Father, it's a lot easier for us to imagine a really bad future than it is for us to imagine
something like heaven.
And it's far easier for us, Father, to long for idols masquerading as heaven, to long
for utopias that we human beings will make or create by our own power.
Father, it's far easier for us to imagine that than it is for us to imagine heaven.
It's hard for us, Father, even to hear what your word has to say about it.
So we ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would do a mighty work in our minds and hearts and
wills, in our imagination and in our memories.
We ask, Father, that you would make our minds and hearts and wills, our imaginations and our
memories, that you would make it good soil so that your word will enter in to our mind
and our heart and our will, our imagination, our memories, our longings and our yearnings,
that your word will enter into us as good soil and that we will bear much fruit for your glory.
That, Father, we will have a great desire to see you face to face and to stand in your presence.
Father, fan and flame within us such a desire, such a longing and a yearning.
And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior.
Amen.
Please be seated.
Just apologize in advance for my coughing.
On one hand, I just rejoice to see all the leaves coming out in the trees.
On the other hand, I also have allergies and asthma.
And so it just, I forgot to take my antihistamine this morning, so I'm coughing a little bit from allergies.
It always means that spring is a little bit bittersweet for me, since it brings both allergies and,
I mean, who wouldn't want the weather?
Allergies are worth it to have the weather.
Probably in our culture, I think even amongst young people, John Lennon's song,
Imagine, is very well known.
It begins, imagine there's no heaven.
It's easy if you try.
No hell below us, above us only sky.
And then it goes on and says, you know, maybe one day you'll join us and then the world will be as one.
And I'm not going to take any cheap shots at John Lennon and his song.
But I am just going to comment that I think he's wrong.
I actually think that it's actually very hard to imagine heaven.
Sorry, what's that?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's very easy to imagine that there's no heaven.
That's not actually very hard.
I think it's the easiest thing in the world to imagine there's no heaven.
I think it's hard at all.
It's very easy.
What's actually hard is to imagine heaven.
It's a well-known problem in drama and in novels and in theater that it's far harder to portray a good character than it is to portray a bad character.
In Milton's classic Paradise Lost, the best parts of that poem are where he's describing the devil and hell.
And the weakest part is where he's trying to describe heaven.
And so, in fact, I think it's very easy to imagine there's no heaven.
But it's very hard to get our minds around heaven.
And so, if you find your mind starting to drift this morning, one of the things you can pray is that the words here in the Bible,
which are describing something which ultimately words can't really describe,
and my attempt to bring this word home to you, that somehow or another the Holy Spirit will move and work in minds and hearts and wills in a way,
that bring these words home to your imagination, your heart, and your mind, and your will.
Because I think the words that are described here in Revelation chapter 21 and 22 are hard for us to imagine.
And it's easy for our minds to drift.
So, please pray as I go through it.
If you find your mind start to wander, say, oh, yeah, that George said that when that happens, I'm supposed to pray.
And then we'll all get something out of this very, very beautiful and very powerful passage of scripture.
And now, before we sort of look at what it says about heaven, to bring out a bit of a contrast, I'm going to try to tell you two jokes.
I'm actually going to tell you two jokes.
The question will be whether anybody laughs.
I tried it with my family, and these jokes flew like a lead balloon.
All of my kids and my wife just looked at me blankly after I told the first one.
And because I'm a dad, not to be deterred, I told the second one.
And that also flew like a lead balloon.
So, we'll see if this works for any of you.
Okay?
So, here's the joke, the first joke.
And by the way, just in advance, I invented the second joke myself.
I adapted the first joke into a second joke.
And so, the first one I heard from another place, and the second one I developed.
So, the Hindu comes, a Hindu is visiting Ottawa, and they come to one of those hot dog vendors that you see downtown in nice weather, sometimes in bad weather as well.
And she asks, do you have vegetarian hot dogs?
And the vendor says, yes, I do.
And he said, you want one?
And she says, yes.
He says, what do you want on it?
And she says, make me one with everything.
The Hindu, make me one with everything.
You see, if you have to explain it, you have to explain it, it's not a joke, right?
The Hindu, make me one with everything.
I thought it was real.
I thought that was so funny when I read it.
So, here's the second one.
And she has a Buddhist friend.
And so, the Buddhist friend says, I'd also like a hot dog.
And the vendor says, what would you like on it?
And she says, make me one with nothing.
I invented that one myself.
So, if you tell it to somebody else, you have to give me credit for it.
Either that or blame, okay?
