“Unfinished” part 4

The Unfinished Story of Hope

Review . . .

Opening . . .

Today, I want to talk about the unfinished story of our hope.

We live with the full expectation of Jesus returning to receive us to Himself. It is our belief that we are living in the last days, and as such, the return of Christ is closer than ever before.

Scripture clearly indicates that no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. We are instructed to live in a ready state with eyes watching and hearts prepared to meet Jesus in His second coming.

One of the primary challenges to a conversation about Christ’s return tends to center on the motive of our hearts. What I mean by this is that some accuse those anticipating the return of Christ as simply someone who is wanting to escape.

Although this is not the heart motivation, we do fully embrace the reality that we will in fact leave this earth to join Christ. The Father will create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former things will pass away.

Simply said, this earth is not our home.

We look forward in great anticipation of not escaping but rather joining Christ for eternity. The reward is Christ Himself, not the ability to depart from this life.

There are several theological perspectives as to when Christ’s appearance will occur. Will He return before the tribulation, in the middle, or at the end?

The purpose of this sermon is not to address these questions, but to consider what I believe to be a more important one:

What will it be like when we join Jesus?

I have to say that I have not heard many sermons on heaven itself. The majority of sermons concerning the end times tend to focus on subjects such as the mark of the beast, the anti-christ, the tremendous trials to be experienced in the tribulation, and other like topics.

These topics are important, but for today, I want to strengthen our hope for the day when tears are wiped away, when there is no more death or sorrow, and when we live with our Creator face-to-face throughout eternity.

Introduction . . .

To get us started, allow me to present a few Scriptural references which will provide the foundation for our hope in Christ.

John 14:1–3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places; but if not, I would have told you, because I am going away to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am, you may be also.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 “But just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.””

Philippians 3:20–21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.”

These verses reveal key principles about what it will be like when we join Jesus for eternity.

Jesus said He would return to receive us in heaven. This promise of Christ’s reassures us that not only did He die on the cross and rise from the grave, but He will also return to bring us home.

The apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth states that we cannot even begin to imagine what it will be like to join Jesus. He instructs us that God has prepared heaven for our arrival.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul also tells us that this earth is not our home. When Jesus returns, He will give us a new body and the old will be finished.

Finally, in his letter to the church in Rome, Paul states that all the sufferings we experience in this life cannot begin to compare with what awaits the followers of Christ.

With these Scriptural references serving as a backdrop, we now move to our text for the day.

Revelation 21:1–4 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea did not exist any longer.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with humanity, and he will take up residence with them, and they will be his people and God himself will be with them.

And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any longer, and mourning or wailing or pain will not exist any longer. The former things have passed away.”

Opening Observations . . .

The apostle John sees a glimpse of the new heaven and new earth. He states that the first earth (current) will pass away.

John sees the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. God has prepared this city for us, and the language used indicates that our dwelling together with Christ will be founded upon intimacy.

God will no longer be at a distance. He will dwell among us and we will be His people who live in direct and constant contact with Him.

All sorrow, pain, and suffering will be stopped and God Himself will “wipe away the tears” from our eyes. The understanding of this is to reveal that everything about eternity with God will be new with no remembrance of the hardships we experience today.

In our time remaining, I want to focus on one key phrase in our text: “He will take up residence with them, and they will be His people and God Himself will be with them.”

He will take up residence . . .

It’s one thing to visit a place, it’s quite another to live there.

To “take up residence” is to intentionally choose to remain in a location.

When we visit, we can take a tour of the important sites and experience a taste of what the city has to offer, but when we live there, when we buy a house and decide to stay, we begin to learn the place and the people at a deeper level.

The hope presented in this part of our text communicates to us God’s desire to spend eternity with us. He wants to be with us.

What a tremendous hope we have to know that our Creator not only made us, but He actually longs to be with us for all of eternity.

We can experience brief moments of God’s presence today, but when He takes up residence among us, we will experience the fullness of His presence without end.

“We will be His people” . . .

Once again, the understanding here is founded upon the fact that God claims us as His own.

He made us, He desires to live with us, and He calls us His own. To be claimed by someone is to gain an identity with the one making the claim.

For God to call us “His people” signifies that He is the One with whom we identify. This identification goes beyond a simple name.

The evidence that I am my Dad’s son is revealed in my last name. Our identity with God penetrates to the very essence of who we are at a core level.

I am God’s, and He is mine.

“And God Himself will be with them” . . .

There is no greater promise than this. God Himself will be with us.

Listen to what God promises as we join Him:

Revelation 21:6–7 “And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water from the spring of the water of life freely. The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Revelation 21:22–23 “And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon, that they shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”

These verses “finish” our hope:

The “I Am” speaks as the first and the last.

He quenches our thirst once and for all.

There awaits an inheritance for those who conquer.

“I will be his God, and he will be My son.” There is no greater promise we can hold to.