Grab A Chainsaw

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Point: It might seem that God is in the demolition business at this stage of the remodeling and repurposing of Creation but He is NOT.

Point: It might seem that God is in the demolition business at this stage of the remodeling and repurposing of Creation but He is NOT.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Story:

Story: Differences involved in DEMOLITION, NEW CONSTRUCTION, REMODELING & REPURPOSING?

“anything not capable of handling the incoming newness of occupancy and purpose was out the door with the old.”

Why do it?

“anything not capable of handling the incoming newness was out the door with the old.”

Why do it?

Perhaps the house was

“really smelly house”

“house was energy efficient”

“death lingered in the air of the house”

“a drug house”

“the house was a museum like ode to the 70’s?”

What did we use to remove and dismantle?

Chainsaws

Hammer

Gloves

breathing protection

eye protection

special suits

garbage dumpster.

“anything not capable of handling the incoming newness was out the door with the old.”

Like I said before… “anything not capable of handling the incoming newness of occupancy and purpose was out the door with the old.”

Point: God is in the business of Remodeling.

Point: It might seem that God is in the demolition business at this stage of the remodeling and repurposing of Creation but He is NOT.

Look at the text...

A. John sees... (21:1–2)

1. ...A new heaven and earth (20:1)

2. ...The Holy City descending from heaven (20:2)

For Our Heads:

B. John hears... (21:3–8)

1. ...the angel who says... (21:3–4)

a. ...He says God himself will mingle among his people (21:3) .

b. ...He says God himself will minister to his people (21:4) .

2. John also hears The words of the Almighty who says... (21:5–8)

a. ...He will be the Father to all the saved (21:5–7).

b. ...He will be the foe to all the unsaved (21:8) : They will be cast into the lake of fire.

Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible (). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

For Our Heads: God is not destroying his creation in a blind rage!

It is easy to think when reading the book of Revelation that all of the violence and pain is pointless if God is good. That is true if all of history is just some prolonged destruction project.

most of a revelation is like a master repurposer’s monologuing about the process before they pull the cover of their project.

John has just shared with us the final judgment with a quick reminder from 1-8 that all of this trouble must happen for the big remodel and repurposing.

It’s incorrect thinking that God is in the destruction business. We need to change our thinking to see Him as remodeling and repurposing. It takes patience and wisdom to see past the demolition and into the fact that he is “making everything new!”

For Our Hearts:

For Our Hearts: We need to buy into the fact that pain, suffering, trouble, trials etc… these are apart of the repurposing.

The pain, sorrows, trouble and trials of this life are not something to disengage from. Grab a hammer. Grab a chainsaw. Participate in the repurposing of this world and your life.

injustice? grab a hammer

have you been hurt? (theres a time for crying) grab a hammer “God is making all things new”

Have you hurt someone? Make it right and grab a hammer. “God is making all things new” and inviting you into the process...

For Our Hands:

For Our Hands: Take upon yourself the Gospel vocation God has called you to!

Have you been personally hurt? in some way? in some room of the old house? Of course you have or you wouldn't need Jesus.

The room that Jesus is working on in your life through the good news is the same room you can bring good news to others.

Tear down the walls and let God do his masterful work of remodeling and repurposing.

Point: It might seem that God is in the demolition business at this stage of the remodeling and repurposing of Creation but He is NOT. He is making ALL THINGS NEW!