If they don't laugh, you can say, that's my pastor.
He's so lame when it comes to jokes.
Anyway, that's the Hindu, make me one with everything.
And for Buddhists, make me one with nothing.
And so, the Bible is going to portray a very, very different end than Hinduism or Buddhism.
And a very, very different end than Hollywood portrays.
And that common human religion portrays.
And it's found in Revelation chapter 21 and 22.
And today, we're just looking at Revelation 21.
So, if you turn in your Bibles with me, we're going to look at this chapter.
And I can't figure out a good hot dog joke description of what the Christian belief is.
Maybe one of you during the sermon, by the end of it, will have a hot dog joke for Christians.
I couldn't figure one out.
But as you already know, I'm not very good at figuring out jokes.
So, here's what it says.
What is it that the Christians understand about the end of all things?
And here's how it begins.
Verse 1 of chapter 21.
Then I saw a new heaven.
Oh, we're in trouble.
I didn't set my stopwatch.
That means I have an extra 10 minutes to preach.
No, just joking.
So, verse 1.
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.
Just sort of pause there.
We're going to actually spend a bit of time on this verse.
It's not saying that there's not going to be any surfing in heaven.
It's not saying that all of us who want to move to places, all those people who go to Florida in the winter and be by the ocean,
that's actually not preparing yourself for heaven at all.
What it is, if you read all the way through the book of Revelation, I haven't commented on it.
I don't think I've commented on it once.
But every time that the sea is mentioned in the book of Revelation, the sea is a symbol.
And it's a symbol of evil.
And so this is just a continuation of the imagery.
If you take a concordance and you look at it and you look at when the sea is mentioned,
it's always mentioned in connection with the devil.
So it's not being literal here.
It's just a continuation of the imagery.
And so what it's trying to say, verse 1.
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.
It means that there's no evil whatsoever, no source of evil, that all you have is the new heaven and the new earth with no evil whatsoever.
And here's the first point.
The first point is, I will have a resurrection body.
And I just realized after I sent it to Andrew and before I could text him again, we should get rid of the word to and put in the word and.
And then the sentence actually makes sense, which is a good thing for a sentence to do to make sense.
I will have a resurrection body and dwell in the new heaven and earth that God will make.
That's what the Bible teaches, that God's desire for every human being that was born, we won't all get there.
Talk about that in a few moments.
But that's what God's desire is.
He is going to make a new heaven and a new earth.
And he will give his people, he will transform us so that we can live in that new heaven and that new earth.
You know, it's very funny.
I've been waiting several weeks to say this because I realized it several weeks ago.
And so now it's my chance.
You know, when I said that, you know, the Hindu hot dog person says, make me one with everything and the Buddhist make me one with nothing.
In both of those systems of thought, basically the end of all things is one version of what Christians believe hell is.
Isn't that sort of shocking?
Because in Christian circles, in Orthodox Christian circles, there's a bit of a debate as to whether after, in a sense, God punishes us in hell, that eventually there's an annihilation that we no longer exist.
And other Christians believe that there's not an annihilation.
And I'm not going to comment on it in the sermons.
That would be a whole, that would be one of those things we'd have to have sort of a couple of Bible studies at.
There's a whole range of texts and complicated things to sort out.
But here's the thing.
If that annihilation view of hell is correct, then that annihilation, which Christians understand as hell, that's exactly what Hindus and Buddhists seek as heaven.
Because to be one with everything is to completely and utterly lose yourself.
You cease existing, right?
Because the famous analogy is it's like a drop of water joining the sea.
And once you put a drop of water into the sea, the drop of water disappears.
It no longer exists.
It's just the sea.
It's just the ocean.
And, you know, so this has to mean that if, in fact, for a Buddhist and a Hindu,
what they long and yearn for is annihilation.
And if the Bible is inviting us not to long for annihilation but to flee annihilation,
and instead to understand that God is going to make a new heaven and earth.
It's not that he's just going to make a new earth.
It's going to be a new heaven and a new earth.
And that he will make us so that we can dwell there at home.
Dwell in earth and heaven.
That's a radically, radically different vision of what's going to happen.
It's the end of the big picture of the Christian story.
So, in a sense, chapter 21 and 22, the last two chapters of the Bible,
they're the true counterpoint to the first two chapters of the Bible,
Genesis chapter 1 and 2.
And, in fact, even in a few moments when we're going to talk about some of the things
that God's going to do in the new heaven and the new earth,
it'd be very interesting for you later on to go back and read Genesis 3
where evil comes into the world, and you see what happens as evil comes into the world,
pain and tears and sorrow and all of that.
