We are looking tonight for the last time at the theme of story.
Four sermons, we have looked at those four kind of big points that we see throughout scripture.
! Once upon a time, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and then we see that an enemy entered in.
And thirdly, we see a rescuer came in the Lord Jesus.
And tonight we look at happily ever after.
And my argument is that that is the kind of great overarching theme of the Bible.
And all the stories that we tell each other are kind of pointing us.
They are hinting to us of a greater story.
Someone said to me last week, it was great to be reminded of films of the 90s and the early 2000s.
And I've really enjoyed studying this theme.
I think one of the things I've really enjoyed is those of you who try to take notes.
And so those of you who normally take notes of my structured sermons, realizing that there's not much structure and there's lots of thoughts.
And the notebook shuts.
And about ten minutes later, the Bible shuts.
But I think it's been helpful.
It's been helpful to me to preach in a different way.
And I hope it's been helpful to you.
Next week we start Jeremiah.
Alright.
They lived happily ever after.
Happily ever after.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if that was true?
They lived happily ever after.
They are some of the most beautiful and haunting words that have ever been spoken.
Why does the end of a great story leave us with a lump in our throat?
Why does the end of a TV series that you leave, you finish, leave you kind of longing for more?
And if we've not become entirely cynical, some of the best endings in films and in books and in TV series leave us in tears, don't they?
Why is that?
Well, I've been arguing because God has set eternity in our hearts.
Every story that we tell is an attempt to put into words and images what God has written in our hearts.
Remember how the Chronicles of Narnia end.
Then Aslan turned to them and said,
You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.
Lucy said,
We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan.
And you've sent us back into our own world so often.
No fear of that, said Aslan.
Have you not guessed?
Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.
There was a real railway accident, said Aslan softly.
Your father and mother and all of you are, as you used to call it, in the Shadowlands, dead.
The term is over.
The holidays have begun.
The dream has ended.
This is the morning.
And as he spoke, he no longer looked to them like a lion.
But the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.
And for us, this is the end of all the stories.
And we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.
But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story.
All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page.
Now, at last, they were beginning chapter one of the great story.
Which no one on earth has read.
Which goes on forever.
In which every chapter is better than the one before.
It is magnificent writing.
It is even better theology.
There is a longing in the human heart for the happy ever after.
And so firstly, every story has an ending.
Every story, including yours, has an ending.
I wonder if you've faced that.
Even if you get a taste of Eden in this life.
If you're one of the fortunate souls that finds love and happiness in the world.
You cannot hold on to it.
You know this, don't you?
Your health cannot hold out forever.
Age will conquer you.
If you live long enough, one by one, your friends and your loved ones will slip through your hands.
And your work will remain unfinished.
Your time on this stage will come to an end.
Like every person gone before you, there will come a time where you will breathe your last breath.
And then what?
And if that is the end of the story, it is a tragedy.
But Beth was right.
Life is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Sooner or later, life will break your heart.
Or rather, death will break your heart.
Perhaps it's going to take for you to lose someone that you love.
To shake you from that denial.
That the final enemy is death.
It will come.
Every story has an ending.
Is there no way out?
Do we have a future?
Our enemy is a thief.
And it's stolen from our hearts.
The magic wonder.
And the promise of a life lived happily ever after.
We live in a city where very few people live with hope.
To those without faith, our enemy, the devil, has whispered, your story ends with an accident.
And there's nothing really beyond this.
This is as good as it gets.
There's no wonder, is it, that people drink too much.
People eat too much.
And they watch too much TV.
And they anesthetize themselves with scrolling.
And they live beyond their means.
And basically they opt out of thinking.
And if they allow themselves, just for a moment, to feel the depth of their actual longing for life and love and happiness.
But they won't do that.
And if they allow themselves just to think about it for a moment, they will despair.
And so they don't think.
So they escape.
Or more than anything, they numb themselves from reality.
They amuse themselves, as Neil Postman says, to death.
That's what's happening.
Our culture has numbed itself, isn't it?
So it doesn't have to think.
Our phones distract us.
We refuse to allow ourselves any silence or any space just to stop and think.
When you try to drive people to the logical conclusions of their arguments, they refuse to go there.
They opt out.
But what is Act 4?
Act 1.
Once upon a time in the beginning.
Act 2.
Evil enters.
Act 3.
