832 Rev.21.1-8 Being Ready To Receive
Being Ready To Receive • Sermon • Submitted
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- There have been epoch moments – new moments – in my life that changed me forever
Being Ready For Renewal
Being Ready For Renewal
Date: 12-05-19 832 Echuca
- There have been epoch moments – new moments – in my life that changed me forever
- The first moment was when I became a Christian
- I haven’t talked a lot about that from the pulpit, but it was life changing for me
- You see, I was a broken, insecure young man, not on the outside, but on the inside, who had come from a broken home & had many insecurities
- Life seemed empty & hollow – the unified family I had grown up with was now fragmented – life was, frankly, lifeless
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- But then I came to know Christ & the life that He infuses in a person
- I began to breath again – not literally, but metaphorically
- I began to feel life & feel alive – it’s like I was experiencing something new – it was a sense of newness, vitality
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- That moment when Christ took hold of me is something monumental; it had a newness & it was wonderful
- There was purpose, there was meaning & there was cohesion
- From the fragmentation I experienced, I now experienced a cohesion & that cohesion came as a result of Christ
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- The second “new” experience for me was when I got married
- That was something new & something special
- I recall a moment on the plane to our honeymoon destination in Hawaii & I looked at Ros (she was asleep) & it dawned on me that I was going to be with this person for the rest of my life – now that’s a change
- I was no longer single, but married, no longer on my own, but joined to another
- It was new, it was wonderful & it’s been wonderful even since
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- I think, at times, in a world that is so steady with its seasons & movements, whether any substantial change could ever happen
- We are certain the sun will come up the next day
- We know that we will have our various seasons in spite of the climate change hysteria
- The resilience of the world & life is amazing
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Q. But can there truly be a disruption to this?
Q. An apocalyptic event that would give us a new heaven & a new earth?
- I admit, I’m a sceptic at heart & it takes a lot to convince me to change my mind once I have examined something & come to a decision
- I listen to what John says here in the book of Revelation & I am in two minds
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- In one thought, I’m thinking, “what will it be like”? “Will something happen to change the status quo”?
- In the other thought, I think, “this is almost too wonderful to believe”!
- We are so use to life, as we know it – we are use to disappointments, regrets, pain, loss, sadness & grief etc.
- Yes, there are many good things too for which we are very thankful for & happy about
- But in the general sphere of living, it is hard to conceive of a time, when brokenness will end; pain will end; hurt will end; death will end
- For many people, they would find it hard to perceive
- But this is the very message of Revelation
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- In my other thought, I’m incredibly heartened by what will be the combined worth of every Christmas ever experienced
- Jesus triumphs!
- He entered into a fallen, broken, corrupt world with the express task of transformation from the inside out
- When I say, “He entered into a fallen world”, I mean that He entered into His world
- I don’t want us to read about the new heavens & earth as something created for us, but rather as something created for Jesus
As Adam had a world made for him, so shall Jesus Christ, this second Adam—Adam being a type of him that was to come—have a world made for him. This world was not good enough for him; he has a better appointed than that which old Adam had, a new heaven and a new earth, according to the promise, where the saints shall reign.
-- Thomas Goodwin ca 1650 AD
The end of God’s creating the world was to prepare a kingdom for his Son (for he is appointed heir of the world) that should remain to all eternity.
-- Jonathan Edwards ca 1745 AD
-- 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
- The kingdom & the world to come is for Christ
- But we are in Christ – where He goes, we go; where we go, He goes
- We are destined for the new heavens & the new earth as His people & His subjects – we are the subjects of the king
1. New Heaven & New Earth
1. New Heaven & New Earth
- The new heavens & new earth was first announced by the prophet Isaiah in 8th C. BC
—17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
- It became a constant message in the NT church
- In the letter to the Hebrews, the writer says that a person needs to be very careful to stay in the Christian faith because a new heavens & earth is coming & only those who have stayed faithful to Christ will enter
25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
—25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 26 And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
- Wow – the big question – are you part of the kingdom that cannot be shaken & removed
- What will happen is the removal of the fallen world that has been corrupted by sin & has fallen prey to evil spiritual forces
- Through sin, the earth was cursed – men were to labour more intensely as the earth would struggle to be fruitful
- Mothers would experience great increased pain in giving birth to future generations
- The marriage relationship would become a battlefield of toxicity with one spouse trying to dominate the other
- Evil spiritual forces use the weakness of Man to exploit him & turn him from God
- All these things need to be removed
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- The apostle Peter also speaks about the new heavens & earth
- In his Epistle, he is countering the people who think that the Lord’s timing of it should be subject to their timeline
- Jesus needs to come & come now, otherwise, there is no coming of Jesus
- But God’s timing is not dependent upon the whims & desire of man
- In fact, Peter goes on to explain that the reason for the delay in the return of Jesus & the renewal of creation is that God is wanting people from ALL the nations of the earth to come into the kingdom of Christ
- So he writes...
—8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
- Can you grasp that the new heavens & earth will be a world of righteousness
- Now righteousness can mean “being right with God” or in a “right relationship with God” & no doubt that is absolutely true of the new heavens & earth
- But righteousness is also doing the right thing by God
- That means right conduct, right living, according to the will of our God
- What a place that would be – no locked anything – locksmiths will be one trade that no longer exists!
2. The New Jerusalem
2. The New Jerusalem
- The first image, we have dealt with – that of the new heavens & earth
- The second image in this passage is the image of a bride
- The church is referred to as the bride of Christ & He has made her holy with the washing of water with the word, as Paul says in
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- Ultimately, Christ’s sacrificial death & resurrection achieved the victory for His church
- As in the book of Rev., John discovers that it is the Lion of Judah who has triumphed & able to open the seals that permit God purposes in history to unfold, but when he looks, he doesn’t see a Lion, but..