And then you see what's going to happen in the new heaven and the new earth.
It's a specific reversal or overcoming of the fall.
And in the big picture of the Christian story, God makes everything good.
God creates everything, and he makes it good.
And he makes human beings to have a pivotal, central role in the created order.
That human beings, in a sense, are the priests of the created order.
That they alone are made, we alone are made in the image of God, the likeness of God.
That we, in a sense, are to give voice
and a specific type of intimate, personal relationship with God
on behalf of the entire created order.
And that Adam and Eve, who have this, in a sense, representative role
for all human beings who since existed,
that they chose not to be those priests and to be in union with God
and communion with God and fellowship with God,
and they chose to be like God themselves.
They chose to dethrone God in the attempt to be God themselves.
So the big Christian story is that it begins with creation, which is good.
It moves to the fall, which means that now human beings
and all human reality is slightly bent.
That it's no longer the way it was intended to be.
That there's now evil in the world.
That there's now pain in the world.
That there's now death in the world.
And it all comes as a result of Adam and Eve
and their decision to try to be like God's themselves.
And then all of what we know as the Old Testament.
Genesis chapter 4, right to the end of Malachi.
That is the period of promise.
It is the period of God revealing to people
what he is going to do to rectify the situation.
It's God making clear to people that they can't rectify it themselves.
To make it clear just how far they've been bent away from God.
And a promise that God is going to send to deliver.
And then we have in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John,
we have God keeping his promise.
We go from creation to fall to the promises
to God keeping his promise in the person of his son, Jesus Christ,
who the Bible describes as a second Adam.
And Jesus lives amongst us,
suffering the trials and temptations that we suffer only without sin.
But he does all that he experiences these trials and temptations without sinning.
But that isn't what we need.
We ultimately need this sacrifice that only God can make,
where evil is dealt with, and rebellion is dealt with,
and the punishment is dealt with, and the banishment and destruction,
and all of the consequences of evil,
and all of the things that God should really do to make things right,
so that he's both just, and because he's good and loving and merciful,
Jesus takes our place.
He takes the place.
What would unmake us if God did it to us,
Jesus comes and stands in our place,
so that what would unmake us falls on him and unmakes him.
And in that coming and dying upon the cross,
he trades his place for mine.
That's what we receive when we put our faith and trust in Jesus.
Not only him standing in our stead, but him offering us his place instead.
And the big picture of the Christian story is God creates all things good.
Evil comes into the world through human actions.
God then speaks to us as human beings and starts making promises
about how he's going to put all things right,
because only God can put all things right.
And the Gospels are the story of how God comes to put all things right,
and then the rest of the New Testament up until Revelation chapter 21 and 22.
I'm simplifying things just slightly.
That's the period of the already not yet.
That's what we live in right now.
The already not yet.
On one hand, as I read in 1 Peter,
I'm a sojourner.
My true home is in heaven.
But I live here right now.
I have the Holy Spirit within me when I put my faith and trust in Jesus
as a type of first fruits.
But I still, that God hasn't created the new heaven and the new earth yet.
So we have creation.
We have fall.
We have the promises.
We have God keeping his promise.
We have the already not yet.
And then at one point in time, which is still in the future for us,
what's described in Revelation chapter 21 and 22,
we have God making a new heaven and a new earth,
the end of the story,
which is the beginning of the real story.
It's the end of this story.
And God makes all things new.
He makes a new heaven and a new earth.
And for those who are the followers of Jesus,
the adopted children of God by grace,
the true story, the long story,
the unending story where every day is better than the one before
is just the beginning.
And in that story,
I will have a resurrection body
and dwell in the new heaven and earth
that God will make.
Now, you know, if you have a story,
if you understand that the end of all things is annihilation,
then why should you care for this creation right now?
If at the end of all things is going to be annihilation,
why should you care for other people
who will only be annihilated
if they end up managing their karma,
they will only end up being annihilated?
Why care for things?
Now, I'm not saying that there's no caring for things
in cultures dominated by Hinduism and Buddhism.
I would say it's because we're ultimately made in the image of God
and there's this, in a sense,
residual memory in each person
that, in fact,
that there's this different story
which we were made for,
that creation isn't a prison
for our souls or our spirits,
that the created order is not a prison.
The created order is not a punishment for us.
There is, on one hand,
the story of Hinduism and Buddhism
is that the created order is a type of punishment for us,
but there's this part of us
that knows that that's not true.
