You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
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! Thank you, brother and sisters. Bless you.
It's a great joy to be back here. I was trying to rack my memory, which as you get older, that requires a little more effort.
I think the first time I was ever at Southwood was all the way back to when Mike Honeycutt was here.
And so I have known and loved your church family for many years.
Got a lot of good friends that have been a part of this community, including staff and just men and women just like yourself.
So I'm so thankful y'all are working through the book of Hebrews.
Truly one of my favorite books in the whole of Scripture, because it really does what the book of Revelation does in terms of showing us that there's one book with one big unfolding story from Genesis through Revelation,
running through a four-part plot line of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation.
And both in Hebrews and in the book of Revelation, what we see is Jesus is the one and only hero.
Everybody needs grace and mercy in the entire story.
In fact, one of the things that makes the Bible so precious to me is that God did not edit out how weak we all are.
And that just highlights more and more that Jesus is singularly worthy of being worshiped with everything we have and are.
And for me in particular, I want to read some texts and verses from the book of Revelation.
And I'm so glad I get to continue with many of you in the next hour in a combined Sunday school class,
because I will be tempted to talk way too fast.
This particular sermon about everything Jesus wants to see, wants us to see about the life he has secured for us.
Jesus kind of gave you somewhat of an expanded three times hyphenated title for this sermon today.
And if I were to distill it or summarize it is really our thoughts of heaven are just way too small.
Our thoughts of eternity are way too small.
Our thoughts of today and light of eternity are way too small.
Jesus is greater.
Jesus is gracious.
He is with us.
He's not pulling for us.
He is the one who is making all things new.
So I'm going to read this text that you see mentioned in your outline.
I'm going to read from Revelation chapter 7 first.
And before we go on towards lunch today, I may bleed over into another part of Revelation this morning,
but at least in the next hour is a few more things I want to highlight to make sure we see.
So here's the proposition.
Let's put ourselves in the place where John, the writer of the gospel of John,
and the three epistles of John was, when he was called to write the book of Revelation.
Same apostle, except John writing the book of Revelation is about 82, three, or four years old.
So good news for all the octogenarians in the room.
Your life is not over, and there's always more of Jesus to see.
But John the apostle was in a very unique place because as the book of Revelation begins,
we are told here's what the book is.
It's a book by Jesus about Jesus.
It's what the opening words say, the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It is a letter that the resurrected descended Jesus put together through a series of visions
that were delivered to John, John the apostle, in the latter part of the first century.
And it is a book that is full of worship services.
You can't read it straight through without realizing ever so often,
Jesus shows his very young and persecuted and fear savvy people what's really going on all around them.
In fact, one of my favorite authors about who really wrote about the book of Revelation
is a man named Dennis Johnson.
And his subtitle of his book was, Things Are Not the Way They Appear.
And you can really see this through the book of Revelation because it's the resurrected Jesus
narrating what's really going on in the world if you have the eye of faith to see it.
And it doesn't minimize things.
It talks about the crises that will continue between the resurrection and return of Jesus.
But what Jesus gives us in the book of Revelation for the church of every generation is,
here's where you center.
Here's where you set your gaze.
Here's an understanding about the future that is meant to impact today.
Now, John's world, when he's writing at about age 84,
we're beyond Nero as the emperor of Rome.
And now Domitian is the reigning emperor of Rome.
And if you thought Nero was a narcissist and crazy, he was just a small fry compared to Domitian.
Now, why do I highlight that?
Because you see, a lot of times we assume that things are just getting worse and worse and worse in the world.
And I would not rebuke you if that came out of your mouth this morning
because some of us really know the vulnerability of even the last several years,
the vulnerability of this weekend waking up and knowing what's going on in Iran right now and other places.
But that is not new.
But what is necessary is to hear Jesus say to us,
here's what history really means.
Here's what's going on all the time.
And here is the glorious ending.
I have won for you, secured for you,
and will incrementally begin to bring about in your life and midst
as the day of my return is hastening towards us.
So seven times through the book, three times with John,
four times with the 24 elders, which are representative of the whole people of God through their leaders,
seven times through the book of Revelation,
as Jesus shows us more and more about what is really true,
John himself and elders fall down and worship, praise, and adoration.
And the impact of that would have been,
Lord Jesus, thank you for bringing me back to gospel sanity,
for not just telling me about in the future,
but right now, here's what's going on above me.
