Good morning, everyone. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean, one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church,
and it is my great honor and privilege to preach God's Word to you this morning.
We are in the book of Revelation. We have been going through it for almost a year.
And if you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand, and we'd love to bring a copy over to you that you can use.
We're in Revelation chapter 21, which is the second to last chapter of the book.
Let me now pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Father, we confess that as we live in this world, it's so easy to lose sight of eternity and to think that all that we see is all that there is.
But Lord, we ask that today, by your Word, by your Spirit, that you would radically transform our perspective.
That you would renew our minds to think about the renewal of all creation that is coming.
So that we might look forward to that day and persevere toward that day with great hope, with faith, with expectancy.
Lord, breathe fresh hope into people who are suffering and downtrodden this morning.
Lift up their heads.
Build up your church for the glory of your name.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please stand, if you're able, for the reading of God's Word from Revelation 21, 1 to 8.
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.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The one who conquers will have this heritage.
And I will be his God, and he will be my son.
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable.
As for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars.
Their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.
Which is the second death.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
In Western music theory, there's what we call chord resolution.
And notes that are called dissonant, which is unstable or incomplete.
It sounds like something is missing when we listen to it.
And notes that are, you know, consonant, that sounds complete.
So if you have a C scale, this piano is very out of tune, but bear with me.
So that's a dissonant note, the seventh interval.
It sounds like something is not done.
And it waits for resolution, and that's the consonant note.
The eighth note, the root note.
So...
You guys hear that?
You long for that resolution?
And so, sorry, thank you for the performance.
There's...
This passage serves to remind us that everything we see and the world that we live in right now
are in that discordant note.
That dissonant note.
It's like something feels wrong.
It's not the way it's supposed to be.
Something's incomplete.
Longing for fulfillment.
Longing for completion.
And that creates a sense of drama, expectancy, suspense, until we finally reach that resolution.
And that resolution is what we see here in Revelation 21.
Just to give an example of that tension that we're living in now, this year, earlier this year,
heavy monsoons in East Africa caused flooding that killed 473 people and displaced 14,000,
410,000 people.
In May, a major landslide buried over 2,000 people alive.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake last year in Turkey and Syria killed 62,013 people.
As it says in Romans 8.22, the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth.
That's what we live in.
Creation itself is groaning in the pains of childbirth, in the buildup, the tension, and the drama and
suspense of that dissonant reality.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, it says in Romans 8.23, we ourselves groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies.
We can see this in ourselves, in our bodies.
Our bodies themselves are discordant.
It's all out of sorts.
In our church alone, we have had people deal with or are dealing with leukemia, diabetes,
autoimmune disease, where our own body's immune system attacks itself,
like ITP, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, lupus, lupus,
and various other debilitating conditions, like Turner syndrome, Dandy-Walker syndrome,
congenital heart defects, vasculitis, chronic back pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, among other things.
And not only our physical bodies, but also our sinful flesh,
militate against the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The sinful world seduces us, ridicules us, and persecutes us.
The devil tempts us and lies to us and accuses us night and day.
And so we, along with all creation, groan.
How long?
We wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
If we don't keep this important reality in mind,
if we don't remember the fact that we are in that dissonant reality,
we can easily be wracked by doubts, be disillusioned, discouraged, and despair.
But if we wait with faith and hope for the consummation of all things,
a new heaven and a new earth that is surely coming,
then we can persevere.
And so the main point of our passage is this,
look forward to a new heaven and a new earth,
so that we might overcome the world with courage and faith.
And we're going to look at that in two parts.
First, we'll see the reunion.
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
And secondly, we'll see the renewal.
Behold, I am making all things new.
It says in verses 1 to 2,
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.
And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I'll talk about verse 1 a little more later in the second half of my sermon,
so for now let's focus on verse 2.
When the new heaven and the new earth comes,
the people of God will descend upon it,
out of heaven from God,
as the holy city, New Jerusalem,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The saints of God, that's us,
are described in two main metaphors here.
One is of a city,
and the other is of a bride.
This fulfillment of the New Jerusalem
was prophesied in Isaiah 52.1,
when all the saints who conquer and overcome the world
by their faithful endurance,
and by bearing witness to Jesus,
and holding on to the gospel of Jesus Christ,
will become the city of God, the new Jerusalem.
And what's the point of that metaphor?
Jesus tells us in verse 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.
Twice in one verse,
Jesus declares that God will now dwell with his people.
And that's the point of the metaphor.
Why are we the city?
Because God's gonna live there.
He's gonna dwell with us.