And so you see tended gardens
and you see good things that happen.
But for us as Christians,
this idea that God created us
to have bodies and to be in a relationship with him
and that when the story is all over
that there will be new heaven and a new earth,
then of course we should care for people.
And of course we should care for this created order.
And you and I might know
that we'll never make this world perfect.
In fact, if there's one thing that comes from this story
is that the modern habit of organizing ethics
and right and wrong around some type of utopian future,
and that's a very, very powerful,
you know, just the whole,
anytime somebody says that something's progressive,
it means that they believe
there's some type of utopian future
that human beings are going to make
that we're moving forward towards.
And Christians are to rid utopia
from their minds completely and utterly.
It's one of the most important things
for discipleship today
and to form a Christian mind today
is to completely and utterly rid our mind
of any form of man-made,
woman-made, human-made utopia.
Because we understand that God is going to do this.
But it doesn't mean that we don't care for things.
We care for things even more
because creation matters to God.
It was made by God
and the end of all things
will not be annihilation,
but it will be a new heaven
and a new earth that God makes
and that God's adopted children by grace
will dwell in forever.
I can't get my glasses back on.
I was at a...
It's funny.
One of the things that can unite some churches
is what they say that's wrong.
I was at a United Church funeral a few years ago
and the minister said
that the person who had died
had become an angel.
It was just about a year after
I'd been at a Roman Catholic church
and the priest said
that the person who had died
had become an angel.
And it's very, very common
to hear people talk.
It's a bit surprising to hear a minister
or a priest say
that a person who dies
has become an angel,
but it's a very common type of idea.
And so if we do try to imagine heaven,
it's trying to imagine
what it's like to be an angel,
a disembodied spirit
with wings,
well, without wings,
but a disembodied spirit.
And on the other hand,
many of us,
when we try to imagine heaven,
we sort of are greatly influenced
by Hollywood.
One of my favorite movies
is Gladiator.
I know that it's almost completely
and utterly wrong
about everything that it says
about the Roman world,
but apart from that,
it's a very, very compelling movie
as long as you don't think
you've learned anything at all
about Rome from watching the movie.
Just remember that.
I learned nothing about Rome
from this movie.
It's a good movie.
And of course,
at the end of that movie,
it's not a spoiler alert,
you know,
you see the fellow
and it's of course in a,
the fields look beautiful
and the light filter is very nice
and it's a,
and there's a bit of a wind
and everything is blowing
and he gets reunited
with his wife
and his son,
the hero of the movie
and that's heaven.
And so,
most of us in Canada,
when we do try to imagine heaven,
what we imagine
is either becoming like spirits
or we imagine
some type of future like that
without God present.
But we see that the Bible
is asking us to imagine
something which is very,
very, very, very different.
Like already,
this is quite different
than how most people
try to envision heaven,
but,
but the next part
is even more stunningly different.
Verses two and three.
Actually,
we'll start at verse one again.
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.
Verse two,
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.
Notice that again.
Remember I said
we had to rid our minds
of all sense of utopia
that human beings
are going to be able
to try to create
some type of perfect society.
Heaven here,
verse two,
I saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven
from God.
Here's the thing.
I'm going to word it
in these ways.
If you could put it up
on the screen.
I will live,
here's,
here's what heaven is.
Here's what you can pray
you have a longing for.
And I put it in terms of I
so that if you write it
down in your notes,
it's not we,
it's not you,
it's not they,
it's I.
I will live in the city
where I am a neighbor,
where I have a neighbor,
and where everyone
has God
as their neighbor.
That's heaven.
The city.
Now next week
we're going to look
at the second image.
A few weeks ago
I talked about the image
of the bride
and the feast.
And next Sunday
we'll look at
Revelation 22
which has the image
of the Garden of Eden.
A Garden of Eden.
It's an image
of a garden.
But for now
all of chapter 21
in fact
what's going to happen
is that there's going
to be a few more talk
a little bit about
what it's like
to be in that city
and verses 9
to the end of the chapter
is just a description
of the city.
And I'm not going
to go through
and well maybe
I will read it
in a moment
but here's the
fundamental image.
This is a spectacular,
spectacularly important image.
Right?
So if the modern
Canadian type of image
is that somehow
or another
when you die
you become an angel
well if you're going
to become an angel
when you die
why should you really
care about what
goes on in the city?
Why should you care
about what goes
on in the world?
If you're just going
to become an angel
when you die
like why should you
care about your neighbors?
