Flip to the end and you'll find it.
There you go, Revelation 21 and 22.
But let me encourage you to turn there, actually,
because I want us to be able to see some of the riches that are here for us.
You know, I think it's pretty common that as another year ends,
we're all taking stock of where we've come
and perhaps where we're headed in the year to come.
And I think this is a time when we sort of look over the last year
and we start thinking about the story of our life
and where that story is headed.
But, you know, I think it's very easy as we consider our own stories
and the different paths that our life takes,
it's very easy to lose sight of where the greater story is headed,
the story that God is bringing about in history,
and the story that all of us are a part of,
whether we realize it or not.
This is the story that the Bible tells.
After all, the Bible isn't primarily a book of rules, right?
There are a lot of rules there.
There are a lot of commands that tell us how life works best.
But at its core, that's not primarily what the Bible is.
The Bible is actually essentially a grand narrative,
the true story of the world,
and more importantly of the God who made the world
and where he's taking us.
And of course it matters greatly how the story ends, doesn't it?
I mean in the here and now, right?
That the future actually shapes our present, doesn't it?
At least what we know about the future.
We did a lot of driving over the last week.
It got me thinking about driving in the car.
And you know there's a big difference, right,
between driving in your car on the way to a Christmas party
or on the way to a New Year's Eve party, right,
or driving to the dentist.
There's a qualitative difference in your experience of that journey
depending on what your destination is.
One's typically pretty joyful,
the other is typically fairly dreadful.
Sorry, Jonathan.
But it goes deeper than that, doesn't it?
Knowing how the story ends changes
not just our sort of experience in the here and now,
but the meaning of the here and now.
When you know that Romeo and Juliet both end up dying in the end,
sorry for the spoiler alert if you haven't read that one,
then the whole story, even the funny parts,
get colored by tragedy.
And vice versa.
When you know that there's a grand resolution
of the parts,
then even the tragic parts sort of have a different shade
and a different color, don't they?
In other words, the future helps us
to actually understand rightly the present.
I think today as Christians,
we don't think enough about the future
that God has in store for us.
I think perhaps we've become too timid,
maybe thinking that if we talk too much about our hope,
people will just think that Christianity is
pie in the sky,
by and by,
an opiate for the masses,
with no teeth to really change here and now.
I think sometimes we get so anxious to affirm
that Christianity is about more
than just going to heaven when we die,
that we've stopped talking about our hope altogether,
including the really good news
that we actually go to heaven when we die, Christ.
But you know, again and again,
the New Testament calls us
to dwell upon our hope.
In Ephesians 1, Paul prays this great prayer
that the eyes of our hearts
would be enlightened,
that we would know,
really know,
deep in our bones,
in an experiential way,
the hope to which God has called us.
I wonder if much of our difficulty
in living the Christian life here and now
is because we don't know,
really know,
where Christ is taking us.
After all, right,
the Bible tells us to be people of love,
and joy,
and patience,
and kindness,
and generosity,
and faithfulness.
But most of the time,
we think we're on our way to the dentist,
as opposed to on our way
to the party.
And no one's very loving
and joyful
when they're on their way to the dentist.
But you know,
the apostles in the early church
understood this dynamic.
They weren't ashamed to talk
time and time again
and to celebrate the future
that Christ had won for His people.
They knew that our hope
wasn't just the grid
through which we could understand the present,
but that our hope
was also the fuel
to help us live
rightly in the present.
So with all that being said,
let's look then
at our hope.
The hope that God has in store for us
as His people.
Turn with me to Revelation 21.
Look down there with me.
We're not going to read
all of these two chapters,
just some selections.
Let me read this for us.
John writes this.
He says,
Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth.
This is the beginning of 21.
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 is seated
on the throne said,
Behold,
I'm making all things new.
Skip down to verse 22.
And I saw no temple
in the city
for its temple
is the Lord God
the Almighty
and the Lamb.
And the city
has no need of sun
or moon to shine on it
for the glory of God
gives its light
and its lamp
is the Lamb.
By its light
will the nations walk
and the kings of the earth
will bring their glory
into it
and its gates
will never be shut by day
and there will be
no night there
and they will bring into it
the glory and honor
of the nations
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.
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
through the middle
of the street of the city
and 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.
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.
They will see His face
and His name
will be on their foreheads
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.