Here's what's going on in history,
even as you were always writing with a steady hand with the ink of grace.
And your hand is writing our story through wars and through reversals,
because you're going to always be showing us there is no lasting city in this world.
There's only one unshakable kingdom, and it is your kingdom.
Thank you, Jesus.
And you're already the king of it.
And you're not nervous, and there's nothing going on in eternity that looks like anxiety
or second guessing or coming up with another plan.
You are always on time, and you are always good.
Can I get a Southwood hallelujah?
Quiet, gentle, PCA hallelujah.
Okay, well, don't you get too excited.
So with that in mind, I'm going to read the seventh chapter of Revelation,
but hear these words in the context of.
John is in a scary world.
He doesn't know if he's going to get out of this imprisonment on the Isle of Patmos.
And he cares about the church.
Churches in Asia Minor, chapter 2 and 3 of Revelation talk about seven churches.
There were not only seven churches, but that's a number of perfection.
So the book is written for the church of every generation and a particular group of men and women
who are living in a perilous time of social, economic, racial tragedy.
I mean, truly, if you want to go back as a part of follow-up to the sermon and just do some searches on
what would it have felt like to live in the first century after the resurrection of Jesus,
you're going to begin realizing, oh, the Lord has always provided for his people.
And we need that perspective.
So this particular part of the text is so encouraging.
And I will make comments as we go through it.
This is Revelation chapter 1, verse 1 and following.
And what we're going to have is one of many of the visions that Jesus gave John to say,
I want you to write this down for every generation because here is what's happening now.
And here's what will come together in fullness.
This is not pie in the sky.
This is grace on the ground.
It's why the apostle Paul in Ephesians 1 prayed one of my favorite prayers to Christians.
And here's the prayer Paul prayed for Christians in Ephesians chapter 1.
He says, I pray that the eyes of your heart might be illuminated,
that you, the church of Jesus, that your eyes would be freshly illuminated to know three things,
the hope to which you have been subpoenaed,
the glorious inheritance of God in the saints,
and the exceedingly great power for us who believe.
You see, this morning as we talk about hope, we need to know the scriptures tell us that God himself
and we ourselves should be praying to know, use the word subpoenaed to hope.
In the Bible, calling is a subpoena.
I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand if you've ever been served.
It could be embarrassing maybe if the sheriff knocked on your door with a subpoena.
It doesn't make you guilty.
It means that you've got something you better not ignore, right?
But I can tell you, every single one of us in this room have been subpoenaed by the God of all grace to hope.
So don't dismiss it.
Don't ignore it.
Don't say, well, I get to that later, maybe when I get cancer or something.
We are subpoenaed to hope.
We are called to know God's inheritance and the saints.
And the Greek actually means that we are God's inheritance, not simply what we get in an inheritance.
Speaks of how much God treasures us as his people.
God sees the future as inheriting us.
Thirdly, knowing the power, the great power for us.
And we need power even to believe what I'm about to read.
So let's go through this text.
Like I said, one of many visions.
And it's about what's going on and what will absolutely happen in fullness.
Lord bless us as we read.
So John writes,
Now, pause for a moment.
We're going to go verse by verse.
What is this even saying out of the gate?
John's hearing that God is absolutely sovereign over all the difficulties in the world.
So there's a restraining.
There's action of God going on, even as those churches in Asia Minor are in a perilous, vulnerable position.
John's hearing.
John's seeing.
From every corner of the earth, God has positioned his angels to secure for us the unfolding of his story.
The absolute guarantee that everything God has planned will come to pass.
This is John's hearing this.
And then verse two.
Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God.
Now, let me ask you this.
This is what kind of go sword drill activities we go through the scriptures.
When you hear the language, the seal of God, what does it make you think of as a Christian?
When were you sealed by God?
Very moment you were converted.
We have, if you're, if you're someone who's simply in childlike faith and dependence have come to know your need for a savior who is Jesus.
Then the very moment you trusted Jesus as your savior, you were sealed by God, the Holy Spirit.
It's the same seal that's being referred to here.
So let's always put things in context as we go.
So John hears about the same activity he has already known and believers who are living in that part of the world.
But, but there's, there's a lot more sealing going on.
Okay.
Let me just kind of read this with you.
So there's, there's an angel holding the seal of the living God.
And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea.
Verse three, do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of God.
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed.