And if all that happens
is when you die
you go to be with
the people whom you like
hopefully they've picked
you to be in heaven
with them by the way.
That's an intellectual problem
that people have
never talked about.
You know?
What if it happens
that you die
and it's like going
to a party
where everybody
when they talk to you
they're looking
for somebody better
to talk to?
We wouldn't think
that was heaven
would we?
I hate going
to a party
where I know nobody
I get stuck
with somebody
and I can tell
they think
they're stuck
with me
and they don't
want to talk
to me
even for an instant
because their eyes
are going like this
all over the room
hoping they say
oh there's Fred
good to see you Bill
they say to me
because they don't
even remember my name
and you know
so people never think
that you know
when we die
we go to be
with our loved ones
and they don't realize
that their loved ones
are hoping
we won't be with them
when they die
okay
that's a
maybe we should send
some letters
to the National Post
to the Ottawa Citizen
to ask them
to try to reflect
on that problem
in terms of
the modern Canadian
view of heaven
so but you know what
so if the modern view
of heaven
is either angels
or we're just going
to be with people
we like
why should we bother
with neighbors
why should we bother
with the city
but heaven
is pictured
as the city
this is really important
for modern Canadians
and modern North Americans
because so many
Christians
flee to the suburbs
with the hope
that they don't really
have to be part
of the city
so many church slides
in worship services
are pictures
of nature
as if real living
is getting away
from people
and real living
is getting away
from the city
but in the book
of Revelation
when it pictures
the new heaven
and the new earth
and it pictures
where I'm going
to dwell
with my resurrected body
it pictures
a city
and it pictures
a city
where I have
neighbors
and it pictures
a city
where I can't move
into a neighborhood
without having God
as my neighbor
everybody who lives
there has a neighbor
and everybody
has one of their
neighbors
is God
and we dwell there
with God
as our God
and we enjoy it
I mean I don't even
have to
can you see
this is revolutionary
in terms of how
we should view
our city
not that Ottawa
is heaven
far from it
but the city
matters
to God
cities matter
to God
and you know
to understand
that in heaven
I'm going to have
neighbors
and I'm going
to be a neighbor
like all this week
and it sort of
struck me
I was trying to
think how to
put down
this you know
God will dwell
with us
and all that
and it struck
me
neighbors
I mean I think
I'm an alright
neighbor
I live in the
suburbs
because that's
where I can
afford to own
a house
and I live
in one of those
suburbs
where you hardly
know your
neighbors
you know
and
but this
means that
I mean this
means on a city
level that we
should have a heart
for our city
which is part of
our vision statement
and it's an
important thing
for us to figure
out how to be
great neighbors
on one level
it's training
for heaven
and even
apart from
this level
of what it
means for the
city
it's part of
the reason
why normal
Christian life
once we give
our lives to
Jesus
there should be
a drive
that we have
within us
to connect
with other
Christians
and to grow
with other
Christians
and to meet
with Jesus
in the presence
of his people
and that that
should be a
drive of us
that's why
we have
small groups
that's why
we have
prayer meetings
that's why
we have
ministries
and that's
why it's
appropriate
for us
to try to
figure out
ways to
connect
because it's
all connected
to this
in a small
way with
this image
of heaven
as a city
where I
will be a
neighbor
and I
will have
a neighbor
I will have
neighbors
that's probably
what I should
say
I will have
neighbors
and where
everyone has
God as
their neighbor
that's what
the book
of Revelation
is teaching
us
I'll say a
few more
things about
how's my
time
we have
time
let's look
at some
of the ways
just briefly
how the city
is described
you jump
down to
verse 9
then came
one of the
seven angels
who had the
seven bowls
full of the
seven last
plagues
and spoke
to me
saying come
I will show
you the
bride
the wife
of the
lamb
and I
talked about
this image
of the bride
of Christ
it's a
corporate image
it's a
lot of us