This is the final fulfillment of the oldest drama
in all of history and all of scripture.
Because in the original creation,
God dwelled with man.
He walked in the garden alongside Adam and Eve,
it said in Genesis 3.
But because they sinned against God
and ate the forbidden fruit
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
they're banished from the garden of Eden.
Expelled, no longer able to eat of the tree of life.
And the question that hovers over all of history
and all of the Bible
is will God ever dwell with his people again?
Will we ever be fully restored to his presence again?
After the exodus,
God partially answers that question
in the construction of the tabernacle.
The word tabernacle,
the Greek word behind the word dwelling place here
in Revelation 21.3 is literally tabernacle.
It was there that God promised to his people,
the Israelites in Exodus 29.45-46.
I will dwell among the people of Israel
and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the Lord their God
who brought them out of the land of Egypt
that I might dwell among them.
That's why God rescued people from Egypt,
that he might dwell among them.
But even while Moses was receiving instructions
on the mountain for the construction of the tabernacle,
God's people couldn't wait
and they sinned, they rebelled,
they created a golden calf
and worshipped it as an idol.
Like a newlywed bride committing adultery
on the night of her wedding against her husband.
Then God promised,
but God was still faithful to his people,
and then God promised the land of Canaan
in Deuteronomy 12.9-10
and promised them he will make his name dwell there.
Maybe we'll get it this time.
Solomon builds a temple for it to be God's dwelling place.
But again, they whore after idols.
They leave their God, their first love,
so that the temple gets razed
and Jerusalem is ransacked
and they are exiled to Babylon and to Assyria.
But God is still faithful.
He keeps his promise again.
He sends his son, Jesus Christ,
to dwell with his people.
That's why in John 2.9-21,
Jesus says that his own body
is the temple of the holy temple of God.
And that's because, as Colossians 2.9 says,
in Jesus, the whole fullness of deity,
all that is divine, dwell in him bodily.
Jesus is God dwelling with us.
He is the temple of God.
That's why John 1.14 says that
Jesus, the eternal word of God,
the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Again, that same word.
The word dwelt is literally to pitch a tent
or to make a tabernacle,
to tabernacle among us.
But we killed him.
People were unfaithful to him.
And he was resurrected,
he ascends to the heaven,
and he sends the Holy Spirit
so that the Holy Spirit,
the very presence, the Spirit of God
can indwell his people
that we might be the temple of God.
That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 3.16.
We are God's temple where God dwells.
But even now,
our fellowship God is disrupted.
It is partial.
It is imperfect because we are sinful.
Our objective union with God is unbreakable.
But our communion with God,
which is our ongoing experience of that union with God,
is disrupted daily because we sin.
As we confess in the confession of sin,
as we saw in the call to worship today,
we partner with lawlessness,
though temple of God we are.
We fellowship with darkness,
though temple of God we are.
We are unequally yoked with those
who are rebelling against God,
though the temple of God we are.
Just how many times can we mess this up,
ruin it all,
can we really ever be restored to God's presence?
Will God really ever dwell with us again?
And the resounding answer of Revelation 21 is,
yes, he will.
He will.
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them,
and there will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God.
We are called the holy city,
the new Jerusalem,
to convey this idea of God's intimate,
indwelling presence.
Similarly, the metaphor of the bride,
that we are a bride adorned for the bridegroom,
is a fulfillment of the prophecies
in Isaiah 61.10 and 62.5,
and it communicates the same idea
of fellowship and presence and intimacy.
It's a common temptation among engaged couples nowadays
to spend more time stressing out about the wedding day
than actually preparing for their married life.
Weddings are fun.
Yes, they are fun.
But it's after the wedding
that the love life of a couple truly begins.
It's after the wedding
that the husband and wife
consummate their marriage physically
in the ecstasy of sexual intercourse.
It's after the wedding
that the husband and wife move in together
and make a home together.
It's after the wedding
that the husband and wife
have children together,
bear children and rear children together.
All the best stuff happens after the wedding.
Finally, on the wedding day,
the bride's veil is lifted
and the bride and the groom
enjoy an intimacy and fellowship
that they will share with no one else
in the whole entire world.
That's the point of verse two.
On that day, we, the church of Christ,
the people of God,
will be prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
And as we'll see next week,
the people of God
are going to be ravishing in their beauty
as the bride of Christ.
And we're going to be married to Jesus,
the Lamb of God, forever
and dwell with Him always in marital bliss.
That's why it says in verse four,
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.
And don't miss the intimacy of this promise.
It doesn't merely say that,
oh, we're not going to have anything
anymore to cry about.