This, this is getting, this is going to get really fun here in a minute.
Awesome sound booth, archbishop.
Is this poppage okay?
Do we need to change to a handheld mic?
Is it okay?
Am I bugging y'all?
Can y'all hear pretty clear?
Okay.
We're good.
Okay.
We're good.
The family says we're good.
So let's continue.
So here, John is hearing the, the, the world we live in right now.
I kind of feel like the mission is, is really got a lot more power than I hope he does.
And, and, and Jesus is saying to John and us in every generation.
Now here's, what's really going on.
One of the key themes of all of history is I am redeeming my people.
No matter what is going on when it's a picnic or when it's persecution, I, the living God have structured all of history as an extension of my commitment to have a family.
So John now begins to hear a number and see a number.
Here's how he describes it.
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel, from the tribe of Judah.
And I'm just going to wrench, mention the names of the tribes and not repeat 12,000 every time, but from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed from Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin.
Now, one of the great things about numbers in the book of Revelation is they are gloriously symbolic.
And this does not mean that John is getting a word from Jesus that moving forward, only 144,000 ethnic Jews are going to be converted.
Now, this is a picture of promise.
This is a picture of a whole, whole bunch.
And in Revelation, when threes, fours, tens, and twelves are used, it's just really reminding us that God is the architect of his own story.
And so John, again, let's think about this.
He's living in that world.
And if he simply listened to the sound bites of social media or five o'clock news or whatever else, he'd be getting a whole different narrative about what the world's going on.
But John's hearing from Jesus himself.
This is what I am doing.
You've been sealed.
My people have been sealed.
They cannot be unsealed.
But it continues.
So here's the image, and I love it.
He just is seeing and sensing 144,000.
And God is faithful to his promises.
And we're seeing the magnitude and the magnificence of his generosity.
But then in verse 9, I love this.
John said, after this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude.
I would say 144,000 is a pretty good multitude.
Would you?
Especially for me who grew up in the south hearing basically the biblical story is God bless us four and no more.
Or God's frozen chosen.
Now listen, this is so beautiful.
After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count.
So if John could use an abacus to count 144,000, he's just trashing his abacus right now.
He's throwing down any numeric system to try to take in now what he is seeing.
And I want you to sense with me how this would have contradicted the despair or the apparent understanding of what it means to live in a broken, evil world where evil seems to be more powerful than the God who created all things.
John said, I see before me this multitude no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.
Put your finger there a moment.
So John is seeing what will happen in fullness one day when Jesus finishes his work.
But he's seeing it happening right now, right now in that moment.
Now why would the Bible use such language about the enormity of the family that God is saving?
Is this hyperbole, exaggeration, you know, overstate the case just to really to help the small struggling church at the end of the first century kind of just buck up and hold on?
Absolutely not.
See, this is rooted in the whole scripture.
And the more we know the whole Bible, the more we're not shocked when you come upon the passages of, goodness, God promised to do something that could not be numbered.
And John is seeing it actually happen in his day, knowing it will happen no matter all the rapture and the rupture.
The church is going to live through until Jesus comes back.
Well, it's rooted actually in one of my favorite stories in terms of just how huge the work of God is and how generous God is and how much gracious grace actually is.
Do you remember in Genesis chapter 12 how God in a very profound way began to unfold?
The fact that he was not just going to be a great creator, which he is, but an equally magnanimous great redeemer.
So he, God, goes after a pagan moon worshiper named Abram.
Genesis 12 through 17 tells his glorious story.
And there's nothing in Abraham's story that would suggest he was seeking the Lord.
He wasn't conscience stricken.
He wasn't, you know, really trying to find his way.
No, the primary seeker in the whole Bible is God.
And he's an awesome finder as well.
He grabs Abram and makes promises to Abram that will help us understand John's vision.
And in our day right now, even as missiles are flying in our world.
But even before this weekend, God said, Abram, come out here.
And I'm going to make a few promises that should buckle your knees.
But here's the deal.
I'm going to make of you a nation.
And through that nation, all people, groups on the earth will be blessed.
And I'm going to take you to a land to begin working out my purposes in view of the one that I will ultimately send through the womb of the nation Israel that I will make from you.
And then the Lord, you remember this, and I love this.
Talk about counting.
The Lord takes Abram, who's going to become Abraham, outside.
Remember what he says?
Count the stars.
And then when you're done counting stars, count the grains of sand on the beaches.
