saved for a bit.
They bought a Bible.
Is that what saves you.
They came to church.
Isn't that what saves you.
They they brought a bought a cross necklace.
That's got to do it right.
Maybe they've even run a ministry.
They've got to be saved.
But he says look those that are the seed sown on rocky soil grows up looks saved for a bit.
But as soon as the distress of the persecution comes and it says because of the world.
They immediately fall away because they had no root.
The point there is they were never saved to begin with.
It's a scary proposition.
They may have raised a hand at a altar call.
They may have gotten prayer but they never really truly made a commitment to Jesus Christ a commitment to follow him.
Jesus is the word John tells us so a commitment to follow his word at the expense of everything else.
And if I disagree with it, I'm the one that's wrong.
Not the word.
And they're described here as cowards.
Then he says faithless.
This word is referring to those without a belief in Christ that results in obedience and following of his ways.
So you don't have a faith that results in following his ways.
That's what this word faithless means.
It's the truth of somebody lacking a saving faith as demonstrated that their life isn't changed.
Right.
They don't live any differently.
Some of us have have known people like that.
Some of us have been that person.
Right.
This is why I like years and years and years ago I stopped.
I stopped having any issue with somebody coming forward in an altar call numerous times because I don't know.
I don't know their heart.
And maybe they raise their hand multiple times.
Okay.
Like I don't know if the other ones weren't real.
Maybe this one is.
I don't know that.
And so I don't tell people that feel like gosh I feel like I need to come forward to raise my hand if there's an altar call or something.
No, no, you can't do that if you've ever done that before.
Now.
Yeah, we'll have a conversation about what getting saved means.
So you understand.
Right.
But the idea is is that there are some who who whose life isn't different.
Their values aren't different.
The things they stand for the things they support aren't different from the world.
And yet they're still going to say I'm a Christian.
Maybe not.
It's not just acknowledging that God is real.
It's conforming one's life and one's behavior to his way in his word.
That that's that's what saving faith is.
And so the faithless don't have that the testable.
Says detestable that's that's that's those who do what is utterly offensive or loathsome.
That's a pretty broad category.
Right.
But the idea of something being repugnant something disgusting or repulsive and people who engage in such behaviors.
It's interesting that this word is often connected to sexually perverse behavior.
Okay.
So it's detestable that stuff is like oh that's just foul like disgusting who would do that.
Some people do.
Murderers the word is referring to an unlawful taking of another human life.
But here's the caveat unlawful according to God's law taking of another life.
Right.
This includes things like abortion and euthanasia which are two things that in Hosanna's statement of faith we strongly oppose.
Yes it can be a complicated conversation but the taking of an innocent life is unlawful according to God's word.
Then he uses this phrase sexually immoral.
That's the word that a lot of us are familiar with when you've heard Bible studies right.
There's this Greek word pornos.
We get our word pornography from this and the word in the Greek refers to a person that is known for their wire wild sexual extravagance.
Technically the words refers specifically to fornication and fornication is basically the idea of having sexual intimacy outside of the marriage covenant.
It's having sex before marriage or outside of marriage right fornication.
Now in the times of this being written the culture was very different.
It was common and normal that people were virgins until they got married and then in the context of their marriage is where they expressed the intimacy of sexual intimacy right.
So it was considered wildly sexually extravagant to have sex with anybody outside of marriage.
But biblically this also includes all manner of sexual activity which is essentially anything outside of God's design.
Anything outside of God's design is what is falling under this idea of pornos or being sexually immoral.
So it includes everything from sexual activity homosexuality.
It's referring to adultery right.
It's referring to all the other weird alities that people get into in our world today.
It's referring to fornication which is just sexual intercourse or something that's not your spouse right.
All of that is considered wild sexual extravagance sexual immorality in scripture.
Uses the word sorcerers right.
This is another one you might be familiar with.
We get we get that our word pharmacy comes from the root word.
The root word of this is pharmacose right.
So it's the idea of drug use and stuff the actual word in the Greek would refer to a potion maker at the time.
And there was people at the time that would use herbs and then use drugs and use hallucinogens.
But but the context is is really specifically in the context of worship of a false God.
That was what sorcery was.
I'm using drugs to put myself into some weird state of mind in worship to another God in worship to an entity in worship of myself.
And so the reason it's translated sorcerers is these people would often use these drugs to to perform wonders right.
Native Americans would do this with peyote.
It was part of their spiritual exercise.
And so you get someone hopped up on on mushrooms or whatever and then they're hallucinating and they think you're performing magic.
So this is the idea of sorcerers and then idolaters which is anybody who gives supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God.