Look at what it says.
It says,
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
The Lord God Himself will personally wipe away our tears.
He will be the reason for our eternal happiness.
He will be the reason why all our sorrow and crying ends.
In this life,
in this fallen world,
there are many things to cry about.
But all of the problems and the pains of this world
are but symptoms
and ramifications
of our central underlying brokenness.
And that is sin.
And our consequence separation from God.
It's because the world and humanity
have been split asunder from God who is light,
in whom is no darkness at all,
that darkness has invaded our world.
It's because we have been split asunder from God
who is love,
it says in 1 John 4, 8,
that hatred has pervaded our world.
It's because we have been split asunder from God
who is the giver of life,
who has life in Himself,
that disease and death
have infiltrated our world.
The root of all our personal
and societal and global ills
is sin that separates us from God.
But on that day,
there will be no more sin,
no more death,
no more separation between us and God
and we will be joined to our bridegroom forever.
You guys long for that.
Most of you probably don't know this,
but my wife,
Hannah's grandfather,
is originally from North Korea.
He was,
this is a funny story,
this is really sad too,
he was literally in a bathhouse,
a public bathhouse,
taking a bath,
when he,
when North Korean's army came in,
soldiers came into the bathhouse
and took him forcibly
and impressed him into service
to serve in the North Korean army
during the Korean War.
And after,
after a whole bunch of fighting,
the armistice agreement
was finally signed in 1953
and North and South Korea
were officially split in two,
formally divided along the 38th parallel north,
the latitude 38 degrees north of the equator.
And Hannah's grandfather,
after the war,
ended up on the South Korean side,
which meant he would never see his wife
in North Korea again.
Though he didn't personally
get to participate in this program,
to help people like him,
in 2018,
the then South Korean president
and North Korean dictator
agreed to arrange a reunion
of family members
that are split between North and South.
And these relatives
hadn't seen each other for 60 years.
And with the help of some old photographs,
they identified one another and met.
And there's a video you guys can watch,
you can find one 92-year-old woman
saw her son.
92-year-old woman
saw her son
for the first time
since the end of the war.
She said that she lost track of her son
during the war
while they were fleeing together
when he was only four years old
and she didn't know
whether he was still alive or not.
And she said she spent
every single day
of the following year
just weeping
as she looked across the river.
And then in that video,
when she sees him,
she throws her arms around him
and weeps uncontrollably.
Sin,
like the war
and like the 38th parallel,
separates us from God.
And all of our pain,
all of our tears
is because of that separation.
But on that glorious day,
we're gonna be reunited
with our bridegroom,
we're gonna be united
with our heavenly father
forever.
And on that day,
we're not gonna see anymore
as in a mirror dimly.
We're gonna see
face to face.
We're no longer gonna just know him
partly,
imperfectly.
We're gonna know him fully.
And he will wipe away
all of our tears.
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
what have you been crying about
this week
or this past year?
Have you been crying
because of pain
and sickness
that you or your loved ones
are dealing with?
Cancer,
congenital heart defects,
chronic fatigue syndrome,
migraines.
There will be a day
when all those things
will be no more
and God will wipe
every tear from your eyes.
On that day,
my mother,
who's been crippled
with arthritis
and my wife,
who is always tired
and lacking energy
because of her vasculitis,
they're going to,
on that day,
leap like a deer.
Have you been crying
because of a death
of a loved one?
Your mother,
your baby,
your brother,
your friend.
On that day,
our last enemy,
death,
will be defeated
and we will exalt
in triumph
and say,
oh, death,
where is your sting?
Oh, death,
where is your victory?
Oh, death,
where is your sting?
It's swallowed up
in victory.
Have you been crying
because of loneliness,
anxiety,
depression,
despair?
Have you been crying
in sleepless nights,
listless days?
In a new heaven
and a new earth,
you will have
perfect communion
with God.
Loneliness
will be banished
forever.
You will have
perfect rest,
perfect security,
perfect peace.
All that you have
ever worried about
will be gone,
no more.
Or have you been crying
because of your sins?
This is what
I cry about the most
because I'm relatively
healthy,
still young.
I want to be
compassionate.
I want to be
slow to anger
like my heavenly
father.
But my tongue,
my tongue,
like it says
in James 3,
is a fire,
a world of
unrighteousness,
a restless evil
full of deadly
poison.
I want to be
gentle and
lowly in heart
like my savior
and Lord Jesus
Christ,
but instead
I'm sometimes
harsh and
haughty.
I mourn
and long
for that
that when
my sins
will be
no more.
Saints of God,
what have you
been crying
about?