Well, the rescuer, the redeemer comes.
But what is Act 4 in the Bible story?
And it is Revelation 21, verse 4.
Then I saw, Revelation 21, verse 1.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
Where's the echo?
Deja vu?
Where have you heard that before?
Then I saw a new heavens and a new earth.
How did the Bible begin?
Genesis 1, verse 1.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Revelation 21, it's a deliberate echo, isn't it?
And that had been promised in the middle of the Bible.
Isaiah 65, verse 17.
Behold, I will create a new heavens and a new earth.
It had been promised by Isaiah.
But it's been foreshadowed by the life of Jesus.
That as he walks through the Middle East 2,000 years ago,
when he touched the blind, they were able to see.
When he touched the deaf, they were able to hear.
When he touched the lame, they leapt up to their feet and walked and danced.
And when he called back the dead, they came to life again.
We see him again and again, wherever humanity was broken, Jesus restoring it.
The coming of the kingdom of God.
He restores the world that he made.
He gives us a trailer of what will one day be.
And God whispers this into the very warp and woof of creation.
He speaks to us through creation of this.
Think of the creation that we enjoy.
Think of the dead of winter.
Winter is great, isn't it, for about a week and a half.
But if it was always winter, you know you get what January was like this year?
It was unbearable, wasn't it?
It went on for months, it seemed.
So dark, so wet, so windy.
If it's also always winter, life is unbearable.
Every tree lifeless.
Every flower gone.
The grass wet and brittle.
And the world cold and silent and bleak.
But spring breaks forth, doesn't it?
The blossom begins to come out on the trees.
The grass begins to grow again.
The daffodils appear and then the bluebells.
Creation is telling us.
It's what we long for.
We long to leave the winter of the world behind.
And if we will listen to creation,
it will point us to the great restoration.
The restoration of spring and summer is pointing us precisely to what God is promising us.
To the miracle that one day he is going to make all things new.
That's what he says in Revelation 21 and verse 5.
He was seated on the throne and said,
Behold, I am making all things new.
There's a new heavens and a new earth.
And of course, this has started already.
Let me read you these words.
Very early on the first day of the week,
when the sun had risen,
they went to the tomb.
And they were saying to one another,
Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?
And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back.
It was very large.
And entering the tomb,
they saw a young man sitting on the right side,
dressed in a white robe,
and they were alarmed.
And he said to them,
Do not be alarmed.
You seek Jesus of Nazareth,
who was crucified.
He is risen.
He is not here.
See the place where they laid him.
But go tell his disciples and Peter that he's going before you to Galilee.
There you will see him,
just as he told you.
He was crucified.
He has risen.
He is not here.
Those are the words which end Mark's gospel.
They are the most stunning,
unbelievable,
happiest ending to a story you could possibly imagine.
But it's not just a story in history.
For those of us who have trusted in Christ,
and are united to Christ,
actually it's our story, isn't it?
Because 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20 to 21 says,
In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
He said,
The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For as a man came death,
by a man also came the resurrection from the dead.
He is the firstfruits.
And because he has risen from the dead,
you and I will rise from the dead.
I get up early on a Sunday morning before the sun is up.
And there's a moment, isn't there,
when you're up that early,
and you start to see just the first bit of light.
You see the sunlight before you see the sun.
There's that first bit of sunlight,
the first rays.
It's not so dark as it was.
What is that telling you?
It's telling you that the sun is coming up.
The daytime is coming.
And so it is with Jesus' resurrection.
We see the light.
And it's telling us that our resurrection is coming too.
As certain as the sun will come up,
when we see the first rays,
as certain is our resurrection,
because of Christ's resurrection.
So the question is this.
Will everyone have a happy ending?
Jesus told a parable to get our attention.
He actually told a story.
He said the kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son,
and he sent his servants
to call those who were invited to the wedding feast.
But they would not come.
And so again,
the king sends another servant saying,
tell those who are invited,
see, I've prepared my dinner,
the reception's ready,
my oxen and my father's calves,
they've been slaughtered,
everything is ready.
Come to the wedding feast.
But they paid no attention.
And they went off.
One to his farm,
another one to his business.
The truth is,
not everyone lives happily ever after.
Because most people
do not want the life
that God offers them.
And they won't come to the wedding reception.
They reject his story.
And they reject him.
And they reject his son.
I was with a group of people recently,
and they were joking around.
They were telling,
they were talking about something
that they'd done.
And one of the people in the group said,
I mean, you'll go to hell for that.
They all laughed.
You know what people think of
when they think of things like that, isn't it?
Don't smoke, don't drink,
don't have one night stands.
Don't drink, don't smoke,
or chew,
or go with girls that do.
Some of those things are sinful.
Some of those things are sinful
when they're taken to excess.
But that isn't really understanding
what sin is.
Primarily,
sin
is a rejection of God.
Primarily,
people are in hell tonight
because they have rejected God.
And they've rejected God's invitation.
They have refused him,
and they've rejected his son.
It is a refusal to let God be God.
It is a refusal to listen to his invitation.
But tonight,
tonight God is patient with you.
He's patient with you.
Not wanting anyone
to perish,
but all to come to repentance.
But if you say to him,
no,
clearly I do not want you,
and I do not want your son.
And if you persist in saying no
and refusing him,
in the end,
God gives you
what you want.
The biblical picture of hell
is that of being outside.
It's of being outside,
of being in darkness.
The picture of hell is death,
not life.
The way that the Bible describes hell,
the way that Jesus describes hell,
is one of bitter regret.
of endless separation,
of being without hope,
of the agony of knowing then
what you should have known now,
but of not being able
to change your circumstances.
George MacDonald,
in his book,
The Last Farthing,
said this,
the man weeks
from the final struggle of death
in absolute loneliness.
Such a loneliness
as in the most miserable moment
of deserted childhood
he never knew.
Not a hint,
not a shadow of anything
outside his consciousness
reaches him.
All is dark,
dark and dumb.
No motion,
not the breath of wind.
Never dream of change.
not a scent
from a far off field.
No sign of God anywhere.
God has so far withdrawn
from the man
he is in God's prison,
his own separated self.
And I have to say to you tonight,
that doesn't have to be
the end of your story.
It doesn't have to end like this.
Stop being proud.
Stop refusing
and rejecting God.
Stop making yourself
the main character
of the story.
Take your place,
rightful place,
in God's story.
And you can be rescued
from a lost eternity.
From an eternity
of regret
and an eternity
of sorrow
and an eternity
of sadness.
And it's why
those who have been
redeemed,
it's why
those who have been
rescued,
we cannot help
but sing.
It's why
when we try to describe
the new creation,
we can't really do it.
What would it be like?
It would be like feasting.
It's described
as the greatest party
you've ever been to.
It's joy unspeakable.
But we also have to say
we're not there yet.
That day
has not yet come.
And so tonight
you have the invitation
of life.
I have set before you
life and death.
Now choose life,
Moses preached
to the Israelites.
That is the offer
of the gospel.
The message of this story,
choose life.
For God so loved
the world that he gave
his one and only son
that whoever believes
in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
Jesus says,
come to me
that you may have life.
I came that you
might have life
and have it abundantly.
And this is eternal life
that they know you,
the only true God
and Jesus Christ
whom you've sent.
And so the end of the Bible,
Revelation 22,
verse 17 says,
the bride and the spirit
say come
and let the one
who hears
says come
and let the one
who is thirsty
come.
Let the one
who desires
take
the water
of life
without price.
Act 4
is the happily ever after.
It's the restoration
of life
as it was meant to be.
It's the return
of the beauty
and the intimacy
and the adventure
that you were created
to enjoy
and you've longed
for every day
of your life.
And yet better than that
it's immortal.
Because once
human beings
stood in the garden
and they knew
joy and peace
but they lost it.
But in the new creations
we will never lose it.
It cannot be taken away.
Sunrise
and sunset
tell the tale
every day
remembering
Eden's glory
and foretelling
Eden's return.
And then the king
will say to those
on his right
come you are blessed
by my father.
Take your inheritance
the kingdom prepared
for you since
the creation
of the world.
And Paul tells us
that the inanimate creation
around us
is longing for this.
The trees
stand on tiptoe
waiting
with eager longing
for the revealing
of the sons of God.
Creation
which has been
subject to futility
which goes wrong
has been subjected
to futility
in hope
that one day
creation
will be
set free
released from its
bondage
to corruption
and it will
obtain the freedom
of the glory
of the children
of God.
Romans 8.