as Christians
when we think
of our
relationship
with Jesus
it's a
private
relationship
but the
image here
of heaven
is a
corporate
relationship
and it's
to try to
bring home
to us
that there's
this
corporate
sense
and it's
really important
if I sing
to Jesus
as if he's
sort of my
boyfriend
that's like
a weird
thing for a
guy to sing
about
Jesus
you're my
boyfriend
that's weird
okay
but if we're
to understand
ourselves
that I'm
part of
as together
all who
are part
of Jesus
that we're
the bride
of Christ
that's this
corporate image
which it's
calling us
to
it's why
at different
times I've
described that
we enter
the Jesus
way one
by one
because I
can't
God doesn't
have grandchildren
right
we all
individually
have to
make a
decision
for Jesus
we enter
the Jesus
way one
by one
but we
walk the
Jesus
way with
Jesus
and others
and that's
what the
Christian faith
is
we enter it
one by
one but
we walk
the Jesus
way with
Jesus
and with
others
anyway we
talked about
the bride a
few weeks
ago
verse 10
and he
carried me
away in
the spirit
to a great
high mountain
and showed
me the
holy city
Jerusalem
coming down
out of heaven
from God
having the
glory of God
its radiance
like a most
rare jewel
and then it
describes the
different gates
in the apostles
and it's
really showing
here how
there's two
testaments
but one
Bible
two
testaments
but one
Bible
and God
only has
one people
and up
until the
time of
Jesus
the primary
way to
describe the
people of
God
was the
nation of
Israel
and now
it's those
who are in
Jesus
which both
includes
Israel
and those
who are from
pagan backgrounds
like myself
down to
verse 15
the one
who spoke
with me
had a
measuring
rod of
gold
to measure
the city
and its
gates
and its
walls
the city
lies four
square
its length
the same
as its
width
and he
measured
the city
with his
rod
12,000
stadia
its length
and width
and height
are equal
and just
what
12,000
stadia
was the
length
of the
Roman
Empire
that's
what 12,000
stadia
was
the length
of the
Roman Empire
give or take
a few
stadia
and so
this city
is the
length
of the
Roman Empire
at the time
John was
writing
and its
depth
is bigger
than the
Roman Empire
because the
Roman Empire
was wider
than it was
long
and its
height
is the
height
of the
Roman Empire
he's
imagining
the cube
and
it's really
hard for us
it's hard
for even
ministers
like me
I mean
on one
level
it's probably
easier
for me
to use
images
to talk
to you
folks
from the
walking
dead
than it
is
from the
book
of
Leviticus
I'm not
trying to
insult you
but probably
most of us
have spent
more time
watching the
walking
dead
over the
last
couple
of years
than we
have
studying
the
book
of
Leviticus
if not
the
walking
dead
some other
type of
thing
from
television
but
basically
what
John
is
describing
here
what
the
angel
is
describing
here
is
a
perfect
cube
and
in
the
covenant
was
and
where
the
Jewish
people
understood
God
to
dwell
was
a
perfect
cube
and
so
it's
describing
here
even
the
things
of
the
crystals
and
everything
like
that
it's
describing
that
in a
sense
the
city
which
is
now
as
big
as
wide
as
the
Roman
Empire
and
the
same
height
as
it
is
and
depth
it's
describing
the
holy
of
holies
and
that's
where
we
live
in
the
holy
of
the
jewels
and
the
walls
they
all
exist
to
show
the
glory
and
the
light
and
the
movement
and
to
magnify
the
glory
of
God
and
that
is
where
you
and
I
will
dwell
with
a
resurrected
body
I
actually
watch
The Walking
Dead
which is
a bit
of a
stretch
for me
because
I
don't
like
scary
movies
which
is
why
other
than
sort
of
like
The Walking
Dead
and
the
occasional
zombie
thing
which
I
don't
really
find
that
scary
by
the
way
I
don't
know
why
I
have
to
show
all
the
blood
spritting
out
but
maybe
it's
because
when I
was a
kid
I
had
two
things
two
very
clear
memories
of
things
that
terrified
me
when I
was
a
child
I
know
the
original
Wizard
of
Oz
movie
you
know
that
old
one
yeah
I
that
up
I
had
nightmares
for
weeks
I
remember
at the
time
I
think
I
screamed
when
the
flying
monkey
show
up
in
the
Wizard
of
Oz
I
look
at it
now
and I
think
gosh
is
that
cheesy
and
corny
looking
but
as
a
kid
watching
it
I
had
nightmares
for
weeks
and
in
the
Christmas
carol
the
old
one
you
know
with
Alistair
Sims
and
I
had
nightmares
for
weeks
after
I
watched
that
as
a
kid
with
my
parents