What's the last time you put your hand, scooped into a hand of the sugar white sand of our Gulf Coast and tried to count one handful of sand?
Abram, count the stars.
Count the sand.
And then, in the same context, count the dust of the earth.
So shall my family be.
See, precious friends, where did we ever get the notion that only a few of us are going to really enjoy heaven?
Probably comes from the fact that we're just kind of tribal by nature, you know, and tribal by nature and unbelieving by nature.
And yet the Lord who makes the promises, who really is saying to you and to me today, I can be trusted in every season with everything.
So John sees this, in a sense, an ongoing application of God's promises to Abram that I will be a great and gracious Savior.
And he's seeing this crowd and no one, but notice with me what he sees more clearly than anything else.
Because Jesus shows up like Jesus always does in the picture, in the story.
See, we want to read the Bible not looking for a moral to every story, but for Jesus in every story.
I was hoping someone would say amen.
It's pretty bad when you have to fish for amens, but you know, I'm that guy.
Okay.
I forget.
I just said that.
Strike that from the tape.
But look at what is this crowd doing?
They're not just high-fiving each other.
Who are they?
They are wearing white robes in front of the lamb with palm branches, and they are crying out in a loud voice.
Because salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb.
Now, just try to take that in.
A number you cannot count, and every single one of them is dressed in the garments of grace.
They are standing before the lamb, and they are loud.
Why do you suppose they are loud with their response to seeing Jesus?
What are some thoughts?
Cannot keep it in.
Do you all know the old hymn, How Can I Keep From Singing?
You know, there's some things that create a response that you have to shout.
About two or three Saturdays ago, I shouted when the University of North Carolina hit a final shot against the Duke Blue Devils.
But, you know, that was one kind of shout.
This is a different kind of shouting.
It really is true.
I think a part of what we're going to hear in the first, you know, thousand years of heaven, looking at each other, we're going to say, it really was true.
It was all true.
We'll be finally freed from all of our unbelief and underbelieving, the promises God has made.
With this great crowd, there are already gathering in eternity.
You see, our theology of heaven tells us that right now, if any of you in this room today who have trusted Jesus to be not just your forgiveness, but your righteousness,
if you were to die today, you would be absent from your body immediately, and you would be with the Lord in the company of this.
Later, your dear pastor, Will, is going to be preaching from Hebrews 11 or 12 about the joyful assembly that's going on right now of our friends, our family that know Jesus.
And they are with a bunch of angels, and they are awaiting us to be a part of this grand symphony, even as they are awaiting the resurrection of their bodies.
Well, it's a big crowd.
It's a huge crowd.
In verse 11, and all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures,
and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen, praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength.
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.
Again, let's put this in context.
John is hearing this, and he is charged with writing it down.
Emotionally, what do you think would have been the impact for John as he's writing these things down?
It would be overwhelming, right?
It would be just like those in the company who cannot be counted, who are coming from every single nation that has ever sucked oxygen.
Precious, precious friends.
Let's always remember, God doesn't just have two favorite nations, Israel and America.
He has an every nation family that he is building and securing and growing.
And that should thrill us and free us and not lead us to conclude, I read the end of the book and we win.
Absolutely not.
We read the whole book and the Lamb triumphs over all things, including my own self-centered heart.
So there is big worship going on, and I'm sure the impact would have been for John was, I cannot wait to get this letter to my friends in Asia Minor.
I cannot wait for the God who has always spoken without stuttering to bring this revelation.
Jesus talking to us and saying, this is more true than anything else.
Don't let anybody else narrate your life or story, young church in Asia Minor or in 2026 at Southwood Press.
So there is such joy.
There is such peace in the midst of a crazy making world.
Verse 13, then one of the elders asked me, these in white robes, who are they and where do they come from?
I answered, sir, you know.
And he said, these are those who've come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Pause there for a moment.
That phrase great tribulation is not referring just to a seven-year period somewhere in the future.
It is language used of the entire period between the resurrection of Jesus and the return of Jesus.
With incremental moments of great intensity.
So see, what the Bible wants us to understand is that between Jesus' resurrection and his return, the devil knows his time is short and he's filled with fury.
He knows he's lost believers for eternity, but he's going to try to wreak all the havoc he can.
So what do we need in that world when the roaring lion is roaring?
To see the lion of the tribe of Judah who has triumphed.
