Lumley 12 -- Rev 21-22
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1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Rev 22:1-
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Like water, to the panting deer, these words come from the Lord to you and me.
Like water, to the panting deer, these words come from the Lord to you and me.
While it is true that you and I live in a God- Created, God-bathed world, it is also true this world is riddled with DEATH, DARKNESS, and DECAY.
While it is true that you and I live in a God- Created, God-bathed world, it is also true this world is riddled with DEATH, DARKNESS, and DECAY.
The Earth is broken — earthquakes all around, just this week.
Our bodies are broken — Marla and hospice
Our names are profaned — listen to the insults
Our big cities are riddled with caste systems and prejudices
Our small towns are riddled with caste systems and prejudices
Our songs drip with rage, betrayal, and heartache
Our churches are filled with cowards and hypocrites… with gossip and immorality.
In the center of the chests of the billions and masses are old, small, hard, withered, Grinch-y hearts.
In the center of the chests of the billions and masses are old, small, hard, withered, Grinch-y hearts.
The challenge with such hearts isn’t their size.
How dead they are.
How dark they are.
How decayed they are.
TOT BE SURE, there examples where LIFE, LIGHT, and LIBERTY break into a world which feels overrun by death, darkness, and decay? Of course there are!
TOT BE SURE, there examples where LIFE, LIGHT, and LIBERTY break into a world which feels overrun by death, darkness, and decay? Of course there are!
God is not dead… The Kingdom is near and on the move!!
The random act of kindness
The organ donor
The heroic single mom who puts her baby up for adoption
First responders who save kid and kitty
Communities that rally after floods and tornadoes
Yes… LIFE, LIGHT, and LIBERTY break through from time to time, but the Kingdom of Darkness — evidenced by death, decay, division, and discrimination — are all around.
Yes… LIFE, LIGHT, and LIBERTY break through from time to time, but the Kingdom of Darkness — evidenced by death, decay, division, and discrimination — are all around.
The debate rages over whether the earth is old or young… billions of years or thousands of years.
Some prefer “life is too short”
Others prefer “life is too long”
BOTH are lamenting the assault of DEATH, DARKNESS, and DECAY… and the age they put on all they touch and consume.
In our lifetimes alone so many voices have attempted to help us cope with the darkness!
In our lifetimes alone so many voices have attempted to help us cope with the darkness!
In our lifetimes alone so many voices have attempted to help us cope with the darkness!
In our lifetimes alone so many voices have attempted to help us cope with the darkness!
Innovative, creative, inspiring voices:
Kennedy said “be patriotic”
King said be a “freedom fighter”
Dr. King said “be a dreamer”
Nixon said “be paranoid”
Ford said “be pardoned”
Carter said “be good”
Reagan said “be great”
Clinton said “be all about the promises of tomorrow”
Bush 43 said “be on guard”
Obama said “be audacious”
Trump says “be great again”
Miller said “be in the mood”
BB King said, ‘be blue”
Presley said “don’t be cruel”
Carpenter said “be a superstar”
Dylan said “be forever young”
Jager says “be satisfied”
Cash says “be in the ring of fire”
Carol King & James Taylor say “be a friend”
Joel says “be a big shot”
Adele says “be hurt”
Bruno says “be funk
Jimmy Buffet says ‘be drinkin”
Lennon and McCartney say “let it be”
DAN and SHAY say “be close to your Tequila”
Luke Combs says “be crazy beautiful”
The Jonas Brothers say “be a sucker”
Sheeran and Bieber say “be care free”
Swift says “be calm”
Post Malone says “be psycho”
Billie Elish says “be a bad guy”
DAN and SHAY say “be close to your Tequila”
Povich says “be DNA tested”
Lennon and McCartney say “let it be”
Brene Brown says “be vulnerable”
Gates and Buffet say “be philanthropic”
Oprah says “Be empowered”
DeGenerous says “Be kind”
Springer says “take care of yourselves and each other”
Where absurdity reigns, being clever is King.
Where absurdity reigns, being clever is King.
None of them have been able to stem the tide of this overwhelming sense that DEATH, DARKNESS, and DECAY are assaulting the world we live in — the world God created.
None of them have been able to stem the tide of this overwhelming sense that DEATH, DARKNESS, and DECAY are assaulting the world we live in — the world God created.
There are times when you have to start with the end of the story…
There are times when you have to start with the end of the story…
Life is one of those times.
Life is one of those times.
This is why is ESSENTIAL reading
This is why is ESSENTIAL reading
Aslan lives
Aragon becomes King
Potter lives
Anakin lives
Cinderella gets the Prince
It all shapes how you read the story...
And when you read the story of your life, what ending is shaping how you are reading your story?
And when you read the story of your life, what ending is shaping how you are reading your story?
Here is the most important line in all of our stories… here is what Jesus says:
Behold, I am making all things new.
Behold, I am making all things new.
They say, “you make it new.”
Jesus says, “I’ll make it new”
There are things Jesus won’t make new:
There are things Jesus won’t make new:
No new Temple
No new Sun
No new Moon
No new night
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The list of things Jesus makes new… is needed news for the hearts of those longing for the old to be made new:
The list of things Jesus makes new… is needed news for the hearts of those longing for the old to be made new:
New Heavens
New Earth
New city — new Jerusalem
New Body
New Clothes for the new body
New Name
New songs
New commandment
New covenant
New wine
New message
New teaching
New self
New heart
Jesus says: Behold, I am making all things new.
Jesus says: Behold, I am making all things new.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Why does God include the end of the story now? For the one thing Jesus tells us to be:
Why does God include the end of the story now? For the one thing Jesus tells us to be:
Be ready —
Be holy
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3: