Well, good morning, church.
Would you turn with me to Revelation chapter 21?
That's page 977 in the Pew Bible.
Revelation 21, we'll be considering verses 1 through 8.
So Memorial Day weekend, sometimes consider the start of summer.
For those of you in school right now, middle schoolers, high schoolers,
I'm sure you're more than ready for summer break to begin
as you grind out the last couple weeks of school.
And looking forward to summer, that sort of helps, right?
You know that in just a couple short weeks, the trials will be over,
the tests and exams will be passed,
and you'll be able to enter into your rest, at least for a couple months.
But when you graduate from school, summer breaks go away.
And yet, don't we still know what it's like, as adults,
to be motivated in the present by something good in the future?
Maybe it's a vacation, a trip you've been planning to take,
or maybe it's an upcoming event that you get to celebrate with one of your kids,
or maybe it's a plan for retirement.
Whatever it is, we know what it's like to be motivated in the present
by something good that's coming in the future.
And the more certain that thing is, and the more exciting that thing is,
the more it can motivate us to press on through hard days,
to persist through the ups and downs,
and to not give up or to give in.
As we turn to the final two chapters of Revelation,
this is exactly what John is trying to help us to do.
He's going to hold out for us our ultimate future in Christ.
He's going to show us the supreme good that God has in store for his people.
And his aim in doing so is that we might be motivated in the present
to press on, to persist, to not give up,
or to use the language of Revelation to conquer, to overcome.
When we get weary of running the race,
when we're tempted to throw in the towel
and just join the world in their apparent victory,
John holds up this eternal vision of glory
and says to us, don't give up.
God has unimaginable good stored up for you,
for those who conquer, who overcome, who persevere.
So let me read Revelation chapter 21, verses 1 through 8,
and then I'll pray as we consider God's word.
So Revelation 21, 1 through 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'm 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.
Let's pray together.
Father, as we consider this passage,
renew our hope.
Help us to see the glorious future
you have secured for your people
so that we might not give up.
And would you open the eyes of the hopeless
that they might see Christ in all his beauty,
the King who has purchased this future
for all who surrender to him and his grace.
We pray in the name of Jesus, our King.
Amen.
So what is this future
that God has in store for his people?
Well, John says,
it's nothing less than a new creation.
We mentioned two weeks ago
that the book of Revelation
in these final chapters
is showing us what we're saved from
and what we're saved for.
Well, here we're beginning to see
what we're saved for.
And it's life in a new heaven
and a new earth.
And verses 1 through 8 of chapter 21
are sort of like an introduction.
They're this opening summary,
this prelude
of the entire final section of Revelation.
Each of the themes
and images of these first eight verses
are going to be unpacked
in greater detail
in the following passages.
And in the coming weeks,
we'll explore those,
the new city,
the new temple,
the new garden
of this new creation.
But what comes to the forefront
in this prelude
of verses 1 through 8
is this,
that the real glory,
the real gift
of life in the new creation
is that it is life
in intimate communion with God.
John's writing this book of Revelation
to churches a lot like ours.
If you go back
and you read chapters 2 and 3,
the letters to the seven churches,
what do they face?
They face pressures within
and pressures without.
They're tempted to compromise morally
with the world around them.
They're tempted to lose
their first love for Christ.
They're tempted to rely
on their own strength and security.
They're tested and tried,
even persecuted
by an increasingly hostile environment.
But the final vision
that God gives to John
is of a future
so good
that we shouldn't want
to live for anything else.
And what is this good thing
that God has in store?
Well, it's God himself.
God is the good
that is in store.
Intimate communion
with God.
Now, where do we see that
in our text?
Well, we see it in verses 2 through 3.
Let me read those verses again.
John writes,
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.
Now, we'll see
in the coming weeks
that the New Jerusalem
is a metaphor
for the resurrected people of God
shining forth
in their true identity.
Here's the church
on the last day
in all of her beauty.
Beauty, John says,
like a bride or husband.
We've seen this marriage metaphor
before in Revelation 19, right?
The church is God's beloved.
You see,
after the Lord Jesus
returns in glory
to save and to judge,
when he wins
the final battle
against evil,
when he renders
perfect judgment,
when the earth and sky
flee from God's holy presence,
as we saw in chapter 20,
verse 11,
then on that day
he will establish
a new heaven
and a new earth
and take his bride,
his beloved,
to himself.
Verse 3 expands
on this idea
of intimate communion.
There we're told
that God
in the new creation
will dwell in our midst.
And the word dwell there
is the same word
for tabernacle.
In other words,
the Old Testament
tabernacle and temple
where God
took up residence
in the midst of his people
in a provisional
and sort of typological way,
that image
will be fulfilled
in the new creation.
But this time
there won't be
a literal tent
or temple
with their curtains
and their walls
separating people
from God,
restricting who
can enter God's presence
and when.
No, in the new creation
it will just be
God himself
dwelling in our midst.
They will be his people
and God himself
will be with them
as their God.
No barriers,
no restrictions,
just free,
intimate access
to the Almighty.
The last image
of intimate communion
is found in verse 7.
God is depicted here
not just as our husband
but as our father.
Look at verse 7.
The one who conquers
will have this heritage
and I will be as God
and he will be my son.
Now I think God
intentionally uses
that word son
to describe this
intimate reality
for all Christians,
men and women.
Why?
Why does he not say
sons and daughters
or children?
I think because
in the ancient world
the son legally
had all the rights,
all the privileges
of the father
and God is saying here
that's what's true
of every Christian,
male and female.
We have all the rights,
all the privileges
of being the father's
true heir.
It's all yours.
That's how much
the father loves you.
That's the sort of
intimate communion
he has in store for you.
He holds nothing back.
And as we'll see
in chapter 22
in a couple of weeks,
that means that we will
reign with God forever.
So at the heart
of the new creation
of this new heaven
and new earth
is this,
it's intimate communion
with God.
God will no longer
feel distant
or far away,
but like a loving husband,
like a caring father,
like a perfect lover,
like a perfect parent,
he will be near
in intimate communion
with us.
But what does
this intimate communion
with God mean
for our life
in the new creation?
Well, from this vantage point,
we can consider
kind of the rest
of the passage.
And we can kind of
do it in three ways.
First, we'll see
what won't be there
in the new creation.
And then second,
we'll see what will be there.
And then third,
we can consider
how to get there.
So what won't be there
and what will be there
and how to get there.
That's kind of
the rest of our passage.
So first,
take a look at
what won't be there
in the new creation.
As we experience
this intimate communion
with God,
what will be absent?
What won't be there?
Curiously,
John says in verse 1,
the first earth
has passed away
and the sea was no more.
Now, why won't there be
a sea in the new creation?
Well, for us today,
what does the sea represent?
What does the ocean represent?
I think for a lot of us,
the ocean is a place
of beauty, right?
It's a place
where we go on vacation.
Yeah?
We sail, we fish.
It has mostly
positive connotations
for us today.
But in the ancient world,
the sea was viewed
much differently.
The sea was actually
not a place
where you went on vacation.
The sea was a place
of danger.
It was a place of chaos.
Sailing, for example,
that was a risky business.
Not to mention
there were creatures
lurking in the deep
of the seas
that were frightening.
What's more,
in the book of Revelation,
John and his sort of,
you know,
metaphorical casting
in this book of Revelation,
what do we see?
Well, it's Satan
and his beasts
that are depicted
as rising out of the sea,
right?
That place of kind of chaos
come the great enemies
of God and his people.
And it's upon the seas
that the kingdoms
of this world,
we saw this in Revelation 18,
it's upon the seas
that the kingdoms
of this world
engage in their economic trade
and their exploitation.
So when John says,
the sea was no more,
he means that chaos
and evil,
he means that oppression
and violence,
he means that uncertainty
and danger,
these things
are removed forever
from humanity's future home.
And what remains
when all those things
are removed
is nothing short
of brand new,
a new heaven
and a new earth.
Now, does that mean
that everything
in this old world
is completely eradicated
or annihilated, right?
You know,
when we compare
the various passages
from Isaiah
like Kevin read
for us earlier
or when we look
at passages from Paul
or even from Peter
that speak about
the new creation,
we see that some passages
emphasize continuity.
They seem to say
that the new creation
is a renewal
of this old creation.
But then we also see
that some passages
emphasize the kind
of discontinuity.
They seem to say
that the new creation
is a replacement
of the old.
So which is it?
Well, I think
the best analogy
to help put
these pieces together
is actually
the resurrection
of Jesus.
After all,
the bodily resurrection
of Jesus
was the first act,
the inauguration
of the new creation.
The bodily resurrection
of Jesus
is the foretaste
and the pattern
for the whole.
And when you think
about it,
you see this same
kind of distinction
in Jesus' resurrection
body, right?
When you think
about it,
in one sense,
Jesus' resurrection
body was the same.
It was recognizably
Jesus, right?
And the tomb
was empty.
It was the same
body that came out.
But at the same time,
Jesus' resurrection
body was undeniably
new.
To some,
he was actually
at first hard
to recognize.
And certainly,
if you go back
to the first chapter
of Revelation,
John's vision
of the risen Christ
at the beginning
of this book
shows us
how stunning
his newness
can be.
Well, I think
the same will be
true of the new
creation.
I think we'll still
recognize it
as heaven and earth,
right?
There'll be continuity.
It's not going to be like,
oh my goodness,
it's Mars,
where are we,
right?
No, it's still
heaven and earth,
material,
real,
more real
than we experience
it now.
So there will be
continuity,
but at the same time,
it's going to be
utterly new,
radically new.
Paul says on that day,
creation will be freed
from its bondage
to decay.
Or as John puts it,
the sea will be no more.
You see,
where God dwells
in his fullness,
there will be
no more evil
and no more chaos
and no more oppression
and violence.
The sea will be
no more.
Can you imagine
a world without
those things?
A world without
those fears
and insecurities?
That's what God
has in store for us.
But that's not all.
There's something else
that won't be there.
The reality of this
intimate communion
with God
gets much more personal.
Look at verse 4.
Verse 4 says,
God 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.
Friends,
on that day,
the hand
that created
the stars
and the galaxies,
the hand
that raised
the mountains
and carved
the rivers,
the almighty
hand of God
will come
to you personally.
And with a tenderness
you've never experienced,
he will wipe
every tear
from your eye.
all the pain
you've accumulated
in this fallen world,
the mourning,
the crying,
the suffering,
will be met
by the hand
of sovereign love
and in tenderness
God himself
will wipe
the tears away.
He will tend
to your wounds
and he will heal
your broken heart.
so what won't
be there,
neither the seas
of evil
nor the tears
of pain,
neither will have
their place there
in the new creation.
Suffering,
sickness,
decay,
and death
will all be gone.
But what will be there?
If the sea won't be there,
if tears and death
won't be there,
what will actually
be there?
Well,
we see our second point
in verses 5 and 6
and 7,
especially at the end
of 7,
God says,
to the thirsty
I will give
from the spring
of the water of life
without payment.
The seas might be gone,
but John sees
that there'll be a spring,
a spring of the water
of life.
In other words,
in the new creation,
there won't just be
the absence of chaos
and death and tears,
but there will be
the fullness
of satisfaction.
In intimate communion
with God,
our hearts will be filled
by an ever-flowing
spring of life
flowing from the very
heart of God.
Now,
ask anyone today,
who doesn't want
life
and more of it?
Who doesn't want
to take life
and drink it deeply
like a spring of water?
You know,
listen to practically
every self-help
wellness podcast
that there is,
right?
Whether it's
Mel Robbins
or Andrew Huberman,
you know,
pick your favorite one.
What are they reaching for?
What are they hoping
to achieve?
What are they grasping at?
Is it not a fullness
of life?
Not just to be healthy,
but to be happy.
But of course,
this life cannot
finally give us
those things
in full measure.
Our desire will
at some point
be thwarted
in this life.
Our protocols
and our plans
will one day
fall short.
But in the new creation,
in the future
that God has in store
for His people,
there's a spring
of living water.
And what is that spring?
Again,
it's God Himself.
The Alpha
and the Omega.
The sovereign Lord
of history.
The one who rules
from beginning
to end
and every moment
in between.
The one who makes
all things new.
The one who's
trustworthy and true.
The one who will say
on that day,
it's done.
You see,
what God's saying
to us here
is that He's not
just our Creator.
He's not just
the Alpha,
the beginning.
But He's also
the Omega.
He's the end.
God's not just
the Creator,
but He is
the consummator.
He is the desired
goal of everything.
God is the journey's end.
Whether it's
the magnificent view
at the top
of the mountain hike,
or whether it's
the warm fire
and the comfort of friends
at the end of the day,
it's all speaking of Him.
And He is bringing
everything
to its appointed end.
And one day
He will say,
it is done.
And in His intimate
presence,
we will drink
and drink
and know
a satisfaction
and joy
that is unspeakable
and full of glory.
He will be
the majestic view.
God will be
the warm fire.
He will be
the goal
we've been longing for.
So John shows us
what won't be there
and what will be there.
But last,
how do we get there?
Look at verses 7 and 8.
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.
There are two options,
John says.
They're the conquerors
and they're the cowardly.
In this life,
we will either press on
through trials,
holding on to the faith,
or we will fall away.
We will either remain faithful
or our profession
will prove to be false.
We might look like Christians
for a while,
but when hardship comes,
we will leave the path
and become just like the world.
And John holds up
this vision of the new creation
in all of its goodness
so that we might be motivated
not to fall away,
so that we might press on
and be those who conquer.
Now conquer in Revelation
has a special meaning.
The conquerors in Revelation
are those whose lives
are characterized
by a refusal
to compromise their faith
despite the threat
of persecution.
So in reality,
John's using the term
sort of ironically,
isn't he?
Christians conquer
when they maintain their faith
even though they may appear defeated.
Even though in the world's eyes,
because of persecution,
they look utterly defeated,
John says,
no, they're the conquerors.
So what does it mean to conquer?
Well, it doesn't mean
what the world means.
It doesn't mean, you know,
you win every argument
and you enforce your will
on others, right?
No.
To conquer means
to hold on to Christ
even when the raging seas
and the abundant tears
of this world
press against you
from every side.
That's what it means
to truly conquer in this life.
To cling to Christ
even if it costs you everything.
But how do we do that?
How do we overcome?
How do we conquer?
And how can we possibly
have enough strength
to do this?
Are we just meant
to do it on our own, right?
Who can possibly make it
through all the trials
and all the tears
of this life
and not fall away?
Is not our own grip
too weak?
The reality is, friends,
if we were left
to ourselves,
we wouldn't make it.
Like the disciples
on the night
when Jesus was arrested,
we would all fall away.
But here's the good news.
We aren't left
to ourselves.
Conquering,
persevering,
pressing on
isn't something
we do
merely in our own strength.
No, we look
to the one
who has already
conquered,
the lamb
who was slain,
the Lord Jesus.
He promises
to complete
the good work
he began in us.
He seals us
with his spirit
so that we might
be protected
and safe
so that we might
turn from sin
and pursue holiness.
He places us
in local churches
so that we might
spur one another on
to love and good deeds.
He gives us
his word
full of promises
and exhortations
to keep us
running the race
with endurance.
But the greatest
gift of all
is the gift
of himself.
Do you want
to know the secret
of endurance,
of overcoming,
of conquering?
it's not
what you do.
It's to see
what the true
conqueror
has done
for you.
Consider verse 3
of our passage.
How is it
that God
will be able
to dwell
in our midst?
How can we
possibly have
such intimate
communion
with a holy God
for eternity?
You and I
are sinners.
We deserve
judgment,
not welcome.
It's possible,
friends,
because of what
Jesus has done.
In the incarnation,
Jesus became flesh
and tabernacled,
dwelled among us.
Because Christ came
and dwelt with us
in our sin,
we can dwell
with God
in his holiness.
Or consider verse 4.
How can there be
no more pain
or death?
because the Son of God
suffered and died
on the cross
for our sins.
You and I
can know
an eternity
without suffering,
without death,
because of that.
He shed
his tears
so that
our tears
might be wiped
away.
Or consider verse 6.
How can this
water of life
come to us
without payment,
totally free of charge?
I mean,
goodness,
if you want to get
the advanced content
from Andrew Huberman,
you've got to pay up,
right?
Nothing in this life
is free.
And yet here,
the greatest gift
comes to us
without costing us
anything.
So who paid
the price
so that we can
drink
and drink
and be satisfied?
It was Christ.
Jesus hung
on the cross
for your sins.
He said,
I thirst
so that you need
never be thirsty again.
And if you see that,
brothers and sisters,
if you see what Christ
did for you,
then you won't
fall away.
He will be the one
who actually holds you
in the palm of His hand
and He will never
let you go.
And all the pleasures
of this world
will seem like trifles
compared to spending
eternity
with the God
who loves you
like that,
who is so infinitely
glorious
that He would rescue you
by sheer
unmerited grace.
In other words,
if you hear Christ
say from the cross,
it's finished,
and you realize
that He said that
for you
and all your sins,
past and present
and future,
then friend,
you will surely
hear those words again
in the new heavens
and new earth
when the one seated
on the throne says,
it's done,
it's finished.
I am the Alpha
and Omega,
the beginning
and the end.
So press on,
brothers and sisters.
Don't give up.
Lord,
the future that God
has in store for you
is so good,
there's nothing else
worth living for.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven,
as we gather
before you this morning,
Lord,
we are sure
that if we were
to list all the trials
and temptations,
all the deep wounds
and pains
that each one of us
carries in this room,
Lord,
it would be
an incredible weight.
And Father,
if we were then
to begin
to confess our sins,
to show the ways
in which we've fallen
short of your glory
and turned aside
from your ways,
oh God,
would that not be
just a crushing weight?
So Lord,
we come before you
this morning
with much suffering
and much sin.
But we also stand
before you knowing
that we have
an even weightier
and even mightier
Savior.
And we thank you
that because of his work,
we can overcome.
That our pains
can be healed,
that our sins
can be forgiven,
that we can run
this race with endurance,
looking to you,
Jesus,
the author
and the perfecter
of our faith.
Oh Lord,
fuel our hearts
with a desire,
with a hope
of this great day
to come.
Lord,
help us to carry on
and to press on
because we know
that the future
is good.
and you
are trustworthy
and true.
You have never
disappointed
any of your promises.
They are all yes
and amen in Christ
and this one too
shall be yes
and amen
in Christ.
So would we live
for that day?
In Jesus' name,
amen.
Amen.