and
I
remember
just
seeing
the
dark
terrified
of
the
ghosts
but
the
book
of
Revelation
the
book
of
Revelation
is
a
little
bit
like
a
Christmas
carol
it's
even
though
he's
telling us
all about
heaven
and
everything
like
that
there's
going
to be
an
opportunity
for
us
to
repent
and
sort
of
a
little
bit
like
you
know
the
story
of
the
Christmas
carol
is
that
after
he's
had
the
dreams
he
wakes
up
and
he
discovers
that
they
were
just
dreams
and
that
Christmas
is
just
happening
right
now
and
he
has
a
chance
for
new
life
and
repentance
and
that's
what
the
whole
book
of
Revelation
is
like
that
even
this
chapter
and
next
there's
going
to
be
an
opportunity
for us
to
realize
that
it
hasn't
happened
yet
and
we
can
heed
the
warnings
and
believe
the
promises
and
that
God
can
do
a
new
thing
in
our
lives
but
let's
go
back
to
the
verse
four
he
will
wipe
away
every
tear
from
their
eyes
and
death
shall
be
no
more
neither
shall
there
be
mourning
nor
crying
nor
pain
anymore
for
the
former
things
have
passed
away
and
he
who
was
seated
on
the
throne
said
behold
I
am
making
all
things
new
also
he
said
write
this
down
for
these
words
are
trustworthy
and
true
and
he
said
to
me
it
is
done
I
am
the
alpha
and
the
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
if
you're
a
guest
here
I
talked
about
the
lake
of
fire
last
week
I'm
not
going
to
talk
about
it
again
you
can
go
back
and
listen
to
it
online
here's
the
first
thing
the
first
thing
is
that
God
takes
a
scattered
incomplete
finite
fallen
slave
and
makes
me
fit
to
dwell
with
him
that
God
takes
a
scattered
incomplete
finite
fallen
slave
and
makes
me
fit
to
dwell
with
him
you
see
the
Bible
portrays
that
any
type
of
rebellion
against
God
rather
than
us
actually
becoming
like
God
in
our
rebellion
all
we
do
is
become
slaves
of
different
things
we
become
slaves
of
lies
we
become
slaves
of
idols
we
become
slaves
of
and
idols
are
things
which
we
serve
love
obey
trust
and
hope
in
so
if
we
if
we're
serving
loving
obeying
trusting
hoping
in
money
in
a
sense
we
become
a
slave
to
money
starts
to
run
us
we
want
more
and more
and
when
we
don't
and
then
when
something
frustrates
us
in
our
desire
to
get
money
we
become
angry
and
we
become
depressed
and
we
don't
even
realize
that
we're
now
serving
it
we
serve
sex
we
serve
lies
we
serve
ideologies
we
serve
all
sorts
of
things
and
by
serving
them
we
become
slaves
and
the
picture
of
heaven
here
that
we
see
is
us
in
our
resurrected
bodies
God
takes
me
and
I'm
scattered
because
my
betrayal
of
what
I
am
there
that's
not
completely
accurate
I
mean
what's
many
of
our
thought
lives
like
many
of
our
thought
lives
are
like
maybe
I'm
just
vastly
more
sinful
than
all
of
you
but
what
goes
on
in
our
thought
lives
sometimes
we
just
think
gosh
I
wish
I
could
get
revenge
on
that
person
and
sometimes
we
think
of
kindness
sometimes
we
want
to
imagine
that
we're
the
superstar
and
other
times
we
want
to
just
be
the
quiet
servant
sometimes
we
imagine
that
everybody
is
praising
us
and
sometimes
we
just
want
to
think
of
some
way
that
we
can
give
to
another
person
and
praise
them
and
that
inside
of
us
on
one
hand
there's
parts
of
our
life
that
are
in
deep
slavery
but
on
the
other
hand
we
know
that
there's
some
areas
of
freedom
in
our
lives
and
that
we're
scattered
we're
incomplete
we're
finite
and
we're
fallen
which
means
that
we
can't
be
related
to
God
in
our
own
effort
or
power
but
fundamentally
what we
are
is
in
bondage
and
Jesus
comes
to
deliver
us
from
bondage
and
partly
what
happens
as
God's
word
works
its
way
in
our
heart
as
the
Holy
Spirit
moves
and
works
within
us
as
we're
gripped
by
the
gospel
and
learning
to
live
for
his
glory
that
what
God
brings
into
our
lives
is
freedom
to
love
freedom
to
give
freedom
to
forgive
freedom
not
to
be
bound
and
that
tiny
bit
of
freedom
that
we
start
to
experience
as
the
Holy
Spirit
works
in
our
lives
as
we're
gripped
by
the
gospel
will
describe
what
we
become
in
its
fullness
when
we
die
that
when
we
die
God
does
something
in
us
that's
only
the
tiniest
little
seed
on
this
side
of
the
grave
but
after
the
grave
when
Jesus
welcomes
us
in
his
arms
we
will
experience
for
all
eternity
in
its
fullness
no
longer
a
slave
but
free
no
longer
scattered
but
whole
no
longer
incomplete
but
complete
still
finite
but
fine
with
being
finite