This can be both material and immaterial.
This could be giving your devotion to an idol like an actual carbon image of something a Buddha statue.
It can also be immaterial like my God is my belief my lifestyle.
It's the idea of I'm going to do this and believe in this even if it's contrary to God's word and what Jesus says.
Ephesians five five associates greedy persons with one who is an idolater.
So it's the idea of those whose God.
Is stuff.
Whose God is is is materialism or self gratification or themself.
I know God says no but I can support this because I think I'm more important than God.
And then all liars and this is referring to all who are deliberately deceptive or any who are contrary to the truth.
This is a tough one because this word would certainly include those who confess to be Christians but don't live the lifestyle of a believer.
These are the ones that we read in the Gospels where they come to the Jesus and they say Lord Lord.
And he says what.
Depart from me I never knew you.
This is referring to those that go but Lord we did this and we did that and I ran ministry.
And I passed out this and I did that and I was a good person and I and he goes but I didn't know you.
The liar here that is talking about is a person who makes a claim or a profession with their mouth but it's not real.
It's a lie.
And these people are the ones Jesus said why do you call me Lord but don't do the things which I say.
So now at verse eight worries you because maybe you've done any of that in the past.
Understand if you've given your life to Jesus Christ if you've repented of your sins committed to following him in his ways not perfectly
because none of us are perfect but if your goal and intent intentional desire if your habit if your manner of living is God I want to obey you
and do what you say and conform my life to your word.
Guess what.
You're born again the Bible says you're saved.
You are now in Christ.
Like look what Paul said in First Corinthians chapter six verse nine speaking to the church there.
OK remember he's speaking to the church.
He goes don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God's kingdom do not be deceived no sexually immoral people idolaters
adulterers or males who have sex with males no thieves greedy people drunkards verbally abusive people or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom.
What and some of you used to be like this but you were washed you were sanctified and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by the Spirit of God.
Right verse eight in Revelation 21 is describing those whose present lifestyle whose whose habit whose manner of living whose ongoing habitual manner
of being is those things.
It's the ones who do those things and go I don't care that God's word says it's wrong.
I'm going to do it anyways.
Right.
First John had a whole lot to say about that but it's these people that are living these things with no repentance.
There's no agreement that that hey God said those things are sinful therefore it's wrong.
They're like no no no I'm going to say it's right anyways.
Instead there's excuse and justification and twisting of scripture to to make themselves feel better and make it feel OK.
But what did Paul say to those in first Corinthians six verse nine.
You used to be like this.
You once did these things you once supported such behavior.
But that's not who you are anymore he says but no longer because you've been washed and sanctified and justified in the name of Lord Jesus right.
He's like you're saved.
Why are you saved because you drank deep from the spring of the water of life that Jesus offers.
You trusted in him.
You've conquered the world.
You've conquered its ways and that means you've conquered its consequence its end the inheritance that awaits you through your faith in Jesus Christ is heaven.
But for those who aren't.
Please don't be deceived.
Calling yourself a Christian and doing being and supporting that which is against him and his nature and his character and his way is lying to yourself.
You are lying to yourself.
And the end of all liars it says here is the second death the lake of fire.
Now please understand I don't and don't profess to know anybody's heart.
I don't know anybody's heart but I do feel I have a decent grasp on God's word and a decent grasp on his character and his heart and the things that that God says this is what I want my people to be.
And this is who my people are to be and and you know my prayer is that each one of us are continually evaluating our beliefs and our values and our stance on issues and we're evaluating those things through through a careful study of God's word.
Right.
It's one of the reasons why we gather together to study God's word.
I've seen over and over and over throughout my years of ministry that those who stopped coming to church soon have completely contrasting values and stances to what God teaches in his word and then they'll twist the word and go no I believe the Bible teaches that it's like it clearly does not.
But that we filter everything through God's word not just our personal feelings alone.
That's a part of it not just our experiences alone. That's a part of it but primarily through God's word and when we find ourselves out of alignment with God and his word we adjust ourselves to it instead of adjusting it to ourselves.
God's ways are right period.
They always are and they always will be even when we don't understand how it applies in difficult situations.
God's ways are right in his ways his word his truth his son Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh is the only way to get to heaven.
And when we do believe in him and put our faith in him and when we do arrive in the heaven it's going to be glorious beyond our comprehension.
Whatever you can imagine heaven to be.
It pales in comparison to what it's really going to be.
So I just want to close on this thought you know God is presently making all things new.
He does it in salvation.
He's going to do it in creation later on we see that right a new heaven and a new earth.
But in 2nd Corinthians 517 Paul said this therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.