A day
is surely
coming
when he
will wipe
away
every tear
from your
eyes
and death
shall be
no more
and neither
shall there
be mourning
nor crying
nor pain
anymore
for the
former things
have passed
away.
Passed
away.
That's a
wonderful word,
isn't it?
It brackets
this section,
this first section
along with
verse 1
which also
uses that
same word.
For the
first heaven
and the
first earth
had passed
away.
and then
here,
for the
former
things
have
passed
away.
The word
former
is literally
first in
Greek.
First
things
have
passed
away.
So
it matches
the first
heaven
and first
earth
that
passed
away.
All
the
things
that
were
first
will
pass
away
apart
from
God
including
our
first
death.
Yes,
we will
die
unless
the
Lord
returns
beforehand
but
that
first
death
will
pass
away
and
will
be
raised
to
new
life.
On
that
day
tears
and
pains
will
be
things
of
the
past.
It
will
be
in
the
rear
view
mirror
and
will
say
oh
yeah
those
things
that
have
passed
away.
And
that
word
first
forms
a nice
contrast
with
a word
that
is
repeated
four
times
in
our
passage.
New
a
new
heaven
a
new
earth
new
Jerusalem
and
finally
in verse
5
behold
I
am
making
all
things
new.
This
world
is
decaying
and
disintegrating
but it
will be
made
new.
This
mortal
perishable
and
dishonorable
body
will be
made
new
immortal
and
imperishable
and
glorious.
It
will not
be a
refurbished
earth.
It
will be
new.
And
that
brings me
to my
second
point
renewal.
In
verse
3
Jesus
exclaimed
behold
the
dwelling
place
of
God
is
with
man.
Now
in
verse
4
he
who
was
seated
on
the
throne
I
think
this
is
God
the
father
himself
because
he
uses
the
first
person
pronouns
instead
of
third
person
pronouns
like
Jesus
does
in
verse
3
God
the
father
himself
exclaimed
behold
I
am
making
all
things
new.
Those
words
echo
the
prophecy
of
Isaiah
43
19
and
all
things
new
of
course
includes
a new
heaven
and a
new
earth
mentioned
in
verse
1
God
makes
all
things
new
both
in a
temporal
sense
and a
qualitative
sense
it's
going to
be
new
in a
temporal
sense
because
it
comes
after
the
first
earth
and
the
first
heaven
but
it
will
also
be
new
in
a
qualitative
sense
of
new
renewal
not
something
that's
old
and
worn
out
no
matter
how
much
you
dress
up
and
clean
up
all
things
that
you
have
they
look
old
but
this
new
heaven
and
new
earth
will
not
be
like
that
it
will
be
new
with
the
death
and
resurrection
ascension
of
Christ
and
the
subsequent
descent
of
the
Holy
Spirit
among
his
people
the
renewal
of
creation
has
actually
already
begun
and
it
begins
with
us
that's
why
it
says
in
2nd
Corinthians
5
17
therefore
if
anyone
know
a
new
creation
the
old
has
passed
away
the
new
behold
a new
has
come
but
though
this
new
creation
was
inaugurated
by
Christ
it
has
begun
with
Christ
it
has
not
yet
been
consummated
it
has
not
yet
had
its
full
effect
but
in
the
new
heaven
and
earth
it
will
be
finished
this
is
such
a
guaranteed
and
certain
outcome
that
God
says
write
this
down
in
verse
5
for
these
words
are
trustworthy
and
true
when
something
is
reliable
and
true
we
often
use
this
expression
hey
you
can
take
that
to
the
bank
meaning
that's
you
can
bank
on
that
check
is
not
going
to
bounce
but
even
banks
fail
in
times
of
financial
turmoil
and
stock
certificates
become
worthless
pieces
of
paper
and
hard
worn
cash
depreciate
in
it
never
fails
and
it
endures
for
all
eternity
so
will
all
creation
really
be
made
new
yes
it
will
it
will
be
made
new
all
things
new
is
not
just
a
foolish
fancy
or
a
dream
or a
slogan
it
is
written
unchangeably
and
inherently
and
infallibly
in the
word
of
God
it
will
happen
it's
trustworthy
and
true
so
much
so
that
God
says
in
verse
six
it
is
done
because
when
God
speaks
something
it
is
as
good
as
done
and
a
peculiar
feature
of
this
new
heaven
and
earth
is
that
the
sea
was
no
more
it
says
in
verse
one
in
order
to
understand
what
that
means
we
need
to
survey
the
use
of
this
word
sea
in
this
book
first
the
sea
as
I've
mentioned
throughout
this
sermon
series
is
a
frequent
symbol
of
cosmic
chaos
in
scripture
because
the
sea
was
one
of
the
things
that
ancient
people
and
people
to this
day
fear
the
most
because
of the
crashing
waves
and the
howling
winds
you
can't
predict
the
sea
you
can't
control
the
sea
you
can't
measure
the
length
of
the
sea
and
you
can't
plumb
the
depth
of
the
sea
according
to
the
national
oceanic
and
atmospheric
administration
95%
of the
world's
ocean
remains
unexplored
to this
day
95%
a
2022
study
by the
fish
safety
foundation
commissioned
by the
Pew
charitable
trust
suggests
that
more
than
100,000
fishermen
die
while
fishing
that's
almost
300
fishermen
per
day
that's
annually
100,000
fishermen
that's
the
highest
fatality
rate
among
all
professions
far
higher
than
the
fatality
rates
among
firefighters
and
police
officers
it's
the
most
dangerous
profession
in the
world
it's
fitting
for that
reason
that
in the
old
testament
the
sea
is
represented
as
the
abode
of
the
ancient
serpent
leviathan
the
sea
dragon
which
is
a
symbol
of
satan
this
is
why
in
revelation
12
17
and
13
1
both
the
dragon
and
the
beast
are
described
as
emerging
out
of
the
sea
so
that's
the
first
use
of
the
word
sea
and
the
second
use
of
the
word
sea
we
see
in
revelation
is
in
revelation
20
verse
13
the
sea
there
is
a
realm
of
the
dead
associated
with
death
and
Hades
so
then
what
does it
mean
that
the
final
destruction
of
this
sea
in
the
new
creation
fits
the
pattern
of
God's
creative
work
and
redemptive
work
throughout
all of
history
in
Genesis
1
9
to
10
at
the
creation
of
the
world
God
gathered
into
one
place
the
waters
under
the
heavens
to
let
the
dry
land
appear
as
a
habitation
fit
for
humanity
and
then
he
called
the
dry
land
earth
and
the
waters
that
were
gathered
together
called
seas
similarly
after the
flood
judgment
during
Noah's
day
kind of
uncreated
or
decreated
the
world
God
in a
sense
recreated
the
world
by
making
the
waters
recede
from
the
earth
continually
until
the
waters
it
says
were
dried
off
from
the
earth
and
the
ground
was
dry
so
that
Noah
and
his
family
can
inhabit
the
earth
once
more
and
continue
the
line
of
humanity
and
Isaiah
51
10
to
11
describes
God's
deliverance
of his
people
at
the
exodus
using
this
same
language
of
God
creating
a
habitation
for
his
people
by
drying
the
waters
he
says
in
Isaiah
51
10
to
11
was
it
not
you
who
dried
up
the
sea
the
waters
of
the
great
deep
who
made
the
depths
of
the
sea
away
for
the
redeemed
to
pass
over
and
the
ransomed
of
the
Lord
shall
return
and
come
to
Zion
with
singing
everlasting
joy
shall
be
upon
their
heads
they
shall
obtain
gladness
and
joy
and
sorrow
and
sighing
shall
flee
away
again
and again
throughout the
scriptures
God is seen
drying up
the seas
that's how he
rescues his
people
in order to
create a place
where he can dwell
with his
people
so
likewise
in this
ultimate
new
creation
this is
the
final
time
the
consummation
of all
things
the
sea
will
be
no
more
in
this
way
God
will
make
the
last
things
as
the
first
just
as
God
spoke
the
first
creation
into
being
he
will
surely
bring
about
the
new
creation
and
all
that
separates
us
from
God
all
that
dampens
our
communion
with
God
all
that
drowns
out
the
worship
of
heaven
around
us
will
be
no
more
and
God
declares
climactically
in verse
6
it is
done
it is
done
this
echoes
the words
of
Revelation
15
1
and
16
17
where
after
all
of
God's
judgments
are
finished
he
says
it
is
done
it
is
finished
it's
the
same
words
because
these
two
things
the
judgment
of
God
over
the
world
and
the
new
creation
are
flip
sides
of
the
same
coin
the
new
heaven
and
new
earth
cannot
come
until
the
first
heaven
and
the
first
earth
are
passed
away
and so
let me
ask you
if you're
here
what
words
will be
proclaimed
over
you
at the
end
of the
world
will
it
be
the
wrath
of
God
is
hereby
finished
it
is
done
you
be
objects
of
God's
wrath
or
will
it
be
new
heaven
and a
new
earth
it
is
done
that
depends
on your
answer
to the
question
who do
you believe
Jesus
to be
what do
you believe
that Jesus
has done
for you
do you
believe
that Jesus
is a
son of
God
who became
a son
of man
lived a
perfect
life
of
obedience
to his
father
and died
on the
cross
not for
his own
sins
but for
the sins
of his
people
to pay
the penalty
for our
sins
and absorb
the wrath
of God
in himself
so that
he might
redeem us
to
for himself
for God
do you
believe
that Jesus
was raised
from the
dead
on the
third
day
and has
ascended
to the
heavens
at the
right hand
of the
father
and he
is right
now
reigning
there
and making
intercession
for us
if you
believe
that
if you
know
Jesus
and follow
him
as your
Lord
then
what Jesus
said on
the cross
as he
was
breathing
his last
breath
in John
19
30
applies
to you
it is
finished
it is
done
wrath
of God
is
finished
for you
after
declaring
it is
done
God
continues
in verse
six
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
many of you
already know
that alpha
is the first
letter
in the Greek
alphabet
and that
omega
is the last
letter
in the Greek
alphabet
so it's
like Jesus
is saying
I am
the A
to the Z
it means
that God
is the beginning
and the end
this is the second
time in the book
of Revelation
when God
the Father's
direct speech
is quoted
the first time
was at the
beginning of the book
in Revelation
1-8
when he said
I am
the alpha
and the omega
who is
and who was
and is to come
the almighty
so the placement
of these verses
at the beginning
and end
of the book
of Revelation
is no coincidence
it reinforces
the very point
that this verse
is making
that God
presides
sovereignly
over all
of human history
and of all
that is written
in the book
of Revelation
from the beginning
to the end
what do you see
at the very beginning
of the Bible
in Genesis 1-1
in the beginning
God
God is there
at the beginning
not humans
not Leviathan
the dragon
God is at the beginning
and what will be
at the end
God
because he is
the alpha
and the omega
this captures
the absolute
sovereignty
of God
over all
of human history
man is not
the master
of his own fate
not the captain
of his own soul
God is
when we read
a good novel
we go on
a thrilling ride
and we are surprised
and there are setbacks
because we don't know
what's going on
and we don't know
what will happen
but the author
of the book
does not wring
his hands
with concern
or anxiety
as he reads
through his own book
because he knows
what's going to happen
in the end
he wrote it
God is the author
of all creation
and all of human history
because he is the alpha
and the omega
the beginning
and the end
at the peak
of our lives
is God
at the rock bottom
of our lives
is God
at our birth
is God
at our death
there is God
in eternity past
there is God
in eternity future
there is God
he is the uncreated one
the eternal one
the ancient of days
have you reckoned
with this God
it is the first
business of human being
which is a creature
of God
to reckon with
its creator
have you done that
you cannot hide
from God
you cannot run
from God
you are accountable
to God
even after all
that humanity
has done
throughout history
to run away
from God
and to rebel
against God
at the end
of history
it will still
be God
so don't worry
if you don't know
where your life
is headed right now
don't worry
if you don't know
how long you will live
if you don't know
what's going to happen
to your child
if you don't know
what's going to happen
to your career
God is there
from the beginning
to the end
so don't worry
when your life
as a Christian
is hard
when your life
is full of sorrow
and suffering
and you wonder
is this worth it
when you're caricatured
by the world
and persecuted
for your faith
remember that it's our God
and not our detractors
and persecutors
who is the alpha
and the omega
the last person standing
will be God
I know you all believe this
in your heads
if you're a Christian
you believe this
but do you really
believe this
in your heart
do you really know
the sovereignty of God
in your bones
does it actually
function in your life
when things are not
going your way
because if it did
when we are weak
need and faltering
this doctrine
will brace us up
and give us peace
and listen to this
wonderful promise
from the alpha
and omega
in verse 6
to the thirsty
I will give
from the spring
of the water
of life
without payment
this echoes
the promise
of Isaiah 55
1-2
come everyone
who thirsts
come to the waters
and he who has no money
come buy
and eat
buy wine
and milk
without money
and without price
this is the water
of life
that we see
in Revelation 22
17
it's the river
of the water
of life
that flows
brightest crystal
from the throne
of God
where the father
and the son
the lamb
are seated
it's the Holy Spirit
John 7
37
39
tells us exactly
what this living
water is
Jesus cried out
if anyone thirsts
let him come to me
and drink
whoever believes
in me
as the scripture
has said
out of his heart
will flow rivers
of living water
now this
he said about the spirit
whom those who believed
in him were to receive
for as yet the spirit
had not been given
because Jesus
was not yet glorified
it is the spirit
who gives life
Acts 2 38
promises
all people
repent
repent of your sins
and be baptized
which is
an outward
profession
of our inward faith
in Jesus Christ
repent
and be baptized
every one of you
in the name
of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of your sins
and you
will receive
the gift
of the Holy Spirit
our Lord Jesus Christ
decisively crushed
the head of the serpent
on the cross
and then
because of that
because he did that
as a risen
and ascended Lord
he was able to send
the Holy Spirit
down to us
and the Holy Spirit
who indwells us
and flows in us
like rivers of living water
is like the antivenom
that courses through
our figurative veins
to undo
and to expel
and to destroy
every single bit
of the lie
of the serpent
and the Satan
and all of
every single one
of its ill effects
and that spirit of life
will eventually
overflow
and envelop
and all of us
and until we have
resurrection bodies
forever in the new heaven
and the new earth
it's a staggering promise
and how do you
how do you receive that
the only condition
is this
that you are thirsty
to the thirsty