So what does this
stunning picture
of our future
tell us about life
here and now?
A lot more than we could
cover in one sitting
but for now
let me just point to
three things
as we think about
this passage.
And the first is this
because of how
this story ends
because of how
your and my story ends
we can know
first that the tears
of this life
are temporary.
One of the first things
we're told
about the new heaven
and the new earth
is what's not there
right?
Verse 21
chapter 21
verse 1
He says
and the sea
was no more.
Now I admit
that's a pretty strange
detail at first
right?
For us
the sea
is where we go
for vacation
and if you're like me
you get there
and you go
and you get a sunburn
and it's not really
that much fun
but my wife likes it
so we go.
What's so bad
about the sea?
We have to realize
that in the Bible
the sea
the ocean
is often an image
of chaos
and danger.
The ancient Israelites
were not a seafaring people.
In fact
whenever they needed
to cross a body of water
God parts it for them
and they go across
on dry land.
Did you realize that?
So what John
is saying here
in a symbolic way
is that the confusion
and sorrows
and tears
of this life
the oceans
of it
that we have known
on that day
will at last
be done away with.
As he says
in verse 5
God
will make
all things
new.
And then there's
this incredibly
intimate image
in verse 4
He will wipe away
every tear
from their eyes.
Every tear.
every tear
of loneliness
every tear
of regret
every tear
of grief
and loss
everyone
He says.
The tears
everyone has seen
and the tears
no one has seen
and the tears
you didn't even
remember
and the tears
you never could forget
everyone
wiped away.
Isn't it incredible
that the first
thing
God does
when we're
in His presence
in the new heaven
and the new earth
is this.
If you know
the book of Revelation
you know that
at this point
in the book
God has judged
the world
and renewed
the cosmos
and descended
into the midst
of His people
and what does
this almighty
sovereign
God
do?
He comes
like a gentle
father
and begins
wiping the tears
away from His people.
You see friends
there will come
a day
when our sorrows
cease.
He'll wipe
them away.
When death
shall be no more
when pain
is a thing
of the past
our tears
in this life
are temporary.
And I think
that means
two things
for us
in the here
and now.
If the tears
are temporary
and that means
we can face
them now
with courage.
Right?
When pain
and sorrows
come
when grief
and loss
come
as the
inevitable
do
we can
know
that it's
not going
to be
this way
forever.
That it's
not the last
word.
That God
isn't going
to forget.
That like a
father He will
one day
wipe them
all away.
The psalmist
says
though the
sorrows
last
for the
night
joy
comes
in the
morning.
And that
gives us
great courage
to face
our sorrows.
But it also
means I think
a second
deeper thing.
As we look
at the new
heavens and the
new earth
and as we
see that our
tears are
temporary
it means
that right
now we
can trust
Him
in the
pain.
After all
there isn't
a single
tear that
God permits
in our
lives that
He won't
on that
day
personally
wipe away.
You know
it helps to
realize that
the book
of Revelation
was originally
written to
a group of
churches
not who
were you
know holding
prophecy
conferences and
speculating about
the last
times right.
The book
of Revelation
was written
to a group
of churches
that were
suffering.
And as
John tells
them they're
about to
undergo a lot
more in
the days
ahead.
You see
the message
of Revelation
is a message
for sufferers
for the
afflicted
for the
persecuted
and the
weary.
And in
the whole
book
if you were
to sum
it up
God
basically
says
trust
me
I'm
still
in
control
and I
haven't
forgotten
you.
And I'm
bringing
this story
to a
conclusion
so glorious
and so
good
and so
fitting
that every
loss
and every
tear
will be
swallowed
up
in
joy.
It's
just like
Isaiah
said
in our
reading
earlier
he will
swallow
up
death
forever
and the
Lord God
will wipe
away tears
from all
faces.
And Paul
in 1 Corinthians
15 looking
looking at
that same
passage
in Isaiah
puts it
this way
death
is swallowed
up
in
victory.
Friends
if our
tears
and our
death
are going
to be
swallowed
up
in
victory
then we
can trust
him in
the tears.
He's going
to swallow
them up
and make
them a part
of his
redeemed
new
creation.
And in
the place
of tears
there will
be joy.
And joy
brings us
to the
next point.
The picture
that John
gives us
here of
the new
heavens and
new earth
is important
not just
because of
what's not
there.
There are a lot
of things
that are
not there,
right?
There's no
sea,
there's no
night,
et cetera,
et cetera.
But notice
what is
there.
Because of
how the
story ends
when we
see what
is there
we can
know that
the joys
of this
life are
just a
foretaste
of what's
to come.
Now think
with me
for a second.
Let me
do a
little test.
The average
person's
picture of
heaven,
what is it?
When you
think of
heaven just
right now,
what is it?
I'm going
to read
your mind.
We're all
wearing togas
for some
reason.
We're sitting
on clouds
and we've
all learned
how to
play the
harp.
We're sort
of ethereal
spirits just
kind of
floating in
the heavens,
hanging out,
involved in
some sort
of disembodied
church service.
Ugh.
It's not
very sensory,
it's not
very dynamic,
it's all
kind of,
well,
boring.
But,
when you
read these
chapters,
and when you
read what
else the
Bible has
to say,
about our
future and
our hope,
the picture
couldn't be
more opposite
than that.
That where
we're headed
is not
less sensory,
but more
sensory,
and not
less dynamic,
but more
dynamic,
and not
less real,
but more
real.
If you're
familiar with
C.S.
Lewis' book,
The Great
Divorce,
it's sort
of this
allegory of
the afterlife,
and he
sort of
imagines there
are visitors
to heaven,
and the
visitors to
heaven who
aren't a
part of the
new heavens and
new earth,
as they
step and
as they
walk onto
the fields
of just
the outskirts
of heaven,
the grass
pinches and
hurts their
feet,
because that
world is so
real, so much
more real than
they are,
that even the
grass itself is
like sticks
poking them
through their
shoes.
Of course,
it's just an
image, right?
But it's a
pretty good one.
Let's look at
how John
describes our
future.
In verse
21-2, we're
told it's a
city, the
new Jerusalem.
So much for
ethereal and
weightless,
right?
Nothing can be
more concrete
and dense
than a city.
And so much
for boring,
too, right?
I mean, no one
in their 20s
moves to a
city because
it's quiet and
serene and you
can find a nice
place with a
backyard and a
picket fence,
yeah?
No one moves
to a city because
they're just
looking for
some peace
and quiet.
No, they go
there because
there's something
always going
on.
That it's a
center of
opportunity and
culture and
energy and
creativity and
it's teeming
with life.
Heaven, John
says, is a
city.
And not just
any city, but a
city, he says,
prepared as a
bride, adorned
for her husband.
A city decked
out in
radiance.
and splendor.
The second
half of chapter
21 that we
didn't read shows
us how radiant
this city is.
And there's this
beautiful image,
John says, as
it's coming down,
it's like a
rare jewel with
light shining into
it and sparkling
out.
And, you know,
as this description
goes on of this
city, it's almost
as if the line
between this city
as a place and
this city as the
people of God
starts to blur.
Is this city the
place where we
dwell or is this
city us coming
down where God
will dwell?
And in some
sense, I think
John's being
intentionally
ambiguous.
This city is the
place and it's the
people.
And we're arrayed
like a bride,
dressed in beauty.
You know, one of
the neat things
about being a
minister is that
you get to be on
this side of
wedding ceremonies
and you get to
see a lot of
brides come down
aisles.
And it's great.
You know, you get
to actually see what
the groom sees.
You get to see the
splendor and the
joy and the
excitement of that
moment time and
time again.
And isn't it
fitting that when a
bride comes in, we
all stand up?
And everyone
starts to get a
little excited and
hopeful.
Maybe I'm a
romantic.
I don't know.
Yeah?
You know, weddings
are one of the
most eschatological
things that we do
as human creatures.
It's a great play
acting of the final
day when we come
ushered in to the
presence of God,
decked out like a
jewel.
But you know, it's
something more than
that, isn't it?
When we come to
chapter 22, 1
through 2, it
seems that this
city is also a
lot like a
garden.
There's a river
flowing through the
middle of the
street.
And there are
trees growing
there.
And not just any
tree, but the
tree of life.
Which, of course,
takes us back to
the beginning of the
Bible, doesn't it?
To the Garden of
Eden.
And here, in the
midst of this city
garden conglomeration,
is that tree of
life.
bringing fruit and
healing to the
nations.