—5 ...one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” 6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
5 and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” 6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
- What a contrast – the one who conquered was not the warrior, but the one slaughtered
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- The new Jerusalem comes out of heaven from God & this symbolic city is pure & is the abode of God’s people
- You should not try & apply an extreme literalness to these images
- They are meant to give us theological truths in image form – John is attempting to describe the almost indescribable
- In the city is measured & it is a 2,500 klm cube
- Cities are not cubes, but the Holy of Holies, in the temple, happens to be a perfect cube
3. God’s Presence
3. God’s Presence
- As you know, the Holy of Holies is where God meet with man’s representative – at the time, the high priest
- So the imagery here shatters the old layout which restricted the contact between God & man – to only one person/one contact per year
- Now, the saints, plural, dwell together with God permanently
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- The fact that this city – this place where the saints dwell – comes from heaven to earth means that heaven, in one sense, is being emptied
- What I mean by that, is that God’s abode, which is in heaven with all the redeemed, will move to the earth & He will abide there with His people
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- In the garden of Eden, you would recall those words, “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day”
- That means God dwelt with man, visibly
- So, at the end of the age – at, what is called, the “consummation of all things” – God will come & visibly reside with His people
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- It is true to say that, with sin, came also a distance between God & Man
- But no more – when the renewal occurs, God will be among us & we will see Him face to face – how that will be is something that we will have to wait for to experience
- But we get an idea of what we will experience in
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- I want you to recall what it was like growing up with mum & dad
- As a child, under the age of 14
Q. Did you ever think of having to find money for the mortgage?
Q. Did you ever have to remember to book the car in for a service?
Q. Did you ever have to wonder where the money would come from when you went on vacation?
Q. Did you ever concern yourself with payment of the rates, the electricity, the phone bill, the water bill, maintenance, your next job?
- No, because you had parents who took care of all that for you
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- Even when you were hurt, mum or dad would take out, in my day, the
Mercurochrome & put it on your sores or grazes
- When you hurt yourself, usually mum would offer comforting words & take a tissue & wipe your tears from your face & if need be, clean up that face, that may have face-planted in the dirt
- They took care of you & you didn’t have a worry in the world
- They were great times
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- But this was nothing compared with the renewal to come
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
—4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
- At 14 yrs of age, I remember sitting on the front steps of our house crying over the death of my grandfather whom I loved with all my heart
- We have lost people we love – death have taken them from us
- A number of our own number have struggled with health issues
- But, at the renewal, that will never ever happen again – decay & death will be no more
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
—19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption (decay) into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
- The question that is raised in the minds of many people is this
1. How can I be included in in this great, incredible renewal?
2. How can I make sure that my “entry ticket” will remain valid?
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- I imagine that there are a host of people who would take exception to my last question, because the last question sounds as if I might not, in the end, qualify
- Let me make one thing clear – these are not my reflections – they are reflections from the words of Scripture
8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
—8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
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- Certain strands of Reformation theology teach that a person once saved is always saved
- I would maintain that the Scripture does not operate in, nor restrict itself to, buzzwords or motto's like that
- You can’t absolutise & say that no matter what they do, they are safe from the judgement of God
- On the contrary, the Scripture gives us a healthy balance of security & confidence on the one hand & of a fearfulness on the other
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- It was Jesus who said this...
—28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Yet, we are also given great encouragement & security
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
—8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
- To have a healthy view of God’s work in Jesus, we need to have a healthy balance of what Scripture teaches on the subject
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- We look at & discover that certain people will miss out
- Notably, the cowardly – these are the ones who are willing to ignore Christ when the world is telling them to disown Him
- They would rather not be known, nor act as a Christian, because they cherish, as more important, acceptance from the world rather than acceptance from God
38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
—38 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
- The operative word I would use here, is “loyalty” - loyalty & faithfulness is what is characteristic of the genuine Christian life
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- I think it is rather telling that “cowardly” is followed by “faithless” (unbelieving NASB)
- The reason people love the world over Christ is because they do not believe enough, to put Him before all else
- There were plenty of people who believed in Him, but were not genuine in heart – the only way to escape that route is to take on board what Jesus says here
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
—31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
- “Continue in My word” - speaks of faithful adherence to Jesus
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- There is also reference to sins – abominations or “the detestable” - speaks of wicked religious, idolatrous sin
- You can read of this in . There Jesus calls a false prophetess, “Jezebel,” since she has embraced the corrupted, heretical teaching of the Nicolaitans
- By grace He had given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent
- With respect to the other sins mentioned – they are, of course, sins without repentance
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- But there is one vice I’d like to highlight & that is the word, “liars”
- It is not, strictly, the telling of lies here, that is the problem
- The word is pseudas & we kind of know what that alludes to
- A pseudo person is a pretender – someone who is not who they say they are
- Nathaniel, Jesus said, was a “true Israelite indeed, in whom there is nothing false”
- The warnings, then, relate to making sure you’re loyal, faithful & a genuine believer in the Lord
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- The first question, however, needs to be answered
Q. How will you be ready for the renewal? How can you be included in what will happen?
- Through the grace & gift of God
- He offers the water of life without cost – it’s free for the taking, but one must take it
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- Like any offer, there are time limitations & there are chalk & cheese distinctions between those who view the offer & those who take it up
- Viewing the offer, does not mean the offer is yours – only by taking it up can it be received
- The water of life means everlasting life & it means acceptance by God & existence in the new heaven & earth
- This water of life comes as a result of the Lamb, slain for the sins of the world – Jesus is the reason for everlasting life in the “Age to come”
1Elliot Ritzema and Elizabeth Vince, Eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans, Pastorum Series, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).
2Elliot Ritzema and Elizabeth Vince, Eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans, Pastorum Series, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).