I will give
from the spring of water
the water of life
without payment
you don't need money
you just need to be thirsty
what does that mean
you need to be humble enough
to recognize
your own sinfulness
your own spiritual deprivation
and neediness
and come to the source
of this living water
there's a rare disorder
called adipsia
where people don't feel thirst
even when they are dehydrated
so they have to be instructed
and commanded
to take water
or else they die
this condition
which is really rare
in the physical world
is unfortunately
very common
in the spiritual world
the self-righteous
and the self-sufficient
never enter
the kingdom of God
never
they will not partake
in the new heaven
and the new earth
but if you know
that you have
no money
if you know
that you can't buy
this living water
with whatever
you've ever done
that all your good works
are insufficient
that your sins
are many
if you're a needy sinner
who recognizes
his or her own need
for forgiveness
if you are poor
in spirit
if you hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
then Jesus says
you will be satisfied
and there's only one source
of this water of life
and that's Jesus
to what
or to whom
are you turning
to satisfy
your soul thirst
your eternal longing
that can only be satisfied
by God
money
sex
fame
people's approval
or acclaim
a successful career
do you think
that getting married
or having a child
will satisfy you
do you think
getting into your dream school
will satisfy you
do you think
early retirement
and permanent vacation
will satisfy you
if you turn
to these things
or to any other thing
that is not
Jesus Christ
to satisfy
your soul thirst
your spiritual longing
if you make them
if you make any other thing
the ultimate object
of your desire
and affection
and love
the more you drink
the more thirsty
you will get
the more dehydrated
you will get
it will be like
drinking salty seawater
our body can't process
so much salt
so in order to get rid
of the salt
in the body
you pee
and you pee
way more
than you can take in
so if you keep
drinking salt water
you die
because it will never
satisfy your thirst
that's what it's like
to turn to idols
things that are not
Jesus Christ
to satisfy you
if anyone thirsts
let him come to
me and drink
says Jesus
whoever believes
in me
shall never thirst
will you humble
yourself before
God this morning
will you acknowledge
your thirst
and cling to
Jesus alone
as the fountain
of living water
verse 7
continues the promise
the one who conquers
will have this heritage
and I will be
his God
and he will be
my son
the word conquer
is a key word
throughout the book
of Revelation
every single one
of Jesus' letters
to the seven churches
in Revelation 2 and 3
end with this promise
to those who conquer
to the one who conquers
here's a sample
from Revelation 2
10 to 11
do not fear
what you are about
to suffer
you will have tribulation
be faithful unto death
and I will give you
the crown of life
the one who conquers
will not be hurt
by the second death
similarly in Revelation 3
21 Jesus says
the one who conquers
I will grant him
to sit with me
on my throne
as I also conquered
and sat down
with my father
on his throne
and this gives us
a clue as to what
this means
that we are to conquer
Jesus conquered
it says in Revelation 5
5 to 6
not by triumphing militarily
and defeating
all his earthly enemies
but by being slain
on the cross
as the lamb of God
so then we
follow in Jesus' footsteps
we conquer
as Christians
by being faithful
witnesses
of Jesus Christ
even unto death
by holding on
to the testimony
of Jesus
that's how we are saved
so no
we are not being saved
here by our own
good works
or what we do
because ultimately
what saves us
is the testimony
of Jesus
the gospel
of Jesus Christ
that's why
it's spring of water
water of life
without payment
remember what he said
in Revelation 12
11
we are singing
about this
this morning
they have conquered
him by the blood
of the lamb
and by the word
of their testimony
for they love
not their lives
even unto death
the means
by which we conquer
is yes
of course
our testimony
but it's the testimony
of the fact
of the blood
of the slain
lamb of God
it's the same
paradox we see
elsewhere in scripture
Philippians 2
12-13
work out your own
salvation
with fear
and trembling
for it is God
who works in you
to both to will
and to work
for his good pleasure
we can work out
our own salvation
only because it is
God who's doing it
or 1 Corinthians 15-10
but by the grace
of God
I am what I am
and his grace
toward me
was not in vain
on the contrary
I worked harder
than any of them
though not I
but the grace
of God
that is with me
we work harder
than anyone else
how?