because
we
rest
in
the
everlasting
arms
of
God
no
longer
fallen
and
bent
but
made
straight
for
all
eternity
and
only
God
can
make
me
fit
to
dwell
with
him
but
the
text
then
gives
us
this
choice
put up
the
next
slide
and
here's
the
choice
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
lies
and
death
and
evil
and
idols
and
to
say
yes
to
Jesus
choose
courage
like
if
there
was
to
be
a
sentence
to
summarize
that
you
know
if
you
go
back
and
read
things
about
how
to
preach
they
often
say
you
should
have
a
sentence
which
gives
unity
to
the
whole
sermon
often
doesn't
show
up
in
the
sermon
text
itself
but
it
sort
helps
you
to
govern
your
point
I'm
going to
tell
you
what
mine
was
mine
would
have
been
this
no
heaven
is
real
if
I
want
to
organize
all
of
Revelation
chapter
21
in
one
sentence
and
usually
it's
about
something
being
true
and
something
that
you
have
to
do
and
this
is
how
it
is
no
heaven
is
real
therefore
choose
courageous
faith
in
Jesus
no
heaven
is
real
therefore
choose
courageous
faith
in
Jesus
no
heaven
is
real
therefore
choose
courageous
faith
in
Jesus
and
the
text
here
when it
says
about
the
cowardly
the
faithless
the
detestable
is
for
murderers
it
realizes
that
on
this
side
of
the
grave
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
lies
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
death
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
evil
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
idols
and
the
Bible
doesn't
teach
us
the
Bible
isn't
a
faith
of
no
it's
always
a
no
so
we
can
say
yes
and
the
yes
is
to
Jesus
and
the
text
here
when it
says
in
verse
8
but
as
for
the
cowardly
it's
in
a
sense
introduction
to
the
whole
thing
to
recognize
that
it
takes
courage
it
takes
courage
to
live
a
sexually
chaste
life
in
our
day
and
age
it's
mocked
right
it
takes
courage
to
practice
forgiveness
it
takes
courage
to
practice
financial
generosity
and
time
it
takes
courage
that
even
though
maybe
everybody
in the
party
is all
very
interested
in
this
person
who's
involved
in
magic
and
it
takes
courage
to
say
that
that's
not
what
you're
involved
in
that
you
think
that
it's
wrong
it
takes
courage
in
Canada
when
abortion
is just
assumed
to be
the way
that
Canada
should
be
organized
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
that
it
takes
courage
when
all
of the
best
minds
in our
culture
are
saying
that
there
should
be
a
way
for
people
to
take
their
own
lives
and
have
doctors
be
able
to
kill
people
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
that
it
takes
courage
to
say
no
to
lies
and
death
and
evil
and
idols
and
to
say
yes
to
Jesus
and
the
purpose
of
Revelation
21
is
choose
courage
choose
courage
Karl Barth
famously
said
that
courage
is
fear
that
has
said
its
prayers
courage
is
fear
that
has
said
its
prayers
some
of us
might
not
feel
very
courageous
some
of us
just
might
know
all
sorts
of
fears
that's
fine
say
your
prayers
ask
for
courage
God
will
give
you
courage
know
that
heaven
is
real
therefore
choose
courageous
faith
in
Jesus
let's
stand
moon
father
we
ask
you
would
gently
19
pour
out
your
holy
spirit
upon
us
this
morning
you
know
father
how
much
we
let
Hollywood
shape
or other
sources
shape
the way
that we
understand
what
like after we die.
We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit
would do a work of healing and cleansing
and restoration and renewal in our minds
so that your word will form how we think
about what happens after we die.
And we ask, Father, that you so fill us
with the knowledge of the reality of heaven
that we might have greater courage
to live for you in our city,
to pray and to work for the flourishing of our city,
to pray for the ways that our city
could at least in some tiny minute way
model the heavenly city,
that we could work for our city in such a way
that the stench of Babylon be lessened,
all the while knowing, Father,
that one day that we are made for that heavenly city
where we will have neighbors,
where you will be our neighbor,
where we will have resurrected bodies.
Father, fan in the flame within us
such a longing and yearning.
Help us, Father, to know that heaven is real
and to choose to have a courageous faith in Jesus
as we live each day.
And all this we ask in Jesus' name,
your Son and our Savior.
Amen.