You know, if a
city speaks, if
that imagery speaks
of beauty and
energy, I think
this agricultural
garden imagery
speaks of life and
restoration and
peace.
And what God
began in creation,
he finally completes
in the new
creation.
And there it is,
the life that
he's promised us.
Growing like a
tree, flowing
like a river.
For anyone to
come and to
drink without
cost.
But it doesn't
just stop there.
There's a third
image that John
sweeps up into
his description.
In verse 21-3,
we're told that
God dwells there.
Literally, God
makes his
tabernacle there.
And in verse
22 of chapter
21, we're told
that there's not
an actual temple
structure in the
city, because
God is the
temple in its
midst.
In other words,
it's as if this
city garden thing
coming down from
heaven, it's as if
the whole city is
a temple, because
God dwells there.
It's a city and a
garden and a
temple all at
once.
And surely, this
last image is the
most profound,
isn't it?
At the center of
the city is the
Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb.
God dwells there
in his glory.
And there's no
need for the sun
or moon.
It's as if his
brilliance is so
bright that the
greatest lights we
can imagine seem
to go dim in his
radiance.
And night flees
away and is made
no more.
night, of course,
being heavily
symbolic in
scripture, right?
Night being our
ignorance.
Night being our
sinfulness.
Night being our
sorrow.
And yet in the
radiance and light
of God's presence,
a deep knowledge.
And at last,
holiness and
happiness.
And then, in
probably one of the
biggest understatements
of the whole
scripture, in
chapter 22,
verse 4, we're
told that they
will see his
face.
They will see his
face.
The one thing that
Moses couldn't do,
see God's glory.
That will be the
privilege of everyone
in that city.
And then we're
told something that
seems a bit kind of
strange.
God's name will be
on their foreheads.
Which I think is a
picture of the
union between God
and his people.
But you know, this
beholding God and
this increasing
union with God,
even that is
something that's
going to be
dynamic and
progressive and
that goes on for
all eternity.
Jonathan Edwards
wrote a treatise
called The End
For Which God
Created the World.
And at the end
of that treatise,
he says,
imagine a point
infinitely high
and imagine us
and God
excelling towards
that same point
at a rapidly
increasing rate
at every moment
getting closer
and nearer
and more
entwined.
And he says it
will just keep
going and going
and going
and going.
After all,
who could
fathom the
depths of
God's wisdom?
Scripture tells
us that they
are unfathomable
for us.
So you see
what that means?
As we learn
more and more
about who God
is, as we
grow closer to
him in eternity,
it just opens
up further
and further
and deeper
and higher
and wider.
That there's
no end
to the wisdom
and to the
love and to
the righteousness
and the goodness
that will behold.
You know,
there's analogies
to this in our
present experience,
isn't there?
You know,
if you take any
expert in any
field, say
mathematics or
music, you know,
it's usually the
one who's the
expert who will
joyfully confess
that there's much
more to be
discovered and
enjoyed than he
or she could
ever realize.
That the more
they understand,
the more they
realize that it's
just a slice of
what's there.
And friends,
if that's true
of something like
mathematics or
music, how much
more true is it
of the God who
created them both
and created every
other field of
learning that there
is?
So the picture
that John gives
us of this
city, garden,
temple where
at last God
is the center
of our
affections for
all eternity
with no end
shows us that
all the joys of
this life now
are just a
foretaste of
that unending
feast.
The things that
we enjoy now
are just a
shadow of the
substance that
will be there.
Just an echo,
just a strain
of that ever
swelling symphony.
And if that's
true, if our
joys are just
a foretaste,
just a mere
glimpse of what
will be held
there, again,
I think it means
two things.
First, it means
that the joys
that we experience
here and now
should always be
leading our
hearts upwards
in gratitude
and forwards
in anticipation.
That we should
never in this
life experience
any delight
or any
satisfaction
or any joy
without, in some
sense, using it
to call our
hearts forward
to that day
when we'll
behold God's
face and we'll
fall forever
into the depths
of the One
who is the
fountain of
all good.
God's face and
so when music
swells our
hearts and
when laughter
brightens our
faces and
when the table
is set and
the chairs are
full, friends,
it would be a
waste of them
not to take
that experience
and to go on
and to think of
the world to
come.
It would be
to cut our
present pleasure
short, to cut
short what
they're telling
us if we
didn't experience
them and then
go on to dwell
on the great
day when we
will dwell in
the new heavens
and the new
earth.
You see, all
of our present
joys are entryways
to true worship.
And second, if
our present
joys are just
a foretaste of
what's to come,
you know, then
it means it's
okay if we
don't experience
everything that
life has to
offer.
It means that
you don't need
the most amazing
job and the
most amazing
vacation and the
most amazing
spiritual experiences
here and now
to be eternally
satisfied.
it's okay if
you didn't get
exactly what you
want for Christmas,
right?
There's something
better in store.
And you know,
besides, even if
you found the
perfect job or
the perfect spouse,
they wouldn't do
the trick.
There'd still be
hunger for
something more.
Because we were
made to behold
the face of God
and to enjoy
Him forever.
If we find that
this life leaves
us longing for
something more,
then it means
we're seeing
things the way
they really are.
Because there is
something more.
And it's coming
for those whom
He loves.
So John has
shown us that
our tears in
this life are
temporary and
that our joys in
this life are
just a foretaste
of what's to
come.
But finally,
we see that the
pursuits of this
life are a
preparation.
You know,
from what we've
seen so far,
one might think
that in light of
the world to
come,
that life here
and now,
at the end of
the day,
doesn't matter
much.
If that life to
come takes away
all our tears
and completely
engulfs all our
present joys,
why bother so
much with this
life here and
now?
But,
John has one
last image for
us.
at the end of
chapter 21
and verse 24,
we read,
the kings of
the earth will
bring their
glory into the
city.
And then again
in verse 26,
they will bring
into it the
glory and honor
of the nations.
You see,
the great
gathering of
God's people
into that city
will also be a
gathering of all
that they've
done to his
glory.
All the unique
ways in which
God's glory has
reflected itself
through countless
human cultures
and countless
human lives
will be swept
up in the
celebration and
beauty of the
world to come.
That's hard to
say exactly what
that's going to
look like.
Perhaps it's
hard not to
think of the
upcoming Olympics
and I think
40 days,
right?
There's a
little ticker
on the
website if
you go.
Counting
down.
You know,
in the opening
ceremony,
the nations
stream in,
each displaying
what's unique
about their
culture.
Sort of a
triumphant and
joyful moment.
But that,
of course,
will be just a
dim reflection
at best of
what will take
place in the
city to come.
When the
kings of the
nations and the
nations themselves
bring in their
honor and
glory.
The way in
which God has
refracted and
reflected and
poured himself out
on them in all
their unique ways.
In your unique
way.
In my unique
way.
And then John
tells us that the
nations will not
just gather,
but that we will
reign.
At the end of the
passage that we
read this morning,
John says that
we'll reign forever
and ever.
Life in the city
to come will not
be static or
sedentary.
We will reign.
In the original
creation, remember
what God told
Adam?
To keep and to
cultivate the
garden.
That was our
original mandate,
to rule under
God, to be
culture creators,
to take God's
name into the
world, and to
bring out the
sort of latent
beauty and
potentiality of the
world that God
has made.
And what do we
see here in the
new creation?
We see that in
the new creation
having been rescued
from all the
effects of the
fall, we take up
that creation call
once again and
bring the glory of
God forward into
the new heavens and
the new earth.
And the lives that
we're living now are
preparation for that
day.
when we stream
into the city and
flow forth raining
forever.
And friends, don't
you see that if our
pursuits now are a
preparation for that
day, then by all
means, they matter.
Christian hope doesn't
steal the meaning of
this life, just the
opposite.
It makes life now
eternally meaningful and
significant.
what we do now gets
swept up into the
world to come that
will never end.
In fact, it's only a
biblical worldview that
really gives lasting
meaning to our
pursuits in this life.
Think about it, if in a
million years we're all
going to turn to ash when
the sun expands and no
one will remember a thing
about humanity, then maybe
there's some short-term
meaning to be had.
But friend, nothing
really matters in the
end if that's true.
And at best, at best,
our work and our acts
of mercy and our longing
and pursuit of justice and
our relationships, friends,
if that picture of the
world is true, at best,
those things are just a
distraction from our
annihilation.
But that is not where
the story is headed.
And because our pursuits
are a preparation for the
new heavens and the new
earth, they are rich with
meaning and significance.
And secondly, if they are a
preparation for that day,
then surely that's an
encouragement for us to
begin shaping and directing
all of our pursuits here
and now to the glory of
God.
That's what matters in the
end.
Paul says whether you eat
or whether you drink, do
everything to the glory of
God.
In other words, the future
that's in store for us gives
our pursuits a single
magnificent focus.
No longer are we doing them
for our own sake, but for
God's sake.
No longer are we going
about them to advance our
own desires, but to advance
what God desires.
No longer are we doing
them out of a longing to be
recognized or remembered or
to get the praise of our
fellow humans.
But we're doing them out of
love to God who made us
and loved us and redeemed
us and with whom we will
dwell for eternity.
So let me end this morning
with two final exhortations.
First, as we consider the
future that God has in store,
it puts a very serious
question before us, doesn't
it?
It asks, are you sure that you
will be a part of that city?
At the end of chapter 21,
John makes clear that not
everyone will be there,
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.
And you know, the reality is,
friends, that we're all trying to
get our name into some kind of
book of life, aren't we?
But you can have your name
etched on buildings because
you've given so much money to
the man.
And you can have your name
footnoted in scholarly tome
after scholarly tome.
Or you can have your name
plastered on billboards.
Prince is coming to one of the
casinos, by the way, in case
you didn't notice.
I saw that on 95.
His only East Coast appearance.
You can have your name plastered
on billboards.
You can have your name
endlessly debated on blogs.
You can have your name revered
on the sports field, and they
can raise it up in the stadium,
and there it is, your number
retired.
But friends, eventually, all of
these things will fade and
perish.
And if that is where we're
putting our hope, then we will
perish with them.
But if our name is found in the
book of life that belongs to the
Lamb, if He knows our name, then we
will never perish.
Friend, do you have the assurance
that your name is written there in
the book that never fades before the
one who lives forever?
Have you placed your faith and
your hope in Jesus Christ?
He is the Lamb who came to earth
and died and rose again so that you
might enter that city.
We're told that nothing unclean can
enter it.
So what hope is there for us who are
unclean, who have done what is
detestable and false?
Friends, our hope is the Lamb who
came to earth and was crucified and
made unclean so that unclean sinners
like you and me might be made clean
through faith in Him and given
access and freedom and joy to enter
that city.
Are you sure that your name is in His
book?
Finally, for those of us who are
trusting in Christ, the question is
this, how can I be living now in light
of the city that is to come?
How can I be living right now?
Because that is true.
That is the future, brothers and
sisters, that Christ has purchased for
you.
This is the inheritance that He's won
for you.
And it is sure and it is solid.
Write this down, God says in chapter
21, because it's true.
I'm the beginning and I'm the end.
And this is what I've prepared for you.
So friends, in the midst of the tears of
this life and the joys and the pursuits,
keep your eyes on the city to come.
Remember who you are and where you are
headed.
Live now in light of that city.
And I can assure you that it will soften
your tears and it will deepen your
joys and it will focus your pursuits.
And then at last, when we reach that
city, as C.S. Lewis writes at the end of
the Chronicles of Narnia, we find that
all our life in this world and all our
adventures had only been the cover and
title page, he says.
Now at last, we'll begin chapter one of
the great story, which no one on earth
has read, which goes on forever.
And in which every chapter is better than
the one before.
Let's pray together.
Oh Lord God, we thank you that you have
looked upon us in our hopeless estate and
drawn near to us in Christ.
God, I pray for my brothers and sisters
here that this hope, as Paul says, would
be a burning realization in their hearts.
Lord, enlighten all of our hearts so that
we might know this hope to which you've
called us.
God, we want to live our lives now in
light of that future.
We want to be a people who are bringing
that future into the present in joy and
in courage and in passion.
God, make us so by your spirit.
And Father, I pray for those here this
morning who, Lord, don't know you, who are
far from you, who are uncertain whether
they are indeed in your book, as you say,
your book of life.
God, I pray that by your spirit you would
get a hold of them and open their eyes to
see the beauty of Christ crucified, our
Lamb.
God, would you call forth in them faith and
repentance and hope in him.
God, help them to see that this hope isn't
just pie in the sky, but it is a certain and
sure future that you have purchased for your
people.
God, make it so for your namesake.
Amen.