because it's the grace
of God
that's working in us
the grace of God
in the bloodshed
of Jesus Christ
on the cross
is what gives life
it's what energizes us
it's what enables us
to persevere
in faith and obedience
so yes
we have a role to play
but the decisive role
belongs to God
it's the grace of God
that justifies
and it's also the grace
of God
that sanctifies
the grace of God
simultaneously enables us
to persevere
and it itself
preserves us
to eternal life
so yes
we must endure
we must be conquerors
we must be overcomers
not succumers
but we do that
by clinging
not to our own good works
but by clinging
to the good news
of Jesus Christ
the blood of Jesus
God's son
cleanses us
from all sin
the one who is faithful
unto death
the one who conquers
by the blood of the lamb
and by the word
of the testimony
God says in verse 7
will have this heritage
and I will be his God
and he will be my son
why son?
it's not because
God saves men only
rather it's the fulfillment
of God's promise
to his people
in Hebrews 1 5
you are my son
today I have begotten you
I will be to him
a father
and he shall be to me
a son
but why a son?
because as Galatians 3 26
says for in Christ Jesus
you are all
men and women
you are all sons of God
through faith
it's because the means
by which we are saved
is not ourselves
but Jesus
the son of God
and we are in him
united to him
by faith
the fact that we are God's son
means that we have
a heritage he says
an inheritance
remember what the father says
to his elder son
in the parable of the two sons
or the parable of the prodigal son
in Luke 15
son
you are always with me
and all that is mine
is yours
that's what it means
that God calls us his son
and that we have a heritage
that means all that belongs
to God himself
the kingdom
the glory
the dominion
all belongs to us
his heirs
those who are in Jesus Christ
this is the renewal
for which we wait eagerly
our adoption as sons
redemption of our bodies
so this is my final exhortation
to you
will you be an overcomer
or will you be a suck comer
will you conquer
by the blood of the lamb
will you hold on
for dear life
to the gospel of Jesus Christ
till the end
or will you be conquered
by the dragon
the beast
and the false prophet
verse 8
concludes this passage
with a warning
but as for the cowardly
the faithless
the detestable
as for murderers
the sexually immoral
sorcerers
idolaters
and all liars
their portion
will be in the lake
that burns with fire
and sulfur
which is the second death
this is not an exhaustive
list of sins
but these sins
are representative
of all the ways
in which the early church
addressed in Revelation 2
and 3
were struggling
they were tempted
by their cultures
sexual immorality
and sorcery
and idolatry
they were tempted
to join the insincerity
of liars
whose consciences
are seared
they professed
to know God
but denied him
by their works
they faced tribulation
and poverty
suffering and imprisonment
and even death
so many people
many Christians
were tempted
to cower in fear
and to be faithless
to their Lord
but God commends them
not to fear
what they are about
to suffer
and to be courageous
and faithful
if you have
unrepentant sin
in any of these ways
your faith
will not be
the new heaven
and the new earth
it will be
the lake of fire
have you repented
of all your sins
and turned to Jesus alone
similar lists
of sins
appear later
later in this chapter
in verse 27
as well as
in chapter 22
verse 15
and both of them
end with liars
those who practice
falsehood
which is not insignificant
when every fiber
of your self-preserving
and self-serving instinct
tells you to embrace
the lies of this world
will you stand
for God's truth
when you feel
tremendous pressures
and manifold temptations
from the world
to forsake your allegiance
to Jesus Christ
will you belie
your profession of faith
and live in unrepentant sin
let us not choose
the fleeting pleasures
of the world
that is passing away
and miss out
on the new heaven
and the new earth
let's pray together
oh father
my words cannot accomplish this
may your word
just grip
and pierce
our hearts
this morning
so that that
new heaven
and new earth
that is coming
feels
even more real
to us
than our present
first heaven
and earth
preserve us
by your grace
and help us
to persevere
with courage
faithfulness
in Jesus name
we pray
amen
to us