The old has passed away and see the new has come.
God is in the business of making all things new.
He always has been he always will be the old has passed away it says there this is this is God's business.
This is what he's about.
He takes a soul.
He takes a thirsty parched person one who is just beat up by this life.
He realizes that that nothing in this life sat if satisfies permanently and they realize that there is there is that missing idea that I'm missing a connection.
I'm missing purpose and meaning and then they realize that that is found with a relationship of my creator.
God takes that person who comes to say I need Christ and he says OK come to me.
I will remake you.
I'll start by giving you a new heart spiritually.
I start by changing your life your thoughts your desires your values they'll be different.
They'll be different.
You'll have new priorities and new goals and new purpose.
You'll have an ability to live obedient to God's word.
Wow.
And then one day you're also going to have a new body and you're going to be living in a new heaven and a new earth and it's going to be paradise.
And so my question this morning to all of us are you going there.
Are you sure.
Well where are you going with this Pastor Nathan.
What makes you so sure.
It's not about whether you're a good or bad person.
It's not what the Bible teaches.
Right.
Every single one of us can compare ourselves to someone who's more bad than we are right.
So it's not about that.
Some of us are the more bad on someone's list right.
It's not about what you do or don't do.
Right. What we do as a believer are a result of our salvation not to earn it.
You know I'm not going to heaven because I'm a pastor.
I'm not going to heaven because I teach the word of God.
Jesus said unless a person is born again they will never see the kingdom of God.
And he said that to a very very very religious dude.
Instead he said it's a guy whose heart a person whose heart whose ways whose beliefs are new.
Right.
He said this to a guy whose heart beliefs and ways were not new yet.
He was religious but he wasn't made you yet new yet.
He had not yielded to Jesus the word of God the Alpha Omega the beginning and the end.
And that was Jesus's point.
God can make you new today.
He wants to make you new today if that's never happened in your life.
All you have to do is come to him.
But coming to him means you come to him in faith that you believe in him that you rely on him that you trust in him that you cling to his name you abandon all you are for all he is.
And as the Bible tells us Jesus is the word it means adhering to his word and studying his word and learning his word that you would conform your life to it.
And when you do that there's a change of heart when you do that you are a new creation and when you become a new creation.
Wow you're going to have a new stand for his way and his values and his principles.
You're going to have the hope of heaven.
You'll have a reservation made secure in a place that he is preparing for you today.
How glorious.
Amen. Let's pray.
Father God we love you so much.
We can't wait to see you to be in your presence forever Lord.
God I appreciate how knowing us because you created us.
You still frame heaven in the context of what it's going to be for us.
Or to which on some level seem selfish.
Why is it about us.
But Lord you know us you know our frame.
And you know how to communicate to us Lord and your word tells us what heaven will be by telling us what it's not.
The Lord so many of us have spent so much of this life in grief with tears and crying with pain.
Physical pain emotional pain some of us carry great traumas Lord.
Some of us because of those things really wrestle with concepts of you being our father because we had a bad father.
Some of us Lord might wrestle with the concept of heaven being our glorious home because home was a terrible thing for us.
And Lord if that's the case for anybody Lord I pray you would heal.
You just heal now.
Break that bondage and bring peace.
But for all of us who know you God that we would long for heaven.
Because it is going to be so new and so different from anything we can possibly imagine here.
That in longing for heaven Lord we would be motivated because the time is short to tell others about it.
Through our words through our behavior through our witness.
And God if anybody in this room or watching online has never received you as their Lord and Savior.
But today has realized that without you.
Without the forgiveness and the salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
That it's going to be judgment it's going to be hell it's going to be the lake of fire.
Lord I pray God that they would just cry out to you in their own heart and say Jesus please forgive me.
Come into my life give me a new heart.
Change me.
That I wouldn't be like the world anymore.
That I wouldn't support sin and sinful things and worldly things but Lord I would be for you.
That I would stand for righteousness and righteousness sake.
That God I would learn who you are through your word.
And that my life would be conformed to it and not the other way around.
God I look forward to that time where you will wipe away all my tears.
That you will do away with my grief and my crying and my pain.
That I will be in a perfect place of joy.
In everything that that means with you forever.
Thank you for loving me so much.
Thank you for saving my life.
And Lord we all pray that we would continue to walk as your kids in faith.
Upholding your ways standing for you.
That those who don't yet know you God would come to their own saving moment.
That they would experience the salvation that we've experienced.
God that we would all together one day be standing in glory with you in heaven.
We so look forward to that.
We love you so much.
And we thank you for everything. It's in Jesus name we pray.
Amen. God bless you guys.