But we live
tonight
in between
Acts 3
the triumph
of Christ
and Acts 4
the happily ever after.
we have a glorious
future
in Christ
but this tale
is not over yet.
The story
is not over.
I was thinking
to myself
I think that is
the phrase
that I use
more than
any other phrase
in pastoring
this church.
The story
is not over.
So the heartache
in your life
the unfulfilled
longings
the betrayal
that some of you
have known
the sin
that you continue
to struggle with
the apparent
failure
of your life
the sickness
that will not
go away
the false
accusations
that you struggle
with
the child
that has
rejected
the gospel
and is far away
the difficult
marriage
the separation
that you feel
the story
is not over.
And we are living
in the days
of Christ's victory
but we are not in
the happily ever after yet.
We're not home yet.
Jesus said
I am going to
prepare a place
for you
and I will come back
and take you
to be with me
and in my
father's house
there are many
rooms.
There's plenty
of room
in my father's
house.
And what will it
be like
in my father's
house?
Well
God will dwell
with man
and they will
be his people
and God himself
will be with them
as their God
and he will wipe
away every tear
from their 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
and he was
seated on the
throne and said
behold I am
making all
things new.
So I've been
arguing that we
live in God's
story
in the beginning
and then evil
enters in
and Christ
comes to
conquer
and then
finally the
happily ever
after.
So three
things about
this story
for you to
take with you
in this week.
The first
thing is this
things are not
what they seem.
Things are not
what they seem.
And where
would we be
if Eve had
recognised
the serpent
for who he
really was?
And then the
carpenter of
Nazareth
fixing coffee
tables and
shelves.
He's not
who he appears
to be either.
There's far
more going on
in this story
than meets the
eye isn't
there?
You live in
a world of
two halves.
One part that
you can see
and one part
that you
can't.
And I
would argue
that you must
live and I
must live as
though the
unseen world
is more
weighty
and more
real
and more
dangerous
than the
part we
can see
because we
live by
faith
and not
by sight.
This week
things are
not what
they seem.
Secondly
this,
we are at
war.
The story
of the
Bible is a
love story.
It's the
greatest love
story.
It's a
beautiful love
story but
it's in the
middle of a
life and
death battle.
Just look
around you.
Look at the
church in this
country.
Look at the
casualties
strewn across
the field.
the lost
souls,
the broken
hearts,
the captives,
those who
fought well
once but
now have been
wounded partly
through their
own fault.
And it is a
war.
And we
must take
this battle
seriously as
Christians.
There is a
war for the
human heart.
And there is a
war for your
heart.
And there is a
war for your
children's heart.
And so fight.
Number three,
and I don't
know really how
to put this,
but number
three this
week,
you matter.
You have a
crucial role
to play.
It is one of
the themes
in films,
the kind of
insignificant
person who
has a vital
role to play.
Think of
Frodo in
Lord of the
Rings,
Lucy Pevensey
in Narnia,
think of
Wheezy in
Toy Story 2.
Think of all
the films,
there is
insignificant
characters
that have
a very
important role
to play.
And I think
I am scared
as a minister
of a reformed
church,
and I think
we are scared
in church
like ours
of a
self-esteem
gospel,
a gospel
where we
put ourselves
at the
centre,
and it's
half the
truth that
is.
It is a
really dangerous
thing to
underestimate
your role
in the
story.
If you do
that,
you'll lose
heart,
you'll miss
your lines.
And this
great story,
this epic
story that
we take our
place in,
you two and
I have also
reached the
point where
we must
find our
courage
and fight
for the
hearts of
others,
for your
family.
You know
the scene
in the
film,
don't you?
It could
be any
film,
really.
The hour
is late,
much time
has been
wasted,
but it's
not too
late.
And there
are great
things to be
done,
and there
are great
sacrifices
to be
made.
And you
won't lose
heart if
you really
understand what
is going
on in
God's
purposes,
in God's
story.
And you
won't lose
heart where
this story
is headed,
and what
your lover
has promised
you.
And so
this week,
I think it's
encouraging,
isn't it,
going to this
week with
these three
things.
Things are
not what
they seem.
You are
at war in
this love
story.
And you
matter.
You have a
crucial role
to play.
God has
put you
where you
are in
your
circumstances
for you
to fight,
and for
you to
stand,
and for
you to
play your
role,
because the
story's not
over.
Let's pray.