And we have peace and we're about what God is about, redeeming his family from every nation.
These are those who indeed have come out of intense tribulation, specific times of just overwhelming challenge.
And who are they?
They are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore, they are before the throne of God.
And serve him day and night in this temple.
I love this.
Here's a picture of God's welcoming heart.
Not just in the future, but today.
Today, today.
If right now, maybe this is a morning.
You're feeling very vulnerable.
And you're not sure about a lot of stuff.
And you know what?
Some of you may have a life right now so filled with pain and disappointment.
You know, you don't give a flying Houdini about what's going on in Iran.
Because you've got bigger issues and fish to fry than that.
Your heart is breaking.
And you're not sure about a lot of stuff.
It's to you and to me in the midst of everything that is broken that the Lord is saying, this is the truth.
This is the goodness.
This is the beauty I've won for you.
I, the Lord Jesus.
There before his throne.
So here's the father pictured as what?
And he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
Now here's a picture of the saints' everlasting rest they enter into as soon as we die.
But it's a picture also of what will it be like uniquely when Jesus returns to this world?
And here's a picture, an incredible metaphor of the Bedouin hospitality.
If you know something about ancient Near East culture, if you had a tent and anyone comes by your tent at night, late, you extend hospitality.
Because you believe everything you have, you are to be a steward of.
And there's kindness and generosity.
Well, this isn't your neighbor.
This is your God.
Look at this.
He will spread his tent over them.
Never again will they thirst.
Never again will they hunger.
Never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them nor any scorching heat.
Now verse 17, if you haven't had your circuit board fried quite yet this morning with hope, look at what verse 17 tells us about Jesus.
And Will, I'm looking at you because I don't see a countdown clock.
Do I have about 10 more minutes legally?
Is that good?
Excellent.
All right.
I get you the next hour or two.
So part two is coming.
Verse 17.
If you've got the bandwidth of five minutes to hear anything and you haven't heard anything yet, but you got five minutes now to dial in.
I want you to see verse 17 in Revelation 7 and marvel with me about how gloriously loving Jesus is.
So again, here's the picture of God's people being redeemed, have been redeemed already.
Now those in front of us are enjoying the perfections of heaven even before the resurrection of our bodies and the transformation of the world we live in.
And here's what's said of Jesus.
The lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
A few things.
What a picture.
Who is the lamb throughout the entire Bible?
Jesus.
The creator of the universe.
Bible says that nothing exists apart from Jesus.
That Jesus not only created everything that has been created, but right now, as in Colossians 1, Jesus is sustaining all things by the power of his word.
He is eternally God with the Father and the Spirit.
But here we're seeing he who is on the throne continues to be towards you and me, that good shepherd that we have discovered him in Psalm 23.
But you see, this is even depicting what's going to happen even in eternity.
How will I know, recognize, and see Jesus in eternity?
He, the lamb, is going to rise and shepherd us, his beloved.
In this image that even in eternity, Jesus is going to lead us to springs of living water.
What do you hear in that?
I'll tell you what you don't hear.
You don't hear you and me lining up to apologize for all these stupid things we did in life.
Because Jesus died for those things.
You don't hear us lining up to do for Jesus.
According to God's word and Jesus who wrote these words and gave this revelation, he is the one that is awaiting us.
One of my favorite weddings I did in Nashville as a youth pastor at First Presence Nashville.
And when you're a youth pastor, you're scared out of your bejeebies of doing something wrong.
And I was on staff as youth pastor at First Presence Nashville.
So I'm doing a Saturday night wedding.
Think Vanderbilt royalty.
Think everybody's in a tuxedo.
But rehearsal goes okay on that Friday night.
And so we get to the wedding.
And I think so good so far.
I got my robe on.
And the groom is standing beside me.
And the groom is beside me.
And the bridesmaids make it in.
I'm feeling okay.
This is going to be okay.
It's Nashville.
It's formal.
And Scotty, mind your manners.
And then back door opens up.
Long, long aisle at First Presence Nashville.
And I see the father of the bride step across.
And then the bride.
Well, the groom beside me, as soon as he sees the bride, he starts running towards her.
And, of course, I'm thinking, I just lost my job.
Okay.
Pink notice is coming.
I didn't think that long because I thought I got to get him.
So I ran after him, grabbed him, pulled him right back here.
And I'm thinking, dare I risk eye contact with the mothers of the bride and the groom?
And I did.
And you know what I saw?
I saw tears.
I saw the mother of the groom saying, I could not be prouder of my son.
Look at how he loves.
And I saw the mother of the bride saying, my heart's mounting.
Oh, that the guy sitting beside me would love me like that.
No, I'm just not getting, just don't go there.
But you see, and what I felt in that moment and then later was,
this is how the Bible is depicting Jesus' view of his second coming.
He is more looking forward to a second coming than we are.
Jesus is coming for us as his bride.
Last thing I will mention before I pray.
And again, we'll pick up with this.
Please bring questions about heaven with you in the next hour.
But look at the last thing that said here.
Then I will pray.
So Jesus is rising for us, coming towards us.
He is going to be our good shepherd forever and ever and ever.
He has only and forever served us.
Jesus will never stop serving us.
But what does this phrase mean?
And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
It's more than you realize.
The Greek idiom of this, which we'll pick up again in Revelation 21 at our next hour,
the Greek idiom is not your kindest grandmother.
And every grandmother seemed to be born with hankies, right?
I had a grandmother that always had a linen hanky.
I don't know in the DNA of grandmotherhood or whatever else.
But I needed my grandmother's hanky in a season of life we both shared.
My mom was killed on a car wreck when I was 11 years old.
Just head on instant.
And it so shut down my world.
And my dad was not able to speak my mother's name for 40 years.
But my grandmother stepped into the vacuum and she saw my tears.
And I was that kid that was told big boys don't cry.
But I could not help but crying.
I mean, grandmother had a way of just wiping my tears away.
This is not talking about wiping your tears away.
The Greek idiom is the hand of the Lord Jesus will wipe out of your eye your tears,
which means he's going to redeem the pain behind your tears.
This is how glorious and loving Jesus is.
He died for our sins.
He knows our pain.
He knows the stories that right now you have no categories for.
It's going to be better than simply saying, I'm not going to cry about that anymore.
Precious friends, the hope that we have is all consuming.
It's a hope that's so great we have to be subpoenaed to it because we wouldn't believe it otherwise.
And I'm thankful in a day and hour of which there is increased vulnerability in our world.
I'm thankful in this season of the life of Southwood Prez that this is the way Jesus wants us to know him,
the way he wants us to love those in our community.
Will you pray with me under that end?
Let's pray.
Oh, Father, thank you for your word.
Your word is truth.
Your word is good.
Your word reveals your beauty.
And Lord Jesus, we supremely thank you this morning that like John in his day and vulnerability and just stuff we don't get.
And Lord, it's been so hard to be an American even the last many years, just even here.
Lord, we spit and cuss at each other.
We just are.
We have such a small view of who you are as our God.
We have such a small grasp of the gospel.
You are so patient.
Lord, would you reel our hearts in?
Would you bring Southwood Prez into a fresh gospel renewal in these coming days?
But in particular right now, Lord Jesus, any in this room who have yet to simply receive the free gift of eternal life
and hear a hope beyond anything that we can imagine offered freely to which we are actually legally bound, it is so good.
And bring them to a saving knowledge of yourself, Jesus, and restore others of us to the joy of our salvation,
to the hope of not being in control, to the hope of not holding on,
but to the glorious hope that you will hold us fast.
You'll redeem the pain.
You will heal this world.
And we say together, hallelujah with a savior.
Hallelujah with a salvation.
We pray in your name, Jesus.
Amen.
Let's go.
Let's pray.
From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride.
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
It's a large population, the turmoil of her war.
She weighs the consummation of peace forevermore.
Till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blessed.
And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.
Yet she on earth hath union with God the three in one.
And mystic street communion with those whose rest is won.
Oh happy ones and holy, Lord give us grace that we
Let him the meek and lowly on high may dwell with thee.
Amen.
together in the locations that you're normally in upstairs and across the street.
But we'd love for all of you to stay with us.
And don't forget to come up this afternoon, Wednesday, Saturday morning, to share and
have a voice in this together.
Remember that God's at work to the glory of Jesus.
He said, work not only in heaven, he's at work in his church.
Thank you, Lord.
Amen.
To him who is able to do more abundantly than all that we ask to think, according to the
power of work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, forever and ever.
Amen.
Hallelujah.
Glory.
All right.
I'm going to get a little coffee, perhaps.
I'll definitely get some more water.